Rammstein Felsen!

Discussion in 'Music' started by *Hippie Jesus*, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. *Hippie Jesus* "I get online and notice I have E-mail I click my

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    Sources:
    http://www.rammstein.com/#navigation
    http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Rammstein-Biography/B708496302E7C1E5482568A800010D07

    RAMMSTEIN:
    Rammstein was started by Richard Z. Kruspe-Bernstein. In 1989 he escaped from East Germany over the border between Austria and Hungary. He eventually ended up in West Berlin and started a band in 1993 (Orgasm Death Gimmicks). At that time he was very influenced by American music. After the wall came down, he moved back home to Schwerin where Till Lindemann (the singer of Rammstein) worked as a basket weaver and played drums in the band First Arsch. At this time, Richard lived with Oliver Riedel (of the band The Inchtabokatables) and Christoph Doom Schneider (of Die Firma). Richard realized that the music he had previously made was not right for him. He envisioned something with machines and hard guitars together. The three started working together on a new project. Richard soon found it hard to write music and lyrics at the same time. He got Till to join them as he had often heard him singing while working. A contest for new bands was announced and the prize was studio time. The four of them recorded the first Rammstein demo and won. Paul Landers knew them all and wanted to know what they were doing. After listening, he agreed to join. At this point, all they needed for the machine-sound was a keyboarder. They tried to get Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz to join, as he had played with Paul before in the band Feeling B. Flake was not entirely thrilled with the idea at first and didn’t want to join for a long time. But, he eventually agreed.
    About the time the band was formed, they all had relationship problems which provided the foundation for their debut album Herzeleid (Heartache) in 1995. Since then, they have reached gold and platinum status for their music and have become Germany’s number one music export. They took their name (adding an ‘m’) from the location of a German tragedy where 80 people were hurt and killed as the result of a crash during an American Air Force flight show. The literal translation of ‘ram stein’ is a battering ram made of stone. Rammstein have not been shy of courting controversy and have periodically attracted condemnation from morality campaigners. Their stage act earned them a night in jail in June 1999 after the infamous giant dildo was used in a concert in Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home in Germany, the band has faced repeated accusations of fascist sympathies due to the dark and sometimes militaristic imagery of their videos and concerts, including the use of extracts from a propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl in the video for Stripped. Also, when the album Herzeleid originally came out in Germany in 1995, they were met with accusations from the media and critics that they were trying to sell themselves as ‘poster boys for the Master Race’. Rammstein have denied this vigorously and the members of the band have said that they want nothing to do with politics as well as supremacy of any kind. The song Links 2 3 4 was written as a riposte to these claims. According to Kruspe, it means, ”my heart beats on the left, two, three, four.’ It’s simple. If you want to put us in a political category, we’re on the left side, and that’s the reason we made the song.’ (The Grand Rapids Press, Jul. 22, 2001). Of course this is a two-sided thing, since ‘Links 2 3 4′ is the usual command in marching practice in the German army, ‘Links’ referring to the left foot in that case. In April 1999, it emerged that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold – the two boys who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre – were fans of Rammstein and had declared it to be one of their favourite bands. Rammstein came under heavy criticism from conservative and Christian groups in the United States, who claimed (among other things) that Till Lindemann’s rolling Teutonic r’s were an imitation of Adolf Hitler’s diction. In response, the band issued a statement:
    The members of Rammstein express their condolences and sympathy to all affected by the recent tragic events in Denver. They wish to make it clear that they have no lyrical content or political beliefs that could have possibly influenced such behavior. Additionally, members of Rammstein have children of their own, in whom they continually strive to instill healthy and non-violent values. Jeff Weise of the Red Lake High School massacre was also said to have been a fan. Following the tragic conclusion of the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia in September 2004, the Russian authorities claimed that the hostage-takers had listened to German hard rock group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves edgy and fired up. The claim has not been independently confirmed, and the Russian authorities are known to have been concerned that Rammstein was too appealing to ‘undesirable’ elements in Russian society. A Rammstein concert in Moscow scheduled for July 19, 2002 was cancelled due to fears that it would attract skinheads. In October 2004, the video for Mein Teil caused considerable controversy in Germany when it was released. It takes a darkly comic view of the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case, showing musicians of the band being held on a leash by a transvestite and rolling around in mud. The controversy did nothing to stop (and may even have helped) the single rising to No. 2 in the German charts.The band’s own views of its image are sanguine: ‘We like being on the fringes of bad taste,’ according to Paul Landers, while Flake Lorenz comments: ‘The controversy is fun, like stealing forbidden fruit. But it serves a purpose. We like audiences to grapple with our music, and people have become more receptive.’ (The Times, Jan 29, 2005)The band’s latest album, Rosenrot, was released on October 28, 2005. A number of songs that were left out of Reise, Reise for dramaturgical reasons make up the majority of the album, but a number of new songs have also been recorded. The band performed “Benzin”, the first single from the album, at four shows in Wuhlheide Park on June 23-26, 2005, and four shows in the UK (Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff) in July 2005.

