'Richard Kruspe Of Germany's Rammstein Exclusive To The SGN'

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Sonisphere Festival to go down in Knebworth rock history

RAMMSTEIN’S explosive headline slot at this year’s Sonisphere Festival will go down in Knebworth House rock history.
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Iron Maiden The Final Frontier posters at Sonisphere

That’s the opinion of Henry Lytton Cobbold, who lives in the gothic stately home.
He feels Rammstein’s over-the-top production on the first night of Sonisphere 2010 will enter Knebworth folklore, just like Led Zeppelin’s seminal 1979 concert and Queen’s final live performance with flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury at the helm in 1986.
The German industrial metallers unleashed an astonishing 22 tonnes of pyrotechnics into the Knebworth sky on the Saturday night.
Henry said: “We like breaking records at Knebworth and that was a record amount of pyrotechnics.”

Rammstein on the Apollo stage at Sonisphere

Despite singing almost entirely in German, more than 50,000 metal fans watched transfixed as Till Lindemann’s Teutonic rockers took to the UK festival stage for the first time.
The six-piece’s elaborate set was transported to Knebworth in nine articulated lorries and was one of the reasons why the huge Apollo stage wasn’t used on the Friday night.
Having grown up with huge concerts in his back garden, Henry is in a perfect position to judge the Berliners’ historic performance.
Speaking at a Sonisphere press conference before Iron Maiden had taken to the stage, he said: “From Knebworth’s perspective it’s been another classic weekend.

“It’s clearly going to be one of those weekends that in 10 years’ time they will be talking about in the same way we talk about Led Zeppelin in 1979 and Queen in 1986.
“It has been an absolutely brilliant weekend and we are thrilled that it’s going to become part of the Knebworth legend.”
He added: “I can’t wait for next year!”
Sonisphere Festival mastermind Stuart Galbraith also hailed Rammstein’s display of fire, flames and special effects.

Rammstein on the Apollo stage at Sonisphere

The veteran rock promoter said: “Rammstein are a phenomenon. They are absolutely unique, aren’t they? The scale of their show, the presentation of their show... and the fact I really like about them is that they don’t take themselves too seriously.”
Alice Cooper headlined the first night of this year’s festival, with heavy metal legends Iron Maiden bringing proceedings to an epic conclusion on the Sunday.
On the back of their Sonisphere appearance, Iron Maiden’s new album The Final Frontier entered the UK charts at number one last weekend.
Sonisphere will return to Knebworth next July.

Rammstein headlining Sonisphere at Knebworth

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Richard Z. Kruspe, Rammstein's child from the Summer of Love

Richard Z. Kruspe was born smack-dab in the middle of the Summer of Love, June, 1967. Perhaps he should have burst from his Mutti's womb in a crash pad over a head shop in Haight-Ashbury, but instead, he entered the world behind the Iron Curtain in Wittenberge, East Germany. There weren't a whole lot of good vibes to be had in the GDR in those days (what with that totalitarian thing and all), and among the few bright spots for young "Reesh" were what few Kiss LPs he could scrounge and his discovery of the guitar. But things changed drastically when, at the age of 22, he found himself in the middle of a political demonstration upon emerging from an East Berlin subway. He was arrested, jailed, and tortured for a week, after which he decided "later for this shit" (or the German equivalent) and split to West Germany by way of Hungary & mere days before the fall of the Wall (no doubt the one time in his life his timing was off). Within the next five years, the former Kiss devotee would gather together five other East German expatriates (Olli Reidel, Christoph Schneider, Till Lindemann, Christian Lorenz, and Paul Landers) and form that country's most formidable sonic force since Nina Hagen hit her first high C: Rammstein.

If he had been born even 20 years earlier, Richard could very well have ended up in the pantheon of influential rockers that ignited the musical renaissance of the '60s-'70s. At the very least, considering Rammstein's signature predilection, he may have preceded Jimi Hendrix in setting his Stratocaster aflame live in concert. But things turned out just fine for the gifted Cancerian, employing his songwriting and guitar skills in the service of the Rammstein Army alongside Field Marshall Lindemann and a platoon of other "extreme angels" (in his words).

