TILL LINDEMANN – PICA – PORT MELBOURNE – 18.01.2026
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: Slaidins
On Sunday evening, Melbourne’s metalheads were out in force to see Till Lindemann (best known as the enigmatic frontman of German metal band Rammstein) perform to a packed house at PICA in Port Melbourne on his debut solo Australian Headline – Meine Welt Tour 2026.
I was fortunate enough to see Rammstein at the Melbourne Big Day Out festival back in 2011, and it was such an incredible show. Metal fans have been waiting 15 long years for Till Lindemann to return to our shores and finally the enigmatic frontman is here and he delivered one hell of a theatrical and sometimes amusing show.
Melbourne melodic deathcore band Melancolia were the support. Their music is fast, dark, chaotic and almighty heavy. The band were dressed all in white like inpatients in a psychiatric hospital. Their sound is a mix of raw brutality and haunting atmospherics mixed with high-production symphonic elements creating an intense, dramatic. Lead singer Alex Hill’s deep guttural growls, high pitched shrieks and extensive vocal range sent chills down our spines. Standout songs were ALL IS RUST, PICKING SCABS and SPIT!
It was the first time I’ve attended the PICA live music venue and I was impressed with the layout. It’s in an industrial area and has been transformed from an old aircraft hangar into a large-scale indoor live music venue with two large outdoor courtyards. The atmospheric immersion in the venue enhanced by the stage lighting, large cinematic screen that ran the full length of the stage and smoke machines created a wonderful energy and vibe inside the hangar. You could feel the intense buzz and growing anticipation of fans waiting for Till Lindemann to appear.
The lights dimmed and smoke machines generated a thick fog across the stage creating a dark and emotive atmosphere as the dreamy MEINE WELT (My World) was played through the PA system. The band emerged on stage all wearing the face of the enigmatic frontman Till Lindemann and dressed in black military attire. They opened with the provactive FAT from the Lindemann – Skills in Pills album (2015). The silhouette of Till Lindemann was visible as he stood up the back centre stage and then a spotlight shone on him and as he started singing in his deep distinctive baritone voice. The crowd roared. This song is a mix of industrial pop-synths, heavy riffs and thumping drums. The giant cinematic screen displayed large curvy women as the song is a tribute to Lindemann’s apparent fetish for full-figured women stating ‘curves have a nicer feel than skin over bones’. An absolute banger to start the show.
The band ditched the face masks and ripped into an intense UND DIE ENGEL SINGEN from Till Lindemann’s Zunge (2025) album, which had Till pacing across the stage with adrenaline, spitting on the floor, engaging with fans, throwing water bottles into the crowd and knocking over microphone stands that got in his way. Till performed nine songs from Zunge including SCHWEISS, a dark poetic, symphonic-driven rhythm with its heavy synths, fast-paced drumbeats and catchy chorus. ALTES FLEISCH had fans headbanging and jumping in unison. A circle pit developed for SPORT FREI and then calmed for the Spanish-inspired acoustic guitar ballad TANZLEHRERIN, which showcased Till’s calmer side and beautiful deep baritone vocals. Also from the Zunge was the controversial PROSTITUTION with its heavy driving beats and strong riffs. DU HAST KEIN HERZ (You Have No Heart) was a poignant and emotionally charged song.
They sang five songs in English from the Skills In Pills album which Till Lindemann and producer Peter Tagtegren released in 2015. GOLDEN SHOWER was vulgar , featuring erotic cinematic visuals displayed that were certainly adult-only, yet somehow humorous in nature. The controversial PRAISE ABORT and the title track SKILLS IN PILLS were absolute bangers. Till Lindemann went down into the crowd with a Go-Pro during PLATZ EINS and filmed himself engaging with fans which appeared on the giant cinematic screen. As part of this theatrical ‘shock art’, the male drummer (Joe Letz) wore a provocative outfit that included a bra and fake breasts. The keyboardist (Brynn Route) performed erotic dancing throughout the show.
The set included four songs from the Lindemann – F&M (2019) album with the beautiful and haunting BLUT. During FISH ON the drummer (Joe Letz) came to the front of the stage wearing a leather horse mask, got down on all fours and started neighing and bucking wildly and started giving birth to fish. Till was wearing a white medical jacket was delivering the fish then throwing them into the crowd. Bizarre! During ALLESFRESSER a massive table of cheesecakes appeared on stage and the band members hurled cheesecakes at fans down the front, which was hilarious.
KNEBEL was sung in the encore with its gentle acoustic intro before it transformed into an intense heavy industrial eruption of heavy metal. UBERS MEER and ICH HASSE KINDER from Zunge were also played during the encore. The show concluded with HOME SWEET HOME played over the PA while the band came out and took their final bows to a loud ovation.
This was not a Rammstein show and certainly was a show like no other. There was so much happening on stage you didn’t know where to look and who to watch. It was a dark and very absurd industrial black metal German cabaret that went for a solid 90 minutes. The show was quite confronting and warped . The songs were unapologetic, dark, provocative and yet humorous at times, indicative of the way Till Lindemann sees the world and his life.
SET LIST:
MEINE WELT (orchestral soundscape intro)
FAT (Lindemann song)
UND DIE ENGEL SINGEN
SCHWEISS
ALTES FLEISCH
GOLDEN SHOWER (Lindemann song)
SPORT FREI
TANZLEHRERIN
BLUT (Lindemann song)
ALLESFRESSER (Lindemann song)
PROSTITUTION
PRAISE ABORT (Lindemann song)
PLATZ EINS (Lindemann song)
DU HAST KEIN HERZ
SKILLS IN PILLS (Lindemann song)
Encore:
UBERS MEER
KNEBEL (Lindemann song)
FISH ON (Lindemann song)
ICH HASSE KINDER
HOME SWEET HOME (Lindemann song) – (orchestral soundscape finale)