Why Martin Schindler has ditched Rammstein walk-on song: "I’ll never forget her facial expression"

Martin Schindler has been Germany’s number one since 2024 and is also the first German player to break into the top 16 of the world rankings. There’s plenty on the schedule for the German in 2026. After all, he needs to defend his two European Tour titles from 2024, to remain in the top 16 of the world rankings.

The 29-year-old has been searching for the right walk-on song for years. He kept changing his music. Early in his career, he entered to Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd, matching his nickname “The Wall.” He later took to the European Tour stage with “Ich will” by Rammstein. The song landed well in Germany, but at international tournaments, Martin Schindler didn’t seem entirely satisfied with it.

He experimented further and at one point opted for J’adore Hardcore by Scooter. But the Strausberg native apparently couldn’t fully identify with that either. At the Grand Slam of Darts and the 2026 World Darts Championship, Schindler eventually walked on to Without Me by Eminem.

Germany’s number one recently appeared on HandOfBlood. The German streamer is not only one of the country’s biggest YouTubers and streamers, but with Knabe Malz and Knabe Kola also one of Schindler’s sponsors. In the conversation, Schindler spoke with the internet star about his walk-on song, among other things.

He explained that in October he and Gabriel Clemens were out filming a video with Dortmund football pros Maximilian Beier and Karim Adeyemi. Two Borussia Dortmund women’s players were also involved that October. In that context, the two dart pros got talking and the subject of walk-on music came up.

Gabriel Clemens mentioned his long-standing walk-on song Wonderwall by Oasis, which he has used for many years. “And I said Rammstein, Ich will. And I saw with the woman that this is still a very difficult topic for a great many people. I also know that I was and am very often viewed critically for it,” Schindler explained.

For context with allegations surrounding Till Lindemann, the lead singer of the German metal titan which have been dropped but saw protests and the band being seen unfavourable he had dropped it once before but has now done so permanently.

For him, it had only ever been about the song. The track gave him a lot of energy and power. Streamer HandOfBlood, better known as Hänno, showed understanding. “I get that. It becomes part of you, your process, and your routine. It’s also a ritual many professional athletes go through to get into focus,” he said.

“Exactly, that’s how it was for a long time,” Schindler confirmed. “But I’ll never forget her facial expression. That was a real-life one-to-one confrontation.” After that, he decided to take a new path. “Then I said: Come on, I’ll go with Linkin Park now. Because Linkin Park is 100 percent Martin Schindler.”

The Rodgau-based darter had already walked on to a Linkin Park song at the Promi-Darts WM. Schindler was also in high spirits at the Sachsen Darts Gala on Saturday evening. After his walk-on, he was seen singing on stage, as he celebrated with the fans to In the End by Linkin Park in his Instagram story.