#Richard Krusep

[herrlindemann]

Hard Rock & Metal Hammer - February 2001 

On April 2nd the wait will be over, the new Rammstein album Mutter will finally be released. 20 months will have passed as the band worked hard around the world on this next milestone in their career. Here are the individual stages.

Rammstein choose the setting according to the motto "Solitude inspires.” After Poland was originally considered as the ideal destination, the band's reconnaissance team finally found an empty house in Heiligendamm on the Baltic Sea, which they renovated for their purposes.

September to December 1999 - Heiligendamm

The first chapter of Mutter is all about craftsmanship: installing and connecting toilets. Seal the windows, get six beds from Ikea, set up the kitchen...  "The perfect start," says Flake about this somewhat unusual scenario. “You're distracted, you don't feel any pressure, and besides, technical success is one of the most satisfying things in the world.” About the seclusion - “the next house is far away, so we can make noise undisturbed” - the first musical steps are dared. “Our rehearsal room is portable,” Olli explains the further procedure, “that's why the stuff could be moved to Heiligendamm without any problems.” Although the band speculate that the sound could spill as far as Sweden, a beech forest on the land side muffles the first pounding chords. In the next few weeks, all the songs that will ultimately be featured on Mutter will be created here, "and about 90 percent will be rejected,” says Flake. “We often create several versions of an idea, we often only make it after a long discussion process.” The argument often drags on for days, but it is important. “Unfortunately, it's not like I'm the advocate of the keyboard for us, but everyone has an opinion on everything. But that also has its good sides: I don't think like a guitarist, so I'm not so technically uptight when I criticize a part that I find problematic.”

Afterwards, back to Berlin, where the finishing touches on the material are continued. At the same time, the search for a suitable studio begins. The criteria for this is strict: "It should be abroad, the drums should also be able to be recorded on site, so that we can still make short-term changes and generally play together, and of course it should also be nice," Olli summarizes the requirements.

Spring 2000 - Miraval Studio, South of France

The object of desire has finally been found: The Miraval Studio in the south of France, a secluded 11th-century chateau, "properly medieval and solidly built of rocks", as Flake enthusiastically reports. This choice means another pause: before May, the studio is plain too cold to move into. The wait is grueling. “You fiddle around, but you don't get a decisive step further,” Olli sums up the frustration. The result is “operational blindness”, which is why many details are again in question when the band moves into their noble domicile on Labor Day, May 1st. “As a matter of fact, as soon as the studio door closes, you should concentrate on the recording work. Instead, we argue about Till's texts, which can really wait." The rural atmosphere and the beautiful spring weather finally work their magic, so that the six weeks, according to Flake, go by "like a day".

June 2000 - Galaxy Studio, Belgium

With the recorded material, they go to a proven helper for the first mixing attempts: Ronald Prent has already edited the first two Rammstein albums, he is the first to put his hand to the new songs. However, the enthusiasm is limited, although the record company already smells gold and invites the first journalists to the Galaxy Studio so that they can convince themselves of the quality of the music. At this point, six titles were made accessible to a wider circle for the first time, including the song 'Sonne', which is now being released as the pre-single for Mutter, but which still has the working title 'Klitschko'. This song is supposed to be the introductory music for Vitali Klitschko's first world championship fight in America, but is now appropriated for Mutter after his embarrassing defeat by Chris Byrd.

"It's just the usual," the band conclude after hearing Prent's work, implying, "It's not enough.” Two things dominate the long development time of Mutter: The extremely democratic and therefore time-consuming decision-making process within the band, and the will to absolute perfection. “We had hoped so, but now we know: It can't work with Prent”, Flake explains the situation. “He doesn't have enough time — we've already had to stop work from time to time — and we're hoping to find someone who can give the music an extra boost.” Names like Andy Wallace (Slayer) or Dave Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails) are in the air, but as is so often the case, there is a price to pay: time. It will take time to find a new solution. The band can't be bothered. "It takes as long as it takes" becomes a dictum. Luckily, an event is coming up that will save the band from falling back into frenzied and fruitless do-gooding: the first gig in distant Japan.

October 2000 - MVG Studios, Stockholm

Scheduling difficulties for all the big names that were in discussion in the meantime ultimately lead to a pragmatic solution: Jacob Kellner as producer and Stefan Glaumann as mixer create the final mix in Stockholm, Sweden. Here, too, Rammstein take their time: They only spend a few hours a day in the studio in order to always work towards the optimum with the greatest attention and sharpened hearing. Although it is foreseeable that the result will live up to all expectations, the tension is increasing. Peter Tägtgren, the notorious black metal producer, can look forward to a visit from Till and Flake one weekend; they want to trade the autumn dreariness of Stockholm for some country air. At a biker club in Ludvika, the next settlement that's even halfway worthy of the 'town' name, they let off steam: Till gets involved in a fight with the local bikers and gets a good punch in the face. What looks like defeat is victory, a sign of liberation: Mutter is finally done.

Of course, the work for Rammstein continues. The visual concept is developed, the photo session is carried out. The biggest task, however, is to develop the new stage show for the tour through Germany and the world starting in May. Considerations on this have been running parallel to the purely musical discussions for a long time. “Normally it takes almost a year to fully develop such a concept. For a long time we could only collect scraps of ideas. It's going to be tough," Flake describes the never-ending stress that will probably only subside when the band is on stage for the first time.