6 reasons why Rammstein are one the greatest live acts on the planet

To say that Rammstein’s 16-date 2019 European stadium tour is “highly anticipated” is a bit like pointing out that sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening: it’s stating the bleedin’ obvious. Yet that said, as anyone who’s experienced the sheer, visceral thrill of one of their combustible and highly explosive live shows will attest, there’s little that comes close to the check-yer-pants excitement of seeing Rammstein live.

Rammstein’s Milton Keynes Bowl show – scheduled for July 2019 – will mark the German pyromaniacs’ first UK gig since the 2016 Download Festival. With the tour promising to be Rammstein’s biggest production to date, the levels of expectancy are already running into the red.

Speaking of the upcoming tour, guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe recently acknowledged the Herculean task facing the band: “I’m looking forward to doing something like that, because we haven't done something like that before; it's like the next step. On the other hand, it's also a big responsibility… we set out to perform on a very high level.”

So as we get closer to the tour, let’s just count the ways as to why Rammstein are one of the greatest live acts on the planet…

1) Rammstein’s legendary pyrotechnics

It’s a given that Rammstein blow things up with all the glee of an arsonist in a firework factory, but the sheer scale of explosions, flames and missiles on display is enough to stretch the concept of Health & Safety to breaking point. Indeed, such are the temperatures raised by Rammstein in concert that you could watch them in the nip in the North Pole and you wouldn’t be able to feel the cold. Luckily you won’t have to travel that far. Or take get your kit off, for that matter.

2) Their infamous cannon

No, we’re not referring to the contents of singer Till Lindemann’s leather keks but Rammstein’s frankly quite astonishing phallic cannon. Riding from one side of the stage to the other, its relentless spraying of foam suds should at least go some way in helping to cool down the overheated front rows.

3) Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz’s treadmill

As the likes of Rick Wakeman and Elton John will attest, the sedentary nature of handling keyboard duties will eventually lead to a generosity of girth that coincides with snugger-fitting jackets. Not so Rammstein’s keyboard maestro Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz, who keeps himself slender thanks to the treadmill he uses on stage. Combing such ingenuity with physical svelteness, it’s impossible not to salute the man.

4) The jaw-dropping theatrics

Let’s face it: sometimes missiles, flamethrowers and explosions just aren’t enough, are they? No, what you really want is an added sense of drama and peril to ensure that you’re no longer sitting on the edge of your seat but standing on it. So how better to do that, then, by watching Rammstein’s Till Lindemann chucking Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz into a giant cauldron and cooking him? It works for us every time. Oh, and did we mention Till’s angel wings?!

5) Raftstein

With Rammstein regularly playing to what can be reasonably described as a “sea of people”, it stands to reason that Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz should ride an inflatable dinghy across the multitude of raised hands in front even him. Not least as it offers him some form of relief after being cooked in a cauldron.

6) Rammstein’s phenomenal songs

Of course, all of Rammstein’s breathtaking theatrics and pyrotechnics and jaw-dropping shenanigans would count for nothing were it not for the music. An unholy yet highly intoxicating and satisfying collision of heavy metal, industrial noise and pulverising techno, this really is music for the masses so huge that songs such ‘Sonne’ and ‘Du Hust’ have amassed streaming figures north of 120m and 153m. To put that into some kind of context, those combined figures are almost the population of the USA.

Rammstein play Milton Keynes Stadium on Saturday 6th July. All tickets are completely sold out.

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