Rammstein - the creators of 'Tanz (dance) Metal' style in music
Rammstein is a German band that was formed in 1994. Rammstein musical style
incorporates elements of metal/hard rock, industrial metal, and electronic
music, which the band has termed 'Tanz (dance) Metal'. Their songs are
performed almost exclusively in German. They have sold over 12 million
records worldwide.
The Story
Rammstein was started by Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein. At this time, Richard
lived with Oliver Riedel (of the band The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph
Doom Schneider (of Die Firma). The three started working together on a new
project. Then Richard got Till Lindemann to join them as it was hard to
write music and lyrics at the same time.
A contest for new bands was announced and the prize was studio time. The
four of them recorded the first Rammstein demo and won. Paul Landers joined
them soon. At this point, all they needed for the machine-sound was a
keyboarder. They tried to get Christian "Flake" Lorenz to join, as he had
played with Paul before in the band Feeling B. Flake was not entirely
thrilled with the idea at first and didn't want to join for a long time.
But he agreed eventually.
About the time the band was formed, they all had relationship problems which
provided the foundation for their debut album Herzeleid (Heartache) in 1995.
Since then, they have reached gold and platinum status for their music and
have become Germany's number one music export. Despite lyrics that are in
German, the band has enjoyed success outside of Germany, both in Europe,
North America as well as Japan, Australia and New Zealand. With the album
Reise, Reise (2004), they became the most successful German-language band of
all time internationally. Rammstein has had several top ten singles in
Europe.
The asteroid 110393 Rammstein is named in the band's honour.
The Name
Rammstein takes its name from the western German town of
Ramstein-Miesenbach, site of an airshow disaster in 1988. The band's
signature song, the eponymous "Rammstein", is a commemoration of the tragedy
that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. The extra "m" in the band's name
allows the word to mean "battering ram" (literally "ramming stone"),
reinforcing the image of the band's music as fierce and relentless.
The Style and Lyrics
Rammstein's style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded
with memorably dismissive comments.
The New York Times (Jan. 9, 2005) commented that on the stage, "Mr.
Lindemann gave off an air of such brute masculinity and barely contained
violence that it seemed that he could have reached into the crowd, snatched
up a fan, and bitten off his head." Other critics have been more positive.
Despite Rammstein's brutalist image, many of its songs lyrics demonstrate a
certain sense of humour.
Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein's lyrics. In many
instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in
several ways.
Related articles:
Richard Kruspe - the father and lead-guitarist of Rammstein
Rammstein - movie and video appearances
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