Tap into the zeitgeist

Chris Cottingham gets all fired up over Rammstein
Rammstein ... thundering, Wagnerian heavy metal. Photo: AFP/Thomas Wirth

Far from being a send-up, Rob Reiner's 1984 spoof documentary This Is Spinal Tap established that rock music was beyond parody. Bands laugh at exploding drummers, song titles like Lick My Love Pump and an 18-inch-high Stonehenge stage set, but reality is more ridiculous than any celluloid scenario.

You couldn't make Rammstein up. The most successful German-language band of all time - their thundering, Wagnerian heavy metal has outsold even Kraftwerk - they are a monument to rock'n'roll kitsch, a band who view Spinal Tap as a starting point. Formed in 1993 by six ex-factory workers from East Germany, they take their name from a German airshow tragedy, although with phallic imagery Nigel Tufnel, David St Hubbins and Derek Smalls would be proud of, it also translates as "stone battering ram". When they aren't flirting with military costume, they dress like Tina Turner in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, and their signature tune is Mein Teil, the title of which translates as "my part", German slang for penis. The song was inspired by cannibal Armin Meiwes, who cut off a willing victim's genitals and sautéed them before sharing the severed member with its previous owner. "It's just so well seasoned/And so nicely flambéed," sings frontman Till Lindemann, bringing new meaning to the phrase "cock-rock".

But to fully appreciate Rammstein you have to see them live. Their 2002 tour was a riot of pyrotechnics, flame-throwers and bodily fluids - during Bück Dich ("Bend Over"), Lindemann spayed the audience with a prosthetic penis; he was not pretending to urinate. The Reise, Reise tour, named after the band's fourth album, comes to the UK this week and is even more theatrical. The list of special effects includes "comets", "grid rockets", "mortar hits" and the worrying-sounding "concussion boat". Drummer Christoph Schneider's sticks explode; keyboardist Flake Lorenz rides around the stage on a motorised synthesiser; Lindemann performs archery with fireworks; and guitarists Richard Krupse and Paul Landers stand on elevated platforms, duelling with flamethrowers attached to their instruments. Indeed, the band's extensive use of flamethrowers causes fans at the front of the stage to pass out from the heat. Rammstein are literally shit-hot.

"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever," said Spinal Tap drummer Derek Smalls, and Rammstein know that without humour they would just be ridiculous. They may play it straight, but the new tour is their funniest to date. In the intro to Mein Teil, Lindemann dresses up as a chef and pushes a colossal cooking pot on to the stage. Inside is keyboardist Flake. He escapes, only to be chased by Lindemann, who wields a large butcher's knife (which doubles as a microphone). Lindemann catches his man, stuffs him back into the cauldron and roasts him with - you guessed it - a gigantic flamethrower, while the audience chant the chorus: "Du bist was du isst" ("You are what you eat"). There's no one to touch Rammstein live. They go way past 11.

· Brixton Academy (Feb 3-5); Manchester Evening News Arena (6); Nottingham Arena (7)

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