You can drop all the hyphenates you want -- industrial-metal-prog-rock-etc -- but there's really nobody else like Rammstein. The German band have finally brought their seriously bombastic, multi-stage, explosives-forward stadium tour, previously only seen in Europe, to North America for the first time, and that hit the NYC area on Tuesday night (9/6) at NJ's Metlife Stadium. Tuesday's soggy weather couldn't douse the serious firepower Rammstein came armed with, a show that takes four days to set up and is so over-the-top it comes all the way back around to the other side, with over 586 pyro effects and flames that shoot 60 feet into the air.
It's not all about spectacle, though. Led by Till Lindemann (who is also a trained pyrotechnician) , Rammstein come armed with songs equally incendiary and hooky, including "Pussy," "Sonne," "Mein Teil," "Engel," "Du hast," recent German #1s "Zeit" and "Zick Zack" (from this year's Zeit) and more. But make no mistake: Rammstein's stadium tour is absolutely bananas. Here's a bit from the NJ.com's review:
For the Grammy-nominated 2004 track “Mein Teil,” which refers to a 2001 criminal case of cannibalism in Germany, Lindemann was dressed as a deranged, blood-stained chef, with his microphone attached to an 18-inch prop (I hope) knife. A large, human-sized cooking pot was rolled onto stage and keyboardist Christian Lorenz climbed in as Lindemann was handed a large flamethrower, which he used to shoot bursts of fire at the bottom of the pot, faux-boiling Lorenz. Then Lindemann was handed a larger flamethrower, to produce grander balls of destruction. And finally, as Lorenz put on a flame-retardant helmet, a flamethrower the size of a medieval cannon was rolled on stage, completely enveloping the pot in fire. The rest of the band played on; equal parts concert and psycho circus...
... during the second encore, just when the crowd may have thought the wildest moments had ended, Lindemann strapped on a backpack of several flame cannons, which at a button’s press launched bursts of fire in a sort of unholy peacock’s plumage. Lindemann was flanked by guitarists Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers, who each had flamethrowers attached to their instruments, unleashing their own 10-foot columns of flame. Amid all of this, fire cannons arranged around the stage and from the light towers ignited, too, forging a scene of unforgettable hellish mayhem. Black clouds of smoke billowed skyward, blending with the already-dark rain shelf. For any “Lord of the Rings” fans, this was as close to Mordor as any human will ever come.
Other highlights: Lindemann shot massive sprays of white foam into the crowd for "Pussy," and a giant baby carriage was set alight for “Puppe." Every number was a larger-than-life, tongue-in-cheek showstopper.
Check out photos by Mathieu Bredeau as well as Rammstein's setlist and fan-shot video from the Metlife show below.
Rammstein will next bring their stadium tour to Boston on Friday (9/9), then San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. Dates are listed below.
RAMMSTEIN - 2022 TOUR DATES 09 Sep 2022 - Foxborough (Boston) - Gillette Stadium 17 Sep 2022 - San Antonio - Alamodome 23 Sep 2022 - Los Angeles - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 24 Sep 2022 - Los Angeles - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 01 Oct 2022 - MX - Mexico City - Foro Sol 02 Oct 2022 - MX - Mexico City - Foro Sol 04 Oct 2022 - MX - Mexico City - Foro Sol