    Till Lindemann:

    Till Lindemann grew up in a small village called Wendisch-Rambow. Smokes and drinks. Divorced, but has two children, both girls, one age 15, the other 5. His first band was First Arsch, and was the drummer. His father died, but Till has never seen his grave. Lives in a flat in Berlin. Hates pop music. Has a fish for a pet. Till was not an Olympic swimmer due to a torn stomach muscle in 1988, but was a youth champion. First band was First Arsch, as a drummer. Till Lindemann grew up in a small village called Wendisch-Rambow. Smokes and drinks. Divorced, but has two children, both girls, one age 15, the other 5. His first band was First Arsch, and was the drummer. His father died, but Till has never seen his grave. Lives in a flat in Berlin. Hates pop music. Has a fish for a pet. Till was not an Olympic swimmer due to a torn stomach muscle in 1988, but was a youth champion. First band was First Arsch, as a drummer.
    Attended Berlin Premier of XXX with bandmates Oliver Riedel and Christoph “Doom” Schneider Before Rammstein he ran his own business in Berlin Used to be a youth-champion swimmer Has two daughters – Nele from his first marriage, Marie Louise from his relationship with Anja Koesling. Grew up with his mother, Gitte, father, Werner and a sister six years younger.
    His mother has recently retired from journalism and his Father, now deceased, was a poet. Till’s parents divorced when he was just 12. Has recently completed signings of his book “Messer” in Germany. Ordered to pay a total of DM1200 in damages by a court in the city of Dresden (Germany) to ex girlfriend Anja Koesling, after her allegations of an incident involving herself and Till at a hotel in October 1997. It was reported that he punched her in the nose. His lawyers and himself have refused to make any comment on the subject. Last name is misspelled as “Lindermann” on the American version of the group’s “Sehnsucht” album. His father died in November of 1992, after drinking himself to death and was buried in the grounds of a church near Wendisch-Rambow. He lives in Berlin-Prezlauer Berg, on the top floor of an appartment block in a unit lined with windows. Refused to do military service and almost went to prison for his actions. Till Lindemann was born in Leipzig, but he grew up in the village of Wendisch-Rambow in Schwerin (East Germany). His father, Werner Lindemann, was a poet, and his mother, Brigitte (Gitta) Lindemann, is an artist and writer who has co-written at least one book with her husband. Till Lindemann has one sister, six years younger than himself. At age 11 he went to a sports school at the Rostock Sports Club, and from 1977-1980 attended a boarding school. His parents divorced in 1975, when he was age 12. In the years 1976-1979, Lindemann was a good swimmer who became junior vice-European champion. He finally left sports school in 1979. It is possible that he was thrown out of sports school due to him sneaking out, unaccompanied, of a hotel in Italy on a swimming tour. But he also suffered an injury, a torn abdominal muscle – so either reason could be valid. According to Lindemann, “I never liked the sport school actually, it was very intense. But as a child you don’t object.” His first job was at a peat cutting company, but he was fired after three days. He worked as an apprentice carpenter, a gallery technician, and was most well-known as a basket weaver. In 1981, Till Lindemann apparently refused to do his 9 months compulsory military service and was almost imprisoned because of the refusal. Many young men used to do “Ersatzdienst” or “substitute or reserve service”, so he may have done this. In 1985, when Lindemann was 22, his first daughter, Nele, was born. Lindemann and Nele’s mother married after she was born, but they separated and he has raised Nele alone. Lindemann says, “I used to play drums in a