Rammstein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rammstein | |
|---|---|
 Rammstein performing with Apocalyptica. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin |  Berlin, Germany |
| Genre(s) | Industrial metal Neue Deutsche Härte Tanz-Metal |
| Years active | 1994 – Present |
| Label(s) | Motor Music Republic Records Slash Records Universal Music Group |
| Associated acts | Emigrate Feeling B First Arsch Orgasm death Gimmick |
| Website | www.rammstein.de www.rammstein.com |
| Members | |
| Till Lindemann Richard Z. Kruspe Paul H. Landers Oliver "Ollie" Riedel Christoph "Doom" Schneider Christian "Flake" Lorenz | |
Rammstein is a German NDH-metal band. The band is widely accepted as part of the Neue Deutsche Härte-scene, alongside bands such as Oomph! and Die Krupps. Their sound has been dubbed as Tanz-Metall (lit. "Dance Metal").[1][2][3] Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German. Formed in 1994, they have sold over 12 million records worldwide.[4] Rammstein's entire catalogue is published by Universal Music Group.
Although the majority of their songs are written in German, Rammstein has had massive success across the world, spanning to every nation. It has been confirmed that the band is reunited from their vacation and has begun writing their sixth studio album, which will be released sometime in 2008.
Richard Z. Kruspe, Oliver Riedel, and Christoph Schneider originally founded Rammstein after an attempt by Kruspe 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 former competitive swimmer and drummer for the garage-rock 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 punk-rock 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.
Contents |
History
Rammstein was started by Richard Z. Kruspe. In 1989 he escaped from East Germany over the border between Austria and Hungary. He eventually ended up in West Berlin and started a band in 1993 (Orgasm Death Gimmicks). At that time, he was very influenced by American music, especially that of KISS. After the Berlin wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin where Till Lindemann worked as a basket weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch.
At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel (of the band The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph "Doom" Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously created did not properly suit him. He envisioned something that would combine machines as well as the sound of hard guitars. The three started working together on a new project.
Richard soon found it extremely difficult to write both music and lyrics at the same time, so he got Lindemann to join Rammstein. Richard first discovered Till when he overheard him singing while he would weave baskets. A contest was held in Berlin for amature bands in 1994, and the winner would recieve the oppurtunity to record a four track demo CD in a professional studio. Kruspe, Schneider, Riedel, and Lindemann won the contest, and sparked the attention of Paul Landers, who wanted in on the project as upon hearing their demo. At this point, all Rammstein needed to complete their machine-sound was a keyboarder. Rammstein then attempted to recruit Christian Lorenz, who had played with Landers in Feeling B. At first, Flake was not entirely thrilled with the idea; however, after much discussion, he eventually agreed.
Name
Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the western German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, site of a flight show disaster on August 28, 1988. The band's signature song, the eponymous Rammstein, is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. At the show, three Italian air force jets collided and fell into the audiance. About 40 spectators died in the first minutes, and several hundred more were injured. In the next two months, the death toll rose to 72. The extra "m" in the band's name makes it translate literally as "ramming stone." In a short period before the band became well known, they performed using the name "Rammstein-Flugschau" (literally meaning Rammstein-Airshow.)
Rammstein also has a asteroid named in its honor, 110393 Rammstein. Some believe their name was chosen because of the music video for "Amerika," which displayed the six members of the band floating above the moon sporting NASA's astronaut suits.
Members
- Till Lindemann – vocals
- Richard Z. Kruspe – lead guitars, backing vocals
- Paul Landers – rhythm guitars, backing vocals
- Oliver Riedel – bass guitar
- Christoph Schneider – drums
- Christian Lorenz – keyboards
Style
Although Rammstein is often generalized as Neue Deutsche Härte, its music spans a variety of related styles, including industrial hard rock, heavy metal and electronic music with influences of punk rock, pop music and gothic rock, due to their use of keyboards to emulate strings, choirs or pianos. The band was influenced by Laibach, a Slovenian neo-classical and industrial group. Other influences include, Oomph!, and Ministry, but the contrast between individual songs such as Du riechst so gut, Bestrafe mich, Ohne dich and Te quiero puta! makes the band difficult to classify, though most simply refer to them as industrial metal. The band's very, very diverse range of influence has, unsurprisingly, made them appealing to tastes of all kinds, but they are chiefly renowned in industrial, electronica, and heavy metal circles.
Rammstein's style has tended to divide critics, some of whom have responded with memorable 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". Other critics have been more positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of All Music Guide commented that "their blend of industrial noise, grinding metal guitars, and operatic vocals is staggeringly powerful".[5] "We just push boundaries," said Till Lindemann in an interview with rock magazine Kerrang!. "We can't help it if people don't like those boundaries being pushed."
