Where the Bands Are (Rammstein, 30 July 2022)

Those of you who know me know that Rammstein is not my obvious concert choice, and you are right. I only knew two songs before the show (Du hast and Deutschland), so you might wonder how I ended up in Ullevi to see the last of the band’s three consecutive shows in Gothenburg. Well, hadn’t it been for my persistent boyfriend that INSISTED, I would never have gone. I was lucky to land a cheap concert ticket on Facebook and I was on my way with great expectations, as the German industrial metal band are known for their spectacular and bombastic shows.

As I entered the arena Ullevi in Gothenburg I made my way to the entrance of “die Feuerzone” (the pit). I wanted to see if I was able to sneak in there somehow, but the five guards watching were relentlessly rejecting every person without the right wristband or badge.

At about nine o’clock an enormous Swedish flag branded with the Rammstein logo slowly elevated skyward as Händel’s Music For the Royal Fireworks rang out over the arena, accompanied by a stream of black smoke and four explosions and the show was off to a flying start – good thing I had brought my earplugs!

The band then tore through 21 songs, most of them greatest hits from their 30-year catalogue, mixed with four songs from their new album Zeit. They performed classic concert tricks such as a cauldron on fire in the cannibal song Mein Teil, a foam-spraying penis extender in Pussy and pyrotechnics of grandiose proportions. During the song Puppe, front man Till Lindemann portrayed a doll while a gigantic burning trolley was placed on stage and black confetti were sprayed over the audience.

After about an hour of the show something cool happened. As I mentioned before I was standing at the rails quite close to the entrance to the “Feuerzone”. Every now and then during the show people came my way to get to the gates. This time three guys pushed their way through the crowd to get to the gate, and as they passed me I tried to explain (in German) that they were slightly off track. One of the guys were very persistent and called for a security guard, showed him his badge (he was a crew member) and they were allowed to climb over the barrier where I was standing. As they were on the other side the first guy called for me. He asked if I spoke German and when I confirmed he brought me into the Feuerzone too! All of a sudden I found myself directly in front of the stage!

It wasn’t until now I realised that the keyboardist Christian Lorenzo, dressed in a golden track suit, was walking a treadmill that kept in time with the music while he was playing. I was also able to experience the heat from the many flame throwers and could see upclose how the band were crowd-surfing from B-stage in inflatable boats after a beautiful version of Engel.

To conclude, I enjoyed myself and, even though the music wasn’t exactly my taste, I found myself fistpumping and dancing along with all the others. I’m happy I went to the show and if you get a chance to see Rammstein live I really recommed that you should too.

Setlist: