Date: 13/06/2026

Mood: busy

Listening to: Not Enough - Rezz

Paul Landers on Rammstein's Creative Process: 2005–2018

This is my curated collection of Paul speaking about Rosenrot, Liebe ist für alle da, and the untitled album's creative process. He speaks on: the general album process, live feel, working environment, songwriting tension, 'democracy', band dynamics, development of sound, and studio work while cracking in a few wild or sexy metaphors to keep you awake.

Last updated: 13/06/2026

Rosenrot (2005)

2005/10 - Gothic Magazine

Question: Rammstein is known for a special feeling of community, of being a group in which nobody stands out and nobody is in the background. How comes?

Paul: There are different ways to make music. There are bands with a boss, like Nine Inch Nails. Then some with two bosses, like the Beatles, and the third one always cries, because he is not allowed to take part. Then there are trios and some other forms of dictatorship and democracy. We are six supervisory board members and the one who shouts the loudest and who has the best arguments will win. It was this way right from the start. We are best when all take part. I like to use this metaphor: you have six test tubes. Pour their content in a glass and when you add the last tube’s content the whole substance will start to glow. It is not important how much you use of each test tube’s content, one drop or the half of a tube, only the community counts.

2005/10 - Unknown Magazine

Paul: That’s what a lot of Germans thinks, but that has changed recently. The world likes the Germans better than the Germans think themselves. You know where you notice that the best, in Russia. The Russians have more soul and emotions then we do. Off course has Russia a strict bureaucratic side, but if you open the right door, you feel an unbridled sympathy. I think we are that successful because we are different, everybody sings English, we sing German. We have never listened to the advices of the record company. That is a mistake that a lot of beginning bands make, they let themselves guide by unjustified fears. We don’t play that bad and our show is really good, even if I say it myself. Or maybe we are a kind of traffic accident, where everybody stops and watches.

2005/10 - Metal Eagle

Question: Are there more guitars to be heard in "Rosenrot" or is this just an impression?

Paul: This is only an impression. First of all there are guitars present. In the "Mutter" album there were perhaps 12 guitars per site, left and right and in the "Rosenrot" album there are on occasion one guitar on the left and one on the right. It sounds perhaps like more guitars, because there are less electric sounds and because of this the guitars come more to the surface, but practically there are less guitars.

Question: You all live in different cities. How are the songs being composed? Each one alone and then you come together or do you compose only when you gather?

Paul: Nothing has changed in the way we write songs. It is exactly the way it used to be, everyone tries out a few things at home and then we meet together in the rehearsal room and the ideas are being played. Most times not all of us are there, but in the last state, before the new album is released, all the musicians are there and then come the best results as well.

Question: Some people think, that you give great shows, but you have boring songs. What would you answer them?

Paul: To them we say, "yes, please", if people think so. Personally I don´t interfere any more with what they think, because people think what they want anyway and if someone believes that something is black or white, then they should keep believing it. We make every album as good as we can, we simply can´t do them better. If we are lucky people will like it, if not, they won´t like it. This changes nothing in our actions. Every group tries to make music and albums as good as they only can, even if they end up being bad, we have done the best we could, we never made a bad album on purpose, so we are happy when people like it, but if they don´t like it, we won´t blame ourselves, because we couldn't do it better anyway.

2005/10 - Motor.de

Question: Well, but if your records are not sold anymore and nobody comes to the concerts anymore you maybe will reach a level on which music does not do for a living anymore.

Paul: You are right. But that is a development and does not happen all of a sudden. You can adjust to it.

Question: To avoid it you have to develop. Would you say that you have developed over the years and maybe even take risks?

Paul: We have different characters in the band. Some fear every kind of change. They want to preserve the structures and they drive old cars, too. Others always have the newest car and go for development. Therefore we could achieve a good balance between old and new. One could say we are a mixture of AC/DC, whose songs are all alike, and of U2 or Depeche Mode, who have taken risks in all phases of their career. We have changed a lot, but not abruptly, more step by step.

Question: But with the typical Rammstein-riffs and Till Lindemann's typical voice you are bound to a destination. So maybe as on outsider one does not see the changes that clearly like you do.

Paul: It is easy: if you are not interested in a band then every song of them sounds the same to you. If I let my Grandma listen to the “Black album” and then to “Reload” of Metallica then both times she would consider it as an awful noise. She will never be able to realise the huge development of the band between these two albums. Those who are interested in our music will hear the differences and realise the development we have gone through.

