Sex, Pills & Metal: Rammstein Singer Till Lindemann on Filthy Solo LP

For decades, Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann has been singing about all the places he’d like to put his penis. The thing is, unless his fans spoke fluent German, his innuendos were often lost in translation. Now he is taking pity on the poor, unfortunate souls who have only a basic understanding of a decent “put my bratwurst in your sauerkraut” joke. (Note: Link NSFW.)

On Skills in Pills – the debut LP by his side project Lindemann – the vocalist’s newfound interest in English has enabled more people than ever to wallow in the filthiness of his mind. Song titles on the record include “Golden Shower,” “Ladyboy,” “Fat” and the first single, “Praise Abort.” Lindemann says it all came together innocently because he wanted to collaborate with Hypocrisy and Pain frontman Peter Tägtgren. “I planned to work with Peter on a song for a Pain record, and it turned into a record because we didn’t stop working,” he says. “It was big-time fun and a big-time challenge to sing in English.”

“It’s basically two idiots clunking their heads together, and all this stupid things comes out of it,” Tägtgren offers.

Now the duo have fully committed to those “stupid things,” so much so that they made an unsettling video for “Praise Abort,” full of man-pigs humping and Lindemann’s lyrics about how his kids have ruined his life. They’re even working on ideas for a follow-up Lindemann record (“Next week,” jokes Tägtgren), though they’re not currently planning on touring. The singer will return to Rammstein to begin preproduction on a new record in September, while Tägtgren will refocus on his other bands. Then maybe in two years, they say, they’ll make a follow-up. But before that can happen, Lindemann spoke to Rolling Stone about Skills in Pills – mostly just to explain himself.

What was the song that got this project started?
“Ladyboy.” I wrote it in English because I just wanted Peter to know what’s all about. He doesn’t speak German.

And what inspired “Ladyboy”?
Everybody expects me to say, “I went to Thailand.” It’s just a strange little fantasy. It’s really funny when you let people think for themselves and open up their minds. 

But it is a strange little fantasy for you?
No, it’s a wish. And, in a way, I’m jealous of these people because they have both. Like, when it comes to food, if you have lobster and meat, you have surf and turf [laughs]. And it’s the best. So you have both sides. You know what I mean?

So you’re jealous?
Oh, God, yeah.

Are you afraid your lyrics might inhibit your love life?
Yes [laughs].

Let’s talk about the song “Fat.” You seem ashamed but also happy to be attracted to heavier women. Why the duality?
Did you ever saw these documentaries of these “feeders”? These tiny guys feeding a really fat lady? And having this fetish, and this inspired me because it’s so unreal and so weird but on the other hand it’s so awesome because the guy, he doesn’t care. He likes it, and I think that’s great. It’s a totally different kind of love, because it’s not about aesthetics, beauty and a good-shaped body. It’s just pure love.