Rock Hard - November 2005, interview with Schneider
Faster than expected, Rammstein, Germany’s most successful band, are honoring us with their fifth album. The album that will be released at the end of October is called ‘Rosenrot’ and it comes up with a few musical surprises. We listened to it at the official press event in Paris.
As is well known, the band from Berlin has never lacked for original ideas. For the 'Rosenrot’ listening session, some members of the press floated into the French capital and a London double-decker was rented, which was plastered with Rammstein advertising and with which the scribblers were sent on a sightseeing tour of Paris. Not a normal sightseeing tour, of course…
After dropping off all their bags and armed only with pen and paper, each press person is handed a sealed Discman containing a copy of the new album. In times when illegal pre-copies of all kinds of acts are haunting the Internet weeks before the release, these precautionary measures are understandable. The thing has the advantage that you can listen to the record several times in peace and quiet, because such a sightseeing tour takes a while. And most of the present writers actually have no more sight for the sights of the Seine metropolis, because one is too engrossed in the somewhat surprising sounds of 'Rosenrot’. Here is a short description of the nine pieces that were already ready to listen to at the time of the press event:
- Let’s start with ’Benzin’, a track that was originally intended for the last album ’Reise, Reise’ and was suggested by the record company as the first single. Once you’ve heard the song, you’ll know why: The thing is a real anthem, a great catchy tune at a brisk tempo, equally danceable and headbang-compatible. The text either has no deeper meaning - or it’s so obvious that I didn’t recognize it on the first listens…
- ’Spring’ reminds a bit of ’Stein um Stein’ from the last album in terms of song structure and tempo. Very catchy and equipped with a nice piano melody in the background. The text starts out as a classic here-some-misfortune-happens-and-I-have-to-goggle story, but takes a slight twist towards the end and becomes a wicked story.
- ’Rosenrot’ is about the eternal call of the woman and ends lyrically (of course) in a tragic way. “You have to dig deep wells if you want clear water ” is one of the telling lines of text. The song is only slightly pompous; during the verses only bass and drums are used, synths hardly appear at all. Cool!
- With ’Zerstören’ the tempo is increased again to match the title. This is the classic Rammstein beat with plenty of lowered guitars. There’s even a brief solo, and towards the end of the song there’s a totally unexpected break. Let yourself be surprised! The statement of the text is marked with the punctuation « I would like to destroy something, but it must not belong to me! » Very well put.
- Also ’Mann gegen Man’ is pretty heavy, with an almost exploding chorus. Lyrically the only song Rammstein could catch fire with. It’s about homosexuality, but of course with the band’s typical, rough wit.
- ’Feuer & Wasser’ tells the tragic story of desire and an unfulfilled love. In addition a sluggish, relaxed beat. A really nice number!
- ’Wo bis du’ also comes with an extremely relaxed beat and a simple but effective melody line. A song with a melancholic mood that once again deals with fading love and loneliness.
- Then ’Te Quiero Puta’ is on the program, and the title already gives it away: The piece is sung entirely in Spanish, has a hard, dancefloor-compatible groove and is repeatedly loosened up by Mexican brass sections. Ultra cool and the favorite of most writing colleagues.
- ‘Ein Lied’ is ultimately pretty easy to describe: imagine the quiet beginning of 'Mein Herz brenn’, stretch it out to the length of an entire song - and you have a rough idea of what the track sounds like. Lyrically a homage to the legions of Rammstein fans.
Even if the final album version will ultimately contain one or two more tracks, it can already be said that 'Rosenrot’ has definitely become the most unusual and calmest Rammstein album to date.
But first of all, the question arises as to why Rammstein put out a new album so quickly in the first place, when in the past at least three years have usually passed between the individual studio releases. Drummer Christoph Schneider answered questions.
“Well, we had just put too many good songs on tape during the production of 'Reise, Reise’,” laughs the drummer. « And since we don’t like double albums that much, we decided to save some songs for a quick follow-up record. After the last tour activities we barricaded ourselves in the rehearsal room in spring and composed a few more tracks. So 'Rosenrot’ is a mixture of leftover tracks that we couldn’t fit on 'Reise, Reise’ and brand new material. »
Didn’t you already have songs left over from previous studio productions that didn’t make it onto the album? Or did you just have a special boost of creativity this time?