2005/10 - Soundi

Question: Have you transported your sound to new dimensions quite purposely? Is there room for unexpected turns in the world of Rammstein?

Paul: I understand your point. Some people think that we still sound overproduced and unimaginative… Believe it or not, but in the end we cannot control very far what we do. Sometimes a thing, when it is finished, sounds quite surprising. Even if I wrote a song precisely tailored for Rammstein, in the producing- and mixing phase it could turn into something completely different. I could compare making music and raising children. The parents guide their offspring to a certain direction, but the end result is still a complete surprise. Surprises and unexpected things happen any way. Of course kids are more likely to become sensible and have good manners if the parents know what they are doing (laughs).

Paul: In retrospect it is strange to realise, that these two records were born awfully easily compared to our previous albums. We actually didn’t hit any bigger difficulties even once. The most difficult moment during the Reise, Reise –sessions that I can remember was the question about using a harmonica*. Olli thought that the idea of a harmonica sucked completely, but I fought so long that I got the instrument to the final record. This is definitely not a big matter, but still I remember it as the most difficult individual matter. The easiest thing on the other hand was the guitar part of Los. It is such an easy song, that we told our drummer Schneider to record the whole thing.

Paul: Lindemann had some difficulties with the lyrics at times, though. Sometimes he almost burst in tears, because some of the Rammstein lyrics portray him in such a bad light (laughs). Till of course does write all the lyrics himself, but we do influence them too. Sometimes we knock down a text completely, sometimes we tell him to rewrite some lines. The ideas can come from anywhere. The first single of Rosenrot Benzin felt like an appropriately catchy word, and Till began to write the lyrics around the word. And an absolute rule is that all the members in the band have to like the lyrics. Otherwise they will never end up on the record.

Paul: Well… A basic difference between us and the journalists is at least the fact that we don’t want to know quite everything about the lyrics. For example the song Spring has given cause to many questions. It tells about a guy, who stands on the edge of a cliff and thinks about jumping. Lindemann is often asked what the message of this song is. Our producer Jacob Hellner by the way thinks that the name of this song was a bad choice. It’s German (“spring means to jump”), but Hellner thinks that people will too easily think of it as English. It is of course true, that “spring” (in English; transl. note) is not exactly Rammstein’s thing. But now I regress! The essential thing is always that the lyrics fit the melody and rhythm of the song. There are also many individual words, which are forbidden in the world of Rammstein.

Paul: I really cannot say yet, when the successor of Rosenrot will come out. Rammstein in the end is a fairly slow studio band, because quality for us is the most important thing. But, as I said earlier, Reise, Reise and Rosenrot are different than our earlier productions. I know as surely, that with the next record we will find again a new direction. And the direction… We will probably publish a heavier, tougher and harder record. Just like in the movies, a romantic moment is followed by a wild action scene.

Question: And Rosenrot is your romantic moment?

Paul: Absolutely!

Question: What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

Paul: The new albums of Nine Inch Nails and System Of A Down. Also the new record of Limp Bizkit has turned out to be a positive surprise, because there is again in their sound some of the glow from the good old days. Unfortunately no new band has really impressed me in a long time. And believe it or not, but I like flamenco-music enormously… If I was to make for example a solo album, it would definitely not be metal. More instrumental stuff, acoustic guitars and samples.

2005/03 - Hard Rock Mag (French)

Question: After 11 years of Rammstein, is the desire to play together still the same?

Paul: 11 years is huge for a group! When we started, we thought we would stop immediately afterwards. But we were lucky and we continue as long as it makes us happy. Certainly, we had dissensions. The balance of power had changed. With success and longevity, our relationships had deteriorated. Some of us sought to have more influence than necessary, hence the tensions. The worst was at the time of the creation of Mutter. The ideas launched by some were systematically sabotaged by others. And the more we talked, the more sterile it was. For me, it was a horror, a perpetual struggle. Since then, we have realized that all the voices of the group are important, that everyone participates in the construction. Even if one of us says very little, even if one says nothing, we are a whole, we form a whole. Rammstein only works if our 6 voices, our 6 opinions complement each other. Now let's knock on wood (we hear him hitting a table, Editor’s note), we found a serene atmosphere.

Liebe ist für alle da (2009)

2007/10 - The Gauntlet

Question: With the band having such a positive time recording, will that make the album less aggressive?

Paul: I think aggression can be positive. Energy-wise, it is probably going to be heavier. Everything is going to be a little more on point. This could be the heaviest record we have done. The last two we did were a bit on the sweet side.

