Metal-Is: It's been a lengthy five years since the release of 'Sehnsucht' and over two since the live album. Hope you don't mind being asked, but where have you been?
Christoph:We've been sleeping...
Paul:And when we finally got out of bed, we went out on tour for a couple of years (including a stint supporting Kiss in South America) and, to be honest, we're not like a lot of other groups in the sense that when we're on tour, we find it very difficult to write new material as a band. So when we got back off the road, we had to take a break in order to make time to write new songs - and for us that takes a long, long time.
M-I:Better late than never. Tell us about the new album.
P:It's called 'Mutter', meaning 'mother', and the album takes its name from the song of the same name on the album, because we thought it was a word that suits the mood of the music. We also wanted to get away from the theme of longing - we didn't want to copy the same sense or atmosphere as before, so we thought it should be more natural for us, more natural with our instruments, but with more attitude and in much more of a rock style than previous Rammstein. We certainly wanted it to rock more - but there're still the good melodies, the good sounds and the clearly identifiable Rammstein rhythms.
M-I:Phew. No major departure, then? With you having joined the likes of Korn, Orgy and Limp Bizkit on a leg of the 1998 stateside Family Values tour, we needn't brace ourselves for any nu-metal nonsense, right? Still exercising the uncompromising fusion of industrial, metal, classical and prog rock elements?
P:Yeah, sure, but saying that - although overall and for the most part it is atypical Rammstein - there are a few styles we've explored that are new to us. This time we went as far as to bring in a live orchestra (the Babelsberg Film Orchestra on the track 'Mein Herz Brennt') and tried out other styles including a punk vibe and even some jungle beats.
C:I think Till's singing voice has developed a lot as well, but as hard as we tried, we couldn't prevent that from happening (laughs). Basically, as you'd expect, it's a natural progression and although we are proud to say we have developed artistically, the sound remains unmistakably Rammstein.
M-I:Having already been permitted entry to the worldwide mainstream, what do Rammstein hope to achieve with this album?
P:The little problem we have with being asked that is that we have achieved so much already, so much more than we could have ever hoped for, or expected. We never even dreamed that we'd be able to travel to all these different countries with our music. That's why we've taken a step back and taken a bit of time to reflect and think of new goals, but we haven't quite decided what goals we're going for yet.
C:Of course, it's not that there's nothing left for us to achieve, it's just that we're happy doing what we're doing and we're happy to keep going at a comfortable and steady pace. We like to try and appreciate the here and now.
M-I:This aforementioned international fame and recognition has, however, eluded you to a degree in Britain, for example. Predictable a question as it may seem, have you ever considered releasing alternative English-spoken versions to cater for the non German-speaking populace?
P:As you can imagine, we are asked this a lot and have considered the ramifications of such actions since we formed back in 1994.Although we have refused to compromise, the history of Rammstein has shown and proven that it is possible to become internationally successful even with German lyrics. Furthermore, to take our lyrics and translate them into English would mean all the poetry would be lost. If we were to sing in English, we'd have to live in or move to an English-speaking society in order to understand the culture and write authentically - so it could be based on our experiences.
M-I:So what do you think of German band Guano Apes, for example, who have chosen to sing in English in order to take a calculated stab at international stardom. Do you respect their decision or, patriotically, do you find it somewhat traitorous?
C:Until now, record companies in Germany have thought that, as a German band, one can only be very successful if one is very German. But Guano Apes have broken the rules and proven almost the opposite - which is good. You don't have to sound German; all that's important is that you make good music. She (Sandra Nasic, Guano Apes' singer) has a very good voice, but the band do sound very international - American or English, or whatever. There are a number of bands who aren't that good when they copy the American sound or formula, and they're always going to be number two - they'll never make it.
M-I: Dramatically doleful vocals, operatic melodies and the trademark horrific romanticism adorn 'Sonne', the first single to be lifted from the album. What is the reasoning behind the concept of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves video?
P:Firstly, the lyrics have nothing to do with the concept of the video. Secondly, you'll notice that there are only six dwarves - because there are only six of us in the band. Either that, or the original fairytale was written incorrectly at the time.
C:We had several different ideas for the video, all of which were very good. One idea was that we'd be a crew of bomber pilots about to drop an atom bomb on a city. In the video, we would have tried to depict how it's possible for human beings to willingly drop atom bombs on other human beings. But, of course, that would have been deemed highly politically incorrect, because, as usual, it would have been misunderstood. And as we don't like to have to explain ourselves all the time, we decided to opt for another idea we would have to go through the rigmarole of having to explain.
P:The lyrics contain the words ' Here comes the sun' and that, we thought, would have fitted in very well with a nuclear impact. I guess we were bothered with all the shit we knew we'd get.
