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RAMMSTEIN
Manchester MEN, 1 March 2012

I was told on the phone by Rammstein's tour manager before tonight's shoot that Rammstein's pyro show would leave Kiss in the dark and it would be a show I would not forget...he was right.

From the moment Rammstein entered the packed arena carrying flaming torches and flags from the back of the auditorium, then climbing onto a specially constructed walkway over the audience walking slowly to the stage, I knew I was in for one hell of a show.

If your idea of a great rock show is astonishing theatrics up to the rooftop, eyebrow singeing exploding pyros,  a keyboard player in a glitter suit walking on a treadmill, a giant penis spraying you with soapy semen, S&M... anal sex, a dingy crowd surfing and some great metal anthems then this was the show for you...

This was rock n roll at its loudest, craziest, and fire- filled frenzied best...

Rammstein came to conquer tonight and that is what they did. From the start guitarists Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers, were playing riffs that metal guitar wannabees would die for and to see the crowd singing along word for word every song in German with vocalist Till had to be seen to be believed.

Outside the fans had told me they had come along tonight to hear all the hits and that is just what they got, the band played crowd pleasers like Buch Dich  Sonne,  Mein Teil - a song about homoerotic cannibalism (!) - Keine Lust, and the classic Mutter. The crowd were in Rammstein Heaven...or more to the point Hell.

After 2 hours of non stop pyromania, a stage show that most bands would die for, and hit after metal hit, it was time for the band's favourite encore.  Engel, with singer Till standing on stage wearing huge angel wings that shot fire, was one hell of a way to end the show...

If I had not been a fan of the band in the past I was now.  This was rock n roll at its loudest, craziest and fire-filled frenzied best...

As the show finally came to an end singer Till looked out at the sweat drenched crowd, aged between 10 and 60, and said two simple words: Danke Schön.

This was a show like no other I've photographed - it was a cross between a HR Giger film with a stage set like Fritz Lang's Metropolis or the darkest sci-fi film you could ever imagine ... A flaming triumph!


Review and photos by Steve Goudie

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