punk band and we had our studio in the house where I lived. Seven years I had been a father raising his daughter, but nowadays I’m sharing the upbringing with her mother, because I’m gone for six months of the year with the band.” The Berlin Wall came down November 9th, 1989, and Germany started its path to reunification. On this, Lindemann says, “After the wall had been opened, I drove to West Germany and bought gummy bears and yogurt for my salutation money. But there wasn’t anything else.” His father died in November of 1992, of the effects of alcohol. He was buried in the grounds of a church near Wendisch-Rambow. Lindemann had a second daughter with Anja Köseling, his former partner/wife. Köseling claimed Lindemann abused her physically during their relationship and that he refused to pay child support for their daughter, Marie-Louise (b. ca. 1993). Lindemann has never commented on her claim. In a radio interview in 2004, Lindemann stated that he wants to retire at 50 to spend more time with his children. In 1986, he started to play drums for First Arsch, also known as “First Art”: a play on words perhaps meant to distract the authorities. It was a Schwerin-based punk band. They made one album titled Saddle Up. Till Lindemann also played in a band called Feeling B. A song called Leid von der unruhevollen Jugend (Song of the Restless Youth) is credited on the album called Hea Hoa Hoa Hoa Hea Hoa Hea (1990). Later in the 1990’s, Lindemann began to write lyrics, possibly based on phrases and words from poems that he was beginning to write. He says he “used to drum in a punk band that consisted of bass and drums. We used to work with guest-guitarists, usually Paul Landers and Richard Kruspe. We did a short tour where I changed instruments with the bassist in the encore, that was such a success, that Richard insisted on starting a project in which I would sing. Other people joined the band but only when I left Schwerin for Berlin did it take serious form.” In 1994, they entered and won a contest in Berlin that allowed them to professionally record a four track demo. Till Lindemann moved to Berlin. Paul Landers formally joined the band, followed by the last member to join, Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz. It’s well documented that all the band members had women problems about the time Herzeleid was written, and this appears to have provided Lindemann with excellent writing material. Herzeleid was finally released in September 1995. Two years later, in August 1997, the band’s breakthrough album, Sehnsucht, was released. On June 5, 1999 in Worcester, Massachusetts (USA) Till Lindemann and Flake Lorenz were arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior. A statement from Sgt. Thomas Radula of the Worcester Police Department stated that Lindemann was simulating sex with Flake onstage “using a phallic object that shot water over the crowd.” They were held and released the following day on $25 bail. After months of legal debate, they were eventually fined 100. Consequently, in November 2002 Lindemann’s own project, the poetry book Messer, was published. It consists of 54 poems compiled by Gert Hof, who is author of the book Rammstein and has been the band’s pyrodesigner for the last seven years. This book is due to be re-printed in 2005 due to a campaign by a fansite In 2003 he started work on the fourth album, which was to prove a turning point in Rammstein’s sound and maturity. September 2004 saw the fruits of this work in the release of Reise Reise. As of 2005, Lindemann continues to work with Rammstein. As stated previously in various interviews, the loss of Till Lindemann, or any other band member, will be the end of the band proper. Rammstein are scheduled to release a new album (Rosenrot), containing new songs and songs remaining from the recording of Reise Reise, on November 7th, 2005.