Despite Rammstein's brutalist image, many of its songs lyrics demonstrate a certain sense of humour. Zwitter ("Hermaphrodite"), for example, is a bizarre take on bisexual narcissism through the eyes of a prideful intersex person:
- Wenn die anderen Mädchen suchten (When the others were searching for girls)
- Konnt ich mich schon selbst befruchten (I could already fertilize myself)
- So bin ich dann auch nicht verzagt (So I am even not despaired)
- Wenn einer zu mir "Fick Dich" sagt (when someone tells me "Fuck yourself")
Similarly, the song Amerika ("America") features a tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the normal chorus:
- We're all living in America
- Coca-Cola, Wonderbra! Usually "Amerika ist wunderbar" ("America is wonderful"), in one chorus is sung as "Coca-Cola, Sometimes War" or "Wonderbra" the latter being a reference to the popular Bra in America that enhances the size of breasts. However, Wonderbra is in fact a Canadian product
- We're all living in America
- America, America!
Some of their songs show unexpected influences, usually from poems and German folk tales. Dalai Lama is an adaptation of the famous poem Der Erlkönig by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[6]. Hilf mir ("Help me") was inspired by the short story Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug (from Der Struwwelpeter) by Heinrich Hoffmann[7]. Spieluhr ("Music-box") borrows the line Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter from a nursery rhyme of the same name[8]. Rosenrot ("Rose-red") is inspired by the poem Heidenröslein by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the story Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot by the Brothers Grimm
Lyrics
Nearly all of Rammstein's songs are in German. However, the band did record English versions of Engel ("Angel"), Du hast ("You have", or "You hate", as "hasst" is phonetically identical, giving the title a double meaning), and Amerika, as well as covers of the songs Stripped (Depeche Mode) and Pet Sematary (The Ramones). In addition, the songs Amerika, Stirb nicht vor mir//Don't die before I do and Moskau ("Moscow") contain not only German verses, but also English and Russian choruses, respectively; Te quiero puta! ("I want you, whore!") is entirely in Spanish. Oliver Riedel commented that, "German language suits heavy metal music. French might be the language of love, but German is the language of anger".
Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein's lyrics. In many instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in several ways. The song Du hast, for example, is a play on German marriage vows (Willst Du, bis der Tod euch scheidet, treu ihr sein für alle Tage? - "Will you, until Death separates you, be faithful to her for the rest of your days?"). In the song, the traditional affirmative response, Ja ("Yes"), is replaced by its negation Nein ("No"). The final repetition of this line further perverts the meaning of the original vows through a minor change in the wording Willst Du, bis zum Tod der Scheide ... (Will you, until the Death of the vagina ...) (where 'vagina' can also refer to the woman), but it could also be interpreted as Willst Du bis zum Tod, der scheide ..., which would have the meaning of "Will you, until Death will separate, ...". The song starts, in fact, with a play on words: Du... Du hast... Du hast mich... meaning "You have me". This line is often mistaken for "You hate me", because in German, there is no clear distinction between the pronunciation of Du hasst (double S) which means "you hate" and Du hast (single S) which means "you have". The verbs are hassen ("to hate") and haben ("to have"). The wordgame is later resolved as the line is completed; Du hast mich gefragt ("You [have] asked me"). But confusingly, the band did also make an English version of the song named You hate.
Rammstein often uses rhyming to create similar effects. For example, from the song Los ("-less" or "[Let's] go!"):
- Es ist hoffnungslos (It is hopeless)
- Sinnlos (Senseless)
- Hilflos (Helpless)
- Sie sind gottlos (They are godless)
The last two lines above can be interpreted in three ways. Sie sind Gott. / Los! can mean "They are God. / Go!"; Sie sind Gott los can be translated as "They got rid of God;" while Sie sind gottlos means "They are godless, profane or wicked". However, in the context of the rest of the lyrics, the most likely meaning is the third one, godless.
Shows
Rammstein has achieved particular fame (not to mention notoriety) for its hugely over-the-top stage show, using so many pyrotechnics that fans eventually coined the motto "Other bands play, Rammstein burns!" (a quip at Manowar's song "Kings of Metal", which states, "other bands play, Manowar kill").
The heat is so intense that on occasion, people have been carried out of Rammstein concerts suffering from heat exhaustion, and lighting gantries have been seen glowing red-hot from repeated fireball hits. The variety of the pyrotechnics can be seen in a recent concert playlist, which includes such items as "Lycopodium Masks", "Glitterburst Truss", "Pyrostrobes", "Comets", "Flash Trays" and "Mortar Hits". The band's on-stage antics have included:
- Band members using head-mounted flame-throwers ("Lycopodium Masks", also called "Dragon Masks") while singing/playing. In the Feuer frei! ("Open fire!" or "Fire at will!", lit. "Fire freely!") video for example.
