“Rammstein opens their art to many interpretations by traversing the gap between modernism and postmodernism. By doing so, they can address multiple audiences with completely different … viewpoints simultaneously, whilst never having to commit to any one ... agenda at all.”(John T. Littlejohn et al., 2013, p.4) Discuss.
This essay will discuss how Rammstein, a band whose main listener demographic don’t speak the same language, can become one of Germany’s most successful musical exports. This essay will also argue the case that Rammstein can appeal to a mass market, regardless of politics and nationality, and that their impartiality on subjects such as nationalism and politics can be argued through their subtextual messages.
Accurate translations through third parties will be used to refer to Rammstein’s lyrical content.
Rammstein represents the product of east Germany translated both through sound and sight with ties to German industry. Visually, the band communicates messages through many different, albeit mostly subtle, means. The front cover of Herzeleid sees the band positioned shirtless next to each other; their short buzz-cut hair connotes military, the camera position has them looking down at the viewer, insinuating power, dominance and intimidation and their shirtless bodies are resemblant of the ‘master race’ imagery (Graves, W., 2017). Left-wing musician Alec Empire claims that although they appeal to the far-right, “they are not a facist band at all.” (MTV, 1998)
“Rammstein opens their art to many interpretations by traversing the gap between modernism and postmodernism.” (John T. Littlejohn et al., 2013) This can be best related through a tug-of-war debate from the early days of Rammstein’s music. With the band having been created 4 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, the debate centres around the band’s ideology and specifically whether it was pro or anti reunification- in the context of east and west Germany. It is clear to see, however, that the band were benefiting from pro-reunification, as they were enjoying the freedom that living in a capitalist society has brought them, but they also had retained their more conservative medium of eastern music tropes. During the latter half of the 20th century “composers in east Germanywere advised to avoid the avant-garde and to compose music in keeping with the tenets of Socialist Realism.” (Germany, Federal Republic of, 2008.) and this aspect bleeds through Rammstein’s work, with the melodic harmonies of keyboard player Christian “Flake” Lorenz anchoring the band down in their classical roots.
There is also the argument that although they inadvertently represented eastern Germany, they were very much a western German band. Rammstein formed 4 years after the German reunification, and Paul Landers (guitarist for Rammstein) doubted that Rammstein would even exist if the wall didn’t fall. “We are a product of the reunification of Germany. The only way you could become a professional musician [In Eastern Germany] was to join a high school and get a degree in music.” (Guitar World, 1998). Writer Wolfgang Herles (John T. Littlejohn et al., 2013, p,101) also stated that many east Germans longed for the socialist ideals of freedom, brotherhood and equality- identified as a sense of wider community, which wasn’t being represented under the GDR. They viewed themselves as morally superior to their western counterparts with their humanist attitude comparatively opposed to the west’s materialist, consumer-driven society. Finally, they also didn’t consider the idea of socialism to have failed under the GDR, only the execution. This led to a reunification being idealised to the east Germans as a “land of plenty” that could have provided them with a better form of socialism. Herles concluded, “here the inherent paradox lies clear: the longing for both the old and the new, whilst rejecting both of them at the same time. In Rammstein’s case, Herzeleid highlights this internal struggle of identity through their metamodernist approach.
The Ramstein air disaster of 1988 which took place at an American military base in western Germany is said to be the inspiration behind the band’s name, with the band even naming their tour the “Rammstein-Flugschau“ [Rammstein Air Show] (Die Welt, 2013) in the early days. Phonetically, however, the name ‘Rammstein’ (with the added ‘m’) roughly translates to ‘Ramming Stone’ in German. Whereas these can all be looked at individually, when paired they paint a picture of militarism, destruction, noise and fire. Whatever the true intention of the origin may be, the link that it brings work in the creation of the band’s thematics. Following the theme of industrial ties, the coupling of ‘ramming stone’ brings the reader to help visualise sounds and sights. From sounds like tools of manual labour, ‘ramming stone’ gives an envisioning sound of a repeated thud; a hard surface onto a hard surface. As previously mentioned, this helps Rammstein deliver their thematics without having to explicitly state it to their audience.
Rammstein’s logo on the front cover of Herzeleid Sat above the band in the centre of the artwork. Best explained as, “Rammstein’s industrial style begins with their logotype. The solid, all-capitalised name creates a bold, hard impression in customised typescript resembling the “Franklin Gothic Heavy” headline, coloured in contrast to their background.” (John T. Littlejohn et al., 2013, p. 21) In the case of Herzeleid, its grey font colour is resemblant of steel and the ‘bold, hard’ font is resemblant of metal-work, an interesting juxtaposition considering that founder and guitarist Richard Kruspe designed the band with the intention of creating “something that would combine machines and the sound of heavy guitars” (Rammstein World, n.d.).
