OOMPH! consists of:
Robert Flux (guitar, mixing)
Andreas Crap (lead guitar, keyboards)
Leo (live drums)
Hagen (live bass)
Der Schulz (lead vocalist)
The band was formed in 1989 in Wolfsburg, Germany. They are one of the founders of the fusion of hard metal music and industrial sounds known as Neue Deutsche Härte.
OOMPH! owed a lot to Nitzer Ebb in their self-titled debut (1992). OOMPH!'s change of style for the successor "Sperm" (1994), with a more guitar-driven metal sound mixed with their electronic roots, inspired numerous musicians, most famously Rammstein, to follow their lead. (Rammstein have cited OOMPH! in several interviews as their main inspiration.)
OOMPH! released their first album on Jor's Machinery label, then releasing their consecutive albums on its sister-label Dynamica. They stayed with Jor, until his labels disappeared during the acquisition by Sanctuary Records at around 1996/1997.
Following Dynamica OOMPH! finally signed with Virgin Schallplatten. With the benefits of major-label status OOMPH! gained a larger following, and toured with labelmates Skunk Anansie in 1999. Between 1998 and 2001 they released three albums on the Virgin label, fulfilling their contract, but did not continue, feeling that the record company never fully explored their potential.
In 2004 OOMPH! released their first single "Augen auf!" on a new label, this time on Supersonic Records, part of the Sony BMG group of music companies. It marks their first Number One hit ever in Germany, thus eventually bringing forth their major commercial breakthrough. It became part of the FIFA 2005 soundtrack.
The band's ninth record, GlaubeLiebeTod was released in March 2006, including the controversial single "Gott ist ein Popstar" and its follow-up "Das letzte Streichholz", the third single was Die Schlinge.
In 2007, they won the third Bundesvision Song Contest (a contest between the sixteen states of Germany) for Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) with "Träumst du?", which featured Marta Jandová from Die Happy.
While OOMPH! are not widely known within the United States, the band did perform at a New York festival in 1993. In Europe they have performed at M'era Luna, Ozzfest, Dynamo Open Air and Wacken Open Air.
Fragment
Oomph! Lyrics
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lösche aus, was zu sein ich glaubte
und transformiere
in das nächste große Nichts.
The lyrics of Oomph!'s song "Fragment" talks about the process of transformation and letting go of things that are believed to be a part of one's identity. This is reflected in lines such as "Ich terminiere" (I terminate) which suggests the ending of something and "lösche aus, was zu sein ich glaubte" (erase what I believed to be) which implies the removal of false beliefs or ideas. The song also speaks of transformation into the "next big nothing" which could be interpreted as letting go of expectations or a previous sense of self to embrace something new and undefined.
The song's lyrics could also be interpreted as a commentary on personal growth and the idea of shedding old identities to become a new person. This is reflected in lines such as "transformiere in das nächste große Nichts" (transform into the next big nothing) which could suggest that transformation is an ongoing process that never fully ends.
Line by Line Meaning
Ich terminiere
I terminate
lösche aus, was zu sein ich glaubte
erasing what I believed to be my identity
und transformiere
and transform
in das nächste große Nichts.
into the next big void.
Contributed by Tyler C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.