Paul Landers

Paul Landers (born Heiko Paul Hiersche; 9 December 1964) is a German musician, notable as the rhythm guitarist for the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, and the punk rock band Feeling B. Landers was born in East Berlin, East Germany, son of the Slavists Anton and Erika Hiersche. His mother comes from Ełk in Mazuria, Poland, and his father from Böhmisch Kahn, today Velké Chvojno, Czech Republic. Both parents had to leave their home countries after the Second World War and met during their studies in Halle (Saale). Landers lived in Moscow for a short time as a child. He can speak some Russian, as proven in his interviews with MTV Russia in 2004. In 1983, at the age of 18, Landers became part of the East German punk band Feeling B, which was founded by singer Aljoscha Rompe and drummer Alexander Kriening. Some weeks later they recruited 16 year-old Christian "Flake" Lorenz to play bass, though Flake played just an organ at this point of time. Lorenz used his organ to create bass sounds for the new band. The band had various temporary drummers, including Christoph Schneider later in their career. Landers also played in a number of other bands including Die Firma and Die Magdalene Keibel Combo.