I suppose I shouldn't have been as surprised as I must have appeared when told Richard had agreed to an interview with the SGN prior to their appearance at Quebec City's Summerfestival. After all, this is the same bunch of bombastic Berliners that got their butts busted in Boston due to a jaw-dropping simulation of anal copulation onstage during the '98 Family Values Tour, and the same pack of pernicious Proles that have performed songs about hermaphrodites ("Zwitter"), homoerotic cannibalism ("Mein Teil"), pussy ("Pussy"), incest, Lustmord, and necrophilia (too many to name). Not to mention referring to their 16-year partnership as a "six-way marriage" - minus the sex, that is. Rammstein is all boy, make no mistake. In fact, they're so masculine they can wear full drag on occasion and give not one ratte's arsch if anyone suspects them of being & you know. And they have maintained an international following that includes more females and GLBT folks than any average metal/industrial/punk band (outside of, say, Marilyn Manson).

I queried Herr Kruspe on some of these points, wishing we had had another hour or so to explore the appeal of Rammstein for gals, Gays, and sundry other social misfits, because I ended up visualizing the American Spirit he offered me as a big-ass spliff and the pre-fab dressing room a Greenwich Village basement flat with beanbag chairs and Pink Floyd on the quadraphonic sound system. (Far freakin' out.) Richard and his comrades may have missed out on rock's most eye-opening era firsthand, but they remain its logical heirs, spreading their ferocious gospel of transgression like the "extreme angels" they are.

Maggie Bloodstone: Well, first thing we would love to know is: When can we expect you in America?

Richard Kruspe: Good question. [Laughs.] Actually, we talked about it today, a lot. What we plan to do right now, is a lot of things - we're not 20 anymore, so things have changed for us. At the moment, it looks like America is the only market where we cannot provide the same show as we play in the rest of the world. [1, see footnotes at the end of the article] So, we have to be balanced, like, what makes financial sense? One of my dreams is Madison Square Garden - just to play one show and to feel out, like, if there is a need for us, are people waiting for us, what can we do, what would be the next step? It can change, nothing is set in stone, nothing is confirmed, but we've talked about what's the best thing, so the fans are happy and the band is happy. But I'm a big supporter of the American market.

Bloodstone: I know that you've recently become un-indexed. [2] What happened to change their minds?

Kruspe: I don't know. [Laughs.]

Bloodstone: They decided you weren't harmful to minors anymore?

Kruspe: I didn't understand it in the first place! To my understanding, when we came out with the first single [3] and we did it the way that we did it, I think people got a little, ah, worried, in a way, or they were trying to "punish" us because of what we did. There are two reasons why the record came on the index: one was the lyrics, and that one picture, I have a girl and -

Bloodstone: - the "spanking picture." [4]

Kruspe: The "spanking picture," yes. Now, that is not for me, so I couldn't understand it in the first place. The only thing I could have thought was, they were looking for something to "punish" us with later. But then again, there was nothing where I thought, "Oh, we're so provocative." It just happened, and I was like, "Oh, whatever." I don't really want to talk about it, because it doesn't really have any impact on us anymore. The only thing I can think of is, it was a kind of "punishment" because of the first single, the way we did it, we put it on the porn site, and we had like 14 million clicks in two weeks. [5]

Bloodstone: As this is a Gay newspaper, I really should ask at least one "Mann Gegen Mann"-related question. [6] What kind of a response did you get from your Gay audience from the song and the video?

Kruspe: Actually, Till showed the lyrics to our Gay community, to our friends, just to make sure, because if you talk about something that you not really are, it's always kind of hard. Sometimes you cross the line, you don't think about it, but it could be offensive. If you do something because it's your experience, it's fine, but if you write something and you're not actually a part of it, I think you should make sure that everything you want to say is right. So he gave the lyrics to some friends, and they were very approving.

Bloodstone: I would say he was bang-on, actually.

Kruspe: There's not so many people I do like when they write in German, but he's one of those where I think, wow, he really has a natural talent for writing stories. Especially what he did with these lyrics. I'm proud of it.

