Pomp and provocation

"Ein Mensch brennt, Rammstein" (A human being burns, Rammstein).

With this line, six punks from the former East Berlin laid the foundation for what would eventually become the most successful band in German history.

From the get-go, Rammstein were not interested in being just any band from the "East" or any band from the "West" or any band that sang in English with a German accent. They wanted to be something new and unique.

And now 15 years after getting together, they remain true to the motto: If you walk in someone else's footprints, you won't leave any of your own behind.

Pomp and pyrotechnics

Rammstein achieved world fame through its appearance in the David Lynch film "Lost Highway."

The band had been looking for a director to shoot their first music video and sent requests to all the filmmakers they knew from the movies. Lynch didn't shoot Rammstein's video, but he used their song "Heirate mich" (Marry me) in a violent sex scene in "Lost Highway."

For German speakers, the scene seemed unbelievable. Were the words "Hei Hei" being sung, or was it "Heil Heil" - a direct reference to the Nazi salute?

Ever since, Rammstein has been accused of being a fascist band - or at least that it plays with Nazi propaganda (like early Marilyn Manson). But the band refuses to discuss its artistic concept.

Nazi Propaganda?

The band's live shows are world famous. Lead singer Till Lindemann is not scared to hold a flamethrower above the heads of screaming fans. He also likes to roll his "r" like dictator Adolf Hitler is characterized as having done during speeches in Nazi Germany. Even the setting of the shows seems to borrow from Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia films. Riefenstahl was a photographer and filmmaker who collaborated with the Nazis and made her Olympia films in the 1930s.

You don't have to look far for explosive content in Rammstein's song lyrics - matricide, incest, sadomasochism, blood and decay are blended into a dense, macabre music that manages to pull off moments of contemplative romanticism.

But you won't find any direct mention of Nazi propaganda. Their latest single "Mein Land" may be nebulous, but all interpretations are left open.

"Da kommt er angerannt "There he comes, running

Mit der Fahne in der Hand .... Flag in hand …

Du bist hier im meinem Land" You are here in my land"

"Eine Stimme aus dem Licht "A voice from the light

Fällt dem Himmel vom Gesicht Falls from heaven's face

Reißt den Horizont entzwei Rips the horizon in two

Wohin gehst du, Where are you going,

Hier ist nichts mehr frei." Nothing’s free here anymore."

Do these lines concern immigrants or asylum seekers? The oriental sounds in the music and the way the words are sung feed the suspicion.

"Vertrieben Mein Land, "Expelled my land,

Vertreiben Mein Land, Expel my land,

Vergessen Mein Land, Forgotten my land,

Nirgends kann ich bleiben." Nowhere can I stay."

But it is just as possible that these lines describe the fate of emigrants. The video consummates the sense of confusion. The music is set to possibly the most un-German scene imaginable - a bright California beach in blinding sunlight, shrill and frivolous as only 1950s America could be.

"Those are totally normal, romantic song texts," says the band's keyboardist, Flake, who adds that he can't understand what the big fuss is about when it comes to the band's apparent glorification of violence. "Every 16 year old has seen so much garbage on television - we are like orphans."

No new Rammstein album comes out without negative press. Some object to graphic rape scenes, others to the "glorification of violence", or the "games of right-wing extremists." But Rammstein remains Rammstein - the riotous affray seems if anything to grow with the mounting pressure of the press.

Germany's most successful band

Rammstein's most recent concert tour features Lindemann - decked out in cooking garb with a huge knife - rowing a boat across the stage and grilling Flake who is in a massive pot. This is just part of the gigantic show the band puts on during almost every concert. It's a pompous "Holiday on Ice", perhaps unparalleled anywhere in the world.

Internationally, Rammstein is by far the most popular German band. The Japanese sing the band’s songs word for word when it plays in Japan. In Latin America, venues are sold out, no matter what. In the United States, no Grammy presentation goes by without "Rammsteen" being nominated in one category or the other. Rammstein seems to gives international audiences exactly what they want to hear from a band "Made in Germany."

Despite these international laurels, there is one criticism that is frequently leveled against the band - a lack of musical imagination. Critics say the goosestep rhythms, recurring keyboard parts and guitars always sound the same.

It is a criticism that Christopher Schneider, Rammstein's drummer, has knocked back.

"What do you want to do with music these days?" said Schneider. "It's all been done before."

On the index

Rammstein outdid itself with its last album "Liebe ist für alle da" (Love is there for everyone), which came out in 2009. On top of cannibalistic imagery and Leni Riefenstahl panoramas, there was one thing the band had not yet played with and that was pornography.

They commissioned cult director Jonas Akerlund to produce a music video for the single "Pussy." It features pornographic scenes shot in a Berlin night club. Was this just naive provocation?

Band member Paul Landers explains: "I don't have a good theory that explains why we shot a porno. We did it out of idiocy."

"Liebe ist für alle da" even got the German government's attention. The federal office responsible for monitoring the media for perceived dangers to youth placed it on its notorious index.

Then Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen filed the complaint herself after reacting with disgust to the images on the album cover and the sadistic fantasies in the song "Ich tu dir weh" (I hurt you).

It was the first time since 1987 that a complete album had been put on the federal office's index. The move - unintentionally - boosted the album's sales. The world tour that followed was a complete sell out, and the final concert at New York's Madison Square Garden - housing 12,000 seats - sold out in less than a half hour.

Rammstein's new album "Made in Germany" comes out on December 2. Apart from the single "Mein Land" the disc is a compilation of old songs. But you can be sure there will still be provocation to come.

Authors: Uli José Anders, Matthias Klaus / glb
Editor: Zulfikar Abbany