Rammstein is a German band that was formed in 1994. Their musical style incorporates elements of metal/hard rock, industrial, and electronic music. Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German. They have sold over 10 million records worldwide[1].
Rammstein's entire catalogue is published by BMG Music Publishing.
|
The band
Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the western German town of Ramstein, 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 translate literally as "ramming stone" or "battering ram", reinforcing the image of the band's music as fierce and relentless. 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.
Rammstein brings on the flamethrowers during Feuer Frei! - Globe Arena, Stockholm, 18 November 2004.The band's members all come from the former East Germany, specifically East Berlin and Schwerin. They are:
Till Lindemann – lead vocals
Richard Zven "Scholle" Kruspe – lead-guitar
Paul H. Landers – rhythm-guitar
Oliver "Ollie" Riedel – electric bass
Christoph "Doom" Schneider – drums
Christian "Flake" Lorenz – keyboards
Riedel, Schneider and Kruspe were the original founders of Rammstein, following an attempt by the latter to compose American-influenced music with a West Berlin band called Orgasm Death Gimmicks. As Kruspe put it, "I realized it's really important to make music and make it fit with your language, which I didn't do in the past. I came back [to Germany] and said, 'It's time to make music that's really authentic.' I was starting a project called Rammstein to really try to make German music." He invited Till Lindemann, a basket weaver and drummer for the band First Arsch, to join the project as a vocalist. The four entered a contest for new bands and won, attracting the interest of Paul H. Landers, who knew them all and decided to join the band. Christian "Flake" Lorenz was the last member to join; he had played with Landers before in the band Feeling B and was initially reluctant to come on board, but was eventually persuaded to join. Their first album was released a year later. They have been nominated for two Best Metal Performance Grammy Awards: in 1999 with the song "Du hast" and in 2005 with the song "Mein Teil".
|
|
