Belgium
Belgium the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, the North Sea to the northwest, it has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; the sovereign state is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organisation is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds, it is divided into three autonomous regions: Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, the Brussels-Capital Region. Brussels is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita. Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups or Communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which constitutes about 59 percent of the population, the French-speaking Community, which comprises about 40 percent of all Belgians. A small German-speaking Community, numbering around one percent, exists in the East Cantons.
The Brussels-Capital Region is bilingual, although French is the dominant language. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Belgium was part of an area known as the Low Countries, a somewhat larger region than the current Benelux group of states that included parts of northern France and western Germany, its name is derived after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, the area of Belgium was a prosperous and cosmopolitan centre of commerce and culture. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, Belgium served as the battleground between many European powers, earning the moniker the "Battlefield of Europe", a reputation strengthened by both world wars; the country emerged in 1830 following the Belgian Revolution. Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa.
The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking citizens fueled by differences in language and culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions between the groups have remained, if not increased. Unemployment in Wallonia is more than double that of Flanders. Belgium is one of the six founding countries of the European Union and hosts the official seats of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, as well as a seat of the European Parliament in the country's capital, Brussels. Belgium is a founding member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD, WTO, a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area. Brussels hosts several of the EU's official seats as well as the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO.
Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy. It has high standards of living, quality of life, education, is categorized as "very high" in the Human Development Index, it ranks as one of the safest or most peaceful countries in the world. The name "Belgium" is derived from Gallia Belgica, a Roman province in the northernmost part of Gaul that before Roman invasion in 100 BC, was inhabited by the Belgae, a mix of Celtic and Germanic peoples. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings. A gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire; the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the region into Middle and West Francia and therefore into a set of more or less independent fiefdoms which, during the Middle Ages, were vassals either of the King of France or of the Holy Roman Emperor. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 15th centuries.
Emperor Charles V extended the personal union of the Seventeen Provinces in the 1540s, making it far more than a personal union by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 and increased his influence over the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The Eighty Years' War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands; the latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and comprised most of modern Belgium. This was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars, the Low Countries—including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège—were annexed by the French First Republic, ending Austrian rule in the region; the reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, after the defeat of Napo
Sparkler
A sparkler is a type of hand-held firework that burns while emitting colored flames and other effects. In the United Kingdom, a sparkler is used by children at bonfire and fireworks displays on Guy Fawkes Night, the fifth of November, in the United States on Independence Day, they are popular during the Diwali festival. Traditional fireworks that are considered integral to the experience of the 4th of July include: Fire Snakes, Ordinary Fireworks and Gruumsh Poppies. Sparklers are long, dipped in a thick batter of slow-burning pyrotechnic composition and allowed to dry; the composition contains these components, one or more of each category: Metallic fuel, mandatory to make sparks. A more modern type of sparkler, known as the "Morning Glory", consists of a long, thin paper tube filled with composition and attached to a wooden rod using brightly colored tissue paper and ribbon. Several different compositions can be packed into a single tube, resulting in a sparkler that changes color. A 2009 report from the National Council on Fireworks Safety indicated that sparklers are responsible for 16 percent of legal firework-related injuries in the United States.
The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's statistics from the Fourth of July festivities in 2003 indicate that sparklers were involved in a majority of fireworks injuries sustained by children under five years of age. Subsequent reports from the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission about "Fireworks-Related Deaths, Emergency Department-Treated Injuries, Enforcement Activities" indicate: The devices burn at a high temperature, depending on the fuel and oxidizer used, more than sufficient to cause severe skin burns or ignite clothing. Safety experts recommend that adults ensure children who handle sparklers are properly warned and wearing non-flammable clothing; as with all fireworks, sparklers are capable of accidentally initiating wildfires. This is true in drier areas. Sparkler bombs are constructed by binding together as many as 300 sparklers with tape, leaving one extended to use as a fuse. In 2008 three deaths were attributed to the devices, which can be ignited accidentally by heat or friction.
