Rammstein rock with stunning gig

Rammstein

LG Arena, Birmingham

Words and pictures by Bob Greaves

Rammstein thrilled a near capacity crowd at Birmingham's LG Arena with a storming blend of high-octane music and stage showmanship.

Their top drawer show brilliantly mixed aggressive, hard-edged rock with outlandish theatrics.

Vocalist Till Lindemann fronted the combined forces of Richard Z. Kruspe (lead guitar, backing vocals), Paul H. Landers (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (bass guitar), Christoph "Doom" Schneider (drums, percussion), Christian "Flake" Lorenz (keyboards, samples) on a total assault of the senses.

The band provided renditions of their doom anthems new and old, hammered-out to pyrotechnics, thunderflashes and lighting rig exuberance galore.

It is testament to this German industrial metal band's appeal and great success, that they manage to play sell-out arena shows in the UK, with their lyrics being almost entirely in their native tongue

Few members of the audience would be able to decipher song titles like Rammlied, Buckstabu, Waidmann, Keine Lust, Weisses Fleisch, Du Hast, Haifisch and others, let alone work out the lyrics.

Rammstein put the drama back into live music. In an age of play-it-safe live music, few bands combine 30-foot flame throwers, lazers, foam cannons, exploding toy dolls and keyboard players who surf the audience in inflatable dinghies carrying a Union Jack?