German rock band Rammstein made an explosive return to the states last night for their first show in Los Angeles in over a decade at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The band certainly knows how to put on a show as they incorporated everything from flame thrower guitars to fire blasting canons and even spilling their blood on stage to create the most aggressively mind-blowing experience.
Rammstein made their grand return to the states for their first North American tour in over five years, but it has been over a decade since the German rock band performed in LA back in 2011. The band debuted their full-scale stadium production with an intense pyro-theatrical experience that featured just about anything and everything from unpredictable fireworks to flamethrowers and even lead singer Till Lindemann nearly cooking keyboardist Christian Lorenz alive onstage.
Just past 8 o’clock, the night began with a narrator welcoming the audience to the show, kindly asking fans on behalf of the band to refrain from filming the show. Soon after, Rammstein’s logo slowly rose to the top of the tower on stage accompanied by an anthem. Finally, smoke dispersed on stage revealing all six members one by one with an intense explosion kicking off the night. The band performed some of their hit songs and some of their singles from their eighth studio album, Zeit, released on April 29, 2022.
The Grammy-nominated band is committed to maintaining the title as one of the most extreme and epic live acts in the world. Lead singer Lindemann reappeared dressed as a butcher during “Mein Teil” pushing what appeared to be a giant pot which was later revealed to hide keyboardist Lorenz inside. As the six-piece band performed the track, Lindemann sold his performance of seemingly attempting to burn Lorenz alive. Exchanging a flame thrower for a bigger one until upgrading to a giant fire-blasting canon. Though this fire theatric is normally done during the band’s stadium performance for “Mein Teil” this time the band carries a lot more experience, daringly bringing the danger closer as rhythm guitarist Paul Landers stood dangerously close to Lorenz’s boiling pot while the canon blasted in their direction. Immediately following the mind-boggling theatric, Lorenz crawled out of his death trap and kicked off the next track, “Du Hast,” which quickly became a sing-along.
As the audience was distracted with what one fellow guest referred to as “the titty cam,” in which various audience members lifted their shirts to flash the spotlight camera, Rammstein made their way to the second stage in the center of the floor section. The LA Coliseum illuminated as fans turned on their flashes creating a sea of white light as the band performed the piano version of “Engel” with the opening act Duo Játékok. The band made their way back to the main stage by taking the term “crowd surfing” to a whole new level. The venue’s staff held up inflatable rafts for the rock gods to jump into and quite literally surf the crowd. Lead guitarist Richard Kruspe took his time sailing across the sea of fans, signing autographs on what appeared to be copies of Rammstein CDs or images and tossing them into the crowd.
Of course, the night included what is now considered the traditional kiss between guitarists Landers and Kruspe during their song “Auslӓnder,” which began as a protest against Russian anti-LGBTQ laws back in 2019. After splitting his forehead open, Lindemann also shot a lit bow and arrow setting off a series of explosives across the stadium and raging fire towers that left every single audience member stunned. To be clear, the perfectly synchronized music and pyrotechnics left every guest starstruck from the very first second of the show to the last second.
Rammstein is set to perform for a second night at the LA Memorial Coliseum tonight before closing their North American Stadium 2022 Tour in Mexico City. In May 2023, the band will embark on their Europe Stadium 2023 Tour. For more information or tickets to upcoming shows visit Rammstein.de.
Live Photos by Boston Schulz
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