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Rammstein – Soul of a new machine

Happy, relaxed Rammstein. Oxymoron central, or the current state of play with Germany's biggest musical exports since Beethoven and Wager? Rocksound finds out.

Rammstein come with a certain reputation. Fire, explosions, and fantastically heavy guitars, all delivered by a group of Germans who might well aspire to be the mechanical starts of I, Robot. But according to drummer Christoph Schneider, behind the cyborg, facade there is a very human soul, a soul that spent the last few years of its existence increasingly tortured by its own sense of purpose. "Really we weren't getting on at all and all the problems came to a head during the recording of 'Mutter'," the softly-spoken drummer recalls. "The problem was that at that time some people in the band thought things absolutely had to be done their way because they were convinced that this was the best way for things to be done. But the result was that other people couldn't really participate in the creative process anymore, and there was an incredible amount of tension in the band.

After continuous touring and writing, the Rammstein machine was completely rundown, their batteries depleted and worn out. " 'Mutter' is really tight and aggressive, because that's how we were with each other," explains guitarist Richard Kruspe-Bernstein. "I was too much like a one-way street, there was no space to manoeuvre. I couldn't really understand anyone but myself, and the band couldn't really understand me." With discord rife, coming off the 'Mutter' tour it was apparent to everyone involved that the band had to change as a unit.
"We didn't quite get as far as splitting up," Schneider adds, "but we had to adjust and we had to get distance from each other."

It's hard to believe that the two polite, well-spoken and reserved musicians are the same people who are responsible for pyrotechnic anthems like 'Du Hast'. But Rammstein (completed by Till Lindemann, vocals; Paul Landers, guitar; Oliver Riedel, bass; and Christian 'Flake' Lorenz, keyboards) have spent the past year changing and evolving, becoming something new and something more at peace with themselves. The title 'Reise Reise' is apt – reise means journey, and the new album is Rammstein's own voyage back to being a band, a route to their rediscovery of themselves as musicians.
"We had to change things," says Richard "to be more open, to be more relaxed. We had to put our egos away, lock them behind the door and be a band again. And we had to do things we wouldn't do in the past, to let things go sometimes. Like if someone had an idea, then in the past we would say, 'No, no, you can't do this, it's not Rammstein,' but this time we were really relaxed about things, so if someone wanted to do something, we were like, 'Just go for it, try it out and see where it goes!."

The traumatic 'Mutter' sessions had left a deep impact on the band, and this time they were determined that they should enjoy being in Rammstein again.
"It was a big issue that with this recording we had fun," explains Schneider "The idea was to be open with each other, and to find new ideas and new elements for our music. The way 'Mutter' was written, people did it at home on their computers, so then the finished idea would come into the studio, and then we would try to replicate it. But that is not how some band members like to work, so this album was much more like the first album, rehearsing, jamming around, and actually writing songs together. We really didn't care about what we did, as to whether it was going to be a Rammstein song or not, and a lot of the stuff we came up with at first, we thought, 'Well, this is good, but it could never be a Rammstein song'. But then we developed it, put the singing on, and suddenly they became Rammstein songs. 'Mutter' is definitely a great record, but it wasn't fun to make it. We've come to realize that it doesn't matter that you've done something, it matters how you do it and that you had fun doing it."

Exploring the grey.

The result is an album that is recognisably Rammstein, but Rammstein one step removed, for in freeing themselves from previous restraints the sextet have brought a depth and complexity to their music they haven't found before. Their sound is fuller, the guitars are more evocative in their range, and the music is film of sonorous emotional turbulence in its movements. "Basically we were tired of the old machine-style Rammstein songs, this perfect-sounding Rammstein with no edges and perfect production," explains Schneider. "We had brought that mix of electronic and guitar sounds to an almost perfect stage and there really wasn't much left to explore in that combination anymore. So we really wanted to take things further on, to take Rammstein further onwards. With the song 'Los' for example we did a country-style song! And on that we did two versions and the other version is much more typically Rammstein, but, well, it just sounded boring to us."
Richard laughs and interjects. "The truth is Schneider got really bored with playing this marching rhythm, because it was the only thing he got to play. So he called me up and said, 'Look Richard, I can't do this anymore", and so I said, 'Okay how much will you pay?' And he said, 'Look I can give you 100,000 bucks', and I said, 'Make it 150,000 and we can talk!' Seriously though, we haven't forgotten that all those typical German marching rhythms are the trademark of Rammstein They're the reason we've become so successful. So while we wanted to try something else, there is still a big part of that we wanted to keep and that is still there on the new album."

