"The music of Rammstein from the healer's perspective or
How Rammstein has helped me recover and preserve my sanity"
by Tiamath Dracomancer
"I still today seek a work of a dangerous fascination, of a sweet and shuddery infinity equal to that of Tristan... The world is poor for him who has never been sick enough for this voluptuousness of hell"
Friedrich Nietzsche, writing of Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde
"Keep your knives sharp. Learn to handle hot things. Above all, have a good time" Julia Child
It has been said by sages throughout history that we all come here into this world with the purpose of healing ourselves and, in so doing, of healing the world. This process may take many different and sometimes unexpected forms and we need to be open to any possibilities as to how and where it may take place.
Doubtless, one of the most direct ways of initiating this wonderful unfolding of the spirit is through the vehicle of Art.
I believe that it is any artist's sacred task to push the envelope of creation, to shake the foundations, to open society's eyes, hearts and minds to the realities of an insane world trapped in denial, to raise the level of awareness as a whole, to bridge any communication gaps between various groups and individuals that may otherwise be alienated from each other or marginalized in any way. (There is strength in numbers! Fans of Rammstein, unite!!!)
Of course, music is a very powerful tool for reaching into the deep hidden corners of the psyche and revealing and validating those parts of ourselves that have been denied for so long.
And, needless to say, it is particularly true of the music of Rammstein. It may be stated that this band dares to go where angels fear to tread. There is no subject, no matter how controversial or esoteric, that they are hesitant to tackle. If there is one word that could define Rammstein's work, it would be "COURAGE", both emotionally and physically speaking. Whether it involves dealing with such subjects as rape ("Tier"), violence and murder ("Klavier", "Weißes Fleisch", "Du Riechst So Gut"- the last one has other overtones, as well), necrophilia (one possible interpretation of "Heirate Mich"), child abuse ("Tier" again, and, it would seem to me, both "Das Alte Leid" and "Bestrafe Mich' stem from that also,) or setting oneself afire and shedding of one's blood if that's what it takes, there is little from which they will shy away. (And we all deal with our pain in the only way we know how.)
For example, child abuse is something that is rampant, few of us have escaped some form of it in our own lives. Obviously, a subject that needs to be addressed, yet is often avoided by those who would rather sweep it under rugs. There are many such boils that need to be lanced, there is no way around the pain, all we can do is face it, and with help of artists such as Rammstein, we do. Feelings of anger and revenge ("Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen", "Du Hast", "Asche Zu Asche", "Das Alte Leid") that have been accumulated in the process of living, sometimes over a period of many, many years are all very real and desperately need to be expressed in some way, we have all felt them from time to time, and creating great music that deals with them is far preferable to going up a water tower with a laser-sight rifle and letting it rip. To do so in such an amazingly entertaining manner is much to their credit. We all benefit, the members of Rammstein themselves, one would hope, and their multitude of admirers. There is much to be said for catharsis in general, healing may take many different paths and we have to be accepting of whatever form it may choose to manifest itself.
That is not to limit the analysis of their wonderful music to the gloomy and depressing subject matter, there is a great deal of humour in the writing and the performance aspects of their songs both, humour being essential to life. Laughter is unbeatable when it comes to freeing oneself from the shackles of conformity and is truly medicine for the soul. I am very happy to see that these six people have managed to retain the ability to poke fun at the world around them and at themselves, as well. The latter trait shows a rather high level of evolution, spiritually speaking. (Did not mean the last bit to sound so pompous, sorry! ) The bawdiness, the wild abandon and just plain fun of their performances are infused with the spirit of their legendary countryman Till Eulenspiegel whose presense is sorely needed in these rather trying times. (Think of "Bück Dich", the sarcasm-dripping "Eifersucht" and even the little-understood "Laichzeit" and be entertained anew!) Be a grain of sand in the machinery of Big Brother, ridicule authority at every turn and we'll see how quickly the world could be liberated from the mess in which it is mired.
