Review of Rammstein: Lichtspielhaus

Introduction

Undoubtedly one of the more famous metal bands to come out of Germany, Rammstein are a bit more unusual than most. They only sing in their native German tongue for a start…oh and are prone to setting themselves on fire. Indeed their loud brashy music and pyrotechnic shows have gained them a cult following worldwide even if most don`t have a clue what they are actually singing about! Lichtspielhaus is essentially a greatest of DVD collection featuring Videos, live concert footage and various other featurettes etc. So how do the might Rammstein fare in the DVD world.

Video

Presentation throughout is first rate with nicely done menu`s and lots of nice little touches such as previews of the songs being played when you`re selecting them from the lists etc and the German/English dual language menu`s. Video quality again is good though the concert footage is of lower quality than the other sections but negligibly so although for obvious reasons it can be a bit dark at times and artifacting does show up slightly due to this.

Audio

The DVD comes with a choice of the DD5.1 and DD2.0 soundtracks, the DD2.0 obviously being lower quality yet it still manages to cope well with the music. The DD5.1 track is obviously the one to use along with a very loud sound system as Rammstein`s music really does need to be played LOUD! (This reviewer cannot be held liable for collapsed ceilings etc.)

Features

The DVD has a fair few extras which will no doubt keep the fans interested for a while, including `Making of` featurettes for a selection of the videos and of course the live concert footage. Added to that there`s a selection of promotional material including trailers for `Achtung Blitzkreig!`. The making of materials are quite good, giving the viewer a look into the creation of 5 of the videos including the thumping track `Du Hast` amongst others.

Conclusion

Lichtspeilhaus could have been a great DVD, as it is though it`s just a very good one. I would have liked to see more of the live footage but then they already have other stuff out there for that. The live stuff is what shines for me as they really are a band that needs to be seen on stage giving off one of their shows. The fact they are all trained pyrotechnics means they can simply do a lot more than the majority of bands could ever get away with!

What you do get is a very polished DVD release containing some of Rammsteins best and indeed most familiar stuff which is guaranteed to please most of the fanbase. I cant really see it attracting too many new fans as they are always going to be a bit of a niche band, still after seeing them live personally last year I have to say I wouldn`t hesitate to watch this dvd!