Live Review: Rammstein - Principality Stadium, Cardiff
30th June 2022
Words & Photos: Paul Hutchings
It may seem rather pointless writing a review about Rammstein. Big, brash, choreographed, slick, professional and loud, the Germans have set the bar in live shows for the past two decades, each tour becoming larger, and more impressive than the last. You’re simply not going to get a bad Rammstein show and the must see show of the year that rolled into the Welsh capital over two years after the original date proved to be no exception.
The arrival of the Germans turned Cardiff into a sea of black as metal heads from all around the country (and beyond) converged to pay homage to the band who are approaching their 30th anniversary. The buzz following Rammstein’s Coventry show a few days earlier stoked the hype on social media and as you headed into the centre the atmosphere was electric. Bars were packed, the weather, which we’d been told would be thunderstorms, was kind, gloriously sunny for the afternoon and added to overall vibe.
The gargantuan stage dominated the stadium with separate towers located towards the rear of the standing area. The retractable roof open to accommodate the towers and the explosives. It was almost impossible to take in the sheer size and scale of it all, the industrial theme adding a sinister air. Whilst the setlist had been widely circulated, there was still anticipation about the actual spectacle. The roar that erupted as the band entered the stage was almost as loud as the forthcoming pyrotechnics.
The sound was huge, the stacks of speakers pumping out the volume with the bass thundering deep into the stadium foundations. I hope they are checking for structural damage after this show. Costume changes, muscular posturing, and some ludicrous antics on stage. Nothing has changed since I last saw the band over six years ago, but everything has got bigger and whilst it isn’t always the case, in this instance it’s also got better.
When this tour was originally scheduled the band’s latest album ‘Zeit’ hadn’t been released and one wonders whether it would have been a full greatest hits package in 2020. As it was, Rammstein pushed four new tracks into the set, standing proudly alongside five songs from 2019’s self-titled album. In effect, the band were promoting two albums in one show, so it was unsurprising that a few older classics had to give way.
Opening with ‘Armee Der Tristen’ and ‘Zick Zack’, it took a while for the sound to settle but by the time ‘Links 234’ and ‘Sehnsucht’ had initiated the first of a million bursts of flame things had levelled and the stadium resonated to the thunderous roar of Rammstein’s bruising style of music. Til Lindemann must cover more ground than a premier league midfielder, his constant prowling around the stage dominating the focus. Flanked by the duo of Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe, Lindemann growls, roars, mutters, and generally intimidates.
Much has been said of the band’s huge volume of fire and flame that they produce, and whilst Greta Thunberg probably wouldn’t have been happy with the show, the sheer scale of the firepower that Rammstein emit was astonishing. Pillars of smoke hung over the stadium for ages, the constant explosions as the set progressed prompting virtually every phone user to reach for the camera setting. We had Til’s spinning fireworks, dual headset flamethrowers and an exploding pram. That was just for starters. We can’t leave out the giant penis cannon or the billions of pieces of confetti that were still fluttering down from the rafters at the end of the show.
Whilst the new songs were greeted warmly, it was inevitably the older material that got the biggest responses. Interestingly, tracks from ‘Rammstein’, an album only three years old, received some of the warmest responses. ‘Radio,’ ‘Aűslander,’ ‘Puppe’ and an entertaining Richard Krupse remix intro to ‘Deutschland’ were welcomed as excitedly as ‘Ich Will’ and a massive ‘Du Hast’ which saw the entire stadium roaring along. Almost as big a roar as the one that greeted the star of the Coventry show, the bespeckled moustachioed man - Tom Carnell - at the front, whose appearances on the screens prompted the loudest of reactions.
Encores were preceded by Kruspe and bassist Oliver Riedel surfing the crowd in their dinghies. A stunning ‘Engel’ was stripped back, the stadium lit by thousands of phone lights, whilst the long-time favourite ‘Du Riechst So Gut’ would have blown the roof off (if it hadn’t already been open!). By the time the band have concluded proceedings with ‘Adieu,’ a heartfelt thank you from the stage and retreat into the heavens via their elevator (yes, really!), the rain was falling but spirits were undampened.
If you’ve seen Rammstein before you’ll know exactly what we saw. It’s a spectacle to beat any other show by any other band. They are truly masters of excess. Their first show in Wales since 2005 when they singed the roof of the Motorpoint Arena, one wonders if we in the Principality will ever see the band here again. Perhaps more importantly, it’s proved the demand for stadium sized metal gigs is here. Maybe at long last we’ll see some of the other big movers in our musical field of choice take the plunge and play here as well. We can but hope.
All photo credits: Paul Hutchings
