Live Review: Lindemann @ O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London

Do Lindemann really need an introduction? Well… The unmistakable Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann is joined by Multi Instrumentalist and Producer extraordinaire Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy and PAIN fame to create a super group, having originally met in 2000 and become friends before agreeing to collaborate in 2013. The pair have gone on to create a pair of albums in 2015’s “Skills In Pills” and 2019’s “F&M” loaded with tongue in cheek humor, irony and theatrics, the first in English, the second in German. Tonight’s venue in North London has a 2,300 capacity and is sold out with the disclaimer of having adult content on the tickets – which given the lyrical content of the tracks from the duo, comes as absolutely no surprise…

…Jadu [6/10] opens the show tonight an hour after the doors open. She’s backed by a trio of musicians and calls herself “Dream Pop“, which is in reality a German Gothic Industrial Rock sound, with vocals in German and little need for the the Flying-V guitar on show. “Uniform” is their most streamed song on Spotify by some considerable way and gets a standing ovation tonight…

…Aesthetic Perfection [7/10] are a Industrial Metal trio hailing from Los Angeles California Masterminded by frontman Daniel Graves who crosses over some decent unclean vocal lines with a taste for the big chorus and theatrics. Perhaps a better foil for Lindemann with their face paint and stage presence, they also have a tie in with Rammstein guitarist Richard Z. making a guest appearance on “Gods & Gold” from their current album “Into The Black“, it’s a shame they couldn’t pull a few strings and get him the join them live.

The main event is Lindemann [10/10] who put on the complete audio visual performance with snippets of video footage either accompanying or before each song. Taking the stage in suits which have been painted white and corpse paint, the quintet have a heavier and more Rammstein esq sound live than they do on their recorded works and tonight they cut a path that interweaves both albums with an 100 minute long set. It’s not just about the longs or the video footage but the whole experience which is completely immersive as Till Lindemann pokes fun at both himself and people’s perceptions at the same time. We’re not going to go into the details on the video footage here, it’s something that you have to experience for yourself but there are a wide combination of reactions to the footage, be it laughter, gasps or cringes. It’s tongue in cheek humour is portrayed throughout with the likes of “Skills In Pills“, “Cowboy” and the sing-a-long madness of “Steh Auf” each being a real moment. The show is sold out and while the ticket prices are perhaps more expensive than most, tonight’s performance is one that will live long in the memory for its thrills and spills.