Rammstein — Rammstein

Rammstein formed in Berlin in 1994 and became one of the biggest German-language bands in the world. Their lineup has never changed. Their debut led the music press to coin a genre name, Neue Deutsche Härte. They aren't part of the Christian scene, and they've never pretended to be. And they've never been far from controversy.

From the East

In 1989, East German guitarist Richard Kruspe escaped to West Berlin. After the Wall came down he moved back to Schwerin, where Till Lindemann worked as a basket-weaver and played drums in a band called First Arsch. Kruspe lived with Oliver Riedel and Christoph Schneider. On a 1992 trip to the United States, he decided he didn't want to make American music, and set out to create a German sound instead.

Kruspe, Riedel and Schneider started a new project in 1993, and Kruspe talked Lindemann into singing after overhearing him. In 1994 the four won a Berlin contest for amateur bands, with a week in a professional studio as the prize. Their demo caught the ear of guitarist Paul Landers, who joined, and keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz, Landers' bandmate from the punk band Feeling B, agreed to come too. The lineup has stayed the same ever since. Lindemann writes and sings the lyrics over music the others have already finished.

Landers has said the name was linked to the 1988 Ramstein air show disaster, with the extra "m" a mistake. Later, the band said it came from the "Rammsteine," the heavy stone doorstops on old gates.

Herzeleid and Sehnsucht

Motor Music signed them, and producer Jacob Hellner made their debut, Herzeleid, released in September 1995. It sold slowly at first, but the band won fans live, opening for Project Pitchfork and Clawfinger before headlining across Germany. The album eventually reached No. 6 in Germany.

Sehnsucht was recorded in Malta and released on August 22, 1997. It went to No. 1 in Germany. "Engel" went gold, and "Du hast" reached No. 5. In 1998 the band played to more than 17,000 people at the Wuhlheide in Berlin and joined Korn, Ice Cube, Orgy and Limp Bizkit on the Family Values Tour in the US. Sehnsucht went gold in America that November. In 1999 "Du hast" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance and appeared on The Matrix soundtrack.

Mutter, Reise, Reise and Rosenrot

The band played the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand in early 2001, then signed with Universal and released Mutter. All six of its singles charted across Europe, and "Sonne" reached No. 2 in Germany. Reise, Reise followed in 2004, with "Mein Teil" and "Amerika" both reaching No. 2 in Germany. "Mein Teil" became their first No. 1 single, in Spain. Its video, a dark comic take on a notorious cannibalism case, caused controversy. Landers said, "We like being on the fringes of bad taste."

Rosenrot came out in 2005, and the live album Völkerball in 2006.

Liebe ist für alle da

Their sixth album, Liebe ist für alle da, came out in 2009. Its lead single, "Pussy," became their first No. 1 in Germany despite an explicit video. Germany's Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Minors placed the album on its index over the song "Ich tu dir weh," and it was reissued without it. Flake said he was surprised at the board's "parochial sense of art."

The band toured for years after that, playing the Big Day Out again in Australia and New Zealand in 2011, and releasing the Made in Germany greatest hits album.

Return

After a decade without new music, Rammstein released "Deutschland" on March 28, 2019. It became their second No. 1 single in Germany. The untitled album followed on May 17, 2019, and reached No. 1 in 14 countries. The Stadium Tour that followed ran from 2019 to 2024. During the Eastern European dates the band showed support for LGBT people, with Schneider crowd-surfing in a boat with a rainbow flag in Poland and Kruspe and Landers kissing onstage in Moscow.

During COVID-19 lockdowns they wrote and recorded Zeit, released on April 29, 2022.

The 2023 allegations

In May 2023, a woman said her drink had been spiked at a Rammstein concert in Lithuania and that she had been brought to a room under the stage to meet Lindemann. Vilnius prosecutors found no evidence of drugging. Her account drew attention to the band's "Row Zero" practice, in which young women were picked out on social media to stand near the stage and attend parties. Further claims against Lindemann led German police to investigate. The band denied all illegal behaviour and stopped the parties. Universal suspended promotion of the band's albums.

On August 29, 2023, Berlin prosecutors dropped their investigation into Lindemann, saying they hadn't found enough evidence of a crime. They said none of the women quoted anonymously in the press had filed a criminal complaint.

Politics and image

Early on, some German media accused the band of being neo-Nazis because of their imagery. They released "Links 2-3-4," German for "left," in 2001 partly to answer those claims. Lindemann has said the members grew up as socialists in the East.

Now

In September 2026, Rammstein announced Live in Mexico City, recorded at Foro Sol in October 2022, due for release in November.

Where they fit

Rammstein are a long way from Cornerstone. But they played the 1998 Family Values Tour with Korn, the same touring festival that put Flyleaf on its main stage in 2006. Christian heavy bands grew up in that same wider world of heavy music.