Because they contain more than 50 milligrams of the same explosive powder found in firecrackers, they are illegal under U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives regulations. An art group, was planning to light 10,000 bound sparklers which it described as "symbolic liberation" to reflect that sparklers are used in monotheistic traditions. A large group from Toronto, Canada held an event displaying 10,000 sparklers to symbolize brightness, intensity and creativity. In 1999 the two artists Tobias Kipp and Timo Pitkämö developed a technique of drawing portraits with burning sparklers on paper, which they called pyrografie. Since the two artists have drawn more than 20,000 pyroportraits. Consumer fireworks Senko hanabi, the sparklers in Japan
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock. Before forming Queen and Taylor had played together in the band Smile. Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques, he joined in 1970 and suggested the name "Queen". Deacon was recruited before the band recorded their eponymous debut album in 1973. Queen first charted in the UK with their second album, Queen II, in 1974. Sheer Heart Attack that year and A Night at the Opera in 1975 brought them international success; the latter featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", which stayed at number one in the UK for nine weeks and helped popularise the music video format. The band’s 1977 album News of the World contained "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", which have become anthems at sporting events.
By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world. "Another One Bites the Dust" became their best-selling single, while their 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits is the best-selling album in the UK and is certified eight times platinum in the US. Their performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert has been ranked among the greatest in rock history by various publications. In August 1986, Mercury gave his last performance with Queen at England. In 1991, he died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS, Deacon retired in 1997. Since 2004, May and Taylor have toured under the "Queen +" name with vocalists Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert. Estimates of Queen's record sales range from 170 million to 300 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. Queen received the Outstanding Contribution to British Music Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1990, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Each member has composed hit singles, all four were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 2005, Queen received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters and Authors. In 2018, they were presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1968, guitarist Brian May, a student at London's Imperial College, bassist Tim Staffell decided to form a band. May placed an advertisement on a college notice board for a "Mitch Mitchell/Ginger Baker type" drummer; the group called themselves Smile. While attending Ealing Art College in west London, Tim Staffell became friends with Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, a fellow student from Zanzibar of Indian Parsi descent. Bulsara, working as a baggage handler at London’s Heathrow Airport, felt that he and the band had the same tastes and soon became a keen fan of Smile. In 1970, after Staffell left to join the band Humpy Bong, the remaining Smile members, encouraged by now-member Bulsara, changed their name to "Queen" and performed their first gig on 18 July; the band had a number of bass players during this period.
It was not until February 1971 that they settled on John Deacon and began to rehearse for their first album. They recorded four of their own songs, "Liar", "Keep Yourself Alive", "The Night Comes Down" and "Jesus", for a demo tape, it was around this time Freddie changed his surname to "Mercury", inspired by the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me" in the song "My Fairy King". On 2 July 1971, Queen played their first show in the classic line-up of Mercury, May and Deacon at a Surrey college outside London. Having attended art college, Mercury designed Queen's logo, called the Queen crest, shortly before the release of the band's first album; the logo combines the zodiac signs of all four members: two lions for Leo, a crab for Cancer, two fairies for Virgo. The lions embrace a stylised letter Q, the crab rests atop the letter with flames rising directly above it, the fairies are each sheltering below a lion. There is a crown inside the Q and the whole logo is over-shadowed by an enormous phoenix.
The whole symbol bears a passing resemblance to the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with the lion supporters. The original logo, as found on the reverse-side of the cover of the band's first album, was a simple line drawing. Sleeves bore more intricate-coloured versions of the logo. In 1972, Queen entered discussions with Trident Studios after being spotted at De Lane Lea Studios by John Anthony. After these discussions, Norman Sheffield offered the band a management deal under Neptune Productions, a subsidiary of Trident, to manage the band and enable them to use the facilities at Trident to record new material, whilst the management searched for a record label to sign Queen; this suited both parties, as Trident were expanding into management, under the deal, Queen were able to make use of the hi-tech recording facilities used by other musicians such as the Beatles and Elton John to produce new material. Roger Taylor described these early off-peak studio hours as "gold dust". In 1973, Queen signed to a deal with Trident/EMI.
By July of that year, they released their eponymous debut album, an effort influenced by heavy metal and progressive rock. The album was received well by critics.
Nightwish
Nightwish is a symphonic metal band from Kitee, Finland. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, former lead singer Tarja Turunen; the band soon picked up drummer Jukka Nevalainen, bassist Sami Vänskä after the release of their debut album, Angels Fall First. In 2001, Vänskä was replaced by Marco Hietala, who took over the male vocalist role filled by Holopainen or guest singers. Although Nightwish have been prominent in their home country since Angels Fall First, they did not achieve wider success until the release of the albums Oceanborn and Century Child, their 2004 album, has sold more than one million copies and was the band's breakthrough in the United States. Their biggest US hit single, "Wish I Had an Angel", received MTV airplay and was included on three US film soundtracks to promote their North American tour; the band produced three more singles and two music videos for Once, as well as a re-recording of "Sleeping Sun" for the compilation album, Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish, before Turunen's dismissal in October 2005.
