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Soundi (Finnish) October 2005 - Interview with Paul and Oli


Rosered romance
Autumn melancholy

Just a few blocks away the stark figure of Eiffel-tower – bathing in the embrace of bright spotlights – reaches towards the slowly darkening horizon. The dark waves of the river Seine hit softly against the bottom of an ostentatious restaurant-ship, mellow jazz flows from the speakers and the candle flames flicker on the tables. “Paris offers an opportune environment for promoting the new Rosenrot-album. It is not by accident that we are here in the city which has been called the most romantic in the world”, Paul Landers, the guitarist of Rammstein said a few hours earlier. How right he was.

So let’s take ourselves back in time, into the middle of a sweltering afternoon. Bassist Oliver Riedel, vocalist Till Lindemann, drummer Christoph Schneider and Landers – from the band Rammstein, which was founded ten years ago and has reached to say the least a surprising mega success – have arrived in the capital of France to tell the European media about Rosenrot, which is to be released in the end of October. The second guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe has stayed home in New York (all the other guys in the band still live in Berlin) and the keyboardist Flake Lorenz, who has become the animating figure of the Rammstein-shows, is nursing his ear in Germany.

In addition to the musical quartet, representatives of the record company and management as well as a German interpreter of Finnish origin hover in front of the restaurant-boat, moored on the river Seine. On the shirt of the interpreter a text reads familiarly “perkele” (a Finnish swearword). An interpreter? Yes, as is known the gentlemen of Rammstein do not speak English to the journalists. According to the official truth the English skills of these musicians, who grew up on the side of the former East-Berlin, are so shaky that the interviews wouldn’t be as good as hoped for. According to the official truth, that is.

As so often in the entertainment business, the actual truth is a little bit different. For instance Lindemann answered to the questions in almost flawless English during the promotion tour of Reise, Reise –album in Helsinki. For the Rosenrot promotion gents Landers and Riedel have been chosen to be interviewed by Soundi. This time we have to use the services of the interpreter, because the two don’t speak English – according to the official statement. But on the other hand it’s only about half a year since Landers talked fluent “London” on the backstage of a Slovenian concert hall with the chaps from Apocalyptica. Go ahead and ask Eicca.

Before we meet the guys from Rammstein we have to find the interview location. That is easier said than done, even if on the paper that’s been printed to be my travelling companion, you can read the exact address. Navigating the labyrinth of the Charles de Gaulle –airport doesn’t help much, because the obnoxious waiting continues on the slow four-laned freeway. The world famous traffic chaos of Paris fills the streets even if it is not the rush hour. But the greatest bad is that even the native French taxi-drivers don’t seem to know their own neighbourhoods. The cabbies who refuse to co-operate in English are want to bill forty euros from an uncomfortable ride to downtown, but taking the client to the right address seems to be nearly a mission impossible.

After few phone calls, insane u-turns and driving around for more than an hour, the cab finally manages to find the right place. It only takes a few moments and a smiling representative of the local Universal-company walks toward me with an outstretched hand. The French man listens to my apologies for being a little late and he also can’t help but to curse the local cabs to the lowest hell.

Charmed by an icebreaker

There is only one thing to do before starting the interview: one has to inspect Rosenrot with thought. When the journalists arrived to pre-listen Reise, Reise, they were bodily searched in fear of recording devices, but for some reason Rosenrot is not guarded as zealously. One can of course not take bags or phones to the listening room, but the clothes at least are not searched. Well, there wouldn’t have been anything in the pockets anyway.

On the wall of the restaurant boat’s basement that has been transformed into the listening room, hangs a large painting of Rammstein’s new album cover. In the surprisingly familiar looking picture there is an icebreaker stuck in the middle of thick ice…. Quite right, this is the cover of the Japanese edition of Reise, Reise! Still it’s no wonder that the band wants to use the icebreaker-theme also in Europe. The cover just fits shockingly well into the atmosphere of the German band.

