It's a common misconception of people who don't speak
German or have only passing knowledge of Rammstein to denigrate them as untalented
Nazi gorillas without a sense of
irony. Their music is undoubtedly heavy (they describe it as Tanz-Metal or
dance metal, others have described it as
heavy metal or
industrial), but it is far from mindless. As
Cristoph pointed out, their latest album
Reise, Reise using non-traditional
metal instruments such as the
accordion, and their melodies, harmonies and instrumental arrangements are often very complex and musically accomplished.
Rammstein are clearly not Nazis. The fact that they play heavy music and the lead singer rolls his 'r's in a way that sounds very slightly like Hitler (and almost everyone in Austria) has been enough for some to condemn them. In fact, they have specifically said that their music is non-political and they don't want to tell people what to think. However, their lyrics are often ambiguous and can be interpreted in different ways: Du Hast actually means "You Have" (it forms the sentence "Du hast mich gefragt", which means "You asked me") but sounds similar to the German phrase for "You Hate" ("Du hasst"). Their song Mein Herz Schlägt Links purports to directly address the issue of their political affiliation, but leaves it unclear - "You want my heart to beat on the right side" and the chorus "Left, two, three, four" sounds like a military match. Whatever their political affiliation, Rammstein undoubtedly thrive on controversy - Reise, Reise includes a song (Mein Teil, "My Part") about the Armin Miewes cannibalism case of 2004 and their song Engel depicts angels as terrified, desperate beings, and declaring "God knows I don't want to be an angel".
Basically it seems Rammstein enjoy keeping people guessing - the title of their album Reise, Reise in fact does not translate to 'Journey, journey' (as it superficially seems) but to 'Arise, Arise' - it comes from an archaic german phrase "Reise, Reise aufstehen! Kommt hoch nach alter Seemannsart" used to wake or rise other sailors. Their refusal to publicy explain their political affiliation and the intended meaning of their lyrics keeps them controversial - and keeps their CDs selling.