    Richard Z. Kruspe:
    Richard Kruspe played in his old band Orgasm Death Gimmick. Divorced but re-married to actress Caren Bernstein on October 29th, 1999. One daughter, Khira Li Lindemann. No, she’s not related to Till Lindemann. Lindemann was the last name of Richard’s first wife, who was also Till’s first wife. Sven is his Christian name. Wrote the song Engel by himself. Did not get along well with his step-father. Loved Kiss when he was younger, but his step-father tore down his Kiss poster in his room and Richard put it back together and hung it back up. Very protective of his family. Smokes and drinks. Lead guitarist and co-founder of German industrial band “Rammstein” along with drummer Christoph “Doom” Schneider. Former member of Orgasm Death Gimmicks formed in the West after he escaped over the green border between Austria an Hungary. Sometime in 2001 he moved from Berlin to New York where he now resides. Speaks fluent English. Parents divorced while he was a child, mother remarried and he continued to live in his difficult childhood home with his brother and two sisters. Daughter: Khira Li Lindemann (b. 1992) He was born in Wittenburg, Germany. He has two older sisters and an older brother. His parents divorced when he was young. His mother remarried, and he did not get along with his step-father. They moved to the village of Weisen when he was young. As a child, Kruspe was a fan of Kiss. According to him, Kiss ‘represented capitalism in its purest sense, and every child was Kiss infected because they were so big. Kids wrote Kiss on their notebooks, and if the teachers saw it they could get kicked out of school just for having it written on their books.’ When he was twelve, he had a Kiss poster in his room, but his step-father tore it down and destroyed it, and Richard was up all night putting it back together. Richard was a wrestler as a teenager. At the age of sixteen, Richard Kruspe and some friends visited Czechoslovakia, where he bought a guitar. He had originally planned to sell it, because they were very expensive and thought he could make a nice profit. However, once he got back to East Germany, a girl at a campground he was staying at asked him to play. He told her that he couldn’t play, but she kept insisting, and Kruspe got mad and starting strumming the strings. ‘The harder I played,’ Richard said, ‘the more excited she got. Something clicked in my head and I realized girls like guys who play guitars.’ This got him interested in playing the guitar, and as a result, he began playing every day and night for the next two years. At the age of nineteen, bored with the apathetic music scene in his home town, he moved to East Berlin and lived on the Lychener Straße and “made music all day’. For two years, Richard lived in an apartment with a drum kit and a guitar, and he made music by himself because he did not know anybody there. ‘It was a lonely time’ according to Kruspe, but he used it to explore music. On 10 October 1989, prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, he was riding through the subway. When he came above ground, Richard found himself in the middle of a political demonstration. He was hit on the head and arrested just for being there, and thrown in jail for six days. Once out of jail, he decided to leave East Germany. In those days, one couldn’t just leave East Germany, so he entered West Germany through Czechoslovakia. When the wall came down, he moved back east. Around 1991, Richard started the band Orgasm Death Gimmick. In 1992 or 1993, his daughter, Khira Li Lindemann, was born. She is the daughter of Till Lindemann’s ex-wife. In this year, Richard made his first trip to the USA with Till Lindemann and Oliver Riedel. He realizes that he doesn’t want to make American music and concentrates on creating a unique German sound. The band Rammstein was “born” in January of 1994 when Till, Ollie, Christoph Schneider and Richard won a Berlin Music Competition, the prize of which was a professional demo or four songs, presumably to get them a record deal. They asked Paul Landers and Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz of Feeling B to join them. Flake was the last to join. After that, the group began work on their first album, Herzeleid. Richard married South African actress Caron Bernstein in 1999. The ceremony was Jewish and Richard composed the music for it. Richard took on the named Richard Kruspe-Bernstein during their marriage. They are believed to have divorced sometime in 2003 or 2004. Richard began work on a solo project around this time, called Emigrate and work continues on it to this day. He has said he wants to record an album in 2005. No other Rammstein band members are involved. He speaks excellent English with a strong American accent. Richard Kruspe is always immaculately dressed. He lost a large ornate ring while on tour in 2001; it has never been found. One of the more unusual (but ever-increasing) characteristics are his painted fingernails. When asked if he believes in God, Richard says, “No. I believe in life justice, that everything that you do, you get back. It’s justice and it’s what I believe in.” Still, he is spiritual saying he “practices the 5 Tibetan rejuvenating rites each day.” Richard likes Kiss, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Big Black, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Suicidal Tendencies, and Pantera. He has worked as a cashier and a salesman, and cleaning the apartment for an older woman who had her pet poodles stuffed (one for every year).