Bloodstone: He's very good at placing himself in someone else's skin, as it were.

Kruspe: Yeah!

Bloodstone: There has always been a definite connection between heavy metal and Gay culture. Is there anything in particular about Gay culture that has inspired what you do - outside of "Mann Gegen Mann," of course?

Kruspe: I don't look at the world like that, like "Gay culture," "metal culture." That was also my problem when I was young - I never felt connected heavily to one way or one group of people. Growing up in East Germany, having your life so controlled, you have a natural need to break out and stuff. But I always like the song structures and melodies of pop music - it was like, can I tell my friends I like Depeche Mode? [Laughs.] So I never was part of any kind of group.

Bloodstone: I'm sure I'm not the first person to discover this about Rammstein, but what you do appeals very strongly to my own personal "inner male." What is it about Rammstein that you think appeals to women the most?

Kruspe: I think that Germany has a certain kind of culture, as we know, and it is kind of controlled, cold, manly, I would say. & I think it's the only country that we call the "Fatherland." Every other country is called the "Motherland."

Bloodstone: I think that's right, yeah.

Kruspe: If you talk to me right now, I'm a big believer in getting myself in balance between the female and the male side. I have a female side too, obviously. But like if you see Rammstein as this total thing, there's a lot of German qualities, like the way that we play and the way that we are onstage, it's almost like you play a role & but the problem is, as a musician, there's only one role you can play. It's not like an actor; there's only one role in your life for you as a musician. Especially playing in this band. Where it comes from, I would have to go back to childhood. & I think, when people choose to make this kind of music, there is aggression in you that wants to get out. I see a lot of female aggression [in our music], too.

Bloodstone: Oh, yes. Female aggression is channeled differently - it's very often turned inward, while male aggression is often turned outward & which is why mass murders tend to be male.

Kruspe: Okay, I'd go with that. And maybe that's how we show our male feelings, through the band. And German culture, and the texture of our language is really tough. When we started the band, we realized that in German music is based on the one - the words are based mostly on the one. English, for example, is based on the in-between, like a word like "phoTOgrapher": Da DA da da. Germany: "PHOtograph." [Thumps table.]

Bloodstone: DA da da!

Kruspe: It's all on the one. It's those elements that turn out to be really male.

Bloodstone: Speaking of female fans and what appeals to them, are you familiar with the genre of "slash fiction"?

Kruspe: What's that?

Bloodstone: It's a form of fanfiction.

Kruspe: I don't even know what that is. [Laughs.]

Bloodstone: It's sort of a literary sub-genre mostly on the internet, and mostly written by heterosexual women, interestingly enough. It's stories that people make up either about real people or fictional people, like Harry Potter, or Spock and Kirk. And there's this sub-genre called "slash," because that's the more sexually charged literature, and it's called slash because of the pairings - Spock/Kirk, like that.

Kruspe: Never heard of it.

Bloodstone: Okay, so that wouldn't mean too much to you & but you guys are very popular [in slash fiction], by the way.

Kruspe: Really? [Laughs.] So, people take like, characters from reality, and turn them into stories?

Bloodstone: Yeah.

Kruspe: Oh, okay.

Bloodstone: Well, there's a certain remove from reality & of course, the writers don't know you, so they can't say, "This is definitely about Richard and Till." They make it very clear this is fiction.

Kruspe: Nothing wrong with that. & I'm a big believer in if you do any kind of art, it's always inspired by something else. When I was young, and we had arts class, my teacher would always try to explain a picture, and I always had my own story, and I was so disappointed, because my own story was so much better, and so much more glamorous than whatever they came up with. [Laughs.]

Bloodstone: And they put upon you that somehow, your view is "wrong."

Kruspe: Exactly. So yeah, I have no problem with that & it's good. I've never been there, and I kind of stay away from the internet sometimes.

Bloodstone: That's probably wise. [Laughs.]

Kruspe: Sometimes, it gets too personal, and they're, you know, making up stories about my personal life, and in the beginning, I felt like it would affect the way that I see life & like, people would talk about what kind of father I am, and about my daughter.

Bloodstone: Most of it [fanfiction] doesn't go that far.