Her last performance with Nightwish was during a concert recorded for the live album/DVD End of an Era. After the concert, the other members informed Turunen with an open letter that she was no longer a member of Nightwish. In May 2007, Nightwish announced Anette Olzon as Turunen's replacement; that September, the band released their sixth album, Dark Passion Play, which has sold 2 million copies. The album's lead single, "Amaranth", became; the supporting tour, one of the band's largest, started on October 6, 2007 and ended on September 19, 2009. The band released an EP/live album, Made in Hong Kong, in March 2009 as a CD/DVD, their seventh studio album, was released globally on various days in late 2011/early 2012. On October 1, 2012, Nightwish announced that they had parted ways with Olzon and would be finishing the tour with at that time ReVamp vocalist Floor Jansen. In October 2013, Nightwish made Jansen and longtime session uilleann pipes player Troy Donockley permanent members of the band, they were featured in the acclaimed album Endless Forms Most Beautiful, released on March 27, 2015.
Nightwish is the third-best-selling band and musical entity in Finland with certified sales of nearly 900,000 certified copies. The group is the most successful Finnish band worldwide, selling more than 9 million records and receiving more than 60 gold and platinum awards, having released five Number 1 albums and thirteen Number 1 singles. On October 26th, 2018, Nightwish has been inducted to the Finnish Music Hall of Fame, becoming the honorary gallery's 11th member. After playing keyboards in several heavy metal bands in the 1990s, including Nattvindens Gråt and Darkwoods My Betrothed, Tuomas Holopainen decided to create his own project while sitting around a campfire with friends in 1996, he had a clear idea of the music: experimental acoustic music he wrote himself during his time in the Finnish Army, similar to the music played around campfires, but with a distinct sound and atmosphere, played on his keyboards. He soon invited friend and schoolmate Erno "Emppu" Vuorinen to play acoustic guitars, the classical vocalist Tarja Turunen, who shared the same music teacher, Plamen Dimov.
The three musicians recorded their self-titled acoustic demo in winter 1996. The name "Nightwish" was derived from their first song together – the demo included the song "The Forever Moments", an early version of "Etiäinen". In early 1997, following the release of the Nightwish demo, Jukka "Julius" Nevalainen joined the band, acoustic guitar was replaced with electric guitar; the addition of heavy metal elements to the band's existing experimental style gave the band a different sound, forming the core of the Nightwish sound. The band entered the studio in April 1997 to record seven songs for their second demo, Angels Fall First. In May 1997, the demo made its way to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records, who wanted to release it as the band's debut album of the same name; the label offered Nightwish to a record deal, the band returned to the studio to record four more songs to accompany the tracks of the demo. The full-length album was released in November 1997 and reached number 31 on the Finnish album charts, with the single "The Carpenter" reaching number 3 on the Finnish singles chart.
"The Carpenter" single was released as a split with label mates Children of Thy Serpent. The band made their live debut in their hometown Kitee in December 1997. Since they were missing a bass player, Samppa Hirvonen joined them as a sessional live member. Marianna Pellinen was a sessional live member as an additional keyboard player and a backing vocalist for Turunen. There were plans to make Hirvonen a permanent member, but he joined the army as part of Finnish army conscription just as they began recording Oceanborn, so they asked Sami Vänskä to join instead, since Tuomas knew him from the band Nattvindens Gråt. During the winter of 1997 and 1998, the band performed only seven times, because Turunen was finishing her schooling, Nevalainen and Vuorinen were serving their obligatory Finnish military service. Nightwish returned to the studio in August 1998 as a five-piece to record their follow-up album for Spinefarm Records. On October 7, 1998, Nightwish released Oceanborn, in Finland only. Adopting a more technical and progressive sound than Angels Fall First, Oceanborn saw the band
Lordi
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1992 by the band's lead singer and costume maker, Mr Lordi. In addition to their melodic metal music, Lordi are known for wearing monster masks and using horror elements with pyrotechnics during concerts and music videos. Lordi rose to fame in 2002 with their hit single "Would You Love a Monsterman?". The band won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". Lordi has toured and recorded since 2002, Mr Lordi upgrades the bands costumes and masks for every album, their ninth studio album Sexorcism was released in May 2018. The band has gone through several line-up changes, but original members Mr Lordi and guitarist Amen are still active with the band. Members of Lordi have stated their desire for their unmasked faces to remain private. However, they have made a number of unmasked appearances in several news outlets. Lordi was formed in 1992 as a solo project by Mr Lordi. Lordi's first demo album Napalm Market was done in 1993.