- Till Lindemann singing an entire song while on fire (example: "Rammstein" video); he now uses twin flame-throwers strapped to his arms.
- Till Lindemann singing into a prop telephone that bursts into confetti (during the song Du hast, but only during the Sehnsucht and Mutter tours).
- Christian "Flake" Lorenz in full bondage gear being led by Till Lindemann during stage performances of Bück dich ("Bend down" or "Bend over").
- Exploding drumsticks, drums, microphones and boots.
- Till Lindemann removing a large fire-cracker from his pants - which explodes, emitting sparks during the song Das alte Leid ("The old sorrow" or "The old pain").
- Richard having flamethrowers attached to his guitar during the solo in Adios ("Good-bye").
- Rockets fired along cables strung above the audience.
- Spark-shooting longbows, drumsticks, boots and guns.
- Christian "Flake" Lorenz destroying a keyboard in the style of Nine Inch Nails and The Who during "Los".
- Microphones, guitars and keyboards on fire.
- Band members surfing the crowd in a rubber boat.[11]
- Christian "Flake" Lorenz driving around on a Segway HT during "Amerika".1
- Till Lindemann doing a jig with fireworks in the front of his shoes, shooting sparks in front of him in Weißes Fleisch ("White flesh").
- Till Lindemann unzipping his pants and pulling out a dildo with a hidden connected hose, which in turn sprays water onto the crowd and band members during Bück dich, can be viewed in footage of the 1998 Family Values Tour.
- Christian "Flake" Lorenz sitting in a large cooking pot, which Till Lindemann blasts with a flame-thrower when Lorenz ducks in Mein Teil ("My part"). In the same sequence Lindemann chases Lorenz around the stage with a microphone built into a carving knife.[12]
- Till Lindeman shooting a firework shaped into an arrow up above the stage with a bow to light a fuse, which in turn, sets off the fireworks rigged on wires above the crowd. (as shown in Völkerball).
Rammstein's shows have become increasingly elaborate since the first ones over ten years ago, when their effects were confined to pouring kerosene around the stage and setting it alight. After an accident in the Arena in Berlin where some burning decoration parts fell on the audience (September 27, 1996[13]) the band took to employing professionals to handle the pyrotechnics; Lindemann himself is now a licensed pyrotechnician who spends entire songs engulfed head-to-toe in flames. He has suffered multiple burns on his ears, his hair and his arms. Since the band frequently incorporates fake accidents into their shows, it’s unclear how often Lindemann actually gets burned. Of Lindemann, bandmate Christoph "Doom" Schneider says "Till gets burned all the time, but he likes the pain".[14]
The band's costumes are equally outlandish. During the Reise, Reise tour they were wearing Lederhosen, corsets and vague military uniforms with steel helmets, while during the Mutter tour the group kept to the themes of the album artwork and descended onto the stage from a giant uterus while wearing diapers.
According to Kruspe, the on-stage wackiness is entirely deliberate (Rammstein's motto according to Schneider is: "Do your own thing. And overdo it!"). The aim is to get people's attention and have fun at the same time: "You have to understand that 99 percent of the people don't understand the lyrics, so you have to come up with something to keep the drama in the show. We have to do something. We like to have a show; we like to play with fire. We do have a sense of humor. We do laugh about it; we have fun... but we're not Spinal Tap. We take the music and the lyrics seriously. It's a combination of humor, theater and our East German culture, you know?"[15]
At the Metaltown Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 30, 2005, Till suffered a knee injury when Flake accidentally ran into him with the Segway. Rammstein subsequently had no choice but to cancel their unfinished tour. Their remaining tour was to take place in Korea and Japan.
Rammstein have not toured the United States (and for that fact North America) since their 'Mutter' (Mother) tour in 2001. There is however speculation that they might tour North America on their next tour after their next and sixth album comes out. It has already been confirmed that Rammstein is already recording songs for their next album in Los Angeles county, California in the United States as per an interview with Richard Kruspe (guitarist of Rammstein) by thegauntlet.
Their onstage antics have also led them to trouble as well. During their stint on the American Family Values Tour 1998, alongside acts such as rapper Ice Cube, Korn, and others, the band was arrested for indecency. In one of the more infamous moments, Rammstein's vocalist, Till Lindemann engaged in simulated sodomy with the keyboardist, Christian Lorenz during their performance of "Bück dich" in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were subsequently arrested and fined $25 and spent the night in jail. The band attempted to repeal the fine, but spent more in legal fees and court fees than the $25 fine.