    Paul Landers:

    Paul Landers played in old band called Feeling B and Die Firma (Guitarist). Divorced, but has a girlfriend. One son named Emil. His small size is due to premature birth. Is fluent in Russian, but can not read or write it. He is eastern-European like Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, etc. Can play the piano and violen. The H. in his name stands for Henry. Early Life Paul Landers, the second oldest member of Rammstein, was born on December 9, 1964 in Brest-Litovsk, Belarus. According to Landers, he lived in Moscow for a short time during his childhood. His father was a language teacher, and his mother was a teacher at a special school. It is rumoured that Landers did not get along well with his father and left home during his teenage years. Feeling B In 1983, when Landers was nineteen, the band Feeling B was formed by Landers, Aljoscha Rompe, and Christian Flake Lorenz in Berlin. Feeling B was one of the first punk bands in Eastern Germany. The band started out firmly grounded in the underground punk scene. The band’s popularity grew over time and they drew large crowds to their concerts. Landers played in Feeling B and other bands, such as First Arsch and Die Firma, for about ten years. Rammstein In 1994, Oliver Riedel, Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe-Bernstein, and Christoph “Doom” Schneider entered and won the Berlin Senate Metro beat contest that allowed them to professionally record a four track demo. Paul Landers and Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz would later join the band they named Rammstein. Herzeleid, Rammstein’s first album, was released in September 1995. In August 1997, Sehnsucht was released, and in April 2001, Mutter was released. Rammstein finished the last date of the European Mutter tour on July 13, 2002. It has been reported that at this time Rammstein were seriously discussing whether to continue or not. It was decided that they should all take time off and then consider whether to continue or not. Paul was missing for a couple of dates during the tour; the reason is unknown. In 2003, Rammstein started working on fourth album, which proved to be a turning point in Rammstein’s sound and maturity. The result was Reise, Reise. The album was released in September 2004 and the Reise, Reise tour began in November. It was followed by hugely Successful sold out European tour of ten countries, lasting four months. Rammstein are scheduled to release a new album (Rosenrot), containing new songs and songs remaining from the recording of Reise Reise, in late 2005 or early 2006. In 1984 ,at the age of twenty, Paul married Nikki Landers. He took her surname and began to use his middle name. They had a son, Emil, whose date of birth is unknown but was probably around 1985. Former jobs include working as a boilermaker and a telecommunications mechanic. Landers speaks Russian. He is falsely rumored to have been a gymnast as a child. He has been married once and is currently divorced. Paul Landers has two children, a boy and a girl. The daughter was born around 2000/2001. Paul has said that he likes Pantera, Metallica, and The Sex Pistols.

    Christian Flake Lorenz:

