WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

In the beginning there was trouble. It has always been our innermost need to cause trouble, to differ from the average and provoke. It doesn't matter if that was a conscious decision, that's not important. In the old East it proved very simple. Basically everyone was against society, had something to moan about or was generally dissatisfied. But hardly anyone dared to speak up outside of their own home. In those days being an underground band was pretty easy. You only had to voice your discontent and everyone though you were great. That's right! Finally someone's opening their mouth. So we all had a band that was somehow more or less original in being against the status quo. The GDR population started their marching and uprising when everything had already been sorted out. What a great revolution. A country had simply given up, that's what it was. Bad for us, no obvious enemy any more. We floated around aimlessly. What should we do now? In the West it was more difficult for us.

There, people know everything. They are more or less content as long as they've got enough money. Nothing fazes them and they've experienced pretty much everything. So, how could we cause trouble in this environment? How could we entertain these people? What's their thrill? In the West making music almost always meant ripping off American or British heroes. There were a few highlights like Kraftwerk or Can and a few bands of the German New Wave and Einstürzende Neubaten, but all of that had been a long time ago. The current electro movement is pretty innovative. But to sneak your way in as a 30-year-old and pretend you've been a DJ all your life is not really our thing. Our approach was supposed to be different - "Boot maker, stick to your tools". While everyone proclaimed "Rock is Dead", we thought differently. Stomping beats and monotonous riffs, no endless guitar solos and most definitely no falsetto vocals. The sound of a distorted guitar and the power of a straight drum beat are still unbeatable. This was the fat sound we wanted. And this sound was filled by the lyrics of a tremendous word artist and erotomaniac. Few words, straight to the core and solid with grand gestures - that's the entertainer.

The idea behind Rammstein is to be original, to be apart from the rest as well as our predilection for trouble. Unconsciously we followed the right path. Consider what you're good at, don't listen to others, don't follow trends. Rammstein means entertaining shock theatre. We are happy when a lot of people are impressed and the women all love us. Rammstein is a musical, lyrical and visual provocation. Well, the name itself provokes. Provocation without aim, provocation for its own sake. The pleasure of effect and reaction. The boundless exaggeration. There is no message. Interpretation is down to the consumer. And there are many of those. The intellectual discovers meaning in what we do. It is hard for a musician to gauge the impact of what he does. Rammstein is most certainly a German band. We use our mother tongue, the rhythm of marching songs, composed with native orderliness and precision, carefully selected lyrics, we pose on stage like fighting cocks, appreciating the symmetry and the straight-angular aspect, our hair is short and we roll the "r". Well, in the end of the day, this is our heritage. How could a modern, end-of-the-millennium German rock band sound that doesn't pay lip-service to international music trends? What can be done that hasn't been done before? What have people not seen yet? Question: How and who could we still provoke? The fearful with Rammstein? Fear of change, the unknown, of conflict, their very own creativity even.

Rammstein is a force moving without direction. All those present can sense the energy, but have to channel it for themselves. Some lap this up, the timid tend to feel assaulted. This fear requires explanation. Which leads to the usual pigeon-holing for Rammstein. Right wing music is still one of the mildest judgements. Unfortunately society is not really about right or left any more, but about how to get to the top as quickly as possible. By any means. Maybe I should do the same and as thousands of others before me and say what people wish to hear. Today's media are masters of this discipline. Money and ratings are more important than content or meaning. At least, it's nobody's fault, really. That's why a band like Rammstein is important. That's why we have to keep causing trouble!

Christoph Schneider

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