Rammstein - Buck DichDiscography
Studio albums
- Herzeleid (1995)
- Sehnsucht (1997)
- Mutter (2001)
- Reise, Reise (2004)
- Rosenrot (2005)
- TBA (2008)
Live albums
- Live aus Berlin (1999)
- Völkerball (2006)
Rammstein has released five full-length studio albums: Herzeleid ("Heartache"), Sehnsucht ("Longing"), Mutter ("Mother"), Reise, Reise ("Arise, Arise" or "Travel, Travel"), Rosenrot ("Rose-red"), two live albums Live aus Berlin ("Live from Berlin") and Völkerball ("Dodgeball", lit.: "People's ball") and one compilation DVD Lichtspielhaus ("Cinema"). While Herzeleid was well-received, Sehnsucht is widely regarded as Rammstein's break-through album. In 1999, between their second and third album, they published a live album called Live aus Berlin. The production of the follow-up album Mutter was an experience fraught with difficulty for the band.
rammstein volkerball los
A live Rammstein DVD, named Völkerball, was released on November 17, 2006 in Germany (and other parts of Europe), with concert footage from France, England, Japan, and Russia, alongside a CD as well. There are three versions of the set, one, including a 190 page tour book. Due to unforeseen popularity of the package, the limited edition sold out - forcing a second pressing run. The DVD/CD package was released in the United States on September 17, 2007.
The band took a time out in 2006, and are going to begin work again this year. In an interview with German rapper Bushido, who contributed to the Electro Ghetto Remix of Amerika, on January 21, 2007, Bushido reported recording a song with Rammstein called Vergiss uns nicht ("Don't forget us"). In this interview Bushido also mentioned that he was unsure of whether it would be on their "Best of" album or not. This was the first mention of a "Best of" album, or the new album all together. [16][17] In addition, keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz confirmed this in an interview with Metal Hammer Germany in November, stating that they would most likely release a new album in 2008. According to a newsletter from the band's management, Pilgrim Management, the band will not be touring during 2007 due to current album production. Their website confirmed work on a new album, but no word of a "Best of" album has been mentioned.
Covers and adaptations
Rammstein's songs have been covered by a number of other artists, including the group Gregorian who reworked "Engel" ("Angel") as a Gregorian chant for their album The Dark Side. The same song has been covered by Belgian girls choir Scala & Kolacny Brothers, resulting in a very quiet, brooding version, contrary to the original. Also, the German composer Torsten Rasch has produced a classical symphonic song-cycle entitled "Mein Herz brennt" ("My heart burns"), based on the music of Rammstein.
The cover of "Seemann" ("Seaman") by Nina Hagen and Apocalyptica impressed Rammstein so much, that they took Apocalyptica as co-headliner on tour with them in Spring 2005, and invited the band on stage to perform "Ohne dich" ("Without you") and "Mein Herz brennt" together. The "Benzin" single also featured a remix of the song, called "Kerosiini" by Apocalyptica.
Ohne Dich - Rammstein
More recently, the industrial band Laibach covered the song "Ohne dich".
Also, the German death metal band Debauchery covered the song "Weisses Fleisch" for their Back In Blood album.
Rammstein has also done several covers themselves, including "Das Modell" ("The model") by Kraftwerk, "Stripped" by Depeche Mode and "Pet Sematary" by The Ramones (sung by keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz). Many people think that Rammstein also covered "Schtiel" ("Calm") by Aria however, it isn't a Rammstein track, since it was only played by vocalist Till Lindemann and guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe.
It was recently announced that the German pop singer Nena, author of the one-hit wonder "99 Luftballons" ("99 Air Balloons"), will be doing an album of covers named Cover Me in which it will feature a Rammstein cover of the song "Ein Lied".
Rammstein - "Ein Lied"
Till Lindemann of Rammstein appears as a guest singer on the Apocalyptica album Worlds Collide. He takes on David Bowie's song "Heroes", which was also released in German as "Helden". Lindemann sings the German version, making his song the only German-language song on Worlds Collide.[18]
"Feuer Frei!" was featured in the 2002 movie xXx starring Vin Diesel - in the opening scene of the film, Rammstein is performing in a club. (The footage was from a concert in Prague.)