This courage may be in part due to the fact that the members of Rammstein had spent their formative years in a very rigid totalitarian society, something that can either make or break an individual. Having spent much of my own youth on that side of the Iron Curtain myself, I can well relate to this burning need to throw off the manacles. (Not that this particular mind-prison is limited to the Communist regimes only, but, somehow, the chains can be felt more profoundly when one is constantly reminded of their presence.)
Complacency must be avoided at all costs, otherwise, we all face the danger of becoming hidebound, of our minds losing the ability to grow and expand, we need to learn to own and to honour those components of our spiritual, mental and emotional make-up that are known as "the Shadow Self", that is the only way we can become whole and complete as functional beings, capable of great and magickal feats, something that we were always meant to be. There are many ways of going about reaching this exalted state, some gentler than others but we all need to take our medicine (read: enlightenment) as it suits us.
As I was pondering the writing of this article, terms such as "solace", "catharsis", "inspiration", "support" and "validation" kept coming up. There are many young people, in particular, whose emotional and spiritual needs are not met by either their parents or the society as a whole. In fact, those feelings of rage that the culture tends to engender are not validated, are actually suppressed by "authorities" who are pressuring all of us to conform to extremely rigid standards, to be good little consumers and anyone who rocks the boat is in fact, a threat. Perhaps, I am reading too much into it, but I find it interesting that safe drivel such as produced by groups like N'Sync - not that I have anything against them personally, but do avoid their output as much as I can - and their clones is encouraged and is deemed appropriate fare for the masses whereas those bands that have a clear vision of the situation and are not afraid to speak their minds, such as Rammstein, Marilyn Manson or Judas Priest are accused of somehow provoking violent behaviour, while nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, this passing of blame onto those least responsible is not without precedent. Many years ago, the Beatles were likewise blamed by the media of instigating the Manson family's horrific crimes since it was noted that Charles Manson and his followers were chanting "Helter Skelter" during the bloodshed. Can we truly blame the artists for pointing out what is there for all to see, if we were only brave enough?
Rammstein's controversial song "Weißes Fleisch" comes to mind here. One could interpret the song as being racist, sick and deranged. Yet, it is very clear if one listens carefully, that the viewpoint presented here is the product of a very sick mind, something that is, in fact, stressed in the lyrics. Yes, such creatures are real, they walk among us and turning a blind eye to their existence is not going to help matters. If, in fact, we are all connected psychically, and there is such an entity as "Collective Subconscious" as Carl Jung had postulated, it follows that we are all responsible to some extent and we all harbour such deranged emotions somewhere deep inside. Rammstein's art, by pointing these out and bringing them to the surface, is helping us face and deal with the "dark side" we all happen to possess.
These emotions only become destructive when the "darker" traits are not recognized and dealt with, they become twisted and extremely dangerous to both the harbourer, to coin a word, and those around him\her. The so-called "demons" that seem to invade our lives are really parts of ourselves that we do not yet fully understand and own.
There are truly neither "dark" nor "light" sides to this coin, ideally, if the world were a healthier place, all of these shades would be integrated into one whole. They may have become polarized by most of the earth's cultures but it need not be that way. It may help to think of the "Dark" as the Void, the universal womb where all creation takes place. It is holy and sacred as it is of the God\dess and is to be revered as such.
(I feel the need to point out here that while I am something of a student of theology, a renegade Wiccan priestess and a happy heretic where dogma of any organized religion is concerned, Wicca included, and I am totally opposed to censorship of any kind whatsoever and will fight to the death to protect my own and anyone else's right to speak out.)
As someone who has spent most as of my existence in seeking the answers to the spiritual hunger that resides in most of us and having sat in sweat-lodges, walked on hot coals, having gone through vision quests and initiations and having worked with a great many others who were and are on similar paths (I am a healer by profession), I can unequivocally state that Rammstein has been responsible for pulling me out of a major depression, where other methods have failed. And their music still continues to inspire me, soothe me, make me laugh, turn me on, it validates my feelings, supports me on my journey through life, helps me deal with my own inner struggles.
Vielen Dank!!!