Music Releases
Since its inception in 1994, Rammstein has released a total of 13 albums and 25 singles including 6 studio albums, 2 live albums, and 4 video albums and 1 compilation album. 24 of 25 singles were also accompanied by music videos. Their first single and debut soundtrack, “Du riechst so gut”, was released in August of 1995 and was followed shortly thereafter by their first studio album Herzeleid, which held the number six spot on the German Media Control Charts for nearly two years. Their next single “Engel” was released in April 1997 as a teaser for their next studio album, Sehnsucht, which was released in August of the same year. Both releases gained massive popularity in Germany and Austria, with Sehnsucht topping both countries’ charts as well as receiving platinum certification. “Engel”, while not as successful as the album, also managed to reach top 3 on the German singles chart.
Two years later, in August of 1999, Rammstein released their first live album titled Live aus Berlin followed by the release of their third studio album, Mutter, in 2001. Five songs from this album were later released as singles with “Feuer frei!” being used in xXx, a film by Rob Cohen. The album also topped both German and Swiss charts, and received double platinum certification in both countries and was followed by the DVD release, Lichtspielhaus in 2003.
In 2004, Rammstein released Reise, Reise, their fourth studio album which, similarly to all of their previous albums, was preceded by single “Mein Teil.” The band’s increasing popularity in Europe resulted in the album topping the charts in Austria, Finland, Germany and Switzerland. Reise, Reise also reached platinum certificated in both Germany and Switzerland and “Amerika”, “Ohne dich” and “Keine Lust” from the album were later released as singles alongside music videos. Just over a year later, Rammstein released Rosenrot, which enjoyed similar popularity in Europe. In 2006, the band released Völkerball, another live video album which reached number one on both the German and Finnish charts and achieved platinum certification. The band’s most recent studio album, Liebe ist für alle da, was released in 2009 and reached the top of the chars in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Switzerland, making it their most successful album yet.
Awards
Rammstein has achieved quite a lot during its relatively short life of only twenty years. It has been awarded numerous prizes or trophies and has had much of its music top charts and reach higher level statuses. This level of recognition for its greatness began even before the band was fully complete; while still two members short of where it is today, Rammstein won a small contest in 1994 that was held for amateur bands in Berlin. The grand prize for winning this contest was a full recording of a four-track demo CD in a professional studio, and this is what got the last two members to join.
Now a complete band, Rammstein recorded their first full album and managed to achieve high levels of international popularity within the next year. This was shown by two of their songs being chosen for the soundtrack for the American film, Lost Highway, in 1996. The band grew and grew over the following years and won their first national award at the 1998 Echo Awards; they won Music Video of the Year for their song “Engel”. The Echo Awards is a German accolade established by the Deutsche Phono-Akademie in 1992 in order to recognize national success in the music industry of Germany. This first award established Rammstein’s position as a leading group within the German music scene and they went on to continue winning Echo Awards. As they grew in popularity within Germany, they also grew in the rest of the world as well. One year after winning their first major award, they won another at the Echo Awards, but this time for Best National Artist in Foreign Countries. This award was largely based on their massive international tour where they headlined along with bands such as Limp Bizkit and Korn during late 1998.
Nominations and awards came pretty frequently to Rammstein; in 2002 they not only won another Echo, this time for Best National Rock/Alternative Group, but also won the Kerrang! Award for Best International Live Act. The Kerrang! Award was the first accolade won by Rammstein from a country other than Germany, but it had been nominated for some Grammy Awards up to this point as well so it was not the only acknowledgement by other countries. 2005 was Rammstein’s biggest year for awards: at the Echo Awards the band won Best National Rock/Alternative Group and Best Live Performance; at MTV Europe, Europe’s alternative for the MTV VMAs in America, Rammstein won the music award for Best German Act; and at the World Music Awards the band was recognized as the World’s Best Selling German Artist. Rammstein’s biggest success came in 2006 when it was awarded the Edison Award which acknowledged Rammstein’s outstanding achievement in music; the Edison Award is one of the oldest and most respected awards in the world. In future years, Rammstein went on to win the Echo Award for Best National Rock/Alternative Group three more times (2006, 2010, 2012), the Echo Award for Most Successful National Act Abroad (2012), the World Music Award for the World’s Best Selling German Artist (2010), the Echo Award for Best Music Video of The Year (2011), and also the Kerrang! Inspiration Award (2010). This is only a partial list because Rammstein has also won numerous accolades from slightly lesser known groups and has also been nominated for several Grammy’s; it would just take too long to list.
Impact on Berlin
Rammstein’s European – and eventually global – success helped bring new positive attention to Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Their 1998 Live aus Berlin concert and following DVD release brought many fans from throughout Europe to the city and Rammstein’s success is one of many reasons that tourists visit Berlin.