RAMMSTEIN
Rammstein
was formed in 1993 by an assembly of factory weary proletarians raised in East
Germany. They took their name (adding an “m”) from the location of a German
tragedy where 80 people were hurt and killed as the result of a crash during an
American Air Force flight show. The literal translation of “ram stein” is a
battering ram made of stone. World of Rammstein’s horror romanticist blend of
theatre and music spread like wildfire. One-time Olympic swimmer Till Lindemann
would sing entire songs engulfed in flame from head to toe. The band’s first
album, Herzeleid (or Heartache), built on the grounds created by the band’s
live reputation.
Scaling the German charts (and remaining there until
the release of the second
Rammstein LP some two years later), the
album also introduced the band to the world outside of the
Germany/Switzerland/Austria region. As Rammstein’s second album, Sehnsucht
(Longing), was released, the band was headlining throughout Europe to crowds of 10,000 to30,000 people. Sehnsucht
entered the German charts at a number one immediately upon its release, and
came very close to doing to the same in Australia and Switzerland. Within
weeks, entries on other countries’ charts had Sehnsucht rubbing elbows with
Prodigy, Radiohead, and the Rolling Stones on Billboard’s cumulative Eurochart.
From there the fever spread, transcending any perceived language barrier.
Somehow, the German language is integral to the Rammstein sound.