RAMMSTEIN - Lichtspielhaus

The six-man German electronic metal machine known as Rammstein is one of the most creatively dark frontrunners of their genre. If you haven't heard them before, Rammstein's identifiable sound contains elements of Ministry and Laibach - metal guitars with synth loops and a deep voice, often with spoken lyrics. This impressive DVD is filled with style from start to finish, packaging and 3D menus included. What you get is a dual presentation. 12 music videos and extracts from 6 live shows. While they don't show some of the more controversial live antics (like Buck Dich seen on the Family Values Tour), their prominent fire theme does get a lot of coverage. The shows were filmed over 1996 - 2001. On the video clip front, Du Richst So Gut gets two versions, its original studio shoot and the more elaborate one made in '98 with a Victorian werewolf theme (reminiscent of Neil Jordan's Company Of Wolves). The shady, black suited Reservoir Dogs styled characters they portray in three of the videos include the club scene of Engel, the warehouse interrogation session of Du Hast and the very classy and dark Ich Will, where they become celebrities in the wake of a bank robbery. The styling and camerawork fits the music so well. The song Seemann is an arty studio set-up and one of the more static promos. Their cover of Depeche Mode's Stripped (the only English song on the disc) gets a Leni Riefenstahl Olympia look. Links 2-3-4 is a digitally animated video, ants bring the lead characters - very cool. The track Rammstein, used to great effect in David Lynch's Lost Highway utilizes clips from that movie and live footage featuring vocalist Till's burning chainmale coat. Mutter is the most toned down of the bunch with Till in a rowboat and dingy cellar. Sonne gives the Snow White & the Seven Dwarves tale a morbid spin with the lead girl a nasty piece of work. Feuer Frei!, used in the Vin Diesel vehicle xXx sees their live performance from the movie's club scene with clips from the flick, again fire drenched. Even if you don't understand the German lyrics, the music still has a great impact. Lichtspielhaus is an amazing, explosive package, putting a spin on the same old stale MTV routines.

6 / A
- PB

click below for the Mutter album review