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Burn, Baby Burn – Paul Interview – Rocksound

December 2001 / Diciembre 2001 Text: Jordi Meya/Anja Sanchez
Photos: Olaf Heine

The Germans Rammstein return this month to Spain (14th in Barcelona, 15th San Sebastian) to promote their album "Mutter" in large stadiums. Their concerts promise to be spectacular (with fire, explosions and sodomy). Their guitarist Paul Landers spoke to us about them.

The popularity of Rammstein in Spain has been growing spectacularly with each of their visits. If at first they played in venues that reached 700 people, in the next one they will multiply that number by ten. It is a phenomenon that is very difficult to explain, if we were not speaking of a so solid and constant band as the one that occupies to us. Their records and their concerts are timed to perfection. In some ways perhaps they are a cybernetic version of AC/DC and for that reason please many different sorts of people. Certainly, in their concerts you will be able to see as many Metallica t-shirts, as those of the Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode, Placebo, or Nirvana. They have something for everybody: riffs as big as a whale, a forceful bass, an electronic touch, refrains that you can sing along to without having any idea of German, a grandiose epic and an impressive spectacle that assaults the eyes (when was the last time that you saw a singer in a burning costume or sodomising one of his bandmates?). But who knows if there is a language barrier (the group only grants interviews with a German translator), little is known of the sextet made up of the vocalist Till Lindemann, guitarists Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe-Bernstein, bassist Oliver Reidel, drummer Christoph ‘Doom’ Schneider and the keyboarder Flake Lorenz.

In this telephone interview we discovered that in spite of how it sometimes appears, Rammstein are also human.

This month you return to Spain to present ‘Mutter’. What can you tell us in advance about this spectacle?
Paul Landers: "It will be our first large concert in Spain and our intention is to present ourselves to the people, to give a special presentation of our spectacular of what there are been doing until now musically".

In these concerts you will be supported by Clawfinger. What relationship do you have with them? Do you feel you have to help them now that you are more popular than they are?
PL:"When Rammstein was still completely unknown, Clawfinger had already done the rounds on the music scene and we were their support on a European tour. Now the tables are turned in certain way... you could say... We have got to know them very well and the truth is that they are so likeable and friendly, and took to us so well, so we are thrilled to be able to tour together again. Sooner or later it all equals out. We are good friends. Musically we understand each other one hundred percent and at the same time it happens that we’re friends. The keyboarder of Clawfinger is the key, he is a jolly guy and every night after the concert we have a celebration and unfailingly end up beneath a table. So we can kill two birds with one stone, that is, musically we connected very well with them, and as far as celebrating... I’ll say no more"

Months ago you gave a special concert in Madrid. What are your memories of it since it was a relatively small premises?
PL: "It was incredible! People leapt about like crazy, to me it was perfect. It was impressive".

With each new tour the venues where you play get bigger and the production too. Where does it stop? Do you fear that you will become Pink Floyd?
PL: "From the beginning, as soon as we made any money, we invested it in fireworks and similar things because it’s what interests us. It is our desire. Just like someone that collects scale models of cars and invests all his money in that. For us it was the special pyrotechnics and effects. From the first day it was for us the effects, for that reason now it is very difficult to surpass it. If we had begun with less, it would be easier to increase in that sense, so it is that every time go our there we have our doubts... this time what else we can invent without deceiving our fans? It is complicated."

Which is more important, the special effects or the image of the group? It is that also on the same level as the music?
PL: "How the percentage of the musical quality is distributed compared to that of the spectacle is anyone’s guess. What Rammstein would be like without the effects is speculated on time and time again, or if they just had the effects and mediocre music... that nobody knows. Within the group there are like two factions, one favours the music, while other favours more the effects. It has always been like a pendulum between both sides, and in this way we arrived at a balance".