The genre combination of “machine and heavy guitar” can be summarised as 'industrial metal’, a movement which combined the Euro-centric industrial movement of the 1980/90’s and the American heavy-metal takeover movement of the 1980/90’s which saw a rise in different genre amalgamations. For Germany, the movement of industrial metal sprouted through the industrial movement of the late 1970’s/early 80’s with bands like Abwärts and Einstürzende Neubauten. Katherine Collins probed farther into the idea of industrial music, in particular, the origins. “[The sounds of]...mechanical and electric machinery later evolved into synthesisers, sampling and electric percussion...often built around ‘non-musical’ and often distorted, repetitive percussion sounds of industrial machinery.” (John T. Littlejohn et al., 2013, p, 25) In fact, 7 out of the 11 songs featured on Herzeleid Begin by introducing a sound of synthesised machinery (Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen?, Weisses Fleisch, Asche zu Asche, Du Riechst So Gut, Heirate Mich, Laichzeit andRammstein) whereas they all feature repetitive 3≤ second-long instrumental loops on which the core of the song is formed. This too, while not necessarily always synthesised, can be interpreted as following the same repetitive sounds similar to machinery. The subtext of Rammstein’s past was then given the ability to communicate a narrative through music. Melodically, their music adapted diminished, drawn-out and augmented tones, which merged melancholy, longing and tension for the listener. This connotes Marxist Theories in the sense that the exploitation of the lower working class (Trueman, C, N. 2019) is negative, communicated through the industrial aspect of machinery.
By referencing literature which, itself, was said to be one of the original factors in ‘unifying’ a fragmented Germany, Rammstein used Romanticism as a commentary on German society at the time. In relation to the aforementioned points on sublimation and the search for cultural identity, Rammstein used a form of Romanticism as a way to communicate the less desirable aspects of German culture. This encapsulates the genre of literature best known as ‘Dark Romanticism.’ The movement of Dark Romanticism in Germany can mainly be attributed to the Brothers Grimm and E.T.A Hoffmann. The movement of Gothicism and fantasy was attributed to the writers respectively. In relation to German culture, the Brothers Grimm were said to be an “accurate depiction” of Germany (Rolleke, H. National Geographic) whereas Hoffman was quoted as being “perhaps one of the two or three greatest of all writers of fantasy” (Bleiler, E.F., The Best Tales Of Hoffman).
Links to Romanticism, Dark Romanticism and its subgenres, Gothicism and fantasy, can be found woven throughout the lyrics of Herzeleid.
Der Meister’s[The Master] lyrics highlight an inevitable path to destruction orchestrated by a superior, Der Meister, upon his inferiors. The lyrics “no angel will come to avenge you/these days are your last/it will break you apart like little sticks” highlight the inevitability and the 2nd person pronoun repetition of ‘you’/’your’ insinuate that the listener is the aforementioned ‘inferior’.This could also be seen as playing on the Freudian theory of Eros (the ‘life drive’) and Thanatos (the ‘death drive’) wherefrom the protagonist refers to their ‘Thanatos’ as the dominant influence in their own downfall. This theory is also resemblant of Greek mythology, through hamartia(the downfall of a protagonist through their own faults, Aristotle, 335 BC) and Greek religion with Thanatos being the personification of death. The underlying theme of inevitable sorrow ties this strongly to Dark Romanticism and it is one of Rammstein’s very few songs played in a major key, giving the song an upbeat tone. This, juxtaposed with the lyrical content, helps further narrate the struggle between light and dark, Eros and Thanatos.
Weisses Fleisch[White Flesh] twists the notion of the beauty ideal described by the Dark Romantic Brothers Grimm centuries before in Little Snow White, wherefrom the protagonist, Snow-White, was deemed to be beautiful for her “[skin] as white as snow, [lips] as red as blood, and [hair] as black as the wood” (Kinder- und Hausmärchen no.53, 1857). This further insinuates a predator/prey relation to age too, with the opening lyrics reading “Du auf dem Schulhof [You, in the schoolyard]”. This won’t be the last time German literature has become the subject of Rammstein’s lyrical subtext. The focus of Rammstein’s subtle references can all be attributed to the Dark Romanticism movement of the late 18th and mid 19th century. It is important to note that up to this time, there was no sense of a single, unified ‘Germany’. Germany during this time was merely a multitude of small, separate states with nothing to tie them together. This made Romanticism an important movement in Germany because not only did it unify people under one nationalistic identity but it also was a societal commentary in teaching children ‘German’ culture such as religion and mythology- what later helped form into ‘folktales’.