Question: The last two were a bit on the sweet side, but they still had a dark and aggressive undertone.

Paul: The band thinks everything is heavier and tighter this time around. It is always difficult for the band to say though as the band thinks it might be heavier, but journalists will come out and say it sounds like the other one and this is completely different from the other album. It is very subjective. Now that we have already done a full five albums, we have a certain confidence that this album will be good. Just like you know when you are getting a Mercedes “S” Class, it will be a great car.

2009/11 - Piranha

If you allow me to say so, "Liebe ist für alle da" marks the beginning of a new phase", guitarist Paul Landers starts off the conversation about Rammstein's long awaited latest album. "We're going back to the fundamentals, guitar, drums, and vocals. However, I don't believe anyone will get the impression that the sound is slimmer. Perhaps better to say, the guitars are louder again."

Paul: We basically went through the production processes four times. Each of us probably sees it somewhat differently for why that was. For me, it was like this: we had so many ideas and so many songs that once we'd gone through everything, we no longer knew what had been there at the start. And then we started all over again. Except for Olli and Flake, everyone had that problem. At a certain point, we could no longer say whether the songs were good or not. It's one of the worst things that can happen to a musician.

2009/12 - Regen Magazine (Polish)

Question: In terms of construction and motifs, the album seems to have returned a bit to the sounds of "Herzeleid" and "Sehnsucht", as the orchestral elements have been somewhat toned down in favour of more aggressive synthesizer sounds. Was the return to this electronic sound intentional, or did it come naturally with the songwriting process?

Paul: There was definitely a certain consensus within the group to return to the heavier, harder sound that is the band's roots. We've been thinking about what makes Rammstein so special, what his strengths are, and this is it. This time the whole idea was to take these aspects and put them in a modern package that sounds more contemporary.

Question: You recently made a video advertising "Guitar Rig" and said you plan to use it in your sections on the album. How many guitars on the album were recorded using this program and how many using conventional methods?

Paul: Interesting thing: by working with "Guitar Rig" I turned more towards hardware simulated by software, and as a result I ended up using real hardware. In a sense, the result turned out to be more traditional, and I'm using more and more old-fashioned equipment.

Question: The special edition of "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" includes a song eventually named "Liese," which is basically "Roter Sandem" with different instrumentation and completely different lyrics. What do both of these songs have in common?

Paul: The simplest answer is that "Roter Sand" is the result of the constant development by the "Liese" team. This "Liese" was the original, invented after a bottle of red wine by Ollie, Till and Flake. It took them about eight minutes to come up with this in total, and "Roter Sand" is the result of teamwork and collaborative development. He is like a brother to "Liese". Some members of the group said, "no, let's leave it at that, 'Liese' is better," and the other faction claimed, "no, the new version is much better," so the only sensible solution was to include both versions.

2009/11 - about.com

Question: What was the band’s mindset when you wrote this album? Was it written in the studio or was the material finished?

Paul: The writing process began after a one-year break. The plans were to go on a small tour and then go to the studio or to bring out a best-of record and tour on that. None of those ideas panned out. We ended up deciding to make a record without any touring in advance. It took a while for things to gel, but it wasn’t long before things got intense. It was a long, arduous process, but also really pleasant.

Paul: It was interesting the way the band jammed on ideas. Instead of taking huge amps and monster drums, we took small amps and an electric drum kit. It allowed us to work on ideas and whole new range of sound that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible recording at our normal volume.

2009/11 - spielefilmetechnik.de

Question: Was recording the new album like a roller-coaster ride for you?

Paul: A fitting concept, very nice! You lock yourself in a farmhouse and start to play and think it’s good, and take on everything. Then you have a bag of twenty tapes, with sixty good ideas hidden in a pile of dirt. The distinction is sometimes difficult and you have to dig through the garbage. We just had too much! That was the first horror. Separating the wheat from the chaff was hard work! After this we could have put the album out, but we really wanted to make a great recording. This was the second step. After we were almost done we suddenly lost interest and wanted to play live. Then we tackled the songs a third time and everything went all over again. But the first round sounded good, now we were stupid. A song is only a snapshot, so again we were working on the songs. By the evening it sounded good, and the next morning it didn’t again. We hadn’t really brought the songs to an end. They were left half open and had four or five stops, simply because we didn’t fix them fast enough. The time came where we had 30 to 50 songs which we had worked through four times. This had everything taking forever and was just hell! It was only better when we started to throw things away. That was quite disgusting, because we had to sort things out without knowing which was a hit or a flop just to move forward. We were totally overwhelmed with that many songs. When we got down to 20 we had kind of a direction. You have parts of the songs in your head because you’re moving things back and forth and the lyrics have to tie in.

