Interview: “Oomph!” guitarist Flux talks about the evolution of his band and the other goals. He also said something about Rammstein.
Question: People always say, you are the original and Rammstein the copy. What do you think about such statements?
Flux: In the music history is it so that we founded our group 20 years ago, and Rammstein just the mid-1990s. They were with us at the concerts and had their first demos we delivered. They call us nicely in interviews again and again as the influence and sources of inspiration. However, Rammstein then went their way and we ours further. Rammstein play with stereotypes, which we would never do. If we do these sterotypes, we could not see our face in the mirror next morning.
Question: What awaits the visitor at your concert tour?
Flux: Our show focuses primarily on us as personalities. If you have expected a fire show like Rammstein, you are wrong. We do not want such distracting elements in our music. Of course we will play many songs from the new album, but also many older stuff, so a colorful cross-section of our creation. It will be a big party, Dena goes into the audience to work with people.
Source: fnweb.de
and P.S – to whoever said Till’s voice is unique. yeah it is. but so is Dero’s if you’ve listen to any Oomph at all, you’ll hear it 🙂
those who say Oomph copied Rammstein. you’re the poofs. as Flux said, Oomph started before Rammstein. i personally prefer Oomph – more melody and heart to their songs, the way Dero’s vocals work… it’s just nicer.
Don’t get me wrong, i love Rammstein too. but i get sick of Rammstein if i hear them too much, its just too one dimensional.
and i think what Flux mean by stereotypes is the fact that Rammstein go for the “wtf” reaction, whilst Oomph just really play music. i get “wtf” with them sometimes too, but its in a different way to Rammstein. Oomph are just a bit more mature in a lot of ways, Rammstein for me is one for the lulz – they’re fun.
how do Oomph act like grumpy ripped off band? they never really tried the International approach, they are quite happy with how they’re doing in Germany. they are in fact the more popular band in Germany compared to Rammstein.
why can’t people just respect bands? if you have nothing good to say about Oomph, then don’t say anything. and Flux isn’t bad-mouthing anyone, maybe his english is just broken.
and how in the hell did they completely rip off rammstein when oomph doesnt really use keyboards and rammstein does constantly
Rammstein is the greatest band in the world! They are heavy yet they can also right soft songs aswell. Their songs are dark and still keep a bit of poetry.I can understand why people who can’t handle very heavy music may like oomph better but Till’s voice is amazing and no one can deny that
And just because of the fact that Oomph! is a way older band than Rammstein, and was one of the bands to “invent” german industrial/NDH music, then that doesn’t give them the right to sit there and act like the poor, grumpy, original, “ripped off” band.. Some had to be inspired by it at some point.. They should actually thanks Rammstein for making german industrial/NDH music successful.. Because without Rammstein, then Oomph! would still only be known in the underground..
Just think of Green Day – They’ve been around for about 20 years now.. But they were funny enough also inspired by older bands who started it all.. That’s how the world of music works – You get inspired by certain genres/artists and then kind of create your own universe 😛
So what about the statement that Rammstein is some kind of cheap, average copy of Oomph!(And Laibach for that matter)? Is that really all what Rammstein is?! But some of you say that they’re totally different, which I agree on.. So I don’t know what’s up with that shit..
Maybe Rammstein is almost more known for their live shows than for their music.. But that’s definitely not my reason to go and see Rammstein live! I’d go and see them for the music! It’s after all the music I love them for the most.. Of course the fire and stuff is a great bonus and not some kind of “distracting elements”.. At least not in my opinion.. BTW, it’s only superficial fans who’d love their live shows more than their music..
Yeah yeah, some Rammstein-fans make us look like assholes while others make us look like social misfits who will commit a school shooting one day.. But the fact is that some of us just need to get rid of our anger in some way.. And I understand that – Because Rammstein has always said good things about Oomph! while they’ve said some not too nice things about Rammstein.. And if they’re really that much against Rammstein’s stereotype play, then they should join this certain Rammstein dancing with Nazis-blog on raumfahrer.wordpress.com and make some friends.. And I must admit that I find it hard to believe that none of Oomph!’s hardcore fans have talked shit about Rammstein – I really find it hard to believe.. Of course if you like both Oomph! and Rammstein, then you won’t talk shit about any of them.. But if you only like one of them, then some shit will leave your mouth sometimes.. Like in this case..
At last but not least, then think of the irony – Oomph! is the band with the most “commercial” sound/lyrics/style and the least success while Rammstein is the band with the least “commercial” sound/lyrics/style and the most success.. I really wonder why..? Anyway, I’m not going to judge Oomph! too much since I’ve only heard a couple of songs with them.. I don’t want to offend their fans too much either.. But the pure fact is that I’m a diehard Rammstein-fan and that not even Oomph!’s (or for that matter Laibach’s) criticism of Rammstein will change my mind the slightest about them 😉
It’s just like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. While Soundgarden came first, and paved the way for Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam became vastly more popular and in the long run more enduring. Chris Cornell helped launch Eddie Vedder’s career with his side project Temple of the Dog. Neither singer outshone the other on the single Hunger Strike, but without it who knows what would have happened. Similarly Soundgarden had a wider range of sounds than Pearl Jam as well. I don’t really think that because one band may be better than the other it makes the other necessarily bad.
