Fromm OOR, November 2005, interview with Schneider:When the interview can begin on the boat, drummer

Fromm OOR, November 2005, interview with Schneider:

When the interview can begin on the boat, drummer Christoph Schneider and singer Till Lindemann walk along the railing. The two have an animated conversation in which Lindemann in particular reinforces his words with many gestures.

Do you feel that Rosenrot is more consistent? Ultimately, these are leftovers from the experimental Reise, Reise.

“Those aren’t leftovers, but good songs that just didn’t fit Reise, Reise. Many songs had the same character. There were three ballads and you can’t put them on one CD. Two records seemed the most logical thing to do.”

Rosenrot does indeed hatch surprisingly quickly.

"We only had to write five or six new songs: Benzin, Mann Gegen Mann, Spring, Te Quiero Puta and another pop song that was not presented at the listening session. I don’t think the new songs are very different from Reise, Reise. There is not much time between these two albums. If you wait and leave songs on the shelf for too long, you lose the feeling. Maybe you don’t like them anymore or they belong to a different time. Of course, such a song like Te Quiero Puta is also very different… That song would stand out on every CD of ours.’

Whose idea was that anyway?

"Till, though for a while the song was an instrumental that the band loved. We’ve been pushing Till, ‘can you write a text please?’. For us it was a very important song; nice and fast. However, he could never come up with anything appropriate, even gave up. Only at the end did Till suddenly come up with a Spanish text.

What the hell is it about?

Schneider laughs amusedly. "Ask Till…”

(About Mann Gegen Mann) Another typical Till brainchild?

Laughingly: “I can easily say yes. After all, we have already described every form of love. I think it was time we had a discussion on such a subject. Now you can of course ask me if we are all gay…”

Rammstein is not averse to leather, witness the last show.

"None of us are gay. But Mann Gegen Mann’s text does have an interesting approach. It throws a whole new perspective on the subject - at least I never thought about it that way. I mean, Till also came up with a song about hermaphrodites. He always point out a few intriguing things.”

During the recordings of Mutter, the band democracy turned out to be a problem for you.

“It has been this way from the beginning: everyone has the same rights and obligations. There is no leader in the band or anyone whose voice weighs heavier for doing more. When we started we felt that it was possible to write songs together in the rehearsal room this way. Somehow, though, that balance shifted, making certain people… [looks aside] so unmanageable that we had big fights. Some members even placed themselves completely out of it; it didn’t matter anyway. The power struggle within the band was just too bad.”

It was mainly between guitarists Paul and Richard, I understand.

"No, Paul wasn’t the problem. Actually, it was all about Richard, he wanted to control the course of the band. Tried to make all decisions, to contribute his ideas everywhere. Richard was no longer open to changes. He came up with a lot of material and wanted to push everything through. In the end, no one listened to his ideas anymore. Not even to hear if they were good or bad. No, Richard’s ideas were fired in advance because they came from Richard.’

You never had the urge to take control?

“Everyone at Rammstein has that potential in a way, which is very difficult. For example, you may come up with something, develop it and deliver it accordingly. But yes, then the rest will hear it… You can have two men who say that your idea is beautiful and two who don’t like it at all. Then they try to change your idea so that they like it too. During that process you notice that the original concept becomes less and less recognizable. You lose it. But that’s just Rammstein. And that includes this attitude. For some it is easier than for others. The fact that we are a unit is good, everyone feels good about that too, At least for eighty percent of what we do.’

You always look very calm on stage in the midst of all the chaos, and the calm way in which you now tell the story also gives the impression that you are the stabilizing factor within Rammstein. The cement, so to speak.

“I see myself as someone who always guards harmony. I can find myself in that cement; In the end, I’m the drummer that holds everything together. On a personal level I try to understand all the extremes within the band. Sometimes opinions are so far apart that some members can’t make a decision or talk to each other at all. Because I understand both sides, that can sometimes help. I’m a harmonizer, haha!’