It’s always an experience to see a band play in front of the fans that made them famous. That’s amplified even more when it’s in a different country. Metal Insider contributor and huge Rammstein fan Melissa Meyers fan planned a Germany vacation around being able to see the band play in Berlin. Here’s her account.

Without a doubt bands play better in front of a hometown crowd. Rammstein was no exception to this rule.  I was fortunate enough to see the fury of the six play in front of a rabid crowd at two sold-out shows in Berlin at the O2 World Arena this past weekend. With the release of their first-ever greatest hits album, Made In Germany, on the horizon (it’s out in the States on 12/13), and an impending U.S. tour in the Spring, the band gave a preview of the new stage show that Americans can look forward to next year.

The band, known for taking an idea and pushing it to the extreme, did just that on their “Made In Germany” tour.  As reported earlier,  the album has six different covers, with one death mask for each band member.  Before their first show, they had a four black horse drawn carriage pull up to the venue and a “funeral” procession to commemorate a lifelike bust and placing them each on a candlelit altar. Almost as if this was putting the past to rest with their greatest hits album. And as the video shows, even the band’s merch booth had pyro!

As has been noted elsewhere, those lucky enough to have seen the band play in America in the past year can look forward to an entirely new stage show next year. At the start of the show, the band marched imperially through the crowd with torches and flags up to their center stage and continuing on to the main stage by a bridge descending from the rafters. This epic entrance kicked off two hours of a non-stop fiery set.  In the middle of their set, they crossed back over the bridge, on leashes, (“Mein Teil” style) to play several songs that they would not otherwise be able to play in America. These songs included “Mann gegen Mann” and the infamous “Buck Dish.”  If you ever wondered what Till was spewing into the crowd during Warped Tour 98’,  it was a whole lot of Jager.

The energy between the crowd and the band was far more intense than I have ever seen it at any Rammstein show.  It was a show I will never forget.

Set list and more pictures after the jump

“Sonne”
“Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen”
“Keine Lust”
“Sehnsucht”
“Asche Zu Asche”
“Feuer Frei!”
“Mutter”
“Mein Teil”
“Du Reichst So Gut”
“Links 2 3 4”
“Du Hast”
“Haifisch”
“Buch Dich”
“Mann Gegen Mann”
“Ohne Dich”
“Mein Hertz Brennt”
“Amerika”
“Ich Will”

—

“Engel”
“Pussy”