Asche zu Asche[Ashes to Ashes] depicts a twist to the religious story of Jesus’ crucifixion. Spoken through the 1st person confession of the protagonist, the lyrics “Secretly I will rise from the dead/and you will plead for mercy/then I will kneel in your face/and stick my finger in the ashes” highlight a sinister version of a vengeful Christ. These lyrics combine to highlight a postmodern argument for Rammstein, through their questioning and showing of disdain for the often unquestioned value of structural unity, Christianity.
Seemann[Sailor] tells the story of a sailor who gains an acquaintance in the knowledge that they will eventually lose them naturally. In fact, the subtext of the song details tropes found in Romanticism itself, with many references to nature. “Now you are standing by the lantern/with tears in your face/the daylight falls on the side/the autumn wind sweeps the streets clear”. The description of warmth coming from a small source (the lamp) and the cold being vastly larger and more powerful (the autumn wind) can also allude to being metaphorical for happiness being overwhelmed with sadness, which is fitting for the context of the song. This places the lyrics on the ‘darker’ side of Romanticism.
Du Riechst So Gut[You Smell So Good] explores the extremities of a mother/child relationship between humans and animalistic tendencies. In this song the child protagonist- blind and deprived with hunger- longs for its mother, using its natural instincts (in this case, smell) to reach her. Although scholars point to the reunification of Germany as being for economic gain as opposed to being for political means or for national unity (Claus Offe,1997), Rammstein highlights how the proletariat viewed reunification. In a postmodernist nature, the lyrics provide an ironic commentary on the East German people’s longing for the socialist ideals aforementioned; freedom, brotherhood and equality. The reunification of Germany has left them (the blind child) in search of their maternal guardian (socialist ideals of community) to care for them. Freud once commented on this desire, stating: “there can be no final union between the mother, only a surrogate relationship with other adults that are mere substitutes for the original connection.” This, in turn, highlights the differences in German society at the time. Whereas reunification brought together Germany on a national level, the desires from the bourgeoisie (economic growth) and the proletariat (community) had left the state equally fragmented. It underlines east Germany’s desire for national identity, highlighted through the melodical subtext of Rammstein’s song.
Heirate Mich [Marry Me] insinuates heavily the act of necrophilia, whereas the title would lead you to believe it was a love-themed song. Although members of Rammstein openly disapprove of religion, the religious subtext of the song may be used as humorous irony, and the lyrical exposition of an abandoned graveyard is an example of Dark Romanticism’s “taste for ruins” (Charles Rosen, 1995). The years succeeding WW2 saw the GDR attempt to squeeze a deeply ingrained religious following out of the east German people. Historian Sophie Goddyn explains, “In the 21st century, eastern German states, including the capital east Berlin,are less religious than western German states” (Goddyn, S. L., 2014). This was confirmed by the 2011 People by Religion for Germanycensus, they found that: every single region in east Germany was at least 40-70% atheist, with the vast majority falling under the 70-100% atheist bracket (n.a, 2011).
Rammstein’s self-titled song Rammstein acts as a self-aware conclusion to the band’s first album. During the song, Lindemann sings the band’s name between each line of lyrics, 12 times in total. Even though the spelling of Rammstein is with the extra ‘m’, the song is very much still about the Ramstein air disaster. Sandwiched between the repetition of ‘Rammstein’ are short and gruesomely macabre descriptions about the events of 1988. “A man is burning.../...The smell of flesh lies in the air” reads the opening lines before closing on “A mass grave.../...No escape.../...No birds are singing anymore.../...The sun is shining.” The inevitability regarding “No Escape” yet again ties itself to the thematics of Dark Romanticism whilst the underlying theme of fire ties itself to the opening song of the album Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen. Rammstein closed the album as they opened it, accosting their audience with images of fire and destruction.
Conclusion
In accordance to Kramer’s ‘16 Characteristics of Postmodern Music’ (The Nature and Origins of Musical Postmodernism, 2002), Rammstein have, at some point during Herzeleid, outlined the following;
- is not simply a repudiation of modernism but has aspects of an extension,
- is on some level ironic,
- questions the mutual exclusivity of elitist and populist values,
- considers music not as autonomous but as relevant to cultural, social, and political contexts,
- considers technology not only as a way to preserve and transmit music but also as deeply implicated in the production and essence of music,
- embraces contradictions and presents multiple meanings and multiple temporalities.
