Formation: 1993 in (East) Berlin
Style: Progressive Metal, Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal.
Members: Till Lindemann on vocals (former member of the East German Olympic swimming team),
Richard Kruspe on guitars
Paul Landers
Oliver Riedel on bass
Christoph Schenider
Keyboardist Flake Lorenz
The band name Rammstein began to take shape back in 1993. It's the name of a German place that hosted a U.S. Air Force air show that ended in tragedy when the plane crashed, killing or injuring 80 people. In modern German, "Rammstein" means a stone siege vehicle, or simply "chariot". First founding member Richard Kruspe was the band's guitarist, later joined by Christoph Schneider, Oliver Riedel, Paul Landers, Flake Lorenz and Till Lindermann.
The band's music is full of intensity, a typical heavy metal + industrial rhythm + electronic rock style, coupled with exaggerated and perverted stage performance, this style is called (Shock Rock) by music critics. They are undoubtedly the most representative band of this style of music. In terms of the rhythm of their songs, most of them adopt the very popular dance music rhythm - a simple 4/4 beat, with the same beat plus sampled distorted guitar riffs, which creates a kind of excitement that makes people want to dance for no reason. The background samples they use are mostly bright and airy, not as obscure and heavy as traditional industrial music, and not as noisy and disorganized as industrial noise. The vocals are more Kraut than anything else, with a low baritone that sounds like the end of the world.
In 1995, Rammstein signed with Motor Music /Polygram and released their first album "Herzeleid" (Heartache). The album immediately entered the German charts and, like a miraculous demonstration, stayed there for two years.
In January 1996, Rammstein released the single "seemann". They tried to get American director David Lynch, who is known worldwide for his work on "Blue Velvet," "Twin Peaks" and "Wild at Heart," to produce an MTV video for the band, but they were forced to give up due to lack of time. Since David Lynch loved Rammstein's music, he added "Heirate Mich" and "Rammstein" to his soon-to-be-completed movie "Lost Highway." This was the first time most Americans were introduced to Rammstein.
In November 1996, Rammstein entered the studio to record their second album, Sehnsucht. With the release of this album, Rammstein's influence broke through and soon spread beyond Germany/Switzerland/Austria to Central Europe, making Rammstein a band with a worldwide reputation. The first single from the album, "Engel", was released in April 1997 and debuted at #12 on the US charts. In less than two months, "Engel" went gold. The second single, "Du Hast," was released in July of the same year, and the following August, "Sehnsuch," which hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts, was released.
Following the release of "Sehnsucht," the band embarked on a non-stop tour of the European continent, often playing to crowds of 10,000 to 30,000 fans. The album immediately shot to the top of the German charts, followed by lightning speed in Switzerland and Austria. Within a few weeks, Sehnsucht's success on the national charts led to its entry into the Billboard European Cumulative Chart, bringing down the likes of Prodigy, Radiohead and the Rolling Stones. The band's frenzy was uncontrollable. The success of the band is a testament to the fact that Rammstein has crossed many geographical and linguistic barriers to reach a global audience. On the other hand, for Rammstein's music, German is truly the most appropriate language. Rammstein's Goethean, eerie style with its sharp guitar riffs meets Till's heavy, sympathetic voice, which coincides with the German language's phonetic characteristics. And its electro-acoustic sound effects and Jungle Beats add a poignant ambience to the percussions, as if the irony of the Bible were cold but unbridled.
In 1998, the band was invited by Kiss for a South American tour. The band was invited by Kiss to join them on a South American tour in 1998, and then went on to play with Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit on the same year's "Family Values Tour" to such extraordinary effect that Rammstein's performances became the talk of the fanbase.
In 1999, the band released Live Aus Berlin, ****in both "US" and "German" versions. Recorded over two days at the Wuhleide Venue, the live effect was obvious. The band members were all armed and solemn as the blood red lights fell like shooting stars. Anyone watching understands that they are the commanders behind countless acts of violence. Both in the music itself and in the lyrics, Rammstein seemed to have the ultimate right to unleash violence.
On April 20, 1999, two teenage gunmen in Columbine killed themselves by shooting themselves in the head, after shooting and killing 13 people. In response, Rammstein, along with Marilyn Manson, KMFDM, was blamed for the music that the two gunmen liked to listen to, as their lyrics contained a lot of violence. All three of them were then forced to issue a statement condemning the incident.
In 2000, they headed to the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Their first performance helped them expand their reputation to Asia, and they have since established a solid audience.
In 2001, their latest album, Mutter, was released. The album topped the German Albums Chart in its first week of release, and also reached the Top 5 on the UK Gold Chart, Top 10 in Australia, Top 14 in Canada and Top 12 in Norway. Mutter" is not much of a change from Rammstein's previous music, with the same imposing heavy metal guitar riffs, industrial marching jangles, and Gothic gloom, with dark, subdued German lyrics spewing out to shake people up.