Till Lindemann Richard Z. Kruspe Paul H. Landers Oliver "Ollie" Riedel Christoph "Doom" Schneider Christian "Flake" Lorenz
Rammstein (pronounced ) is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band, founded in Berlin in 1994, and consisting of Till Lindemann (lead vocals), Richard Z. Kruspe (lead guitar and backing vocals), Paul H. Landers (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (bass guitar), Christoph "Doom" Schneider (drums and Electronic percussion) and Christian "Flake" Lorenz (keyboards). The band is widely accepted as part of the Neue Deutsche Härte scene, alongside bands such as Oomph! and Die Krupps. Their sound has been dubbed as Tanz-Metal (lit. "Dance Metal"). Their songs are performed almost exclusively in German, but they have also performed some sections of their songs in other languages such as Russian ("Moskau"), English ("Amerika", "Stripped"), French ("Amour") and Spanish ("Te Quiero Puta"). As of 2005, they had sold over 10 million records worldwide. Rammstein's entire catalogue is published by Universal Music Group. Since its formation, Rammstein has had no changes in lineup.
Rammstein takes its name indirectly from the West German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, the site of the flight show disaster on 28 August 1988. The band's signature song, "Rammstein", is a commemoration of the tragedy that took place at the Ramstein Air Base. The extra "m" in the band's name makes it translate literally as "ramming stone" to convey the Teutonic sound of their music. In a short period before the band became well known, they performed using the name "Rammstein-Flugschau" (literally meaning Rammstein-Airshow).
Although the majority of their songs are written in German, Rammstein has had success across the world. It has been confirmed that in 2007, the band has reunited from their vacation and has begun working on their sixth studio album, which will be released in Autumn 2009.
