Although T.O.P. is mostly dedicated to DOOM and its subgenres, I've never hidden my deep interest and respect for bands practising quality old school DEATH and THRASH metal, obscure HM... Styles I was 300% into, when I was young... a little while ago ! So await some more exceptions here and there in the future ;) starting with HELLISH CROSSFIRE.
When Nathaniel Colas proposed me another interview with this furious Thrash band from Germany, I immediately said "ok dude , fine!"...No need to make an history lesson, Germany has always been the kingdom of Thrash in Europe but one got to admit that, during long years, there wasn't any real competitive succession to the veterans of Kreator, Destruction and Sodom...
In just two albums, HELLISH CROSSFIRE imposed themselves as the leaders of a very solid revival, respecting the traditions while bringing some more diverse influences and variety... Nathaniel took the opportunity to come back on the sophomore album "bloodrust Scythe"with Iron Incubus (guit), ask details about his wide musical tastes (including Doom stuff), his opinion on the actual german thrash scene,some infos on the next album and lots of other intersting things that make this one very very extensive and interesting !!!
1-Hellish greetings fellow bangers! So how have you been doing since the release of « Bloodrust scythe »?
Hello to you, my friend, Mr. Frogleg-eater, hehe! Well, “Bloodrust Scythe” has been released one year ago, and in this year we received many positive and few not so good or negative reactions concerning our second album. In leading European fanzines we got interviews and some good soundcheck positions (i.e. winning Swedish “Close Up” soundcheck once again or ranking on position #2 in Germany`s “Legacy” mag`s soundcheck). We`ve been celebrating a ravishing release party for the CD release, the LP followed later on (and is nearly sold out by now, by the way). Furthermore we played some fine shows, as always. Some new songs for a third album were created, and as for now these tracks really sound promising…!
We`ve also been busy with the “business aspect” of things, something we don`t like really, but anyway, we had to deal with it, and it seems as if there will be changes in future…I`ll keep you updated!
So, that´s all what happened with HELLISH CROSSFIRE since the release of “Bloodrust Scythe”. Now we look into the future and that implies, most of all, working on songs for a new album…!
2-It seems like you opened the door to a small « old school thrash metal » movement in Germany lately. I mean after you appeared, all of sudden bands like CHÖNYJ WÖRON, WITCHING HOUR, CRUEL FORCE, DIVISION SPEED etc started to pop up. Though you’re maybe not the only ones responsible for that as bands like NOCTURNAL, DESASTER also paved the way. But how do you feel connected to these angry youngsters?
First of all, I agree with you that HELLISH CROSSFIRE was not the single reason for those bands to start playing aggressive Thrash Metal, that`s for sure! I mean, also HELLISH CROSSFIRE owes it to groups such as Desaster or Nocturnal / Bestial Desecration having started our band, so…
Anyway, we are very happy about this “movement”: I mean, all of the mentioned acts are good friends of us and we really enjoy playing with them live on stage at any time (except of CHÖRNYJ WORON, of course as they unfortunately split up meanwhile)! To me, Division Speed, Cruel Force and Witching Hour today are among the best relatively new real Thrash Metal acts from Germany, no doubt about that! And I guess everyone in HELLISH CROSSFIRE agrees on that statement of mine…and we don`t say that just because these groups are good friends to us, no, never! We enjoy both: The music as well as the people behind these storm troopers of Thrash!
Generally said, we feel very connected to these youngsters, because they seem to be possessed by the same evil spirit of real dark Thrash Metal as we are! This means, that it`s not about how well you can handle your instrument or how perfect a live concert may be, it`s all about the real feeling and celebrating the deep inner sense of what this kind of music has been all about since the very beginnings! So, there seems to be a deeper inner connection, a “spiritual” link that leads HELLISH CROSSFIRE and all of the above mentioned bands to the same stages from time to time to deliver Thrash Metal the way it was meant to be!
3-Chris, you’re definitely a music fanatic in a very broad scale! Thumbs up for that! It’s not so often a thrash metal band claims to be influenced by the vibe of artists like Mozart, KING CRIMSON, BLACK WIDOW, COVEN, DEATH SS… Do you think that, in a sense that’s your approach to the music as a whole, that makes HELLISH CROSSFIRE stand out from the mass of countless (and often soulless) thrash metal combos of today?
