Rammstein : Download 2013 review and setlist

Ah, Rammstein.

So infuriating.

When they hit that industrial metal groove, there are few bands better.

They're tight as a drum. A bloody big, loud drum.

Once a Rammstein riff takes off, it's as inexorable as a Metallica jam.

And so it proved yet again at Download.

From the firework-fuelled drum shots of Ich Tu Dir Weh the set was an unashamed crowd-pleaser. They even set themselves on fire earlier than usual.

Feuer Frei, Asche Zu Asche, Benzin, Links 2-3-4. They're irresistible.

And yet... And yet...

Aren't the rock and roll panto pieces beginning to grate?

There are only so many times you can drag out the cooking pot. And the schoolboy smut just demeans a band of Rammstein's stature.

Pussy, anyone?

Yes, it was a good gig. But only good when it should have been great.

On the drive back home, I left the Rammstein playlist on shuffle.

It sounded brutal. The way Rammstein should sound.

So c'mon guys, ditch the dildo, start writing adult songs again (as in grown-up, not adult entertainment, that is). Get back to basics.

Them maybe, just maybe, Rammstein will be a metal band to be reckoned with again.

Earlier in the day at Download, Corey's Stone Sour showed how it should be done, with a set worthy of the headline spot.

He takes his music seriously. And it shows.

’Ich Tu Dir Weh’

‘Wollt Ihr Das Bett In Flammen Sehen?’

‘Keine Lust’

‘Sehnsucht’

‘Asche Zu Asche’

‘Feuer Frei!’

‘Mein Teil’

‘Ohne Dich’

‘Wiener Blut’

‘Du Riechst So Gut’

‘Benzin’

‘Links 2-3-4’

‘Du Hast’

‘Bück Dich’

‘Ich Will’

‘Mein Herz Brennt’

‘Sonne’

‘Pussy’