Rammstein - Volkerball [DVD]

Utterly barmy and 100% full on this live show is well worth the money for fans of this potty yet excellent German band.

Live in Nimes is where the meat of this DVD is with the band hitting the ground running and going hell for leather throughout. Till Lindemann prowls the stage, half bemused half ready to strike out and the band give it all they've got in backing him. There are some visually standout moments, of course many of them including Rammsteins famous love of all things fire, particularly favouring all sorts of flamethrowers,(including one attached to the face!), and microphone stands aflame. 'Mein teil' is acted out in a suitably gruesome manner with Lindemann wheeling a huge cooking pot on stage, wearing a chefs outfit covered in blood and wielding a machete/microphone to terrorize the keyboard player hiding in the pot!

The crowd are responsive and the band give a good account of themselves here.

The tracklist includes most of what you would expect,'Ich will','Sonne'and 'rammstein' along with the singles from 'reise reise'.

There are one or 2 reservations however, Lindemanns voice begins to give up the ghost midway through and in some songs he appears to be struggling, also the crowd are shown a little too often, I know it's supposed to create atmosphere but when you're at a concert you don't stand with your back to the stage watching the audience do you?

The other concerts are okay but no match for the Nimes one.

The sound is excellent with a vibrant and detailed 5.1 track and the picture too is clear and generally grain free.

If your not familiar with Rammstein you might want to try the album 'mutter' first as this may come as a bit of a shock to the unwary.

If however you're into gravel voiced tutonic hard rock then this is going to be right up your strasse. Needless to say fans will be delighted with this well presented DVD and can buy with confidence. Weiter weiter.

this boxset is pure gold,two glorious dvds and an audio cd,not bad i hear you cry in united voice,well i say its world class,those who read this wondering if they should buy this,and yes i know the band have released two live dvds before should wait no longer because this show filmed in france is possibly the greatest metal concert of all time both visually and musically from a band that ooze class.

The live section of the dvd recorded in france is brilliant,19 songs played with a hunger that few bands possess,the crowd chant every word as if they all speak german and the atmpsphere is electric,i would have loved to have been there,the Pyrotechnics on show here are brilliant and the theatrics are stunning but that doesnt hide a shoddy performance,oh no,the songs are performed with gusto throughout and the songs all sound like true classics from Reise Reise all the way to sonne and all besides,yes its easy to cry for songs ommitted but the set list is fine with me.

The bonus footage if you like is also great,you get live snippets from london and japan and a documentary on the sizzling album reise reise as well as a documentary on the group and the cd is taken from the live show so you can listen to that on the walkman if you wish.If i was allowed one teeny weeny gripe then it would be that i would have loved if they had included videos from the reise reise album and the rosenrot album but im sure that will see the light of day one day,so all in all this is essential if you enjoy your metal played like gods.

Like all R+ DVD's this is well presented & slick. The two DVD's contain footage of the Reise Reise tour 2004/2005 & interviews with R+. The tour footage was a tad disappointing as most was from Nimes in France (103 minutes) with only 34 minutes for the other 3 concerts featured. I was disappointed as I had been to Brixton, Birmingam & Berlin concerts in 2005 & felt that it would have been fairer to all concerts to show a bit of each. However, I'm bias & there is 18 minutes from Brixton (including Rein Raus)& Moskau being sung live in Moscow (amazing).

The footage is brillant ,with lots of close ups of the stage show & fans who went wearing t-shirts of other bands(shocking). Very professionally done but the camera man seemed very pre occupied at Nimes with a young woman who's breasts seemed to be escaping & there are several separate close ups dedicated to this.

My only real moan is that there are repeats of Ohne Dich (Nimes & Brixton), Du Hast (Japan & Nimes), Sonne (Nimes & Brixton), Mein Teil (Nimes & Japan) & Feuer Frei (Nimes & Brixton). Almost like the producers were filling in time.

The second DVD is WOW!!! The band are interviewed at length & there are British sub titles for the poor fans like me who struggle with German. This DVD contains clips I have not seen before (I've got a pretty good collection) & it is a really good insight into the feelings of the band towards fame & their success. A really interesting documentary that is nearly an hour long.

The CD is great but not necessary as most fans have all the albums any way. Nothing new on it, just all the great stuff live in a interesting order.

Is it necessary to own this if you are a huge Rammstein fan ? In my view yes. I have an extensive collection of Rammstein DVD's & interviews but this set had pieces I've never seen before. I have personal footage from Brixton but it is not a patch on how much more you see with the professional pieces. Worth the money..... a big yep.