Ah, Rammstein.
Härte. Neue deutsche.
Grinding metal guitars, brute masculinity, pyromania, double entendres, operatic sub-sonic vocals, wordplays galore and taboo subjects.
In a live context, they burn – literally, being one of the few bands whose singer eventually deemed it necessary to become qualified as a licensed pyrotechnician and with fans on occasion having been carried out of concerts suffering from heat exhaustion from repeated fireball hits.
Rammstein has built their legacy on their otherworldly onstage antics and theatrics, which culminated in getting them arrested after incarnating on more conservative territory.
Teaming up with Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, ex-drummer of the cult metal band Bathory and among many other things, long-term collaborator of Madonna, seems like an adequate choice to tackle the challenge of framing their live performance and their constantly morphing stage set up in a cinematographically, i.e. a living, breathing feature film.
An array of cameras, capturing the band from a myriad of angles, feed a rapid fire sensory overload with atypical shots, frequent left-field edits, merging slow motion shots and both subtle and not so subtle eerie visual effects and thereby translate the mayhem that encapsulates the essence that makes a Rammstein as band and their show, i.e. raw power and ferocity.
Filmed in 2012 in high definition and based on a solid foundation of pristine and crisp audio highlighting the bona fide hits from each of their studio albums, Paris is homage to a live experience that is unrivalled.
Planned and executed meticulously by Åkerlund working as one with the band, their crew and a team of editors a truly, extravagant cinematic concert experience has been created that translates a frenetic show devoid of dull moments. Åkerlund not merely documents but infuses the drama that is inherent to a Rammstein show with his very own narrative. An abundant, protean narrative that elevates the experience to a total work of art, synthesizing the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic qualities of a unique band.
The CDs and Blu Ray are housed in a geschmäcklerische eight panel Eifel tower box, adorned with photography depicting the cathedrals of light that illuminate Rammstein's performance.
