| Little is known about the lives of the six East German men, who have
ascended to international fame and woke the world up to the sound of RAMMS+EIN.
The name of the band is said to have come from the air field in Ramstein
, Germany where an air plane crashed during an air show, killing 80 some
people. RAMMS+EIN can also be explained from its more literal translation:
A battering ram made of stone or a ramming stone, which has often characterized
their music.
Formed in 1993 by an assemblage of factory-weary proletarians raised in East
Berlin and Schwerin, RAMMS+EIN wasted no time in crafting a distinctive sound:
The former Olympic swimmer Till Lindemann's deep and booming voice provided
poetic lyrics for the guitars of Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers who play
along with bassist Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph Schneider to make
unshakable music that would stick with its listeners long after their songs
came to an end. The keyboardist Flake (pronounced flah-keh) brought the sound
together and made it strong.
Rammstein's style has been described an not quite heavy metal,
but definitely not rock. It has been called "Industrial Metal", or "Tanzmetal".
"Our style came out of knowing exactly what we didn't want," explains
Flake. "We didn't want to make American funk music, or punk. That's something
we couldn't do at all. We realized we could only make the music we make."
"The main thing is love in all its shapes and variations," countered Till
Lindemann. Adds Flake, "They are completely normal, romantic lyrics."
However, critics look at this band and see something that is not there,
as with the cover of Herzeleid. Critics brought forth accusations
of Nazism and fascism leveled at Rammstein. Herzeleid's cover art-
the six members of Rammstein shirtless, buff and shiny against a backdrop
of giant yellow flowers-suggested the band members as progenitors of a new
master race. "That's complete rubbish," says Flake. "It's just a photo."
Stranger still, others decried a similarity between Lindemann's rolling r's
and Adolf Hitler's diction (!). The band members tend to laugh these accusations
off, saying that they are totally wrong and far from the truth! "If
we were Spanish," says Landers, "Then we wouldn't have to deal with this
hassle. If some of the journalists want to stick us in the Nazi corner, we
can't help it. It's the same they did with Kraftwerk twenty years ago..."
RAMMS+EIN's concerts are something to be a witness of! The pyrotechnics
are incredible, and never ending! Its seems like during the performance
of almost every song, Till either has a flame thrower, a bow that shoots
sparks everywhere, flaming shoes, coats, and gloves, or his mic is
on fine! To top that off, there is also small explosions and fireworks!
"We can't help the way we are," says Lindemann.
Or as Landers so succinctly puts it: "Rammstein is Rammstein."
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