"My tongue has no bone / And so I say what I want": This is the chorus of Till Lindemann's new solo single. It is the first newly released song since Lindemann and his main band Rammstein came under criticism for a casting system that was used to feed him women for sexual acts. Lindemann has not yet commented on the content.
In the new song »Zunge«, which is said to have been written long before the allegations, Lindemann rhymes: »There is a hole in the face / This is the mouth with which one speaks / A word falls out of the thoughts / The tongue provides word transport«. The author of several volumes of poetry sings with his usual rolling "r", after an atmospheric piano intro distorted guitars sound in the chorus.
The music video for the new song is preceded by a warning in front of the "graphic content", which could disturb the viewers. And the clip begins with a tracking shot into a human maw, later some blood flows and organs are dissected and transported from mouth to mouth. It is striking that Lindemann plays with victim symbolism: his mouth is sewn shut, he crouches in a cage, he is pelted with darts.
But here, too, a reference to the current debate is likely to be overinterpreted: A Russian news website referred to a video shoot by Lindemann with the tigers of the Moscow State Circus as early as August 2022. In the »Zunge« video, Lindemann alternately kisses a tiger and actress Aglaya Tarasova, who already made an appearance in the clip for his song »Ich hasse Kinder«.
Lindemann's new single is released ahead of a solo tour through Europe starting on November 8 in Leipzig. Several dates are already sold out, according to its website. According to Lindemann, he had to cancel a performance in the USA at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in September "due to illness". They are working with the festival to participate in 2024.
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Singer Lindemann: U.S. festival cancellation "due to illness"
Photo: Boris Roessler / picture alliance/dpa
Most likely, the new Lindemann song will not receive airplay on the RBB station »Radio Eins«. In a summer poll on the "100 best scandal songs", three Rammstein songs were selected for the list. But when the Top 100 was broadcast on August 13, Rammstein's songs were omitted – and for example, they went straight from Ian Dury's "Spasticus Autisticus" (28th place) to number 26, "Claudia hat 'nen Schäferhund" from the doctors.
At the end of August, it was announced that the Berlin public prosecutor's office had closed its investigation against Lindemann. At the request of the »Berliner Zeitung«, a station spokesman said that for Radio Eins »a possible criminal relevance was never the only – and not the decisive – argument«. The "ethical questionability of the unchallenged casting system" is still in the room. Since »a content-related examination of this practice by the band is pending«, they are currently sticking to their previous attitude of not playing Rammstein songs. The same applies to the decision to pause the broadcast of Rammstein keyboardist Christian "Flake" Lorenz.
Feb