page_title: Till Lindemann
section_title: Music
hierarchical_section_title: Till Lindemann / Career / Music
caption_attribution_description: English: Till Lindemann, singer of German band Rammstein
context_page_description: Till Lindemann is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and German-Swedish duo Lindemann.
  Rammstein have sold over 45 million records worldwide, with five of their albums receiving platinum status, and Lindemann has been listed among the "50 Greatest Metal Frontmen of All Time" by Roadrunner Records. He has appeared in minor roles in films and has also published two books of poetry, Messer in 2002 and In stillen Nächten in 2013. He has presented some of his original poems and scripts to galleries.
context_section_description: Lindemann started to play drums for Schwerin-based experimental rock band First Arsch in 1986, who released an album titled Saddle Up in 1992, and played one song ("Lied von der unruhevollen Jugend") with a punk band called Feeling B, which was the former band of Rammstein members Paul Landers, Christoph Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz in 1989. During his time in Feeling B, he played the drums in the band. In the 1990s, Lindemann began to write lyrics. In 1994, the band entered and won a contest in Berlin that allowed them to record a four track demo professionally. When questioned as to why Rammstein was named after the Ramstein air show disaster, he said he viewed images of the incident on television, and that he and the bandmates wanted to make a musical memorial.
  Lindemann then moved to Berlin. During Rammstein's early years, because of his use of over-the-top pyrotechnics, Lindemann has burned his ears, hair and arms. Bandmate Christoph Schneider commented, "Till gets burned all the time, but he likes the pain." An incident in September 1996 caused a section of the band's set to burn, and as a result, Lindemann got his certification in pyrotechnics so the band could perform with pyrotechnics more safely than it had previously.
  During Rammstein's US tour with Korn in 1998, Lindemann and his bandmate Christian "Flake" Lorenz were arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts for lewd conduct performed during their song "Bück dich" ("bend over"), which consisted of Lindemann using a liquid squirting dildo and simulating anal sex on Lorenz. Both Lindemann and Lorenz were released the following day after bail was met. This incident did not stop Lindemann from performing in the same manner for future shows outside the United States, particularly in Australia when they performed at the 2011 Big Day Out, but the United States performances of this song were changed into a sadomasochistic theme that did not feature dildos, although this was not the case for all remaining US shows on the tour. For example, on 18 June 1999, "Bück dich" was performed in the same  manner at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon. In 1999, the band was blamed for the 1999 Columbine massacre, but they denied their music was a factor. In November 2002, Lindemann's poetry book Messer was published. It consists of 54 poems compiled by Gert Hof, author of the book Rammstein, who was also the band's pyrodesigner for the last seven years. In July 2010, Lindemann, along with Flake, was interviewed by heavy metal anthropologist Sam Dunn for the VH1 Classic series Metal Evolution, on the topic of shock rock.
  Lindemann is not a stranger to injury, as he mentioned in Rammstein's early career that he'd gotten burned several times with unprofessionally rigged pyrotechnics. At a performance in Sweden in 2005, he received a knee injury on stage when keyboardist Flake accidentally ran into him while riding a Segway PT. This injury caused several tour dates in Asia to be cancelled.
  In 2005, five Rammstein albums received platinum awards and the band also received the "World Sales Awards" for over 10 million sold copies worldwide.
  During the filming of the band's music video for "Ich tu dir weh", Lindemann wanted a light put in his mouth to create a visually stunning effect. Bandmate Paul Landers suggested that he use a flesh colored wire and run it along his cheek to shine a light into his mouth from the outside. Lindemann refused, and instead opted to have a surgical incision in his left cheek, so that a light could be fed into his mouth directly, and largely out of sight.
  There is a specific performance move of Lindemann's, dubbed "The Till Hammer". This move is where he bends his knees, beats his thigh with a fist in a hammering motion while turning his head from side to side. On occasion, Flake has been seen to parody the move onstage. Unlike most frontmen, Lindemann stated in an interview that he does not like being looked at while on stage, and would wear sunglasses to block out views of the audience.
  The main purpose of the band's signature pyrotechnics has 
caption: Lindemann during a performance of the song "Rammstein", wearing dual arm-mounted flamethrowers
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