Maybe…however, I don`t know! Maybe it`s this mixture of extreme narrow-mindedness and this musically quite free attitude that makes something special out of HELLISH CROSSFIRE. Both of these different parts live inside of me: I mean, on the one hand I can be the most narrow-minded person in the world, listening only to the “real stuff”, glorifying anything that is honest and dedicated. But on the other hand I also recognize that it`s not only Thrash Metal, not only Metal in general, that can be “real” – there`s a whole bunch of other music styles waiting to be discovered, and I`ve always done that, even back in those times when ignorant people from outside used to call me an “intolerant bastard”, hehe! I mean, I only care for real music that truly comes from the heart of the individual. I dislike any kind of plastic, unreal trend – also, of course, in Metal music. So this extreme attitude of mine may be one reason for this unique sound of HELLISH CROSSFIRE. I also think one reason for this specific music we create is that this band exists of four totally different individuals. But on the other hand we all got one vision, despite all differences! I think if I would be the single songwriter, HELLISH CROSSFIRE would sound totally different! It`s definitely necessary that everybody in the band contributes to the music, the concept behind the group. That`s our kind of “philosophy”. And nobody ever cares if this or that riff is Death, Black, Thrash, Speed or whatever Metal: We simply do what sounds good to our ears and if other people like it, we`re honoured. But we would never change a thing in order to appeal to a certain kind of listeners! We`ve never done this in the past and we´ll never do this in the future, of course!
If I look at the bands you mentioned in your question, I feel the urge to maybe compare their way of thinking about music with ours...I mean, I don`t wanna compare HELLISH CROSSFIRE to musical geniuses such as King Crimson for example, no way! But this 70s Progressive Rock group - at least in the early days - melted its musical mastership with a deep, honest feeling, and maybe that`s why their early albums are considered masterpieces. It`s not only about playing on a high level, it`s also about feeling, about creating something special that stands the test of time - I do hope that with HELLISH CROSSFIRE we create something eternal somehow, music that is still a fine devastating thrashing listen even after many years...
4-Thus, I want to know how you think it’s possible for HELLISH CROSSFIRE to not repeat itself album after album. Of course on « Bloodrust scythe » you definitely pushed the envelope by introducing some NWOBHM elements and by making the songs more direct, yet a bit more complicated than on «Slaves of the burning pentagram », still you are threading a very edgy path as a band like yours would not bear too radical changes. Your view on this please.
I see what you mean and we all experience this every time we`re writing new songs for album number three, hehe! I mean, it`s quite difficult to come up with new, great riffs that has never been used before by other bands. Furthermore we also don`t want that HELLISH CROSSFIRE repeats itself. The end result is that we spend much more time on working new songs out than we did in the past. Ok, there will always be parts in our music that remind of i.e. Slayer, Possessed or Kreator, there will always be parts that may refer to a past song. But we never write a song twice, you know?! That`s very important to us as we would never be satisfied with just being a copycat! If this forces us to stay a bit longer in the rehearsal room than expected in order to create some thrilling new songs, we take this as welcome “burden” if the end result is definitely something we can stand behind for 100 %. Till now we`ve exclusively songs in our back program that we can stand behind for 100 %, and as long as HELLISH CROSSFIRE is active, this won`t change!
Some say “Bloodrust Scythe” was more NWOBHM-influenced than our debut, others say that we included some more ancient Death Metal influences. However: I think that due to the fact that we integrate elements from all kinds of Metal music in our sound, the creative source is nearly inexhaustible! Of course we won`t betray our roots, of course HELLISH CROSSFIRE will never change from playing raw, aggressive and fast as fuck Metal whose main element in our case is Thrash. That`s our “formula” to describe our sound best, I think. This expression also implies all those other influences you get to hear from us from time to time…
Right now we got three new songs, and they all continue the way of both of our albums: It´s nothing new, it´sno rip-off, it`s no copy, it`s no trend – it`s just honest, dedicated music for the sake of music!
5-I know that HELLISH CROSSFIRE stands for « no compromises » when it comes to record the songs. I know that you actually spent only a very few days in the studio for this second album. Hence it remains very spontaneous. How was it to work once again with Patrick (AOD) Engel? Would you consider working with another person in the future?