« Not much material is usually left after our strict in-band quality control, and in the past when we had more material than needed, it was mostly released as B-sides. But that would have been a waste in the current case, then B-sides always get lost somehow.
However, one could almost think that there is a kind of master plan behind the arrangement of the two plates. A lot of time had passed since the release of 'Mutter’ so it made perfect sense to come back with a loud, rowdy album like 'Reise, Reise’ to let the world know that Rammstein were back. If 'Reise, Reise’ was full of hard tracks and lyrical provocations (just think of the first single 'Mein Teil’, where it was clear from the start that certain media would jump on it and guarantee the band maximum promotion), that’s how it is with 'Rosenrot’ there is much more room for more relaxed tones, and with 'Mann gegen Mann’ there is only one text that the band could offend with.
« For one thing, it was clear to us that we had recorded too many quiet songs on 'Reise, Reise’; we couldn’t possibly have put them all on the record. So when we were writing the song this spring we knew we had to compose some heavier material to round things off. On the other hand, I have to admit that we would never have dared to propose 'Mein Teil’ as the first single, and we were very surprised at the time that the record company chose exactly this song. So it wasn’t really our plan to provoke as much as possible right away. »
Do you actually want to go straight back on tour for 'Rosenrot’, or are you taking a break for now?
« We will definitely go on tour again at some point, but not for this album. Especially since we’ve been on the road a lot in the past few months anyway and have also played at numerous festivals. »
Could it be that this time you traveled abroad less than usual?
« No, rather more. »
You skipped America this time. Were you worried that the Americans would take offense at the song 'Amerika’?
“No, not at all. I don’t think the song really got that big of a response over there, and some fans took it more as a pro-America anthem anyway. We were supposed to be touring there in the fall, but we had to cancel that, as well as shows in Mexico and Asia, because our keyboardist Flake fell ill. He’s caught a pretty nasty infection and there’s no telling at this point when he’ll be operational again.”
Let’s wish the busy keyboard man a speedy recovery. After all, there are legions of fans who would be happy to see more Rammstein concerts. Especially since it should be known what a high entertainment factor the Berlin shows have. And especially when it comes to outfits, the group always comes up with something original. For example, the boots Schneider used to wear on stage on the last tour didn’t look particularly comfortable to pedal properly in. Or did you start with particularly light material?
« No, no, those were real, heavy boots. »
You want to tease me…
« Okay, see through! They were actually normal sneakers with huge cuffs on top. Looked bulky but was quite comfortable to play with. As a drummer, you are pretty limited in your choice of costume anyway, because you need a certain freedom of movement. »
Well, you would have to have a very direct connection. At least I read that your sister is part of the team that designs your stage clothes.
« She was actually involved in it before, but hasn’t been there for a few years due to time constraints. But in general, people get very precise specifications from us regarding stage costumes. During the last tour, the Bavarian costumes were the basic idea. We’re a German band and we thought about what people associate with Germany - and that’s when we came up with traditional costumes. Anyway, the Bavarians are the only ones who still consciously maintain such customs. The clothes should then be 'industrialised’ a bit and had to be made of very specific materials due to the pyro effects. »
And who decides who is allowed to do what? Or do you have no limits? It is at least noticeable that Flake always shoots the bird with you and comes along with the weirdest outfit.
« There are no specifications; everyone decides that for themselves.”
I’m not asking that without reason, because right from the start you saw Rammstein as a collective from which no one should stand out. A welded unit without a star. But it has been noticeable for a long time that Flake takes a few liberties and breaks out of the collective — be it in your video clips or in the form of small solo interludes at the shows. Is unity slowly crumbling?
“We’re just very different characters. For some, the show is incredibly important, while others concentrate more on the music. For example, I couldn’t do what Flake pulls off at all. I’m not the type for that, and it wouldn’t look half as fun on me. He also really lends himself to certain roles. Of course I could gossip and say that Flake is overdoing it at the moment and that he should concentrate more on playing, but the most important thing is that the balance between music and show is always there. People like Till and Flake are more the show guys. That’s perfectly fine as long as it’s not at the expense of the music. I mean, sometimes we play in small clubs without a show. That also works, but in the long run it would no longer be fun for some gang members. The show effects are ultimately also a trademark of Rammstein. »
You seem to be more the guy who cares about the music. Don’t you sometimes feel a bit restricted because the sound of Rammstein doesn’t leave much room for breaks and tills and instead you mostly have to drum pure rhythm?