    Christian Flake Lorenz played in old band, Feeling B (Keyboards). Divorced, but one daughter named Annie. Very serious offstage, very funny onstage. Likes to conduct interviews in German. Didn’t like Rammstein at first (thought the band would be too boring…). Wanted to become a doctor. His family background is vague. It is said Lorenz has a brother who is three years older. As well, there are some rumours of him being adopted into the Lorenz family. He was brought up and still lives in the former Prenzlauer Berg area of Berlin (now a part of the borough of Pankow), where he still passes his old school building on the way to band rehearsals. Lorenz learned the piano after being given one for his 15th birthday, and he is consequently a well-educated pianist, though he doesn’t consider himself very good. Flake says he chose to play the piano because a childhood friend of his did. At the age of sixteen, he apprenticed as a toolmaker, an apparently short-lived career. In 1983, at age seventeen, he began to play in the band Feeling B with Paul Landers and Aljoscha Rompe, a Swiss living in East Berlin. He stayed with the band for about ten years. Feeling B started out firmly grounded in the underground punk scene. Over time, Feeling B’s popularity grew greatly and at the end of the German Democratic Republic, it was one of the most respected and influencial Eastern German bands despite their underground status. Flake squatted/lived in an apartment with Paul during their early years. When they weren’t playing gigs, Landers and Flake would sell jackets made from cut-up bed sheets and dusters on the black market. Two jackets a month meant as much money as an average salaried worker. “It was quite easy to make a living; not to work and stay out of trouble,” says Landers, “You only got problems if you were caught.” The group disbanded in the mid-1990’s. On special occasions, the band members would get together for individual concerts at punk festivals, until Rompe died in November 2000. There is a book available about Feeling B. Flake is probably best known for his part in the controversial live performance of the song Bück Dich (Bend Down), where he and vocalist Till Lindemann would engage in simulated sodomy with a water-squirting dildo. On 1999-06-05 in Worcester, Massachusetts (USA) Lindemann and Flake Lorenz were arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior. A statement from Sergeant Thomas Radula of the Worcester Police Department stated that Lindemann was simulating sex with Flake onstage “using a phallic object that shot water over the crowd.” They were held and released the following day on $25 bail. After months of legal debate, they were eventually fined $100.
    His role in Bück Dich is not the only live act he is known for. Up until 2002, Flake would surf the audience in a boat during the performance of Seemann (Seamen). Olli took his place in 2002. The reason for the change is unknown. During a 2001 concert in St. Petersburg, Flake was tipped out of the boat by the crowd and almost completely undressed. When performing Mein Teil (My Part or My Penis), Flake is “cooked” with a flamethrower by Till in a giant cauldron. Flake used to do a dance during Weißes Fleisch (White Flesh). On the video for Keine Lust (No Desire), Flake is seen in an electric wheelchair.
    During a concert in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 30, 2005, Till Lindemann suffered a knee injury when Flake accidentally ran into him with the Segway he rides during the performance of Amerika. This caused concerts scheduled in Asia to be canceled. Flake has been divorced once and has three children. One of these children is a girl named Annie. His current marital state is unknown, since there is very little information available about his personal life outside of his musical career. Brown is his natural hair colour, but he has dyed it various times. His eyes are blue. Not much is known about Flake’s personal life because he chooses to keep most of it private. Flake, an atheist, is opposed to religion. He is quoted to have said, “I disapprove of religions which are made into rigid institutions. I also think that religious fanaticism and missionary work are dangerous.” Flake seems to dislike America and most of American culture. He calls it a “sick nation with no culture.” He likes the net (but is no longer able to access it from home), Poland, and Polish food. He despises McDonalds. He likes to listen to Einstürzende Neubauten, Die ärzte, Element of Crime, Coldplay, Placebo, Johnny Cash, PJ Harvey, System of a Down, Ministry, Prodigy and once remarked that he eould’ve liked to have been the sixth Rolling Stone. Flake is an amateur painter and likes classic cars. He has a Mercedes and is involved in vintage car hire business. Lorenz used to write frequently in the Fanarea logbook on the official website fanclub, which closed September 2004. On 5 October 2005, Flake appeared briefly on Deutsche Welle. When asked how he felt about the reunification of Germany, he said he prefers/misses the way things were then. “Even if the DDR survived, I still would’ve stayed a musician. The increased size of the world also brought the danger of being compared to all of the international acts. The bands which were in the east were the only ones there, and if you were successful there, you were successful. I miss the simplicity. You went into a bar, ordered a beer, and you got a beer!…They didn’t ask if you wanted…with a head or without a head, foam top or bottom….It really gets on my nerves having all of these choices I really don’t want. ”Christian Lorenz commonly goes by the nicknames “Flake” (pronounced as “Flock’-uh” in German) and “Doktor.” Doktor came about because at one point he wanted to be a surgeon. As for Flake, the reason he is called this is unknown. He says that people began calling him Flake at a young age and it just stuck.



    Oliver Riedel:

