Christoph Schneider (born 11 May 1966) is a German musician, best known as one of the founding members and the drummer of
Neue Deutsche Härte
(; "New German Hardness", sometimes abbreviated as NDH), also known as dance-metal, is a crossover style drawing from Neue Deutsche Welle, alternative metal, groove metal, electro-industrial and techno. It developed in Germany and Austria d ...
band
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
. He has released eight studio albums and three live albums with Rammstein. Schneider was previously a member of punk bands Die Firma and
Feeling B.
Early life
Schneider was born in
Pankow
Pankow () is the second largest and most populous Boroughs and quarters of Berlin, borough of the German capital Berlin. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was merged with the former boroughs of Prenzlauer Berg and Weissensee (Berlin), W ...
,
East Berlin
East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...
.
His parents were both involved in music, his father as an opera director and his mother as a music teacher.
Schneider also has a younger sister.
During his youth, he was a handball goalkeeper for four years. He later attended a special music school connected to a
Pioneers' orchestra, as his parents wanted him to learn an instrument.
He was offered the choice between
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
,
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
, and
trombone
The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
, out of which he chose the trumpet first as it was the easiest to play. Schneider described himself as a very talented trumpeter, having joined the orchestra and started playing concerts after a year.
During his time in the orchestra, he became interested in playing the drums due to the size and equipment of the drum section and began building his own kit with tin cans and buckets.
His parents were initially hesitant to the idea of him playing the drums, but after he bought his first drumkit at age 14, his parents let him rehearse and take lessons.
Schneider left
extended secondary school at age 16 and went on to work as a radio and telecommunications technician.
In 1984, he served his
national service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
with the
East German Army. He is the only member of Rammstein to have served in the military.
Career
In 1985, Schneider quit his telecommunication job to pursue his musical ambitions and study music, but failed his admission test and was rejected due to lacking other musical skills than drumming.
Schneider then joined bands Keine Ahnung and Frechheit.
In the late 1980s, he joined Die Firma, an underground new wave punk band with gothic influences, and became a member of punk band
Feeling B in 1990.
In 1993, Schneider joined
Richard Kruspe and
Oliver Riedel
Oliver "Ollie" Riedel (born 11 April 1971) is a German musician, best known as one of the founders and the bassist of band Rammstein.
Early life
Riedel was born in Schwerin on 11 April 1971. Growing up, he had relatively good relationships wi ...
in forming a new project called Tempelprayers.
After
Till Lindemann
Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann (band), Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records worldw ...
joined the band, they entered the
Berlin Senate Metrobeat contest and won a recording session in a professional studio in 1994.
That same year, Schneider's former Feeling B bandmates
Paul Landers and
Christian Lorenz
Christian "Flake" Lorenz (; born 16 November 1966) is a German musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, as well as the main composer of the band along with guitarist Richard Kruspe. He was also a mem ...
joined the band, which was then renamed to
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...
.
Personal life
Schneider's nickname "Doom" comes from
the video game of the same name.
Schneider needed a name for the German copyright agency, but discovered that there were too many Christoph Schneiders already registered.
Paul Landers suggested the name "Doom" because they liked the game.
In a 2010 interview, Schneider said that if he had known that the name would appear on every record he played on, he would have chosen a different one.
Schneider has been married twice. He was married to Regina Gizatulina from 2005 to 2009. He married his second wife, Ulrike Schmid, in 2014. Schneider and Schmid have three children.
His favorite rock bands are
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
,
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
,
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, and
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
.
He cites
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...
,
Phil Rudd,
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott (March 11, 1964 – June 22, 2018) was an American musician best known for being the drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Pantera. He also co-founded Damageplan in 2003 with his younger brother, ...
, and
Chad Smith
Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who is the drummer of the rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's lo ...
as his main drumming influences.
Schneider is a supporter of
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
football club
Union Berlin.
Equipment

Schneider uses and endorses
Sabian cymbals,
DW drum kits, pedals and hardware,
Vic Firth
Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...
drumsticks, and
Remo
Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...
Drumheads. He previously used and endorsed
Sonor Drums,
Tama Drums and
Meinl cymbals.
Current DW touring kit
*Drums –
DW Collector's Series Jazz, Maple/Gum shells, Matte Black Finish
**24x18 Bass Drum (x2)
**13x10 Tom
**16x16 Floor Tom
**18x16 Floor Tom
**21x16 Gong Drum
**12x5 Collector's Maple Snare Drum
**14x6 Collector's Edge Snare Drum
*Cymbals –
Sabian
**15" HHX Groove Hats (main)
**15" Artisan Hats (auxiliary)
**22" AAX Heavy Ride
**20" AAX Medium Crash
**20" AAX X-Plosion Crash
**20" HHX X-Plosion Crash
**19" AAX X-Plosion Fast Crash
**21" AA Holy China
**12" AAX Aero Splash over 12" AA Mini Holy China stack
*Hardware – DW
*Other
**
Vic Firth
Everett Joseph "Vic" Firth (June 2, 1930 – July 26, 2015) was an American musician and the founder of Vic Firth Company (formerly Vic Firth, Inc.), a company that makes percussion sticks and mallets. He was also known for his association ...
SCS Christoph Schneider Signature Drumsticks
**
Remo
Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...
Drumheads
Snare: Controlled sound X / Ambassador Snare Side,
Toms:Clear Pinstripe / Clear Diplomat,
Bass: Clear Powerstroke P3 / Powerstroke P3 Ebony
Discography
Rammstein
* ''
Herzeleid
''Herzeleid'' (; "Heartbreak") is the debut studio album by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, first released on 25 September 1995 via Motor Music.
Production and writing
After signing up with Motor Music, the band was instructed to se ...
'' (1995)
* ''
Sehnsucht'' (1997)
* ''
Mutter'' (2001)
* ''
Reise, Reise
''Reise, Reise'' (; a German '' military wake-up call'', literally "(a)rise, (a)rise") is the fourth studio album by Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released on 27 September 2004 through Universal Music in Germany and followed shor ...
'' (2004)
* ''
Rosenrot
(, "Rose-Red") is the fifth studio album by German band Rammstein, released on 28 October 2005. The album includes six songs artistically omitted from '' Reise, Reise''. The album's first title was ''Reise, Reise Volume Two'', but on 18 Augus ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Liebe ist für alle da
(, "Love is there for everyone"), often abbreviated to LIFAD, is the sixth studio album by German band Rammstein. It was released through Universal Music in Europe on 16 October 2009, the United Kingdom on 19 October 2009, and the United State ...
'' (2009)
*
Untitled album (2019)
* ''
Zeit'' (2022)
Feeling B
*
''Die Maske Des Roten Todes'' (1993)
Quartered Shadows
* ''The Last Floor Beach'' (1993)
References
External links
Rammstein.comRammstein-Interviews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Christoph
Living people
Feeling B members
German drummers
German heavy metal drummers
German male drummers
German male musicians
Musicians from Berlin
Rammstein members
1966 births
People from Pankow
Industrial metal musicians