The album included a song "Inferno", which got a music video, all done by Mr Lordi. In the music video Mr Lordi performed unmasked but he had made monster make-up for his friends who played secondary role in the video. After the video was done, Mr Lordi got an idea of a band of monsters. "Inferno" was released in Finnish "Rockmurskaa" compilation album in 1995. In 1996 Mr Lordi organized a Kiss cruise for Finnish Kiss fans from Finland to Sweden. During the cruise he met musicians Amen and G-Stealer, told them about his music project called Lordi. After the cruise they joined the band. One year Enary joined the band on keyboard and the band recorded their first album, Bend Over And Pray The Lord. At the time when the album was recorded, the band didn't have a drummer and they used MIDI drum tracks in place of a real drummer. Ari Tiainen, the owner of their record company, had planned to publish the album. Tiainen recommended; the album was planned to release in early 1999, but Anaconda Records went bankrupt shortly before the planned release date and the album was never released.
The band never performed with the original line-up, though they had been promised a record release gig in 1999. During the same year G-Stealer left the band because of work commitments and was replaced by Magnum, whom Mr Lordi had met via Kiss Army Finland. In 2000, drummer Kita joined and the band got their first drummer. After several failed attempts at obtaining a recording contract, Lordi signed a record deal with Bertelsmann Music Group Finland in 2002. In July, the band released their first official single, "Would You Love A Monsterman?", which rose to number one in Finland and spawned a music video. During the summer the band went under the auspices of producer TT Oksala's Finnvox Studios to record their first official album, though debut recording ran into several problems. In autumn 2002, bassist Magnum was replaced by Kalma. Though Lordi's debut album had been recorded when Kalma joined, he appeared in the album art and the composition of the accounts, their debut album Get Heavy was released in November, with a cover design loosely based on Kiss's Love Gun album.
The original first sketch of the cover was based on Kiss's Destroyer album. The album won the 2003 Emma award for best domestic hard rock or heavy metal album, Get Heavy has sold more than 67,000 copies, it was certified platinum in Finland in 2003 and multi-platinum in 2006. Lordi played their first gig on 8 December 2002, in Helsinki at the Nosturi Club. In 2003, Lordi appeared at several music events in Finland and abroad in Germany, where they played as a part of the Wacken Road Show. During some of the Germany tour, Lordi played as Nightwish's support act; the tour boosted both bands' popularity in Germany and helped them sign a recording contract with the German record company Drakkar. Nightwish had achieved solid success of joint concerts in Germany and Lordi raised their profile in Germany. At the beginning of 2004, Lordi began recording their next studio album; this time the album was produced by Hiili Hiilesmaa. This second album was first released on 14 April 2004 as The Monsterican Dream.
Two songs from the album, "My Heaven Is Your Hell" and "Blood Red Sandman", have since been released as singles. Corresponding with the release of the album, the band's costumes and image were reformed; the special edition of the album contained a DVD of the band's own short film, The Kin. The film, despite the success of the album, has been poorly received; the album went gold two years after release. In February 2005 Lordi's first compilation album The Monster Show was released by Sanctuary Records. Sanctuary had intended to market a collection of records in the United States, but these plans were halted due to financial problems. Sanctuary, published a compilation album in the UK. In Finland, a collection was published by Sony BMG; the idea of The Monster Show disc collection has its roots in spring 2004, around the release of The Monsterican Dream album. Mr Lordi, while interviewing the band Kiss for Inferno magazine, gave the band's bassist/vocalist, Gene Simmons, a copy of Lordi's debut album, Get Heavy.
Simmons' assistant announced that Simmons would be willing to publish Lordi's albums in the United States, but if the band would like to share sales revenue, it would be better to publish with Sanctuary Records. Sanctuary did not want to publish either of the studio albums individually, instead preferred a compilation of the be
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California by drummer Lars Ulrich and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield, has been based in San Francisco, California for most of its career; the group's fast tempos and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band. Metallica earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and won critical acclaim with its first five albums; the band's third album, Master of Puppets, was described as one of the heaviest and most influential thrash metal albums. After experimenting with different genres and directions in subsequent releases, the band returned to its thrash metal roots with the release of its ninth album, Death Magnetic, which drew similar praise to that of the band's earlier albums.