    Oliver Riedel played in old band ‘The Inchtabokatables’ (Bassist). Has a girlfriend, has never married, has no children. Both his brother and father have died. He likes to skate. Oliver likes electronics. He’s played bass for over 25 years. Is very fluent in English and German. Oliver Riedel was born on April 11, 1971 in Schwerin as an only child. Little known is about his early and teenage years. He was trained as a plasterer after leaving school. In 1990, at the age of nineteen, Oliver began playing in a folk-fiddle band called The Inchtabokatables. In 1994, Oliver Riedel, Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe-Bernstein, and Christoph “Doom” Schneider entered and won the Berlin Senate Metro beat contest that allowed them to professionally record a four track demo. Paul Landers and Christian ‘Flake’ Lorenz would later join the band they named Rammstein. The six released their first album, Herzeleid (Heartache) in September, 1995. Their second album, Sehnsucht (Longing) was released in 1997. In April 2001, the album Mutter (Mother) was released and a European tour followed, ending on the 13th of July 2002. It has been reported that at this time the members of Rammstein were seriously discussing whether to continue or not in their present form. It was decided that they should all take some time off and then reconsider whether to continue. In 2003, Rammstein started work on the fourth album, which was to prove a turning point in Rammstein’s sound and maturity. September 2004 saw the fruits of this work in the release of Reise Reise (Travel, travel). Tour was in November, followed by hugely successful sold out European tour of ten countries lasting four months. After completing the Ahoi tour in February of 2005, Rammstein is due to play four dates in Berlin, and four in the UK, returning to the Wuhlheide open air arena almost exactly seven years after their sell-out concerts of August 1998.Rammstein are scheduled to release a new album (Rosenrot), containing new songs and songs remaining from the recording of Reise Reise, in late 2005or early 2006.He has two children, one of whom is a girl called Emma, and is divorced from her mother. His current marital status is unknown. He likes photography and sports, especially skateboarding and surfing. It has been said he is the most computer literate member of the band.

    Christopher Doom Schneider:

    Christoph Schneider played in old band, Die Firma. Divorced but is dating. Has a daughter, but no word on the name and age. He has quit smoking, but still drinks. He yells when he plays. Has served in the military. His Oma gave him his first set of drums. Schneider was born on May 11th, 1966. His father was a musician. Schneider is the eldest of 6 siblings. He has one brother, and 5 sisters. One of his sisters, Constance, is the costume designer for the band Rammstein. In 1980, when was 14, his brother gave him a drum, which his brother had made with alimunium cans. At age 16, he got out of college and started working as a telecommunication assistant. He said ‘At last, after saving for a long time, I had enough money to buy myself a set of drums. This set of drums was not a really good one, compared to now, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t a good quality drum, so it kept breaking all the time. But it was a good thing I had a friend who was a welder, and he used to repair it for me.’ In 1984, at age 18, he entered the military. He was the only member of the band who had served in the military. In 1985-86, he quit his telecommunication job to try and get into a university to study music. He was never admitted, even though he tried twice. His dad did not approve of him learning drums, and he wanted him to learn the trumpet. At the time, he tried getting into many bands. At age 24, he was in the band Die Firma, and some other bands. In 1994, Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe Bernstein, Oliver Riedel and Christoph ‘Doom’ Schneider entered and won the Berlin Senate Metro beat contest that allowed them to professionally record a four track demo. He prefers to be called Schneider or ‘Doom’. He was in bands: Keine Ahnung, Frechheit, Die Firma, Feeling B (1990-93) before he started drumming for Rammstein. He loves heavy metal music. Schneider said that he is most influenced by Phil Rudd of AC/DC; ‘he is a very good drummer’, he said, ‘he has been my model since the principle. But that was a long time ago. ‘Neue Deutsche Welle’ and ‘New Wave’ for example are the bands as Ministry. I have been influenced by ‘heavy’ techno bands and ‘dark bands’ also. I am a very big fan of Pantera and their album ‘Vulgar Display of Power’. It was like the sound of my car! (laughs). Vinnie Paul performs very well in that album. Chad Smith of ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ is also a very good
    drummer. I also like John Otto of Limp Bizkit, and we became friends in a tour in 1998 in the United States.
    Interviewer: How would you describe the music of Rammstein? Schneider: Heavy and Damned (Laughs)
    Interviewer: What do you think of the tour with Kiss? How do you compare your band with Kiss?
    Schneider: It’s an important thing in our career! They took us to their tour in South America. We had concerts in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. That was fantastic. Being so close to a big, famous band. I see them as stars of rock. They are high and disguised. We have a photo together. We were able to do all our show of pyromaniacs and they did not say anything.



    So who likes Rammstein?