Rammstein

Rammstein is a German band formed in 1993. Their musical style, which they have dubbed Tanz-Metal, or "Dance Metal", incorporates elements of metal, industrial and electronic music. Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German.

Lyrics and style

Although it cannot be said that Rammstein sticks to any particular genre of music, they are most often described as industrial metal, and they are also often associated with heavy metal and hard rock. Some have categorised them with the controversial Neue Deutsche Härte movement. Despite their brutalist image, they do show a sense of humour in their lyrics. "Rein, Raus" (" in, out"), for example, is clearly tongue-in-cheek. "Zwitter" ("Hermaphrodite") is a bizarre take on narcissism:

Related Topics:
Industrial metal - Heavy metal - Hard rock - Neue Deutsche Härte - Tongue-in-cheek - Hermaphrodite - Narcissism

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: When the others searched for girls

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: I could already fertilize myself

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Similarly, the song "Amerika" features the tongue-in-cheek lyrics:

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: We're all living in Amerika

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: Amerika ist wunderbar (America is wonderful)

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: We're all living in Amerika

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: Coca-Cola, Wonderbra!

Related Topics:
Coca-Cola - Wonderbra

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: We're all living in Amerika

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: Coca-Cola, sometimes war

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Wordplay is used frequently in Rammstein's lyrics. "Du Hast" is a play on German marriage vows ("You have asked me, and I have said nothing"). In the song, the traditional affirmative response "ja" is replaced by the negative response "nein." The song can also be understood as You hate, which would be written Du hasst, homophone of the title used in a tongue-in-cheek manner in the song.

Related Topics:
Du Hast - Marriage - Homophone - Tongue-in-cheek

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Rammstein often use homonyms to create similar effects. For example, from the song "Los":

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: Es ist hoffnungslos / It is hopeless

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: Sinnlos / Senseless

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: Hilflos / Helpless

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: Sie sind Gott

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: Los

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As a suffix, "-los" in German is the equivalent of "-less" in English. As a command, "Los!" means "off!" or "go!". Throughout the song it is mostly used as "-less", but in last two lines given above, it can be interpreted in two ways. Sie sind Gott / Los! means They are God. / Go!, while Sie sind gottlos means they are godless.

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Also from "Los":

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: Es wurde Zeit

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: Los

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Es wurde Zeit translates as It was time, so these two lines can be interpreted as It was time. / Go! or It became timeless.

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Some of their songs show some unexpected influences. "Dalai Lama" is an adaptation of the famous poem Der Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Related Topics:
Dalai Lama - Der Erlkönig - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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With the exception of the English-language versions of "Engel" and "Du Hast," covers of the songs "Stripped" and "Pet Sematary", and the song "Amerika", which uses some English words in the chorus, Rammstein's lyrics are entirely in German. Explaining why, Oliver Riedel comments, "German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger." (Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia), October 24, 2004).

Related Topics:
Amerika - English - German

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Rammstein's style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded with memorably dismissive comments. Jam Showbiz (April 2001) described Mutter as "music to invade Poland to." New Zealand's Southland Times (Dec. 17, 1999) suggested that Till Lindemann's "booming, sub-sonic voice" would send "the peasants fleeing into their barns and bolting their doors." 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." That said, Rammstein has also attracted praise for their inventive lyrics and uncompromising style.

Related Topics:
Mutter - New Zealand - New York Times

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