The new long play gives rise to many surprising feelings, but almost without exception in a positive sense. As known the songs of Reise, Reise and Rosenrot were created predominantly in the same sessions, but there are also many differences in the records. Rosenrot is for the first in some strange way a more intimate and more emotional album. For the second it’s a very varying entity, which mixes musical inferno and threateningly pressing silence into a compact entity. The band has for example searched new colours into the song melodies and there are also plenty of catchy guitar riffs. Of the individual songs Spring, which brings to mind the starkness of “Type of Negative”, presents itself as an autumnal colossus.

After the dark melancholic listening experience it is almost frightening to climb up from the depths of the basement into the bright sunshine. One’s eyes are drawn first into Lindemann, who has appeared dressed in army-style clothes. The strongly built skipper of the German team is talking with the press representative and the two of them seem to be having much fun. Schneider is eating a bread roll and reading a German magazine. Forty year old Landers, drinking mineral water, is ready for the interview.

Not too much of the sweet stuff

In the world of Rammstein Reise, Reise and Rosenrot form a one, big whole. It’s in effect a double album, which happens to be released as two separate pieces (“in this way we can also make more money”, laughs Landers, but reveals intentionally or not the background to the publishing policy of Rammstein and System Of A Down).

The original title of Rosenrot was Reise, Reise (Vol. 2), but the record company did not like of it because of commercial reasons. It is of course clear, that an album, which has been blessed with a completely new title, is easier to market especially to a more sporadic listener of Rammstein. The band was informed, that the name should be changed into something completely else. Rosenrot-title and the lyrics of the song were born, when Rammstein combined the fairytale of the Grimm brothers (Snow-white and Rose-Red) and the famous poem of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Heidenröslein).

“If the title of Rosenrot would really have remained as Reise, Reise (Vol. 2), then even a dumber person would have understood the tight connection of the two records. Well, now we have to explain the matter in every interview. But this unexpected change doesn’t actually matter, because I am very happy with Rosenrot. Besides, the records are Rammstein’s very own twins. You don’t name you children Ron-Rick and Ron-Rick (Vol. 2).”

Did you know already during the studio sessions of Reise, Reise, that the strength of the material is enough for two albums?

“We did of course notice relatively early, that we are making too many good songs. Someone suggested the idea of two separate albums and we liked it immediately. However we did not know at the moment when Reise, Reise was published, how long it would take before we would put the volume two into the stores. It was clear from the beginning that we would publish these two records separately. You see, I don’t like at all double albums, not even from my favourite bands. You can’t eat more than a couple of plates of your favourite food either. You’ll reach the limit somewhere. Not too much of the good stuff.

Overproduced and unimaginative

Seven of he songs from the new album got their form already during the Reise, Reise –sessions in Malaga in Spain. The band completed Rosenrot by eternalising a few fresh songs in the Teldex-studio in Berlin during this spring. The recording locations changed, but Rammstein’s trusted team remained the same the entire time (Jacob Hellner – production, Stefan Glaumann – mixing and Howie Weinberg – mastering).

“I don’t want to reveal which songs were born already in Spain. Listen to the album and try to figure it out yourselves… I can tell you that the song Rosenrot is part of the old production. We even played a demo-version of it to the people of the record company and they were really surprised when they heard the final version of Reise, Reise. They kept asking where that amazing song had disappeared. We told them that the song just didn’t find its place in the totality, so we left it to wait for a better publishing date.”

Reise, Reise and Rosenrot are widening the sound world of the German band far more than the earlier records of the group. Today the musicians of Rammstein understand that precise riffs, march comps and commanding singing are not necessarily a guarantee for a good song.

“Still during Mutter we were in a way prisoners of our own style and vision. The band had a clearly defined concept, and we neither wanted nor dared to step out of line. Reise, Reise and especially Los opened our eyes and ears in many ways. We suddenly realised that we can expand our thing to so many directions. With Los the boundaries of our own minds came crashing down. Nowadays we don’t knock down any ideas straight away, even if it sounds like something completely unsuitable for Rammstein at first.

