It’s been a pretty rocky year for German industrial metal outfit Rammstein. Allegations leveled against frontman Till Lindemann regarding his allegedly predatory and abusive behavior towards women has apparently been a hard thing to shake. And even though it was investigated by German prosecutors and eventually dropped, Rammstein still felt the need to address it in a newly posted note on social media.
The timing is particularly important, as Rammstein ends its latest run of European concerts and Lindemann prepares to go on a tour with his solo act. With this effectively putting the major band on ice for the time being, it seems like this statement (that was translated by Google, mind you) is a “we’ll be back” and not a “time to hang it up, guys” kind of note.
“We would like to say a big thank you to all of our fans, our friends and visitors to our concerts. Thank you for your support, your warmth and Support on this 2024 tour. We could feel it everywhere and felt carried on a wave full of emotions. It was an honor to be able to play for you, to be a part of these happy moments and the joy we shared. Because of you, we are a band that has found its joy in music and on stage again. Every concert was a healing act for us. We thank you for that.
“We have been actively dealing with the allegations made against the band since last summer. We take this debate seriously, even if much of it is baseless and grossly exaggerated. It is an internal process that will accompany us for a long time. Each of us does it in our own way and deals with it differently. At this point we would particularly like to thank our families and loved ones for their unrestricted support and love; they too were hit hard by the allegations made and the media’s handling of them.
“We would like to thank our crew, our management, all our employees and everyone who has supported us and remained loyal along this journey. This huge stadium tour with this great show and this extraordinary stage has now come to an end after 135 concerts in 5 years with 6 million fans. It’s not Rammstein. It’s not us. It’s not you. The path continues.
“Farewell, goodbye, GOODBYE!!”
For those that don’t remember, multiple women made allegations about Lindemann regarding his backstage behavior. The legal proceedings against the Rammstein vocalist started after an Irish woman named Shelby Lynn went online to claim that she was drugged at the Rammstein show in Vilnius, Lithuania. According to her recollection of events, she said she was introduced to Lindemann, who served shots of tequila to Lynn and the other women present. She noted at the time that she’s not sure if it happened then, but she believed her drink may have been spiked, since she claimed she was a stumbling mess for the rest of the night.
Her allegations also included a situation where she was brought to a side room to be with Lindemann who allegedly expressed wanting to have sex with her during the show’s intermission, but she refused, resulting in a reportedly angry Lindemann. She then said she somehow wound up at her hotel at the end of the night with bruises she didn’t remember having prior to allegedly being drugged.
Then a follow up report in German news outlet Tagesschau outlined claims by other women, where they shared details of their experiences with Lindemann, which seemed to corroborate what Lynn alleged. In some cases, allegations of straight up rape and being offered drugs by Lindemann’s people were among the allegations.
Rammstein’s camp denied the allegations, saying in a tweet that they could “rule out the possibility that what is being claimed took place in our environment.” However as more allegations came forth, the band remained steadfast in their support of Lindemann. Still, drummer Christoph Schneider issued a statement on his personal Instagram account that attempted to distance the band from Lindemann’s backstage parties, even though he pointed out that the band’s after parties were always above the board.
Lindemann was also dropped by his publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch as a result of everything going on.