Question: But why did you never “shut the bag” despite so many ideas?

Paul: We realized time wasn’t the problem. We know this now. When you’re at a stop you should bring it to an end. We made it for a month then took a break. Then made another month. Then started again from scratch. Now I’d say you go to a place in the house, adapt to the situation, and bring it there to an end. Added to this was that we didn’t know what was good or bad. We had no self confidence and ask ourselves: Is that something else? Do we still want to do it?

Question: So within the band you’re pushed to your limits?

Paul: No, that was before, on the last albums. This time we were forced to act together by the process. There also was some time before we learned to deal with each other again, each with the other and to tell each other’s opinion. That was not easy! It is easier with someone you do not like to just get out of their way, as a way to solve the problem. There are people you can tell your opinion to, and others you can’t because you know they will explode immediately. But if you want to create together there can’t be any negative energy. Positive yes, but you do not get an adverse album written. The gift – to be able to make music – is one that not everyone has. And we don’t have it when we’re alone but we have it together. And this gift should be used for the benefit of mankind. It was a hard fight. So for me it would have to cost 60 euros for a CD because of the stress we had. It was worth it and I won’t complain, but it was the most strenuous thing we’ve ever done."

Question: Your manager said you reinvented your music for this record. Do you agree?

Paul: No, I wouldn’t say that. I generally have to contradict management, it’s my nature. I even find the opposite to be the case. We went back to our roots. We have linked what bothered us at the beginning. We are back, we have become a little harder and a little clearer. The current point of view! We have not tried like Metallica, when the last album sounded like the 80s again. You can always gladly quote, but you can’t not reference today. I find that important! We haven’t tried to make a retro album. Do you know the PT Cruiser from Chrysler? The outside might look a bit old and you think, cool. But inside the instruments are plastic! I don’t think this is good! We have tried to build on the original force and "Ursound" but definitely from today’s perspective. Of course we incorporated the experiences from the past few years, and I hope that it is noticeable."

Question: Do you also have a lot of remaining songs recorded for the next album?

Paul: No, it was a one time thing. We don’t use what’s left over as a new album. There was a Special Edition and B-sides but not introducing new music. It was a unique thing. On the one hand it had been offered, and on the other hand we wanted to get out of the record deal. We wanted to be free. It was a good feeling to end the contract, because we were no longer required to make music, but were able to because we wanted to. It’s a big difference. Just like: you have to sleep with your girlfriend, or you may want to sleep with her. If a man has a woman who wants to be fucked three times every day, eventually it becomes hell even though it’s actually something nice.

2009/11 - artistdirect.com

Question: The album moves like a symphony. Did you approach it as one piece of music, like a concept record?

Paul: When we get together, there's this heavy concentration on developing the music. It really captures a moment. There's a certain mood that's inevitably reflected in the songs. That's probably why it seems symphonic or almost like a concept record. It's interesting because if you tried to take other songs and put them on this album, they just wouldn't fit. They would break the mood. It's a result of the creative process. Internally, we decided to get back to something heavier that hammers a little bit more. We went back to our metal roots. There was also a conscious decision to use less strings, violins and so on. Instead, we're using horns and brass.

Question: In some ways, this could be a continuation of Mutter.

Paul: Your comparison to Mutter is interesting because everyone seems to have a different opinion on this album. On this record, there was a choice to put less ketchup and mayonnaise drooled across the music.

Question: Which element bonds everything?

Paul: On this record, Till's voice keeps everything together, in a way. Musically on "Frühling in Paris" and "Roter Sand," the band has gone into new areas, and it's actually Till's voice that ends up holding it together and giving it that Rammstein stamp. Because it's a band of six separate bosses, there are always influences coming from different directions and it's much better that way because otherwise the music would end up moving too strongly in one specific direction.

2010/01 - Revolver

Question: What was the problem?

Paul: Once, in mid-songwriting, I completely lost my musical sense of taste - I couldn't tell good from bad. I felt like a cook who has to create a completely new dish and can't taste anything. It was very difficult.

Question: How did you survive the process?

Paul: The real breakthrough came when we ditches 30 of the 50 ideas we started with. We focused on the remaining 20. Imagine an area with a number of trees. A single tree can grow big and strong, but if you've got several, they stay small and weak.