« In the beginning I really enjoyed this machine-like, straight style, and I also learned a lot from it. But of course there came a point where I got a bit bored. As a musician, you always want to develop yourself. Since 'Mutter’ we’ve slightly changed the style and there are quite a few songs that are much more varied for me as a drummer. At first my colleagues resisted my suggestions, but after the songs were finished they realized that a Rammstein song doesn’t always have to have a dead straight beat. »
Nevertheless, due to the whole orientation of the band, live you are almost condemned to always play exactly to the click. There is probably no room for improvisation in Rammstein’s music.
« But in the end we all suffer from it. Our sound imposes a certain structure and discipline; everything else would not fit Rammstein at all. In that respect it’s okay. Sometimes on tour we build open sections into some tracks where there is room for improvisation - strangely enough, however, after four concerts at the latest, we leveled ourselves off again so that everyone plays the same thing every evening. »
As far as I know, you also play with in-ear monitors. Do you still get anything of the concert feeling and the reactions of the audience?
“The mix that I ask for also includes the sound of the stage and the audience. For me, however, this is definitely the most pleasant and, above all, the most gentle on the ears.”
One could maliciously add that Rammstein rarely interacts with the audience anyway. Thankfully, Till refrains from the usual nonsense like 'Are you in a good mood?’ And so on; on the other hand, some of your fans would like a little more communication.
«I can understand that. Till can’t and doesn’t want to do something like that, and you should respect that. Some may find that arrogant, but it’s certainly not meant that way. After all, we can’t force Till to do anything. Doesn’t help if he doesn’t feel comfortable with it. Our music also leaves little room for gimmicks. But when we sometimes build in small spaces like this where the audience can participate, we also notice how grateful the fans are and that they are up for such things. »
On the other hand, you have the image of an 'unapproachable’ band anyway, which already has to do with the fact that you always play in big halls due to your success. At a club show you go to the tour bus after the gig if you want to meet the band; with you this is hardly possible.
« Yes, and sometimes that’s really a shame. In the long run, such a tour can be very one-sided. You drive to the concert, hang out a bit after the gig, drive on to the next town and actually hardly have any contact with the outside world; you are always surrounded by the same people. And the hotel bar is also very boring in the long run. »
Just as boring as television, where Rammstein rarely appears — at most at special events like the Echo Awards.
« At such big events we can present ourselves as a band as we see ourselves. You can build a special stage or do something special that a normal TV show just can’t do. We did something like that twice at the beginning of our career and realized that it looked like shit. So we don’t do shows like that anymore. »
But you actually played live at the Echo Awards, right? I’m asking because you guys were wearing those killer costumes from the 'Keine Lust’ clip.
« Yes, that was absolutely live and very complex. We sat alone in the mask for six hours. We needed ten make-up artists for this five-minute performance. »
May I ask how you turned yourselves into 150-kilo monsters so deceptively real that even the author of these lines looks slim against them? Okay, widening the body isn’t a problem with the usual tricks, but everything else…
« Anything that had to do with skin was the difficult part. Special molds were made, a silicone base mask was made, which you then put on and which is glued in a complicated way. It is 100% connected to your skin, so all your facial expressions look absolutely real. The transitions are then unvarnished, it is colored, shaded and so on. And of course you sweat like crazy underneath it. »
So nothing that you could use on a normal tour. Although I would like to raise a question that I have asked the band in the past: after every Rammstein concert you leave the hall with the feeling that you really won’t be able to top this show next time - and yet you always succeed. Somehow you must be driving yourself crazy by now with the pressure to do better every time. Simply because you expect it from Rammstein…
« Oh yes, we rack our brains from time to time. Of course you can always use the latest lighting and pyrotechnics that are currently on the market. It’s just always very expensive. »
I believe that without Rammstein the German pyrotechnics economy would collapse anyway. But sometimes it’s the small, technically not so complex things that really stick with the audience. I’m thinking of the scene where Flake was thrown into the oversized cooking pot and jumped out again with his bottom on fire.
« We don’t lack such ideas, however. Something like that usually arises in group dynamics - you just have to check out what can be implemented technically. »