Controversies
Imagery
Described by the New York Times as a "powerful strain of brutally intense rock" who "bring gale-force music and spectacular theatrics together", Rammstein has been a band with a highly controversy-prone nature[19]. Rammstein have not been shy about courting this controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after a liquid-ejecting dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies due to the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of excerpts from the film Olympia by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for Stripped. Their debut album Herzeleid, released in Germany in 1995, originally had a cover featuring the band members' upper bodies without clothing; critics accused the band of trying to sell themselves as "poster boys for the Master Race" [20]. Rammstein have vigorously denied this and said that they want nothing to do with politics or supremacy of any kind. Christian "Flake" Lorenz, annoyed by the claim, has remarked that it's just a photo, and should be understood as such. Herzeleid has since been given an alternate cover in the United States, depicting the band members' faces.
The song "Links 2, 3, 4" (Links being German for "left") was written as a riposte to these claims. According to Kruspe, it means, "'My heart beats on the left, two, three, four'. It's simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we're on the left side, and that's the reason we made the song" [21]. On the other hand, this is also an allusion to a military marching cadence since "Links, 2, 3, 4" is typically heard during marching practice in the German army with "links" referring to the left foot. The song is also an answer to the saying "the heart beats left", repeatedly outspoken by Oskar Lafontaine the Leader of the German party Die Linke and almost the title of a book written by him (the title is Das Herz schlägt links instead of Mein Herz schlägt links – "The heart beats left" instead of "My Heart beats left"). [22].
According to the German online music magazine [23] Rammstein took with this song position on the side of Oskar Lafontaine. They write[24]:
Rammstein binden den Lafontaine-Spruch "Mein Herz schlägt links" in ihren Text ein und zitieren eine Zeile aus einem alten Hannes Wader-Arbeitersong ("Links, zwo, drei, vier; links, zwo, drei, vier; wo dein Platz Genosse ist, reih Dich ein in die Arbeitereinheitsfront, wenn Du auch ein Arbeiter bist"). (Rammstein embed the Lafontaine saying My heart beats left into their lyric and cite a line of an old Hannes Wader workers song ("Left, 2, 3, 4; left 2, 3, 4; where your place is accomplice, queue yourself into the workers united frontline, if you are a worker yourself").)
Christian "Flake" Lorenz recently stated on an on-line chat that the song was created in order to show that the band could write a harsh, "evil", military-sounding song that was not about Nazi ideals[25].
Relation to violent events
Rammstein were cited in relation to the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999, when photos of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold wearing Rammstein T-shirts were revealed. [26] [27] In response to these articles blaming the band of school violence, the band issued a statement:
- "The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values".
Coincidentally, on September 10, 2001 the single and video clip of Ich will ("I Want") was released which portrays the band as terrorists who want to get a message across and receiving a kind of terrorist award for their "actions". In the United States the video clip was broadcast only late at night after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York City although many media officials and politicians requested the video to be removed from the program completely.[28]
Following the tragic conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the hostage-takers had "listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up" [29]. The claim has not been independently confirmed.
Band members said about this issue[30]:
- "There's been a lot of talk about that, but if there are radical feelings in people anything can wake them – a painting, a picture, whatever. It's just a coincidence that it happened to be our music. It's important to think about what caused them to make their decisions, how they became animals, not their taste in music. Whenever something like this happens it's like 'Okay, let's blame the artist'. Such bullshit. (Till Lindemann).
- "Our music is made to release aggression, and people listening to it are also needed to do that, but it's not our fault. Should we stop making hard music because bad people might like it?" (Christoph "Doom" Schneider).
In September 2007 the band found their music being used as the soundtrack to videos produced by an Israeli Neo-Nazi organization. The videos depicted their creators violently abusing mainly Russian immigrant workers on the streets of Petah Tikva to the sound of songs including "Du Hast". The Band's name was also shown daubed onto sites attacked by the group amongst Nazi graffiti.[citation needed]
Videos
In October 2004, the video for "Mein Teil" ("My part") caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing a cross dressed Schneider holding the other 5 band members on a leash and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop (and may even have helped) the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts. Meiwes (who was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, then retried in 2006 and found guilty of murder[31]) brought suit in January 2006 against the band for infringement of rights to the story. The outcome of the civil case was not reported.
Rammstein Mein teil
The band's own views of its image are sanguine: "We like being on the fringes of bad taste", according to Paul H. Landers, while Christian "Flake" Lorenz comments "The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive" .
The video for Mann gegen Mann ("Man against man") from their latest album Rosenrot may have caused some controversy, as most of the band members are naked in the video, apart from lead singer Till Lindemann, who is wearing what can best be described as a "latex diaper" - most likely because he does not have an instrument with which to cover his genitalia. In addition, there are multiple naked men in the video, with clearly visible buttocks, though no genitalia can be seen. The video has been played uncensored on MTV. The video has been rated FSK 16 in Germany and therefore can be played on television only after 10pm.