Are you ever afraid about accidents on stage? How do you weigh up all the possible risks? Are you ever scared at all?
PL:"No, we are not scared. If something happens it happens. We have always tried to do things in such a way that there are no problems, but it is like when one races cars, you are conscious that there are accidents. The effects that are used on stage have all been tried before, as an iron rule. Before anything appears in the show it is tested. In addition, there is a series of safety conditions that we try to maintain and to respect, but sometimes it is difficult because of the effects that we use, like for example the flares that Till holds in his hand, they have instructions that say they are only to be used a minimum of three meters distance. So it is that we do not follow the safety conditions required by these effects as we use them in a different way than they were intended originally".

No Alternative

You finished off the U.S.A. tour with Slipknot and System Of To Down. How did it go? What is your relationship like with those bands? Do the three of you have something in common?
PL: "The truth is that we have become very friendly with System Of A Down and on occasion listened to their record, which is very good. It is a very interesting work, new and not at all the same. With Slipknot we had our doubts about whether they were going to be a little stupid or not, but they are not, and are very likeable guys. Generally it happens that those that have a bad image are most likeable. What Rammstein and Slipknot have in common equally is the aspect of danger. With System Of A Down it is not that we have nothing in common, but we took to them very well.

Do you think that Rammstein offers an alternative to American nu-metal?
PL: "No. The group formed 7 years ago and nu-metal perhaps only 3 or 4 years ago, though at that time we were bordering on being ‘heavy’ in the scope of pop music. That is, you could say... in the scope of music there are really hard groups which are not that well known. Having met Slipknot, for example, they would be high on the list of being hard and bad. As for the fans, there are always people who are just looking for a type of music that bothers their parents, in which case music can never be sufficiently hard and noisy for them. For example the music of Korn. I have always wondered why young people like Korn so much, in fact, it is not the content of music which they like, but the fact that it upsets their parents. There will always be groups that will make music which when they hear it, the adults say ‘But what is that noise? Please turn it down!’. We have also made music like that but we have evolved and overwhelmingly we wanted to be a regular band from the outset. It is important to evolve because you cannot scare the public for 7 years. The first time you can scare them, but you must soon follow that with a little quality."

Has it been somewhat strange returning to the U.S.A. after everything that happened with the attacks?
PL: "At first we did not want to go, because the truth is that we do not like very much what the Americans are doing. But we thought... we’ll go there as soon as possible and then decide, not the other way round, that is typical of the determination of Rammstein. We have the sense not to let ourselves be influenced by the mass media, since they always report what they want. So it was that we arrived in the U.S.A., we looked round at how it was and we realised that was not so bad. America is an immense country, monstrously big, and if something happens on the east coast, the west coast is so far way its as if something happens in Ireland and the news travels to Spain. Although it is within the same country it is very far away. Most of all we think that this war is shit and that bombing Afghanistan because Arab terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center is not the solution. On the contrary, it will make things worse in the future. Everything has been given little thought which we found stupid".

Three Premises

How do you focus the guitar work? You and Richard take a very important part of the musical weight. Do you prefer to work the guitars from a rhythmical point of view?
PL:"Guitarists are the most egotistical people in the world, and big headed too, this is the reason they end up making the most noise. Whether that is good for the sound or not, I have no idea. Our objective is to have powerful guitars, but also a dance beat. On our last record we had at first considered other points as important, but we are danceable. The sound of Rammstein must be hard, danceable and with good melodies, those are our three basic premises"

How do you see the evolution of the band on future records? It seems difficult because you have a very noticeable formula.
PL: "It all depends on the method used in this type of music. The further away you move the more it sounds the same. When music is not familiar, everything seems the same but when it is known a little better the differences and the evolution is perceived. The same happens with us. Anyone who knows Rammstein will recognise that it has evolved. From my point of view, our records are very different and we would like to maintain this. Equally a grandmother thinks that all our music sounds the same, and that it is only noise. But that’s the way it goes, you have to live with that, its not so serious."

