CAUGHT LIVE..
CLASSIC!
RAMMSTEIN
Man the lifeboats! Love is indeed for everyone as
Rammstein invade Manchester!
A
fter a 5 year absence Rammstein
returned to the UK in literally blis-
tering form. On this, the first night
of their short UK tour they cer-
tainly prove why they are one of the most
entertaining bands currently active.
Sporting a new stage set (costing a
whopping £2million approx.) no expense
has been spared.
Opening act Combichrist set the
ball rolling with their brand of industrial
dance metal, reminiscent of
pre-Downward Spiral NiN.
Energetic vocallist Andy
LaPleglua, sounding
vaguely similar to Static-X's
own Wayne Static gets the
crowd fired up through a
short set including the
shoutalong 'What the F***
Is Wrong With You' but it is
drummer Joe Letz and per-
cussionist Trevor Friedrich
who steal the show with
their entertaining albeit at
times chaotic drumming
which called for a short-
ened set as they got too
carried away and con-
stantly smashed their re-
spected kits up and
throwing drumsticks about
like no tomorrow.
Known for their shock factor,
Rammstein controversially stick to mate-
rial from latest album 'Liebe Ist Fur Alle
Da' as well as throwing some old hits in
to the mix. Other bands have tried and
failed this formula but not all bands are
Rammstein, whose live ethic remains the
same: blasting their audience's face off
with as much pyro and explosions as hu-
manly imaginable. And that is just what
they do. Guitarists Kruspe and Landers
use their respected guitars to smash their
way through walls either side of frontman
Till Lindermann, who kicks things off
making his way through a doorway on-
stage thanks to the use of a blowtorch.
They begin explosively with 'Rammlied'
with Till sporting a red apron and a hair-
net, singing with a glow in his mouth
thanks to a white light fitted inside.
Keyboardist Flake is legendary among
Rammstein fans due to the on-stage
'abuse' he receives from Till (past inci-
dents include a staged sodomoy that re-
sulted in both members' arrest) but this
time must be the craziest. During recent
single 'Ich Tu Der Weh' Flake is dumped
into a bathtub after a staged bout of
fisticuffs. Till then raises himself high
above the platform and dumps a tirade of
sparks from a milk churn onto the bath-
tub, which then exploded. Shortly after
the skinny keyboardist reappeared wear-
ing a sparkling full bodied suit. And it
didnt just stop there. With props such as
exploding dolls with lasers in their eyes
and guitarists wearing fire breathing
masks it would be shocking to hear any-
BRILLIANT!
BIT AVERAGE
NOT THAT GOOD
WHY DID I BOTHER?
SUPPORT:
COMBICHRIST
MEN ARENA, MANCHESTER
12.2.10
one complain of being even slightly chilly.
Classics such as Ich Will, Keine
Lust and of course Feur Frei (with full on
pyrotechnics across the stage) got the
crowd ever more pumped up including
the Industrial legends themselves who
stormed through a note perfect 'Benzin'
whilst firing a petrol pump shaped flame
thrower around the stage. Also during
Feur Frei one 'fan' ran around the stage
maniacally, only to be set on fire and
kicked down by Till. Of
course, breakout songs
Sonne and Du Hast were
played with precision and
were just as captivating as
the visuals that accompa-
nied them.
One particular highlight
had to be Till straddling a
giant pink cannon during
'Pussy' (a song already
known for its more than
risque music video) travel-
ling left to right of the front
barrier firing foam towards
the crowd. Flake did his rou-
tine of surfing the crowd in a
giant raft and successfully
avoided being capsized, fly-
ing a British flag as he went
around.
Finally on their second encore
they end with 'Engel', made ever more
special by a metal winged Till Linder-
mann (guess what was fired from the
wings?). After such an explosive finale
when Rammstein return to these shores
in August for Sonisphere it'd be interest-
ing to see what they can do to be able to
top one of their greatest live perform-
ances ever seen.
L I V E !

OW N
INED
SH
 SUPPORT: ACADEMY,
COUNTERPOINT MANCHESTER
SOiL 9.11.10

T
he appaling weather that greets thw
crowd today fails to put a dampener on
everyone’s spirits. Sadly, opening act
Counterpoint do just that. The Reading lad’s
brand of Southern influenced hard rock is
enough for them to get by but it is as if they
try a little too hard in gaining the attention that
they crave. That and the crowd are only inter-
ested in the next two bands of the night. And
Counterpoint isn’t them...
Times have been pretty rough for SOiL
over the years, from losing original frontman
Ryan McCombs to Drowning Pool and gui-
tarist Sean Glass departing in 2007. Tonight
marks their first show in a number years and
they don’t disappoint, tearing straight into
SOiL:
‘Give It Up’ from previous album True Self. AJ They’ll stone you stone you!
Cavalier is on fine form, screaming and growl-
ing his way through songs old and new, even
the crowd, even standing on one individual’s
handling guitar duties on ‘Picture Perfect’ and
shoulders. Recent album Picture Perfect
‘Unreal’. Undoubtedly it is the teenage classic
might not have set the world alight but SOiL
‘Halo’ that truly rips the crowd apart. With AJ
can take comfort in the fact that tonight that
launching himself onto the barrier to sing with
interest in them will not be lost anytime soon.
Shinedown walk onstage and instantly
have the crowd in the palm of their hand. It’s
taken 3 albums for them to make it here in the
UK but judging by crowd reaction tonight, its
as if they where always here. Roaring straight
into ‘Sound of Madness’ the crowd jumps
along frantically. Brent Smith throughout the
set scopes the crowd in appreciation, al-
though one thing Brent is guilty of is overdo-
ing the speeches he makes in between each
song. Old classics such as 45, Left Out and
Heroes are played to perfection, but it is ma-
terial from latest album The Sound of Mad-
ness that evokes more of a reaction with the
crowd.
Almost every single song from said
album is played, including the frantic Cyanide
Sweet Toth Suicide. Eric Bass and Zach Mey-
ers parade the stage playing like there’s no
tomorrow and drummer Barry Kerch pounds
away like a crazed conductor. Finally ending
on Devour if you haven’t seen Shinedown yet,
they may be playing arenas the next chance
that you get.