Kruspe: At the end of the day, we all scream for love. We all want to be loved.

Bloodstone: Right. Rammstein is such a beautifully cohesive unit, which happens so seldom in any group of artists & myself, I compare you to my other favorite band, The Who. [I show him the tattoo of The Who on my shoulder.]

Kruspe: Ah! I never got to see them live, though.

Bloodstone: I did, but it was after Keith Moon died - but it was still The Who. But they were four very disparate personalities, and they were very often fighting with each other, but together, they created this incredible thing, and I see the same with Rammstein. It's almost as if you would still find each other, even if you were in a different time period, but knowing that - and this is something I, personally, would like to know - do you think, if you had all been born female, would you still be Rammstein?

Kruspe: No.

Bloodstone: Well, okay then. [Laughs.]

Kruspe: No, because I think that females fight in a different way.

Bloodstone: Yes, we do. [Laughs.]

Kruspe: And the funny thing is, as humans get older, they do not have so many female friends as male friends. For some reason, when a woman gets older, they are not having so many female friends. Maybe it has to do with relationships, or marriage, or whatever&.

Bloodstone: That's probably true. & I've always had more male friends. Well, 90% of my friends are Gay, anyway&.

Kruspe: A strong woman, they always tend to have male friends, and not so many female friends. For some reason, they're not connecting, or it's boring, or whatever&.

Bloodstone: Exactly. I never could connect with a lot of women - it's like, "Why is this stuff important to you?" Not because of sexuality or anything - anybody asks me "what" I am, I say, "It depends on who's asking."

Kruspe: That's fair enough. [Laughs.] No, but to answer your question: To stay together in a band for almost 16 years now, it is the most difficult thing ever. For a man and a woman to stay together is a hard thing in itself, but you have sexuality. In a band, with six males, you don't have sex as an, um, "compensation" for fights or whatever. But what I'm trying to say is, it's really, really tough to stay together. Every day is a battlefield, to try to think about the bigger picture, and try to get away from this energy that we have. We have a great creative energy, but it's also really destructive. It can cause damage - we never really fought physically, and sometimes, I think maybe we should have, but it's just not part of us. We try to verbalize, but the older we get, the less communication we do, and the passive-aggression comes out. It's hard & like, the last record, we almost broke up because of that. You have an energy, you have a chemistry between those guys & for example, in my other band, I hated the bass player.

Bloodstone: You mean Emigrate? [7]

Kruspe: No, no - it was one of my first bands. We replaced the bass player, and got one I really liked, but the energy wasn't the same anymore. So, I had to bring back the old one that I hated, just to keep the chemistry! That's one of the biggest investments you have in a band & is this chemistry, and if you start to change things, it's not the same anymore. And you can see it in so many other groups - I don't know anyone where I feel like, wow, that's actually a better move. Even with one of my favorite bands, like AC/DC&.

Bloodstone: Oh, yeah. [Inwardly headbanging and yelling, "AC/DC rules!"]

Kruspe: I love them, I loved Bon Scott, and I think the connection between Bon Scott and Angus Young, it was great. When Brian Johnson came along, it wasn't bad, but it's not the same for me anymore. So, for me & one of the reasons I moved to New York, was to get away a little bit, you know?

Bloodstone: Has there been any one moment during the tour you would consider particularly gratifying?

Kruspe: Gratifying? What's that?

Bloodstone: Satisfying, fulfilling&.

Kruspe: [Makes thinking sound.]

Bloodstone: Something that made you go, "Yes! Yes!"

Kruspe: Yes, of course. & Like, we hadn't played for such a long time, and that was one thing I was really looking forward to, 'cause we had a break, and I had my [Emigrate] record, and then another record, like three times in the studio. And I think, after all those years, coming back, I realized that Rammstein is like an old wine - the older it gets, the better it gets. [Laughs.] And people are so loyal, they were waiting for us, and that was a good moment, when I felt like, we're still there, and we can still get kind of edgy, and people appreciate that. 'Cause sometimes you feel like, "Is it worth it, what I'm doing?" Blah blah blah. & Even if you do a record, there's so much thinking, so much strategy, so much talking - it's always so complicated with the band. It's just & those moments satisfy you, being onstage and seeing the people appreciating you.

