Rammstein!

I have always had a fondness for German music so you would think that having a German wife would be a real bonus. The problem is that we seem to like entirely different genres. I have always liked the likes of Kraftwerk, Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten whereas my wife likes seems to like any old Schlager and Hitparade fodder or irritating cheerfulness like The Les Humphries Singers. It's not mutually exclusive as we both like Neue Deutsche Welle and some opera but as a general rule, if it's in German and I like it, she doesn't.

So I was quite delighted when she clicked in Rammstein's Live aus Berlin concert on LoveFilm. The disk arrived last weekend and we watched it this week. Now, fingers crossed, but I think she actually liked it. For the uninitiated, Rammstein are an industrial metal act from the former East Germany. Aurally they sound like a cross between The Prodigy and Metallica with a vocal style not entirely unlike disturbing Slovenian art collective Laibach, and lyrical content that varies from romanticism to the works of the Marquis de Sade. I can understand why some people may not like them but my ears pricked up having first encountered them on movie soundtracks. The sound appealed to me and I investigated more - I liked what I heard.

I think Nina (my wife) took more convincing. She likes the odd heavy rock act but more from the rock-and-roll end of the scale, such as AC/DC or Alice Cooper. Her first reaction was that, as they are from East Germany, they must be slightly unhinged (although she likes Nina Hagen). She also found the band name in remarkably poor taste as she was a duty nurse at the time of the Ramstein air disaster from which they derive their moniker. However, I think she mainly applied the old rule-of-thumb - if I like it and they sing in German then it must be appalling avant-garde noise.

I don't think her opinion has changed that much but she gave it a 3 out of 5 stars on LoveFilm which, by her standards, is up there with Citizen Kane. The main reason for this is the stage show. Many rock groups have tried to use pyrotechnics to liven up their shows but very few have had the lead singer actually set themselves on fire for visual effect. In fact, at one point he even performs a human catherine wheel (the firework that is) which is quite a sight. And there is even a novel approach to crowd surfing as the keyboard player sails over the audience in a dinghy. They also have a stunt that involves a prosthetic body part that squirts out a white liquid but the less said of that the better.



I did consider trying to get tickets for their UK tour but the nearest venue is the MEN arena in Manchester and the available ticket prices are outrageous. Aside from that, there is a reasonable chance that they would burn the place down or, at least, toast the first few rows of audience with flamethrowers. So, I'll have to be content that there is some of my music that we can enjoy together - I wonder if I can convince her to listen to Faust?