Rammstein rock Manchester

On Friday night, my brother phoned up and asked if I was interested in seeing the mad German metallers Rammstein at the Manchester MEN Arena on Sunday night; he'd found out there were still a few tickets left for the show. Having heard reports of the theatricality of their live show, I decided this was a show worth going to.

The support act were the four crazy Finnish cellists Apocalyptica. Accompanied by a live drummer, they tore through their mix of instrumental Metallica covers and original compositions with a tremendous amount of energy. It's weird how much they made the quiet bit in the middle of 'Master of Puppets' sounds like 18th century chamber music. They closed with a manic take on Greig's 'Hall of the Mountain King', a weirdly rock'n'roll version of a classical piece played on classical instruments. Is this the new rock'n'roll?

Rammstein preceded their set with what has to be the longest intro tape I've ever heard; something like ten minutes of Krautrock-style drone before the band launched into the opener, 'Reise Reise'.

The stage resembled the famous inner sleeve of Blue Öyster Cult's "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees" crossed with the set from an 80s science fiction movie; the backline spread right across the back of the stage, with the drummer on top. Most of the band started the set on top of this backline too before being lowered down on hydraulic lifts to join singer Till Linderman, who spent the first number prowling the stage below on his own.

Rammstein's music matched the stage set; monstrous walls of guitars leavened by slabs of symphonic keyboards, topped by Till Linderman's Darth Vader vocals. Sung, of course, almost entirely in German.

If the overwhelmingly heavy music wasn't enough, Rammstein put on one of the most theatrical shows I've seen since Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' many, many years ago. With jets of flame you could feel the heat from, and enough fireworks for November 5th, spectacular pyrotechnics accompanied just about every song. During 'Mein Tell' (otherwise known as 'that the song about the cannibal'), Linderman wheeled out a metal cauldron in which he trapped lederhosen-clad keyboard player Flake Lorenz, who he then 'cooked' by hosing the thing with a flame thrower. In another number Till himself stood beneath a firework, singing while covered in a shower of sparks. Then in set closer 'Amerika', Flake, having escaped the cannibal's cauldron, spent the song playing while trundling round the stage on a Segway. At the same time the moshpit at the front getting covered by red, white and blue tinsel.

Before the show we'd all known Rammstein only by reputation, and hadn't heard any of their actual songs. We didn't quite know what to expect, but we certainly weren't disappointed by this over-the-top performance. Even though it later transpired that he and a mate of his had made the decision to go to the show following a few beers...