Rammstein are currently embarked on their first-ever North American stadium tour. The outing sees the German industrial legends bringing their massive spectacle to major cities across the US and Canada, along with a trio of shows going down in Mexico City on October 1st, 2nd, and 4th.
The tour, marking the band’s most comprehensive run of American shows in 10 years, landed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday night (September 6th), and is scheduled to continue with shows in Foxborough, Massachusetts (September 9th); San Antonio, Texas (September 17th); and a two-night stand in Los Angeles (September 23rd and 24th), with tickets available here.
Having kicked off with a bang in Montreal on August 21st, the current trek celebrates the band’s grand return to stateside venues, as the band previously had not touched base on US soil since their brief string of shows in 2017. Rammstein’s North American stadium invasion was initially supposed to take place in 2020, but the pandemic forced the tour to be postponed twice.
Rammstein — comprised of Christoph Schneider (drums), Flake Lorenz (keyboards, samples), Oliver Riedel (bass), Paul Landers (rhythm guitar), Richard Z. Kruspe (lead guitar), and Till Lindemann (vocals) — brought their huge stage production (which takes 65 hours to assemble) to MetLife Stadium on a soggy Tuesday evening. The rain didn’t keep the crowd away, as thousands of fans trekked through the crummy weather to see their favorite German metal giants perform big hits like “Links 2-3-4,” “Mein Herz brennt,” “Du riechst so gut,” “Du hast,” and “Sonne.”
This stadium run is beyond intense, with tons of explosions, pyrotechnics, smoke, confetti, and props adding to the band’s already revered theatrical experience. The backdrop of the monstrous stage itself looks like a mini dystopian city decorated with hundreds of flashing lights, LED video walls and flanked by colossal speaker arrays. Surrounding the center of the field are four imposing delay towers for the purpose of additional lighting coverage and sound dispersion, along with acting as a way to blast even more pyro and confetti-filled black smoke across the pumping fists in the air.
No Rammstein show is complete without a little bit of fiery stage antics, which was seen best during the band’s performance of “Puppe” when a giant baby carriage is rolled on stage and is ultimately engulfed in flames while shooting out black confetti. “Mein Teil,” meanwhile, sees Lindemann (donning a bloodied chef’s outfit) pushing a gigantic cooking pot onstage (which is eventually revealed to be containing keyboardist Flake) only to set it ablaze with a giant flamethrower.
Other highlights of the show included the first of two encore sets, in which the band performed a piano rendition of “Engel” (with help from opening act Duo Jatekok and Duo Abélard) on a small stage located in the middle of the stadium (members of Rammstein eventually crowd surfed back to the main stage on inflatable boats), and “Pussy,” during which Lindemann rode a phallus-shaped cannon that discharges white foam on the audience.
During the second encore set, Lindemann entered the stage with a backpack that shot massive fire in a circle during the band’s rendition of “Rammstein.” Following equally powerful performances of “Ich will” and “Adieu,” the band members took a bow and bid New Jersey farewell.
Following the North American outing, Rammstein will return to the road in 2023 with a newly announced third European leg of their “Stadium Tour.” See our pics of the New Jersey concert, as well as fan-filmed video and the setlist, below.
Photo Gallery – Rammstein at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (click to enlarge and scroll through):
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
Rammstein at MetLife Stadium, photo by Johnny Perilla
All photos by Johnny Perilla (@johnnyperilla).
Setlist:
Armee der Tristen
Zick Zack
Links 2-3-4
Sehnsucht
Zeig dich
Mein Herz brennt
Puppe
Heirate mich
Zeit
Deutschland
Radio
Mein Teil
Du hast
Sonne
Encore:
Engel (piano version)
Ausländer
Du riechst so gut
Pussy
Encore 2:
Rammstein
Ich will
Adieu