Have you contemplated the possibility of working with another producer other than Jacob Hellner?
PL: "After three records we tried simply to introduce new aspects to the music. But that is not urgently necessary either. We go as the mood takes us"

You recorded a version of ‘Pet Semetary’ by the Ramones. Many people are surprised that a group such as yours plays a tribute to a punk group.
PL: "He tried to give our third work a punk feel and there are some songs in that style. As far as the Ramones go, they were the first group we supported. We accompanied them on their last tour of Germany, so after a time we could open up for their performance. We knew them and so that’s the reason why we especially like them".

So for this reason you choose to tour with people you have a friendship with.
PL: "Yes, that is important. When you are touring for months and surrounded by the same people it can be heavy going. Or if the tour bus driver is a misery, it is no longer enjoyable. It is equally important that you take along your financial adviser. Otherwise you can lose quality of life. It is better to surround yourselves always with friendly people and enjoy life more. From my experience I can confirm that we have always found someone who is amiable and professional. There is no need to stay miserable because there is much that can be done".

It is not necessary to forget the past.

Sex has a strong presence in your lyrics and on stage. Why is this? Provocation?
PL:"Yes you are right; most music talks of sex and love. Sex plays an important role in society in general, either because it is abused in publicity, or because it gives a man more confidence, or the ability to feel more attractive. That is not what it does to us. In our case it is simply a very natural approach to sex. It is just our approach. Although it is true that Till, our singer, gives the subject much specific weight, which is reflected in the lyrics of our songs. Generally we describe love and sex in its rather more unusual and unnatural inclinations that one tends to repress and ignore. There is no need to speak of aspects of sex, in fact, there are enough dark and bad sides to love and sex that are not focused on. And people are surprised at the light side. There are really beastly things which one talks about with sex. It is no longer necessary to look at the erotic page announcements; the things that are offered are incredible. In comparison, we are inoffensive".

You consider yourself a very German group and yet you have a great acceptance in many different countries. How do you explain it?
PL:"The question suggests that one cannot be both German and internationally accepted simultaneously? For us it is not important if we are German or not. Simply we try to obtain the best quality. If a studio in Sweden offers a good sound, we will go to Sweden to record. And if Belgium offers better recording facilities? We transfer there. And if they make the best videos in England, we will go there. We move on the basis of the results and the facilities. That we are Germans mean that we come from Germany, no more no less. We do not deny it, it is true that most of the Germans have a problem with their past and avoid in certain ways the responsibility that we have. They hide behind excuses and pretend that things didn’t happen. We cannot change that. We tried to be very normal and in fact, it has been said that we are neither nationalistic nor patriotic. We tried to make our natural form ‘German’, just as a Spaniard is Spanish. And we think that also the German will allow or want, someday, in ten years or so, to return to being German, without thinks that it is prohibited. It is not necessary to dredge up this memory of an unfortunate war that nobody, in fact, had wanted to participate in and that happened more than 50 years ago. It is necessary to be able to start afresh, without denying the past and move onward because also we have our good side. In fact, if we observe Germany from the international point of view, the Germans are rather good people. An industrious people, mostly serious, not easily amused, but with their qualities. Those of us who travel a lot and are in constant contact with people of all nationalities, see that the Germans are no better and no worse than the rest, we are rather in an intermediate position.

You seem to have a serious sense of humour?
PL:"Generally it happens that what amuses us, other people take very seriously and what we consider serious, others find amusing. Keeping this in mind, we do not comment about what is amusing and what is serious, since we are always contradictory.

You are very tight-lipped with respect to your private lives. Do you want to maintain an air of mystery surrounding the group?
PL:"It is very difficult for us to relate to the mass media. For this reason, it is far better for us to make music, concerts and videos. It is not that we deliberately hide anything, we would like to participate in ‘talk shows’ on television, but it does not go with us, so we do not do it. We prefer to stay in the shadows.

© 2005 Sue Lindemann