“When Reise, Reise came out I was bloody nervous. The record is clearly different when compared to its predecessors and I could not at all imagine, how people would receive the album. I was prepared for crushing comments, but the fear turned out to be completely unnecessary. People have given unbelievably positive and encouraging feed-back.

Landers basically has reason to be worried this time too, since Rosenrot widens the scale of the band even further.

“I don’t think I can be bothered to stress for nothing… But the new record does have some strange stuff too, like Ein Lied and Te Quiero Puta. Most people by the way probably think that Te Quiero Puta was recorded in Malaga. But oh no. That song is Lindemanns favourite. He speaks Spanish, so it was just a question of time, when he would write a Spanish song. Although this song too was originally written in German. Till wrote at least three different texts inspired by the music, but we didn’t like any of the versions enough. Then he wrote the lyrics in Spanish, so we wouldn’t understand them (laughs).”

Have you transported your sound to new dimensions quite purposely? Is there room for unexpected turns in the world of Rammstein?

“I understand your point. Some people think that we still sound overproduced and unimaginative… Believe it or not, but in the end we cannot control very far what we do. Sometimes a thing, when it is finished, sounds quite surprising. Even if I wrote a song precisely tailored for Rammstein, in the producing- and mixing phase it could turn into something completely different. I could compare making music and raising children. The parents guide their offspring to a certain direction, but the end result is still a complete surprise. Surprises and unexpected things happen any way. Of course kids are more likely to become sensible and have good manners if the parents know what they are doing (laughs).”

“We actually like the unexpected. We toured with Apocalyptica earlier this year and we invited them to play with us at the end of the set. This seemed to surprise the people completely, but already after a few beats the audience was totally in on it. There was this strange force that came to the stage with Apocalyptica. I cannot explain it more clearly, but you could really feel that cosmic energy. Apocalyptica is in other ways too an amazing band. It’s quite an accomplishment to make out of a sung song an instrumental version, which works better than the original. And that band just does things against the “holy values” of rock. They sit for the better part of the gig, they have no singer… And still it works bloody well.” Illusion is important

Paul Landers, who sports a weird haircut from one year to another, seems genuinely excited when he talks about the unity that the albums Reise, Reise and Rosenrot form (“it of course does no harm that many classic rock bands, like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles, have published studio doubles”).

- “In retrospect it is strange to realise, that these two records were born awfully easily compared to our previous albums. We actually didn’t hit any bigger difficulties even once. The most difficult moment during the Reise, Reise –sessions that I can remember was the question about using a harmonica*. Olli thought that the idea of a harmonica sucked completely, but I fought so long that I got the instrument to the final record. This is definitely not a big matter, but still I remember it as the most difficult individual matter. The easiest thing on the other hand was the guitar part of Los. It is such an easy song, that we told our drummer Schneider to record the whole thing.”

- “Lindemann had some difficulties with the lyrics at times, though. Sometimes he almost burst in tears, because some of the Rammstein lyrics portray him in such a bad light (laughs). Till of course does write all the lyrics himself, but we do influence them too. Sometimes we knock down a text completely, sometimes we tell him to rewrite some lines. The ideas can come from anywhere. The first single of Rosenrot Benzin felt like an appropriately catchy word, and Till began to write the lyrics around the word. And an absolute rule is that all the members in the band have to like the lyrics. Otherwise they will never end up on the record.”

Lindemann’s texts are often very cryptic and it is difficult to interpret them. The man, who unrestrainedly wields black humour and colourful metaphors, has thus far written for example about the insanities of the western society, primeval urges, frightening dreams and strange love. When is he serious and when is it utter fictional nonsense?

- “Well… A basic difference between us and the journalists is at least the fact that we don’t want to know quite everything about the lyrics. For example the song Spring has given cause to many questions. It tells about a guy, who stands on the edge of a cliff and thinks about jumping. Lindemann is often asked what the message of this song is. Our producer Jacob Hellner by the way thinks that the name of this song was a bad choice. It’s German (“spring means to jump”), but Hellner thinks that people will too easily think of it as English. It is of course true, that “spring” (in English; transl. note) is not exactly Rammstein’s thing. But now I regress! The essential thing is always that the lyrics fit the melody and rhythm of the song. There are also many individual words, which are forbidden in the world of Rammstein.”

