German industrialists [roviLink="MN0000333648"]Rammstein's monolithic machinery truly redefined “heavy metal,” and their disciplined demeanor brought an S&M tint to the already dark genre.
Rammstein were formed in 1993 by an assembly of factory-weary proletarians raised in East Germany. They took their name (adding an "m") from the location of a German tragedy where 80 people were hurt or killed as the result of a crash during an American Air Force flight show. (The literal translation of "ram stein" is a battering ram made of stone.) Word of Rammstein's horror/romanticist blend of theater and music -- onetime Olympic swimmer Till Lindemann would sing entire songs engulfed in flame from head to toe -- spread quickly, as did the band's penchant for racking up chart-topping hits and developing an extremely devoted fan base. ~ Ed Nimmervoll
Vagrant / Universal Music Group
2009
Universal Distribution
2007
Universal International
2005
Universal Distribution / Republic
2004
Republic / Universal Distribution
2001
Mercury / Slash
1999
Slash
1998
Mercury / Ils / Motor
1996