8-31-22 Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
I have been a fan of Rammstein since I first heard them 25 years ago. I had wanted to see them live for about as long, especially after hearing about how wild their stage show can be. Rammstein rarely plays in the US, even though it makes up a huge portion of their fan base. I own a live DVD and watched some videos online, but it is never the same as being there. I was thrilled to learn they would be coming back to the US, and would be in my area, after releasing their self-titled seventh major album. Unfortunately, Covid-19 made me wait two more years before I could go see them. The tour was postponed in 2020 because of pandemic-related shutdowns. In 2021 the band decided to postpone after a Covid resurgence would have restricted attendance. The band wanted to perform with their full stage show to as big a crowd as possible, and looking back now, they made the right call. Here's my story of the concert going experience.
I arrived at the stadium with two buddies a little behind schedule, but still with enough time to do some tailgating before entry. I had heard the opening act would be a couple of pianists, and we decided it was ok if we didn't get to hear them, instead opting to eat some subs and knock back a few beers to cut back on high priced stadium concessions. We had to walk around a building and through a vacant lot to get to the stadium which took us a little longer than expected so that by the time we made it to our seats at 7:45PM, the pianists had just finished. At 8:05, the stage went dark and then the band members started to emerge one by one from the fog, becoming visible to the crowd.
The set began with "Armee der Tristen," the leading track of Rammstein's newest album, Zeit. It was a nice start because it has a driving rhythm at a medium tempo that is hard enough to bang your fist to and also feature's Till's storytelling vocal style. It is also apropos that the song is about uniting a group of disheartened people, "the party of the hopeless," in a march "against luck." Here we go, thousands of us together, finally! The second song was "Zick Zak" off the same album which picked up the tempo and continued to energize the crowd. This song features classic Rammstein electronica keyboards and industrial influences. Next came "Links 2, 3, 4" off of 2001's Mutter. This song was written in opposition to Nazism, and is a common song in the live shows since it was released. For the fourth song this set we go back even further to the title track from 1997 "Sehnsucht." This is the first time we get some big flashes of fire on stage, and I get the feeling that the pyrotechnics are off to the races! Next comes "Zeig Dich," the first track played from 2020's Rammstein. Then "Mein Herz Brennt" takes things to the next level. This song was really remarkably heavy to hear live. It was often the opening song from sets of its era, and I can see why. Likewise, it kicked off my favorite string of songs in the set. Next came "Puppe" which is a disturbing song about a child torturing a doll while listening to their sister prostituting herself in the next room. This was followed by "Heirate Mich" off the debut 1995 album Herzeleid, which was a surprise to hear make it into the set, although it has been favored by the band more over the years. The song title translates to "Marry Me" though the lyrics speak about necrophilia, thought to be a metaphor for desiring lost loves. "Zeit" then gives us some relief from the auditory assault and brings the tempo down as the stage fills with smoke creating a fitting aura. Being a slower song, this was a curious track to be the lead single from the 2022 release, but it became #1 in Germany and was nominated for single of the year by UK magazine Kerrang!
"Deutchland" follows, and as I previously wrote, it's lyrics portray a love-hate relationship with the motherland. This song has to be in my top 10 Rammstein songs. It was followed by another banger, "Radio" which felt so much bigger live. It is now that I'm feeling I am witnessing one of the greatest concerts I have ever seen. That is quite a big statement coming from someone who has been to over 150 major concerts. Next comes "Mein Teil" which is a song about a 2001 cannibalism case by Armin Meiwes. At this point a giant kettle appears on stage. The keyboard player is playing inside the kettle as Till appears with a butcher's hat and knife looking super menacing on stage. He grabs a flame thrower and shoots flames under the kettle. If that wasn't enough, here comes a fire cannon. Even bigger flames are shot at the kettle and huge fire plumes "cook" the poor keyboard player alive while Till sings "Denn du bist was du isst - you are what you eat." If that wasn't grandiose enough, next comes their biggest hit "Du Hast." Check out my commentary on the meaning of this song in my previous blog linked below. Ironically, this song is presented without much theatrics at 9:30PM. There was a really cool fire display that went from the stage to the tower in the middle of the arena and back again. I start to fear we are coming to the end of the show and we hear another concert staple, "Sonne," and more pyrotechnics. Sure enough, the band then leaves the stage. The crowd is cheering for an encore and some closeups of people with Rammstein t-shirts and tattoos soon turns to flash-cam as several female patrons delight the crowd by showing their breasts. Equal opportunity, there were some guys that got just as big a reaction from the crowd, lol.
After a few minutes Rammstein appears on a lighted small stage in the middle of the crowd with the pianists from Duo Abelard. They collectively play "Engel." As the song plays out, three giant inflatable rafts appear and take the band crowdsurfing back to the main stage. Next comes "Auslander" which was the third single from the 2020 album and is so catchy that it was stuck in my head all night. I was happy to get to hear this song, and would have been more than satisfied had the concert ended there. Instead, we hear "Du Reichst so Gut," another song off the first album, and "Pussy," a sexually charged song, to close out a bangin' encore. The band leaves the stage for a second time.
But wait, there's more! The house lights don't come up and after some cheering from the crowd, the band returns to play . . . what else? . . . Rammstein! Then comes "Ich Will" which goes really hard, and finally "Adieu" as the band says goodbye with the last song from the latest album. Till says "Thank you; we love you Philadelphia. Danke!" They bow at 10:20PM. The band then appears in what looks like an elevator inside the central tower on stage. They ascend towards the band logo and flames at the top. They stop and wave to the crowd. The image then ascends to the fire and one final explosion takes place and credits start to roll. It truly takes an army of people to pull off a fantastic show and the proof is in those scrolling credits as well as the dozen or so tractor trailers out in front of the stadium.
Sometimes when you anticipate something so much and build it up in your mind, it can be a letdown when the event actually happens. This wasn't the case for seeing Rammstein. They delivered a memorable show that had us rocking from beginning to end. We were left satisfied, and still wanting more. There are more songs that I would have liked to hear, but I cannot argue with 21 songs from seven different albums in two hours and fifteen minutes. If you can make it to the show at MetLife stadium on Sept. 6, or whenever they might come around again, go! This show had the kind of huge songs like other greats I've seen live such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest with a stage show bigger than Alice Cooper or Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Hopefully it is not another decade before they tour the US, but you never know.
Check out my album by album breakdown here.
See video from the show on Youtube such as Radio/Mein Teil/Du Hast here.