2010/02 - Thrash Hits

Paul: “And one of the hardest things is deciding exactly which tracks should make it onto an album, and this is something we try to do with as little emotion as possible. Each of the musicians makes up their own list of 11 songs, the ones they want to see on the record, then a tally is taken, and the songs with the most votes overall are the ones that are included on the final track-listing. Really, this was the only way for us to do it; we’ve been debating these songs for the past three years, so now we just had to go for it, to make the decision with as little stress as we can manage…”

Paul: “As for the music, we wanted to tone down the ‘epic’ side a bit, to get back to the roots of Rammstein – to a harder, fatter sound. I think both the fans and ourselves felt that it was time for a change; not a huge change – just cleaning things up and getting rid of some unnecessary stuff. I guess ‘streamlining’ is the word… You know, we had been listening to quite a bit of heavy metal, bands like Dimmu Borgir, we like a few of their albums; Schneider even bought himself a double-bass drum, and we had a lot of fun seriously rockin’ out. These were the first demo recordings that we made for the new album, but when we listened back to them, we felt that they just weren’t special enough, that a lot of bands were doing this kind of music, and doing it well. So, in the end, we decided to revert to a more familiar Rammstein sound…”

Paul: “The best way I can describe ‘the [band's] sound’ is this: when certain people I know make themselves a heavy, strong black coffee, they say that it’s time for a ‘Rammstein coffee’!”

2010/06 - Rock Werchter (Dutch)

Paul: "A year before we have withdrawn the studio, we then start working on new music, albeit in a different way than before: the previous albums, all worked separately and in the end we brought the different pieces together. This time it was the beginning of teamwork. Because we had played together so long, we really enjoy it with six new musical works. It went really well, because we soon had 50 useful ideas, which we at one point overwhelmed by the sight. We have thrown away half, and then it went better, even if an album to record an agony: planing, planing and planing again, until finally the desired result is achieved."

2012/07 - Süddeutsche Zeitung

"Paul Landers, after the concert in Anaheim on the car drive back to the Hotel in Huntington Beach: “Anger, Hate, those are great motors. Of course I hung around in the House of Young Talents back then in Berlin. Jazz. Dietmar Diesner, Volker Schlott, superb. Of course Jazz actually means trouble. Rebellion. Rage. That’s the Jazz that fell victim to the crybabies from the feuilleton; of course it isn’t corduroy trousers kind of music. Basically we six have known each other for thirty years. And as a band we’ve been for soon to be twenty years unimaginable without: Rage. That actually has nothing to do with the GDR. Or at least very little. You could rebel, hit yourself. But you’re angry or you’re just not. In capitalism there is evidently not one less asshole than in socialism. The resistance in the East had more corners; in the West it’s oilier. We stood in front of the House of Young Talents in Berlin. And we had rage. And the Fehlfarben, I assume, stood in Düsseldorf in front of the ‘Ratinger Hof’. And had rage. Right?”"

Paul: “The motivation was always essential: Cause trouble. That’s how it is and that’s how it’ll stay. Rammstein won’t change. The weather on the mountain changes – but the mountain doesn’t change.”

untitled (2019)

2016/06 - Life.ru Mag (Russian)

Question: They say that proven hits — are a guarantee of success. But don't you get tired of playing the same songs every day?

Paul: First, we decide for ourselves what to play and what not to play. We don't owe anyone anything. Because when you play something under duress, of course, sooner or later you get bored. It's like having sex with a woman: if it's a duty, then there's little pleasure. And if desire — is a completely different matter. Since we always play in different places, it feels like having sex with different women. And that's good!"

Question: I've been wanting to ask for a long time how many guitars do you have? Everyone writes and talks about the famous custom Gibson Signature. But there are probably others.

Paul: I'm just in my studio. I'll do the math now. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... Ten! I have ten guitars at home now. But that doesn't mean anything! You can play everything perfectly on one. But I have a lot of them, because each one lies in the hand in its own way, and when you feel the difference, more ideas come to mind. Therefore, you need to buy new guitars. In any case, they cost less than good ideas for our group."

2017/08 - The Independent

Paul: “Maybe that comes down to age; you’re trying not to change your friends or colleagues anymore, so you accept them more as they are and give them the space they need.”

Paul: “It’s close to unbearable harmony in this band at the moment,” Landers chips in with a mischievous grin.

Paul: Landers quickly adds: “The writing in Rammstein is always democratic ... not easy, but democratic. We are like eager dogs. But with Olsen there leading rehearsal, we don’t have to fight so much – we just follow his lead. He’s helping us to get focused and avoid unnecessary fights.”

