Information
Date: June 29, 2001
Source: Albuquerque Tribune
Interviewed: Christoph
Interview
When you have to do an interview through an interpreter, there's always the nagging feeling that something might get lost in the translation.
Such was the feeling, when Schneider, the drummer for Teutonic bruisers Rammstein, called from Berlin last week. He spoke very broken English, although he gets an "A" for effort. Gisela handled translation duties. (It seems everybody in Germany only goes by a single name.)
The members of Rammstein -- who besides Schneider are Richard and Paul on guitars, Till on vocals and flames (more on that later), Oliver on bass and Flake (pronounced Flah-keh) on keyboards -- were getting ready for their second assault on America.
The East German sextet, formed in 1993, offers a distinctive blend of metal, industrial, techno and classical music elements with clockwork precision. The bombastic monolithic song structures feature grinding guitars, alternately soaring and swooning, with martial beats holding down the bottom. Till's harsh guttural delivery accents the German lyrics, as he rolls, heavily, the hard consonants.
And depending on whom you ask, the band either took its name from the German word for battering ram (Rammstein with two m's) or after the German town (Ramstein with one m) where a midair collision during an air show at a U.S. Air Force base left 70 people dead.
Schneider is coy about which is which.
"Yes, that is good," the 35-year-old says, sans Gisela. "Either answer is correct."
Lyrically, Rammstein toys with the dark side of desire, often indulging in black comedy. Extreme sex is a central theme of most of the band's songs. To wit: bondage on "Bück Dich" (Bend Down); sexual torture on "Bestrate mich" (Punish Me); S/M on "Rein Raus" (In Out); and a walk on the wild side on "Zwitter" (Hermaphrodite).
And on the title tune of the band's current CD, "Mutter," the protagonist in the song seems to rail against not having a mother.
"Yes . . .," Gisela says in English after Schneider has given a long-winded answer in German. (I'm afraid this is where something is lost in translation, but she's only catching her breath.) ". . . but not really. It's about a boy, a son, who sings about his mother, how he sees her after he's grown up and he's a little crazy.
"But we try not to say too much about what this song or that song means. It can mean anything to anybody."
The band came to prominence in the states with its second album, "Sehnsucht" (Longing), in 1998.
"Du Hast" (You Have) -- or with a hard consonant roll "Du Hasst" (You Hate) -- was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 1999 Grammys, the first German band ever nominated.
"'Du Hast,' that was a good record for us there," Schneider says, "but we want to introduce our new CD, our new music."
When told radio has latched onto the old single, Schneider says: "Maybe that will change with our next single, 'Ich Will' (I Want); it's a track off the new CD."
Rammstein first appeared on these shores two years ago during "The Family Values" tour, where by all accounts the Germans stole the show.
The band is defined through its live shows, a pyromaniac's dream come true: explosions, fireworks and just plain fire. Till is a certified pyrotechnician and, midway through the band's set, he appears in his blazing asbestos coat, performing engulfed in flames from head to toe.
"We started doing pyro five or six years ago," Schneider says. "We started in a small way, a few fireworks. But over the years, we've gotten more experience. Now we incorporate it into all of our shows."
The group has run into a few problems with its pyrotechnics.
"We canceled a show in England earlier (this month)," Schneider says. "And in Chicago they told us not to use pyro because they are generally not allowed, but we did the show anyway. I personally don't care (if we use pyro or not), but some in the band -- it is essential for them."
Needless to say, the band members occasionally get hurt.
"It can happen; we get burned a little, but nothing serious," Schneider says, adding with a laugh, "Till, the singer, gets burned all the time . . . but he likes pain."
Schneider also says the band likes coming to the states but with some reservations.
"We like America; we like the fans in America," he says. "Our audience there is much younger than here at home.
"There are many things I like and many things I don't like. I don't like the water, the food, and there's too many cops, too much police."
Trouble with the police?
"Yes, sometimes for walking on the wrong side of the street," Schneider says, explaining, "like at construction sites; we enjoy viewing construction (and demolition) sites."
Rammstein's second show for this American tour is Sunday at the Journal Pavilion as part of EdgeFest 7. The band will play the Duke City for the first time.
"I'm very excited going to places for the first time," Schneider says. "It is very hard for us to understand that America is one country, one market."
"America reminds us of the countries in Europe . . . with all these different people and situations. America is so big."
And despite some success in the states, the members of Rammstein don't feel any pressure to sing in English.
"We have much success in Germany," Schneider says. "Some people have suggested that we do songs in English, but our texts are very lyrical. English translation is not good enough."