Small conflicts

There were plenty of rumours about internal fights within Rammstein and even of the band breaking up especially after Mutter. Landers assures that the rumours were more or less exaggerated. The German band did not consider hiring a psychologist to ease the work in the studio, either.

- “(laughs) Actually we were asked if we would like a film crew to eternalise our recording sessions. We didn’t. That would have made our work decisively more difficult, because it is impossible to be completely natural in front of the cameras. One of us would have in the end become an “actor”, wanting to be the “funny guy” in the band. Or some crab like that. All in all the spirit within Rammstein is surprisingly good at the moment. There are of course small conflicts constantly, but we won’t tumble over something like that.”

- “Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster was undeniably damn interesting to watch. Earlier I felt strongly that James Hetfield was a great guy and Lars Ulrich on the other hand a complete asshole. Seeing the DVD opened my eyes: James is actually the big wanker! By the way, has your opinion about the band changed after seeing the DVD?”

I don’t know. It is interesting in a way that Metallica dared to do such an revealing DVD. On the other hand Some Kind Of Monster may have opened the curtain a little too much. I am not completely sure if I wish to see the guys responsible of “Ride the Lightning” on their children’s ballet-lessons or arguing about some childish little detail.

- “True. Let’s take Marilyn Manson for example. He is the bad guy, who wreaks havoc on stage, breaks things on his way and doesn’t give a fuck about anyone. I do not want to know, how he looks when he is cleaning up or doing the dishes. Image is sometimes a very important matter.”

The good feeling within the German orchestra is reflected in the fact that Landers is happy to take a look into the future. The guitarist has a clear vision of the next studio album.

- “I really cannot say yet, when the successor of Rosenrot will come out. Rammstein in the end is a fairly slow studio band, because quality for us is the most important thing. But, as I said earlier, Reise, Reise and Rosenrot are different than our earlier productions. I know as surely, that with the next record we will find again a new direction. And the direction… We will probably publish a heavier, tougher and harder record. Just like in the movies, a romantic moment is followed by a wild action scene.”

And Rosenrot is your romantic moment?

- “Absolutely!”

The Journey continues despite difficulties

The bassist Oliver “Olli” Riedel has not often been heard in stories about Rammstein. The “quiet members” of bands often stay quite deliberately on the background, because they simply don’t have anything to say. Interviewing the evenly tanned 34-year-old Riedel however turns out to be a surprisingly pleasant experience, because the extremely genial man digs up answers to every question you throw at him.

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

- “The new albums of Nine Inch Nails and System Of A Down. Also the new record of Limp Bizkit has turned out to be a positive surprise, because there is again in their sound some of the glow from the good old days. Unfortunately no new band has really impressed me in a long time. And believe it or not, but I like flamenco-music enormously… If I was to make for example a solo album, it would definitely not be metal. More instrumental stuff, acoustic guitars and samples.”

How is Rammstein 2005 different from Rammstein in 1995?

- “We have at least gained a little weight and grown from a little club band into an arena name… Do-it-yourself –mentality has also disappeared. In the early days we designed and executed all the pyro stuff on our own. We grabbed a gasoline can and went on stage to play. Today we concentrate on the playing and the fire and explosives are taken care of by professionals. Of course it is now much easier and more relaxing to be on the road, when there is personnel to make our lives as easy as possible. Or at least they try to.”

- “Nowadays it is not as dangerous on stage and there is no need to take care of own burn injuries as often. All kinds of things happened to us in the early part of our career. Once a burning Rammstein-frame fell into the audience. That had potential for a serious catastrophe, but luckily no-one was badly hurt. Although the beginning of a tour is an exciting time even today. The show is not yet stuck in the back of one’s mind and the bombs go off and the pillars of fire roar all around. Till can also sometimes get a little bit too excited with the flamethrowers… But we do try to keep in mind, that serious accidents are completely possible. James Hetfield from Metallica for instance burnt his hand really badly once years ago.”