Y RAMMSTEIN ES EL NUMERO UNOOOOOOOOO! SIGAN ECHANDOLE GANAS Y ESPERAMOS CON ANCIAS EL PROXIMO ALBUM Y VENGAN A MEXICO LOS AMO CUIDENSE ADIOS!
yo simplemente digo que rammstein es mejor y no importan los comentarios de los demas, cada quien tiene su forma de pensar. Y RAMMSTEIN no es una copia de oomph, RAMMSTEIN tiene sus propias ideas
Ok, first off, you people need to learn to understand what he's saying. By saying that R+ plays with stereotypes, he means more stuff like what "Bück Dich" is about. In that case, the entire band of Oomph! does not agree with their views. Oomph! doesn't like the idea of a stereotype in any way. On their site they make it very clear that they're intolerant of intolerance.
He never claimed to be better than Rammstein, just that he doesn't care for their point of view on certain topics.
And wtf is up with comments like "their singer can't dance?" neither can I, so get over it.
Look I like both bands (favoring Oomph! for the wider selection of sounds, but still like R+ for their sounds), ya know they're different bands with different sounds.
To them, this isn't a competition. Rammstein just got lucky in nailing a contract with a L.A. based record company, who gave them a US release. Oomph! was formed and playing shows and releasing albums prior to when R+ was.
I don't think Flux's comments should be takes so seriously.
And I for one, like both bands. EGADS.
Though I prefer Oomph!, you don't see me, or most Oomph! fans talking shit about Rammstein like the R+ fans on here are of Oomph!. Seriously, you make R+ fans all look like assholes. Goog going, guys >.<
I wouldn't necessarily say that their fame came from being better so much as it was from their marketing strategies. Oomph! doesn't release their albums or anything to the US and they've only ever played one show here back in '93. Where as Rammstein basically releases their stuff world-wide and has toured all over the place.
Personally its not an argument of whose better than the other (because I love them both). Its just a matter of seeing that they can't really compared. The only similarities they really have are that they both fall into the NDH genre, but they are still very different even in that respect.
i concur. though oopmh is a good band, i simply prefer R+…they are my kind:)
i dare say that R+ is more famous because they are better. having never listened to oomph before this post i must say i am unimpressed compared to R+. they are quite good in their own sphere, however, for my own taste R+ supersedes anything i have heard thus far from oomph. if taken out of context, flux's comments should be disregarded, yet, insult is the greatest form of flattery…
the way till sings its cool and really rocks dont forget the voice of richard its weird but at the same time awesome like asche zu asche but i prefer Dero's voice because he makes so many changes inm his voice anyway i admit that rammstein is more famous that OOMPH!,also rammstein talks about OOMPH! with such respect and i admire that
Flux doesn't sound arrogant at all. He's just answering the questions as they've been posed.
Who came first, Oomph! or Rammstein?
Obviously Oomph! did. Nothing offensive about that. Then he says that in Rammstein's earlier time Oomph! helped them out. They went their separate ways, and Rammstein talks nicely about their band. How can that be misunderstood?
The stereotype thing is probably in reference to Rammstein's love of controversy. They play with GERMAN sterotypes. They do things just to make a buzz. Dero (the singer from Oomph!) has mentioned Till's use of what's known as "ugly German" when he sings. This is the type of speech that many identify Hitler and the Nazi party with.
Oomph! is VERY anti-Nazi anything. And I know, Rammstein is too. However, Oomph! strongly disagrees with Rammstein's use of Leni Riefenstahl's imagery in their video for "Stripped". Granted, it's meant to be art, but you have to take Germany's history into consideration and realize that it is still quite a touchy topic. Oomph! thinks that Rammstien took that point too far. Rammstein themselves have also realized this fact as mentioned in an interview with Till.
I'm a very big Rammstein fan, and have been for about 9 years now. I've known about Oomph! for roughly 6 years and can maintain an unbiased appreciation for both bands separately. You have to realize that there is a difference between cliches and stereotypes. Oomph! uses a lot of cliches in their music, (sex and religion) which works for them. They do it in a really great way that still sounds unique. They've made the style their own. Rammstein DO play off of stereotypes a lot. They try to put up this image of very powerful, grandiose people. (Anybody who has seen an interview with them knows their not) But that's the image they use on stage and the image that people see. The German stereotype of over-bearing power.
If you don't like one band or the other, then fine. But to completely misinterpret something a native German speaker said in English and say "Omogmgomg i used to liek Oomph but dey fukkin suck man!! how dare they talk shit about R+++++" Then see ya later, lord knows Oomph! won't miss you. They appreciate their fans who appreciate their music, and they personally let us know on a regular basis.