During a recent conversation with Revolver, Rammstein guitarist Richard Kruspe shared a pessimistic stance on the current state of rock music, saying that the genre is no longer the soundtrack of rebellion.
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You can check out a part of the conversation below.
At a time when rock performances can be pretty stripped down and straightforward, Rammstein are still holding the blowtorch high for theatrical rock and roll…
“We’re just doing what we like. But there’s just nothing to say so much anymore. Rock is dead. It’s sad, I know it is.
“But sometimes you kind of have to make peace with the facts of reality. Every time I’m listening to what’s new, it’s definitely not rock.”
It’s harder than ever for young bands to break into the industry, but groups like Metallica, Tool, Slipknot and, of course, Rammstein are still big business.
“There are always going to be these old dinosaurs that have a certain kind of performance that will survive. I’m talking about the new generation rock.
“What happens at the moment is that kids these days don’t have that feeling when they play their favorite rock tracks to annoy the parents.
“Guitars are not annoying anymore, so what they’re using, especially in Germany, they’re using their voice, the lyrics, which basically mostly happens in hip-hop. They start to rebel against everything, and hip-hop is the soundtrack.
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“It’s all about hip-hop at the moment, which is hard to me because hip-hop was always kind of a music that I couldn’t relate to. If I got to a festival and see a hip-hop group play, I’m so bored.
“That’s one advantage rock still has over hip-hop. There’s a visual and sonic connection between the band and the audience.”