Paul: “The way I tend to put it,” says Landers, “is the four of us who hadn’t made a record in that time were hungry. Till and Richard didn’t want to go to the restaurant because they had already eaten, but the four of us said, ‘We’re hungry!’ So then they agreed to come in. We made a compromise and said ‘Let’s just do three or four songs first and see how it feels with no pressure.’ And it felt good, and now we have 28 song ideas.”

Paul: “The band had particularly bad memories on the last production,” Schneider adds, referring to Liebe ist für alle. “It took a long time and there was a lot of arguing. We would lose track of things very easily and nobody wanted to leap straight back into that situation. Everybody was afraid that if we get into writing another album, we would start all that petty fighting again. But it’s changed now, and with Olsen’s contribution, we are not fighting so hard anymore – no one is killing each other to get their part in over any of the others.”

Paul: Landers succinctly summarises the band’s broad appeal when describing his approach to writing Rammstein’s deliciously simple yet tastefully executed riffs: “One thing I try to think about when we’re writing songs is how it will feel to play live. If you’re standing at home and you play a loud chord that rings out, it feels good, you feel powerful! But if you’re sat down and gently finger-picking, it doesn’t feel so good.

Paul: “We try to have more moments in Rammstein music that make you feel good; if it looks good, then it also sounds good.”

Paul: “You can’t force people to react a certain way to what you put in front of them,” adds Landers. “We live in a free world and people have every right not to listen. We know that sometimes the show overshadows the music, and we try to not let that happen. But the music is very good in my eyes, and we try to have a balance between both.

Paul: “If you meet a nice woman with blonde hair and big boobs, you might start talking to her because of her appearance, but then you find out that she is clever and funny and kind-hearted. We are trying in Rammstein to be the blonde with a brain.”

2018/09 - Metal Hammer

Question: What kind of new songs can fans look to see?

Paul: God. As always, it's - well I tell people this all the time, like the new Mercedes S-Class. If you are lucky, it looks even better and bigger. No not bigger, well different. It moves with the times but stays true to itself. So what you always try to do as a band, what everyone tries to do: keep your style and at the same time develop further. Move with the times. I don't know if the album will be good, but we enjoyed making it. We like the songs. It's a bit like cooking from a recipe without tasting it in the middle.

Question: Rule is that if a band loves an album themselves, there will surely be fans who love it too.

Paul: That's how we've always done it. That's our theory: if we like it, others will probably like it too. We never ask ourselves, "what will others think about it?" We've never done that. Or if we try to, it backfires immediately. We have to like it, and we like the new songs.

Question: Is anything different than previous albums?

Paul: Yes, this time we concentrated more on playing. Which means we sat together more often and simply played. We're also better now than when than when we started the band, but that's not a big deal. As we get older, we slowly get to know our instruments. It's fun. We're still working on the sound to develop it further. We haven't reinvented the wheel with the new album but we haven't stuck the basic formulas either. We've tried to develop further within a framework. But that's what you inevitably end up doing if you're not totally stupid.

Question: The enjoyment you're having with the new album is apparent in everything you're saying.

Paul: Well it's better to enjoy what you're doing.

Question: What I meant is, during my first interview with you at the end of 1994, before the release of the debut album, I witnessed firsthand how difficult the decision making process was. I remember how you argued bitterly about the smallest details. That seems to have shifted.

Paul: No. No, it just sounds like that. Three years ago, I was a huge advocate of producing a new album. If I had known how difficult it'd be, I would have probably reconsidered. Especially since the album still isn't finished. It's really exhaustive because of the constant controversial struggles over ideas hasn't changed at all. I'm in a good phase right now because everything is nice again. But if you had met me a month ago, my mood would have been different. In a band, there's always mountains and valleys. Which is why the new album took so long and was very, very exhausting. We changed producers, changed the approach, and it's still very difficult. We fiddle endlessly with the music. The songs are great, there's nothing to that. But until everything is finished finally... We wanted to try something new but I'll tell you about that another time.

Question: In a sense, this side of things is a part of Rammstein and adds to the appeal, right?

Paul: Absolutely. We realized that too and it probably has to be that way. But I was hoping this time it might be more relaxed. But it wasn't the case! We're a little more relaxed now and can deal with it. Even talk about it. But the chemistry is still exactly the same as it was in the beginning. That's what makes it appealing, but at the same time also extremely exhausting.