Image courtesy of Jonamary
It was with excitement, trepidation and German lyrics in my mind that I entered Wembley ARENA on February 4th. I had bought tickets 5months previous to this gig, that was within hours completely sold out and ebayers were selling standing tickets for ludicrous amounts of money; up to £150. RAMMSTEIN are one of my favourite bands and certainly one of the most original and important bands of the last 20years. Their songs, controversial nature and live shows are now world renowned and they never let down.
Although 'simple' RAMMSTEIN'S fusion of industrial or tanz-metal is simply stunning in every aspect. Keyboardist Flake's subtle layering and textures perfectly suit the heavy roaring guitars and thundering bass and drums, whilst vocalist Till Lindemann provides a depth and yet shrieking power that attracts, demands and emotionally soothes with his baritone poetic tone.
The bands entrance (see clip below) is certainly a feast for the eyes and ears as the unsettling haunting choral intro to 'RAMMLIED' is quickly shuddered by the power of the lyrics and riff that accompanies the lyrics 'RAMM-STEIN!'; the bands opening track on their new album 'LIEBE IST FUR ALLE DA', and anthem for the band and it's fans. The new tracks work extremely well amongst the fans as a mosh stirs up pretty quickly and the energy is felt amongst all.
The concert drew heavily on tracks from the new album as well as some older classics that had the 12,000 capacity arena roaring for more and screaming for fire, as perfectly executed on tracks such as 'FEURE FREI' from MUTTER or 'BENZIN'.
The stage looked like something out of ALIEN, a vast metal landscape that has suffered burns and bruises from the Industrial German Machine and plays as the scenario for plenty of fire, extremely loud and well timed explosions, babies with lasers attached to their heads, firework firing crossbows, fire breathing dragon masks, and even a 'basement' recreation (see 'Weiner Blut').
The band's prompt entrance and 1hr 40min set is certainly one of the most exciting concerts and original presentations in music I have ever witnessed. Rammstein's individuality and merit lay in their strength as a band, unity, and ability to push the envelope whilst retaining a hardcore fan base and still attracting new fans thanks to their cross over style. Their dance-like songs such as 'Laichzeit' or their orchestral brutal masterpieces such as 'Mein Herz Brent' allow them to garner fans of all styles and musical interests, and their live show provides a form of theater never before done with such taste & brutal beauty. Only Alice cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd are some that have tackled this form of live presentation, but even they have never managed to present such a brutal force of creativity that even with minimal crowd interaction keeps thousand on the edge of their seat. It is the mystery the band possess and the relatively unknown personal lives that certainly adds to the enigma and ferocious addicted fan base that herald them as gods. The concert ends with Till Lindemann wearing a set of huge metal wings that set a blaze around him amongst the blue lit vast stage.
- Set list:
- Rammlied
- B********
- Waidmanns Heil
- Keine Lust
- Weisses Fleisch
- Feuer frei!
- Weiner Blut
- Fruhling in Paris
- Ich tu dir weh
- Liebe ist fur alle da
- Benzin
- Links 2 3 4
- Du hast
- Pussy
- Sonne
- Haifisch
- Ich will
- Engel
- (Stein um Stein [Piano] outro)
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