Patrick W. Engel is not “only” our producer, he`s a good friend as well. – Unfortunately we didn`t meet each other too often in the past few months…
Patrick is a dedicated Metal head but at the same time he also got a very broad taste of music. He got a huge knowledge about music in general, about producing, and he knows exactly what is good for a band. We don`t have to explain him too much how we want our songs to sound, he simply does what he thinks fits well and in the end we all agree with his good work! When you`re working in studio, it`s important to have someone there that knows how to offer an adequate production. But it`s also very important to have someone there you come along with personally! Patrick always knows our strengths and our weak points. He knows how he can extract the real essence of our music, he knows how he can motivate us so that we can go full force!
Working once again with Patrick strengthened our positive opinion about him and his work that we gained during the recordings of our debut “Slaves Of The Burning Pentagram”. When we recorded the songs for our first album, three of four band members have never ever been to a studio in their life before. None of us knew what we could expect working together with Patrick. But the whole process of creating that album as well as the end result were so extremely satisfying, that there was never a debate about changing producer for the next record!
When we worked on “Bloodrust Scythe”, we all knew what to expect, we tried out more things, we even wrote stuff such as guitar solos in the studio. It was possible to take more time to work on details this time, so that were the differences.
And I guess we`ll stay with Patrick for the production of our third album as well! We feel very, verycomfortable working together with him and the end results all were very deeply satisfying to us, so…
Furthermore Patrick also layouted the LP version of “Bloodrust Scythe”, which unveils another (layouting)talent of him!
Originally we thought about recording some songs for EPs, splits or stuff like that. But somehow we`vebeena bit too lazy concerning that, furthermore we consider our new songs so strong that they simply HAVE TO be on the next full-length record, hehe! So we`re writing new tracks for a third album exclusively at the moment…
6-You appear on some recent MINOTAUR and UNGOD recordings as a guest musician. You also hsome people adding a couple of solo parts on your last album. Do you plan to use new guests on your next recordings? Talking about that, do you intend to record another album soon or maybe a couple of tracks for an ep?
All of these mentioned guest appearances happened just by chance: I know Andy of Minotaur and the Ungod guys, and on “Bloodrust Scythe” we featured three of our friends. The song `Orgasmic Rush` was written with an extensive part in the middle where one riff was repeated over and over again. This part was meant to be the background for a battle of good guitarists, and so our friends Hagen, Dave and Patrick W. Engel himself improvised a bit in the studio, hehe…!
I`ve been in touch with Andy of Minotaur before already, having interviewed him for my fanzine "Blood Of The Ancient". A few years later after this interview we played with Minotaur in Ettlingen, South Germany. There I got to know Andy for the first time outside of the "internet world" and could talk with him face by face. I was kind of glad when he asked me to contribute a solo to Minotaur`s next full-length album "God May Show You Mercy...We Will Not", so I once again headed for Rape Of Harmonies Studios and Patrick Engel recorded my solo ideas during the mixing session of another album. - That was pretty fast and my first guest appearance on a different band`s record ever! - And I was proud having contributed to this comeback album of Minotaur, a band whose old recordings I really worship to this day!
Anyway, the situation concerning my guest appearance on Ungod´s upcoming album "Cloaked In Eternal Darkness" was a bit different: I know their bassist Schiekron for many years now already, and originally we wanted to do an Ungod / HELLISH CROSSFIRE split release. Unfortunately this didn`t happen somehow (bad organisation from our side, we regret!), so the only thing to do for me was to help these fellows out with some solos. Damn, I was once again glad they asked me to contribute to their second full-length album, as I`ve always been a huge Ungod fan, I really worshipped their early split-releases plus the "Circle Of The Seven Infernal Pacts" debut album. They were one of the very first Black Metal acts coming from Germany, totally dedicated to the ancient spirit of this kind of music... However, I met Schiekron and the rest of the band in their rehearsal bunker to record my solos. It was the first time in Ungod`s history ever to have some guitar solos in their songs, and I`m proud that the other guys in the band liked my contribution! The gay party afterwards used to be not so excessive than the events that took place a few weeks later in Schiekron`s house...I guess you know what I`m talking about, right, Nathaniel?!? Hehe...!
Well, we`ll see who will contribute to the songs of our next album - we don`t have a clue yet, to be honest...! I mean, everything must come very spontanously. We don`t want this or that "mega star" to be featured on our record, just because he or she is more or less "famous". In case of "Bloodrust Scythe" good comrades contributed their ideas to the record, which I think makes definitely much more sense than trying eagerly to get this or that person on our records...
