Information
Date: June 22, 2001
Source: SFX
Interviewed: Christoph, Flake, and Paul
Interview
Growing up in East Germany and having limited access to Western music would make it difficult for any young band to break through in the U.S. or anywhere outside their native Germany. Not so with the members of Rammstein, whose lack of musical influences has perhaps been the main building block to their success. Consequently, most of America has been caught off guard by their songs, which are sung entirely in German. That hurdle, however, was effectively cleared by their strong and dynamic songwriting and their extremely entertaining live shows, which make extensive use of pyrotechnics. Even if you haven't spent time with Rammstein's music, seeing their show is such an awe-inspiring experience that it forces you to listen and gain insight into what this phenomenon is all about.
Not everyone agrees with the entertainment value of a Rammstein show; in Worcester, MA (during their stint with the Family Values tour), they were immediately removed from the stage and arrested for "lascivious conduct" due to their use of a strap-on phallus during the song "Bück Dich." Nonetheless, the Sehnsucht album went platinum and even received a Grammy nomination in the Best Metal Performance category.
Now, with Mutter, Rammstein looks to lead yet another assault on the States and the world. Since the members of Rammstein don't speak English, I hooked up with keyboardist Flake Lorenz, drummer Christoph Shneider, and guitarist Paul Landers via E-mail from their German homeland to get a first hand look at their thoughts on America and their success.
Interviewer:Growing up in East Germany, how much access did you have to Western music or rock music?Lorenz:"We had no access to Western music. One of our friend's grandmothers was allowed to drive to West Berlin because she was over 60, and he asked her to bring an AC/DC Highway To Hell album. She instead brought the folk album from Heidi back. His grandmother wasn't really in the heavy metal business. If we had an album, we played it to death, until the cassette hissed."
Interviewer:In hindsight, what would you cite as the main influences on what your sound is today?Lorenz:"Earlier, I would have liked to have been the sixth member of the Rolling Stones, but then I heard that there were much better bands like Ministry, Prodigy, and Massive Attack. Now I am happy that I don't play for the Stones!"Landers:"All bands influences us in the sense that we didn't want to be like them."
Interviewer:How much of your success here in the States do you attribute to your overwhelmingly visual live show?Lorenz:"The Americans love a big show."Landers:"The Americans also love good riffs. I think one can find out how important the music is by comparing how many Gwar CDs are sold to how many people go to their shows, ands then by doing the same thing for Rammstein.
Interviewer:The live show on the last tour was pretty amazing. How do you plan on outdoing what you've done in the past? Will you push the pyrotechnic envelope even further this time around?Lorenz:"For the new songs there will be new effects."Landers:"First a man burns, then a house, then a city, and then a heart."
Interviewer:Exactly what kind of training and how long does it take to be certified as a pyrotechnician?Landers:"(vocalist) Till (Lindemann) has a license to blow things up. He went to a course for a year so that he could do this. From illegal sources we get explosives and fireworks."
Interviewer:Will you still do the "strap on" routine this time around when you tour through Massachusetts?Lorenz:"We will do it again, because we are not guilty of anything."Landers:"If there are a lot of police there, we'll probably think something else out, because we have other things to do besides spend time with the police."
Interviewer:I realize that you have no political agenda and its not something you guys prefer to get into, but what would you say to those who seem to think you do have an agenda?Landers:"The people who complain the most usually have something to hide (and are) usually the real perverts. We do the best we can do. We can't tell people what they should think about us or what they should think in general. We stopped excusing ourselves for things we haven't done."
Interviewer:Will the American version of your new album Mutter have lyrics in English so we can see exactly what you're singing about?Schneider:"Mutter" will not be sung in English, but there will be an English translation available on our Web site, www.ramstein.com."
Interviewer:There's a track on the album entitled "Adios," does that have a German meaning, as the Spanish word means goodbye?Schneider:"Adios means goodbye. We were simply using the Spanish word."
Adios