Lindemann were geared up to shock. With a fish cannon. Pulled into the former Rammstein lead’s orbit were German military dream pop singer Jadu and industrial big-hitters Aesthetic Perfection – both bands well juiced up after their gig at the Lounge 666 the night before (catch the vibe of that show here).

Lindemann blew-out the 2,300 tickets for the show weeks in advance. One of the biggest stages in Camden, The Kentish Town Forum is a true London rock’n’roll venue. The queue outside stretched down the street, and the atmosphere in the crowd was intense. Everyone knew Lindemann was intent on something outrageous.

Jadu starts her barrage at the Forum. photo: KrizPhoto

Jadu opened the night with their specific brand of what they term “military dream pop”, which is sort of a genre-defying hybrid of goth industrial rock with pop influences and a strong German vibe. She’s theatrical like Madonna would love to be seen through the eyes of Helmut Newton.

photo: KrizPhoto

Having seen Jadu perform the previous night at the much smaller stage at the Lounge, we were interested to see how they would come across on the bigger stage at The Forum.  There was no need to worry – Jadu was even more powerful and full-on on a bigger stage. She truly owned the stage with her commanding presence. The band have an immersive focus on World War II inspirations mixed with electronic industrial rock, and put on a very engaging show.

Dressed in a shiny latex uniform, Jadu was supported by her band members who were all dressed in military attire. Having not heard of Jadu prior to this weekend, we were so excited to discover her and will definitely be following the band in the future. Jadu are coming back to London in the autumn – look for their upcoming Camden gigs here.

Next up was Aesthetic Perfection. The industrial metal heavyweight brought theatrics and drama. Their particular soundscape of alternative electronic goth / pop combining catchy choruses and beats with heavy guitar riffs were a bit of a different vibe to Lindemann, but the crowd loved them.

Their sound is really tight. The lead singer has great range – he sings, he growls and he screams. Aesthetic Perfection always put on a good show, and this gig was no exception – the band entertained the crowd with their immense stage antics.

And before we knew it, it was time for the main event: Lindemann, the explosive side project of Rammstein singer Till Lindemann and multi-instrumentalist Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy and Pain. This German-Swedish industrial metal duo brought it. Recently named “the most politically incorrect band in the world” by The Telegraph, Lindemann did not hold back. That’s why tickets had featured a disclaimer about the adult content in the show …

The gig was complete and utter carnage. Dressed in all-white suits with their faces painted white, the band members are as visually striking as their explosive performance. The show was a full-on audio-visual explosive performance. The backdrop for Lindemann’s performance is a video montage of a range of graphic and pornographic imagery, including a video of a vaginas, golden showers, feeders, and Lindemann himself wearing a nappy while walking around a village. This variety of sexually twisted imagery was projected on the huge screen at the O2 Forum.

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The raw, controversial performance featured the band throwing a variety of things at the audience, including entire cakes, huge raw fish (presumably dead) and water sprayed from the stage onto the crowd. Lindemann’s provocative antics inspired a rowdy, jostling mosh pit in the audience as the night descended into complete and utter chaos – and for this rambunctious line-up, we wouldn’t have expected anything less.