Serious charges target Rammstein. The famous German metal band could see its European tour marred by suspicions of sexual assaults on young fans during their concerts. Charges deemed serious enough for the government to now require concert organizers to protect the public. Back to the case that shakes the world of metal.
A precise procedure
It all started at the end of May with the testimony of a 24-year-old Irish woman accusing the singer and lyricist of the group, Till Lindemann, of having drugged and sexually assaulted her after a concert the same month in Lithuania. A testimony which subsequently released the words of other young women, all describing more or less the same scenario. The groupies would have been spotted in the front rows of concerts, filmed or photographed so that Lindemann could make his choice, before being invited backstage for parties. Some would then have been drugged before being attacked by the 60-year-old singer.
An assistant of the group, Alena Makeeva, would have proposed to young women to join the group backstage. This woman of Russian nationality was excluded from the entourage of the group, reports the weekly on Tuesday Die Welt. A 21-year-old German YouTuber, Kayla Shyx, said in a 30-minute video that she was approached with a friend at a concert in 2022 by Makeeva, who invited them to an “after party”. Taken to a room where a dozen other girls were said to have been, she was allegedly encouraged to drink alcohol after security agents confiscated the mobile phones. “Suddenly I realize: I am there as a sexual object. Panic ! », Recounts the young woman, who finally managed to leave the premises.
Group denial
For its part, the group firmly denies these accusations, while claiming to “take them very seriously. “It is important for us that [les fans] feel comfortable and safe at our concerts, in front of and behind the stage,” reads a statement posted on Instagram.
Targeting the German-speaking group selling the most albums in the world, these suspicions could however mark the “end of the show” for the sulphurous group of industrial metal, predicts the Suddeutsche Zeitungone of the newspapers behind the revelations.
Four sold-out Rammstein concerts are scheduled for this week at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. The area just in front of the stage (“Row Zero”) in which the singer would have spotted the young women will be removed. “The organizer informed us yesterday that there will be no Row Zero or Aftershow Party here at home,” stadium spokesman Tobias Kohler told AFP.
Measures requested by the German government
Faced with these accusations, the German government requested protective measures for the female public of Rammstein. “Young people in particular need to be better protected against attacks,” German Family Minister, environmentalist Lisa Paus, told AFP.
The minister proposes in particular the establishment of protective zones for women during concerts as well as teams likely to intervene in the event of sexual assault. We must discuss “quickly and concretely” protective measures, asks the minister, for whom “a serious debate on the responsibility of artists and organizers vis-à-vis their fans would be useful. »
The group, founded in 1994 by musicians from the former GDR and experienced in provocations in its clips, must notably perform in the coming weeks in France (July 22 at the Stade de France), Italy, Switzerland or even Sweden, Belgium , Netherlands, Poland and Austria.