Bloodstone: Finally, do you have anything you'd like to say to your Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered audience? Because they are out there! [Laughs.]

Kruspe: You know, there's nothing in particular I have to say, like, you know, just try to be as happy as possible! [Laughs.] Do whatever you would like to do, and do not let yourselves be censored.

Bloodstone: Works for me! Epilogue: As I was leaving, I briefly allowed my long-closeted "fangirl" side to surface, and told Richard that I had some friends outside waiting for the show, and they wanted me to tell him they loved him. He put his palms together, gave a little bow, and said, "The love is returned." What did I tell you? There's your Summer of Love baby, right there.

Rammstein on touring the U.S. - 'nothing is set in stone, nothing is confirmed'

Maggie Bloodstone of the Seattle Gay News recently interviewed Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe in Canada. When the chat got to the subject of the band touring the U.S., Richard stated "Good question. [Laughs.] Actually, we talked about it today, a lot. What we plan to do right now, is a lot of things - we're not 20 anymore, so things have changed for us. At the moment, it looks like America is the only market where we cannot provide the same show as we play in the rest of the world. [1, see footnotes at the end of the article] So, we have to be balanced, like, what makes financial sense? One of my dreams is Madison Square Garden - just to play one show and to feel out, like, if there is a need for us, are people waiting for us, what can we do, what would be the next step? It can change, nothing is set in stone, nothing is confirmed, but we've talked about what's the best thing, so the fans are happy and the band is happy. But I'm a big supporter of the American market."

Sonisphere Festival: Rammstein steal the show

HEADLINERS Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden may have delivered typically polished performances, but German industrial rockers Rammstein were undoubtedly the stars of this year’s Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth.

Rammstein at Sonisphere

Rammstein production stats:
• 22 tonnes of pyrotechnics
• 9 artic lorries

Some 50,000 rock fans from across the globe packed the grounds of Knebworth Park last Saturday, waiting patiently for the six-piece to take the stage for the first time at a UK festival.
Then, unexpectedly, a massive German flag unfurled, covering the Apollo stage in its entirety.
As the crowd roared its approval, I immediately knew we were in store for something special, for I can envisage no other situation when the displaying of a German ensign on British shores would be greeted with such adulation.
Then, as the flag fell to the ground and Rammstein appeared, my eardrums were assailed with what can only be described as some of the most brutal metal I’ve ever heard.

Rammstein on the Apollo stage at Sonisphere

But it wasn’t just the music that captured the imagination.
For Rammstein had brought nine articulated lorries with them from Berlin, containing a total of, ahem, 22 tonnes of pyrotechnics.
In the run-up to the festival, organiser Stuart Galbraith said the show would incorporate the biggest firework and special effects display he’d put on in 25 years in the music business.
And on the evidence last Saturday night, I can well believe it.

Rammstein on the Apollo stage at Sonisphere

As flame-throwers launched from microphones, lead singer Till Lindemann fired a huge blunderbuss towards the sky, before keyboard player Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz decided to go crowd-surfing in an inflatable dinghy.
Another highlight saw Till sit astride and then squirt the crowd with a foam cannon.
As the hour-and-a-half long show neared its conclusion, renditions of Du Hast, Sonne and Ich Will sent the crowd into a frenzy.
The fact that Rammstein’s set was sung almost exclusively in German didn’t matter a jot.
For it is, and no doubt will remain, one of the best gigs I’ve ever had the pleasure of going to see.

Sonisphere Review: Rammstein

We were there to witness the fire! See what happened with Rammstein onstage in our Sonisphere review!

You might be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a Broadway production, such was the magnificence of Rammstein’s live performance. We all know they have a proclivity for the grand, but it’s still an incredible sight to watch this multi-ton metal juggernaut in action. The set drew heavily from recent releases and you’ll be hard pressed to see a more entertaining show anywhere. A case in point is keyboard player ‘Flake’ Lorenz, who decided to go crowdsurfing at one point – on a dinghy. Along the way he managed to pick up some poor punter’s hat, a Union Jack and a stowaway (who was thrown overboard soon enough) before making it back to the stage and doing a jig that can only be described as ‘nerd-chic’.
Oh, and they had some pyro too.

