German band Rammstein singer accused of being at the heart of a system of sexual predation

Rammstein is the most famous German band in the world. Rammstein's industrial metal music is a huge success as shown by the concerts taken over during the current tour. According to the revelations of two German media, the charismatic singer Till Lindermann would have created a "system" to have sexual partners who were not always consenting, using his notoriety. The revelations come at a bad time for the star band of industrial metal, in the middle of a tour.

Till Lindemann, charismatic lead singer of the band Rammstein, performs on stage at the HDI-Arena stadium in Hanover, northern Germany, during a concert by the band, July 2, 2019. AFP - CHRISTOPHE GATEAU

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With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut

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The Lindemann system ": the headline makes the front page of the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper associated with the public media NDR published Friday, June 2, a very thorough investigation into the slaughter of young women organized by the entourage of the singer of the group Rammstein.

Many testimonies were collected from fans, showing that some women were warned of the artist's intentions, others were not: sexual relations would not have always been consensual with Till Lindemann. Süddeutsche Zeitung asks: "How is it possible in 2023 for a 60-year-old man to be handed over with girls for such purposes?

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The industrial metal band, known worldwide since its rise in the late 1990s, has been talked about since its origins 30 years ago for its provocations: whether it is to use images of the 1936 Olympic Games shot by Adolf Hitler's propagandist, Leni Riefenstahl, other more or less explicit allusions to the Nazi regime, or more recently a video showing musicians in striped outfits reminiscent of those of deportees during the Second World War.

The Rammstein group subscribes to controversies, having used images of the Nazi regime since the 1990s. Here, singer Til Lindemann, during a concert in Wacken, Germany, August 1, 2013. © Carsten Rehder / DPA / AFP

These revelations come at the worst time since a Rammstein tour is currently taking place: the four concerts in Munich with 240,000 spectators are sold out, for example, and the band is scheduled to perform on July 22 at the Stade de France in Paris.

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  • Germany
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