In 2000, Metallica led the case against the peer-to-peer file sharing service Napster, in which the band and several other artists filed lawsuits against the service for sharing their copyright-protected material without consent. Metallica was the subject of the acclaimed 2004 documentary film Some Kind of Monster, which documented the troubled production of the band's eighth album, St. Anger, the internal struggles within the band at the time. In 2009, Metallica was inducted into the Roll Hall of Fame; the band wrote the screenplay for and starred in the 2013 IMAX concert film Metallica: Through the Never, in which the band performed live against a fictional thriller storyline. Metallica has released ten studio albums, four live albums, a cover album, five extended plays, 37 singles and 39 music videos; the band has won nine Grammy Awards from 23 nominations, its last six studio albums have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Metallica ranks as one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, having sold over 125 million albums worldwide as of 2018.
Metallica has been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines such as Rolling Stone, which ranked them at no. 61 on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. As of 2017, Metallica is the third best-selling music artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling a total of 58 million albums in the United States. Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California, in late 1981 when Danish-born drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper, The Recycler, which read, "Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden." Guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of Leather Charm answered the advertisement. Although he had not formed a band, Ulrich asked Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel if he could record a song for the label's upcoming compilation album, Metal Massacre. Slagel accepted, Ulrich recruited Hetfield to sing and play rhythm guitar; the band was formed on October 28, 1981, five months after Ulrich and Hetfield first met.
The bandname came from Ulrich's friend Ron Quintana, brainstorming names for a fanzine and was considering MetalMania or Metallica. Dave Mustaine replied to an advert for a lead guitarist. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song, "Hit the Lights", for the Metal Massacre I compilation. Hetfield played bass,rhythm guitar and sang while Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo and Lars Ulrich played drums. Metal Massacre I was released on June 14, 1982; the song generated word of mouth and the band played its first live performance on March 14, 1982, at Radio City in Anaheim, with newly recruited bassist Ron McGovney. Their first live success came early; this was Metallica's second gig. Metallica recorded its first demo, Power Metal, whose name was inspired by Quintana's early business cards in early 1982; the term "thrash metal" was coined in February 1984 by Kerrang! journalist Malcolm Dome in reference to Anthrax's song "Metal Thrashing Mad". Prior to this, Hetfield referred to Metallica's sound as "power metal".
In late 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield attended a show at the West Hollywood nightclub Whisky a Go Go, which featured bassist Cliff Burton in the band Trauma. The two were "asked him to join Metallica. Hetfield and Mustaine wanted McGovney to leave because they thought he "didn't contribute anything, he just followed". Although Burton declined the offer, by the end of the year, he had accepted on the condition the band move to El Cerrito in the San Francisco Bay Area. Metallica's first live performance with Burton was at the nightclub The Stone in March 1983, the first recording to feature Burton was the Megaforce demo. Metallica was ready to record their debut album, but when Metal Blade was unable to cover the cost, they began looking for other options. Concert promoter Johny "Z" Zazula, who had heard the
Feuer frei!
"Feuer frei!" is a song by German industrial metal band Rammstein. The song is released as the fifth single from their third album Mutter; the title is from the command to start shooting in German military language, can be compared to "fire at will", or "open fire". The single charted in Germany, peaking at number 33, in the UK at number 35. "Feuer frei!" debuted live in a concert for members of the fan area in April 2000, when it was called "Punk". Its next performance was not until May 2001, it has been played in every Rammstein concert since then. During live performances of this song Richard, Paul and sometimes Ollie will wear masks with flamethrowers attached that shoot flames several metres into the air. "Feuer frei!" is one of the band's most well known songs, is credited as their most popular. Despite this, it does not feature on the band's greatest hits collection Made in Germany 1995–2011, for reasons that have not been explained; the song is featured in the film XXX, it is featured during the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "Slaves of Las Vegas".
The UK "Feuer frei!" Single was released in three parts, in three different colours, each with different track listings. The video was directed by Rob Cohen who directed the film XXX; the video for "Feuer frei!" was released in America on MTV, to promote the film XXX. The music video consisted of the band playing with several clips from the film. In addition, Rammstein is featured playing the song in a club in Prague in the film's opening. German version Feuer Frei! – 3:13 Feuer Frei! – 4:10 Feuer Frei! – 3:44 Feuer Frei! – 3:34 Du hast – 4:42 Bück dich – 3:39UK version, part 1 Feuer Frei! – 3:11 Mutter – 3:40 Kokain – 3:08 Feuer Frei! Interview UK version, part 2 Feuer Frei! – 4:10 Mutter – 4:33 Feuer Frei! Interview Photo GalleryUK CDS Part 3 Feuer Frei! – 3:11 Interview Du hast – 4:42 Bück dich – 3:39 Photo Gallery Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