Why is fire such a big part of the Rammstein-show?

- “A couple of pyromaniacs have ended up in the band; they can now freely express themselves and they even get paid for it (laughs). A great show has an especially important role outside of Germany. People don’t necessarily understand our lyrics, but they will react to a flashy performance.”

- “On the cover of Rosenrot you on the other hand see ice. It is basically a coincidence; we did not look for something as a counterpart to the flames. The new record was really going to be called simply Reise, Reise (Vol. 2), so the theme of travelling would have been continued in the title of the album. The ship ploughing on in the middle of thick ice is a strong message. That the journey goes on despite the difficulties.”

You were going to tour in South-America in October, but suddenly the tour was pulled from your program. Why?

- “People have been asking, if the tour was cancelled, because of Till’s leg injury. He injured his knee in Sweden, you know. This wasn’t the reason for the change in schedule though. Our keyboardist Flake fell ill and he can’t hear anything with his other ear. We are now waiting for him to get well. It is also totally possible that he will never recover his hearing, but that won’t change the composition of Rammstein. There are lots of musicians in the world, who are at least half-deaf. Till was especially disappointed because the tour was cancelled, because he has strong ties to South-America. He also forces us often to listen to Mexican music.”

Will you be touring at all after Rosenrot?

- “We will try to make it at least to South-America to make up for the cancelled tour. We have not for the moment even thought about other gigs. The tour after Reise, Reise was a tough experience and I would not be surprised if we took a long time to recharge the batteries. But it is just as possible that we are back on stage already at the end of the year. The plans are completely open. One gets in bad shape surprisingly quickly by the way, when the band goes on vacation. The first gigs after a break are always really bad; nothing goes as one would expect.”

What do you remember if you think back on your performance at Ruisrock? It was wild to film your performance when the earth moved as thirty thousand people were jumping up and down.

- “Really? One didn’t notice the earth moving on stage. I can remember well those big ships on the sea and the best warm-up band ever… I mean the thunder! Luckily the lightning and pouring rain stopped just before our set. We would have of course played even during the thunder, but it’s certainly nicer for the audience when they aren’t getting hit by hail or giant drops of water.

Your appearance has changed from one record to the next. For instance on the cd-booklet of Reise, Reise there was a picture that reminded of the movie “Falling down”, in the new Benzin-video you play firemen and so on.

- “Sometimes we plan the promo-shots ourselves, sometimes we ask help from others. There is no one single absolute formula. Most of the time we have an idea and we present it to a photographer or a video director. Sometimes people have come to us and suggested a certain image, and we have found the idea very usable. If I could now choose the image for our next album, we would probably be French aristocrats. They have such nifty outfits (laughs).

Do you have bad experiences about touring with other bands or of co-operation with journalists? For example photographers and your warm-up bands have to sign contracts, where certain things are demanded…

- “I am not at all interested in legal things. These things are completely taken care of by our management. But I admit that our manager could as well work as a detective for example. He is careful about everything and tries to pay attention to everything possible. He probably would like to keep our records in a safe, so no-one would get their hands on them (laughs). In other words, the contracts our manager drafts can sometimes seem a bit too precise. Things would probably work just as well with a bit more relaxed attitude.”

If you would work as a tourist guide in Berlin, which places you would recommend to a traveller?

- “The number one would be Karl-Marx-Allee. It is as Russian a creation as anything can be…”
- “A suburb by the name of Marzahn is also a very interesting place. You see, it is full of these element houses from the 70’s. In many ways it is a very impressive place.”
- “The now abandoned amusing park Plenterwald is a charming area. All the amusement rides stand there to gather rust. Trees grow here and there and moss overtakes all the old things. It’s really romantic there.
- “Of the basic attractions you should check out Brandenburger Tor and the Television tour of Berlin. Those are kind of “must see” –things.

© 2005 Lovisa