The flames were an ever-present fixture, but made renditions of ‘Sonne’ and ‘Feuer Frei!’ even more intense. It’s a wonder how they didn’t burn down the stage or any fans, though the latter looked to have happened when, seemingly, a fan ran on stage and was immediately set afire by vocalist Till Lindermann as a reward. The frontman also decided to use a giant phallus-shaped apparatus to spew white foam all over the unsuspecting crowd during, you guessed it, ‘Pussy’.

Sonisphere 2010 in the UK might have been all about Iron Maiden’s homecoming, but the Germans gave them a good run for their money, arguably even upstaging the legends. Whatever you think of their tunes, you won’t find a better live band on the planet today.

Sonisphere goes up in flames

The first time Rammstein ever played an outdoor show in the UK, Tim’s Minchin’s first rock festival appearance, Earthtone9’s first show in 10 years, the first time Motley Crue turned up for a show on time and the first time Family Force 5 were allowed to play with their toys on the main stage. Saturday at Sonisphere was a day of firsts and a day of lock-outs. If you got there late to see Corey Taylor, Tim Minchin, Gallows, Inme and a bunch of other bands you were out of luck. The tents were so packed even some of Team Sonisphere couldn’t get in.

Rammstein’s outrageous stage show was all about the flames. If you were up the front, you were in a furnace with pyros threatening to burn your face off. When Flake went for his customary ride on a dinghy for the first time ever one of the crowd joined him waving a British flag. He wasn’t the only unexpected crowd-surfer. During Gallows a guy in a wheelchair decided to get a better view and went surfing over the crowd’s heads and came over the barrier. Their circle pit was so big it busted out of the Bohemia Stage.

Rammstein weren’t the only one with fireworks. Mötley Crüe brought their full pyrotechnic extravaganza with a set that started with ‘Kickstart My Heart’ and ended with ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’. They weren’t the most-famous people on site. Turned out Tim Minchin was. It’s amazing what singing about doing Jonathon Ross’s wife can do you for your career.

And so to today. The Fab Beatles just ended up their set with a cover of ‘Run to the Hills’, Skindred are smashing it up and Slayer, Alice in Chains and Pendulum are backstage psyching themselves up. Oh, we almost forgot. Britain’s biggest and best-ever metal band, Iron Maiden are playing their only UK show tonight.

Rammstein set fire to Sonisphere with special effects packed show

German industrialists Rammstein played a pyrotechnic and special effects laden headline show at the second day of the Sonisphere festival at Knebworth last night (July 31), closing off a day full of crushingly brutal metal and more than a few long awaited reunions.

Flamethrowers attached to microphones, mouth mounted LEDs and a vocalist sailing over the audience in a “dingy type thing” were among the highlights of their set, together with a stand out version of ‘Sonne’ to kick off the band’s well-received encore.

Earlier in the day Skunk Anansie took to the Saturn Stage, playing a set mostly comprised of hits from the band's first three albums, including ‘Charlie Big Potato’ and ‘Weak’.

During the final chorus of the latter, singer Skin ran off the stage and crowd surfed. The band also announced September 13 as the release date for their next studio album and played the first single from it, ‘My Ugly Boy’.

Placebo played the Apollo Stage, including in their set a cover of Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’ while later in the night, Therapy? played the Bohemia Stage, with the intention of playing their 1994 album ‘Troublegum’, from beginning to end. After two false starts, thanks to the power in the tent failing twice, they did exactly that.

Rammstein played:

‘Intro’
‘Rammlied’
‘Buckstabu’
‘Waidmann’
‘Keine Lust’
‘Feuer Frei’
‘Weiner Blut’
‘Oh No (Fruhling in Paris)’
‘Ich Tu Dir Weh’
‘Du Riechst So Gut’
‘Benzin’
‘Links’
‘Du Hast’
‘Pussy’
‘Sonne’
‘Haifisch’
‘Ich Will’