Even the band themselves appear surprised by results of their endeavours.
"It's strange," says Richard. "On 'Mutter' we played like sometimes 20 tracks of guitar, while on this album we often used only four, yet the whole thing sounds so much bigger than 'Mutter'. And really I don't know why, because from a technical point of view it shouldn't." Schneider agrees. "There may be less guitar, but there is more to it. With the previous album the world was very black and white to us, everything was really extreme. With the new album we are exploring the grey scales. We have become more human in a way and there is much more feeling in the music now. I am human, I'm not a machine anymore. It was fun to play like a robot for a while, but you can't do that your whole lifetime."

The band's new enthusiasm is palpable, with singer Till Lindemann's voice sounding deeper, darker and at the same time more subtle, clearly the sound of a man who is stretching himself and working to explore his capabilities.
Richard concurs. "It was unbelievable to us how he developed his voice on this album. And at the same time we also changed the key of the songs, so his voice is singing in a different key. Sometimes it takes singers a long time to find their natural key, but with us it was a complete accident. We tuned our guitars down and all of a sudden his voice opened up and became so much bigger."
Schneider laughs and adds, "It's funny because he hasn't a clue about tuning and stuff, so he can't hear the difference!"

One thing the band are not worried about is how their fans will react. Richard's take on it is simple "First and foremost as a musician you have to follow your instincts, to please yourself. If you start with the idea of pleasing other people you end up getting lost. Our job is to do what we like to do." And the new CD is so good they really don't need to worry.

Another change in the Rammstein camp is that the band have learned English, and for a brief moment on the second single 'Amerika' the band indulge in singing in English too. It is not something they intend to make a habit of however. "Till has this great ability to sing in German." Says Richard, "and has this ability to write songs in German that have so much depth to them. It's just so much better than trying to do something that isn't natural to us." They are adamant too that even in the post-9/11 climate, a song called 'Amerika' does not signal Rammstein entering the political ring.
"I wouldn't describe us as a political band because we don't go around showing or telling people what to do," states Richard. "That isn't out job. People should live their lives their own way. 'Amerika' is a statement of fact because we are all living in America. It's a kind of ironic way of saying 'What's going on with the world with America?' – it's just a personal view. So maybe there is a bit of criticism in there, and if that's a political statement, then maybe it is a political song. But it is in an ironic way. You have a choice in these things, it's not like America is putting a gun to everyone's head and saying, 'Drink Coca-Cola, eat McDonalds' or whatever."
Schneider concurs, but adds: "We do feel that American influence is a bit too much at the moment though, and we're a bit tired of all that, especially the political decisions of the last two years. They are going to war, and they don't have to ask other nations anymore, and well, that's too much for me. No one can stop them if the wrong people are in government."

Of course the one thing people do expect from Rammstein is an elaborate stage show, and while keeping their cards close to their chest, the band promise not to disappoint.
"'We're still in the conceptual stage at the moment", says Richard, "so we can't reveal too much." The weight of expectation, however, isn't worrying him in the slightest. "We always said in the beginning, if the stage show is starting to take over, well, we have to change things. But so far I think we've always kept the balance in this, and I think we do it well. It's the same as with the new record. People were saying, 'Oh, what you can do after 'Mutter', how big can it be?' Well, the result is that everyone says, "It's even bigger!" There is always a new way of doing things, and I think the important thing is not that we do bigger and bigger, but that people get something special."

The album 'Reise Reise' is out on September 20 on Universal.
Words: Alex Whitehead
Photos: Olaf Heine
Website: Official Rammstein Site

© 2005 Sue Lindemann