Christoph:We've been sleeping...
Paul:And when we finally got out of bed, we went out on tour for a couple of years (including a stint supporting Kiss in South America) and, to be honest, we're not like a lot of other groups in the sense that when we're on tour, we find it very difficult to write new material as a band. So when we got back off the road, we had to take a break in order to make time to write new songs - and for us that takes a long, long time.
M-I:Better late than never. Tell us about the new album.
P:It's called 'Mutter', meaning 'mother', and the album takes its name from the song of the same name on the album, because we thought it was a word that suits the mood of the music. We also wanted to get away from the theme of longing - we didn't want to copy the same sense or atmosphere as before, so we thought it should be more natural for us, more natural with our instruments, but with more attitude and in much more of a rock style than previous Rammstein. We certainly wanted it to rock more - but there're still the good melodies, the good sounds and the clearly identifiable Rammstein rhythms.
M-I:Phew. No major departure, then? With you having joined the likes of Korn, Orgy and Limp Bizkit on a leg of the 1998 stateside Family Values tour, we needn't brace ourselves for any nu-metal nonsense, right? Still exercising the uncompromising fusion of industrial, metal, classical and prog rock elements?
P:Yeah, sure, but saying that - although overall and for the most part it is atypical Rammstein - there are a few styles we've explored that are new to us. This time we went as far as to bring in a live orchestra (the Babelsberg Film Orchestra on the track 'Mein Herz Brennt') and tried out other styles including a punk vibe and even some jungle beats.
C:I think Till's singing voice has developed a lot as well, but as hard as we tried, we couldn't prevent that from happening (laughs). Basically, as you'd expect, it's a natural progression and although we are proud to say we have developed artistically, the sound remains unmistakably Rammstein.
M-I:Having already been permitted entry to the worldwide mainstream, what do Rammstein hope to achieve with this album?
P:The little problem we have with being asked that is that we have achieved so much already, so much more than we could have ever hoped for, or expected. We never even dreamed that we'd be able to travel to all these different countries with our music. That's why we've taken a step back and taken a bit of time to reflect and think of new goals, but we haven't quite decided what goals we're going for yet.
C:Of course, it's not that there's nothing left for us to achieve, it's just that we're happy doing what we're doing and we're happy to keep going at a comfortable and steady pace. We like to try and appreciate the here and now.
M-I:This aforementioned international fame and recognition has, however, eluded you to a degree in Britain, for example. Predictable a question as it may seem, have you ever considered releasing alternative English-spoken versions to cater for the non German-speaking populace?
P:As you can imagine, we are asked this a lot and have considered the ramifications of such actions since we formed back in 1994.Although we have refused to compromise, the history of Rammstein has shown and proven that it is possible to become internationally successful even with German lyrics. Furthermore, to take our lyrics and translate them into English would mean all the poetry would be lost. If we were to sing in English, we'd have to live in or move to an English-speaking society in order to understand the culture and write authentically - so it could be based on our experiences.
M-I:So what do you think of German band Guano Apes, for example, who have chosen to sing in English in order to take a calculated stab at international stardom. Do you respect their decision or, patriotically, do you find it somewhat traitorous?
C:Until now, record companies in Germany have thought that, as a German band, one can only be very successful if one is very German. But Guano Apes have broken the rules and proven almost the opposite - which is good. You don't have to sound German; all that's important is that you make good music. She (Sandra Nasic, Guano Apes' singer) has a very good voice, but the band do sound very international - American or English, or whatever. There are a number of bands who aren't that good when they copy the American sound or formula, and they're always going to be number two - they'll never make it.
M-I: Dramatically doleful vocals, operatic melodies and the trademark horrific romanticism adorn 'Sonne', the first single to be lifted from the album. What is the reasoning behind the concept of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves video?
P:Firstly, the lyrics have nothing to do with the concept of the video. Secondly, you'll notice that there are only six dwarves - because there are only six of us in the band. Either that, or the original fairytale was written incorrectly at the time.
C:We had several different ideas for the video, all of which were very good. One idea was that we'd be a crew of bomber pilots about to drop an atom bomb on a city. In the video, we would have tried to depict how it's possible for human beings to willingly drop atom bombs on other human beings. But, of course, that would have been deemed highly politically incorrect, because, as usual, it would have been misunderstood. And as we don't like to have to explain ourselves all the time, we decided to opt for another idea we would have to go through the rigmarole of having to explain.
P:The lyrics contain the words ' Here comes the sun' and that, we thought, would have fitted in very well with a nuclear impact. I guess we were bothered with all the shit we knew we'd get.
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