All photos by Karolina E. Piwko.
Few bands have created so much controversy over the years as the German Industrial Metal band Rammstein. But, the controversial lyrics, provoking music videos, and extravagant live shows have also gained them hordes of fans all over the world. That and catchy, heavy Industrial Metal, of course.
Now they’re on a “best of…” tour entitled Made in Germany 1995-2011 and are playing their most popular songs. The concert in Oslo was part of the second leg of the European tour. Since this was a “best of…” tour, the set consisted mainly of their old stuff. The main set consisted of songs from their first 4 albums with the addition of “Haifisch” from their 2009 album Liebe Ist Für Alle Da, and “Mann Gegen Mann” off 2005’s Rosenrot. A real highlight (among many) was when the crowd sang the entire first verse to “Du Hast” (off 1997’s Sehnsucht). There was something in the set for everyone. From the oldest and heaviest songs like “Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen” to songs with a more symphonic approach like “Mutter.” They played for two hours straight, and the 13,800 people in the arena got what they paid to see. The sound was better this time around than when Dream Theater played at this arena three weeks earlier.
The band entered through a gate in the middle of the arena and walked on to a big platform which was leveled to meet a huge metal bridge that was lowered from the ceiling. They marched over the bridge and onto the stage in time with the music while carrying torches, a Norwegian flag, and a flag with the Rammstein logo on it. They were covered in soot-like make-up to really enhance the look of Rammstein’s industrial theme. The bridge that was lowered was also shaped to fit this theme with smoke blown out from the sides of it. Over the stage there were three floodlights shaped like the Rammstein logo, and four floodlights shaped like industrial-sized fans. You couldn’t help but feel that you were in an industrial area, so it was only fitting that they opened with “Sonne” as the music video for this song features the band as dwarves working in a gold mine for a gold dust-addicted Snow White.
Rammstein is known for their enormous and extravagant stage performances, and this show was no disappointment. There was an insane amount of pyrotechnics, flamethrowers (both to carry and to place in front of their mouths), a spark shower with sparks raining down over vocalist Till Lindemann, and Lindemann wearing burning angel wings during the song “Engel.” Also during the first of two encores, another industrial sized fan (a real one this time) was lowered and placed behind the drum kit. This one was so huge that it covered the entire wall behind the kit.
The keyboardist’s outfit and stage performance deviated a great deal from the rest of the band. Instead of looking like a dirty mine worker, he was wearing a sparkling outfit, which would have been killer in the ’80s Disco daze. On the floor in front of his keyboards there was a treadmill that he regularly walked on while playing. Other times he was just acting like a lunatic. He actually came off more as the “mad scientist” of the band. During the show he got into a small rubber boat that was “launched” into the crowd and was carried around the arena.
At the end of the main set the huge metal bridge was lowered again. This time the drummer was dressed in drag and he was leading the rest of the band across. The band members were crawling across in chains with gag balls in their mouths, and the drummer in drag was spanking them when they didn’t move fast enough. When they were on the other side they set up a drum kit at the platform, in the middle of the arena, and played a three-song set there. This time the drummer was wearing earmuffs, no doubt to prevent him from hearing the drums from the speakers on stage as the sound was delayed by approximately a full second. They performed “Bück Dich” (off Sehnsucht), “Mann Gegen Mann” and “Ohne Dich” (off 2004’s Reise, Reise) before crossing the bridge again to “disappear” before the encores. Vocalist Lindemann was still in S&M mode and “sodomized” the keyboardist with a strap-on he pulled out of his pants. After a while he started “shooting” lots of white liquid out of the strap-on and into the crowd. The encores saw them playing among others “Amerika” (off Reise, Reise) and “Pussy” (off Liebe Ist Für Alle Da). During the latter, Lindemann sat on a huge cock cannon that shot soap bubbles at the crowd.
Though what once provoked people now seems a bit old as they deliver with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. There is no other band in the world like Rammstein, and whether you like them or not, everyone can agree that Rammstein is so much more than music, and their show isn’t just a concert … rather, it’s something you certainly won’t soon forget!
Setlist
Sonne / Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen / Keine Lust / Sehnsucht / Asche zu Asche / Feuer Frei! / Mutter / Mein Teil / Du Riechst So Gut / Links 2-3-4 / Du Hast / Haifisch / Bück Dich / Mann Gegen Mann / Ohne Dich
Encore: Mein Herz Brennt / Amerika / Ich Will
Encore 2: Engel / Pussy
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