We already thought about maybe doing splits or EPs, but as it seems, we head for a new full-length album instead. I mean, whenever we write new songs, we come to the conclusion that these tracks should be used for a real album instead of being "wasted" for an EP or stuff like that. I mean, you shouldn`t re-record stuff from EPs etc. for full-lengths, as I think that splits etc. should be something special and should offer exclusive stuff only. And as we`re not the fastest song writers on this planet, we prefer to use every new created track for an upcoming album!
7-About your band and its connections now. I know that Patrick Tauch, the drummer also used to play guitar in EXCORIATE. As this band played a couple of gigs recently, are there any talks about resurrecting it for good? Is Patrick also contributing to HELLISH CROSSFIRE riffing wise?
Chris, you also are involved in ANAEL. What’s your input in this band? Are the other members of HELLISH CROSSFIRE connected to other bands or projects as well?
No, I think the Excoriate chapter is closed forever, as it seems. Their vocalist Stefan Eberlein quit back in the days because he got problems with his ears, not being able to go to loud rehearsals and concerts anymore. Meanwhile it got a bit better and he agreed on two final Excoriate shows that eventually took place last year in Finland and at "Hell`s Pleasure" open air. And as Patrick thinks that Excoriate should not go on without Stefan on vocals, they preferred to quit this band once and for all.
As for the moment, Patrick is quite active with another band that recorded their first demo recently. I haven`t heard a single note from them, but I`m curious to check them out! The line-up is Patrick and Hagen on guitars, Division Speed / Delirium Tremens drummer Franz behind the drumkit plus an Austrian vocalist / bassist.
Back in the past Patrick didn`t contribute too much to HELLISH CROSSFIRE riffing-wise, but concerning the three new songs for our upcoming record, he indeed came up with some glorious ideas! I`m personally very thankful for this because he helps to give me a different point of view concerning certain things, and I then try to alternate things to achieve a really satisfying result. The longer you`re responsible for the guitar part in a band, the more you get stuck in certain structures. And often Patrick has good ideas to help me out of this jail, hehe...!
Anael is on hiatus at the moment: We decided to take a short break - and this "short" break lasts for someyears already now. After the release of our album "From Arcane Fires" in 2008 there was exactly one live concert, then we decided to take a break to gain new strength to continue later on. But somehow this break took very long, but never say never, hehe! - I guess one day we`ll return with fresh material and new energy! Anael has never been a "common" band, and we did never care for what the rest of the world does, so this kind of break seems to be just another "logical" consequence, hehe...!
I`ve been contributing my guitar parts to Anael. We wrote the songs altogether in the rehearsal room, whereas Primeumathon and Seraphackh were the ones to say where Anael would head forward music- and conceptual-wise. I mean, that was ok, they were the ones that founded the band, they had a certain vision of it and they knew what was best for this group.
The other members, Sick and Iron Tyrant, don`t have any other band commitment at the moment.
Since a few weeks I`m in touch with some comrades from the area I was born, and we`ve met at rehearsals already to play some kind of very traditional Doom Metal, similar to old Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus and Count Raven. The band is called Cosmic Wasteland, but that´s a very new, fresh "phenomenon", we`re planning some releases in future, but nothing`s confirmed yet, everything`s still "in uterus" so to say, hehe! We`ll see what will come next... I simply need to express my passion for 70s music / Doom Metal besides HELLISH CROSSFIRE! I`ve been looking for people into this kind of music for a long time before, now finally it seems that we`ve found each other...!
8-What makes IRON MAIDEN so special for Thomas and Patrick? What do they think about “the final frontier”?
Well, I think Patrick and Thomas should answer this question instead of me...but I`ll try nevertheless:
As far as I can say, Iron Maiden is for them simply the very best Heavy Metal band in the world! I mean, Iron Maiden`s music is Heavy Metal as pure as it can get, their live shows are legendary, playing-wise they`re absolutely killer, plus there are so many classics in their discography. Ok, Thomas and Patrick think that Iron Maiden never released any mediocre or even bad album - something I cannot retrace, honestly said, hehe! Anyway, they simply worship Iron Maiden as the absolutely best, the one and only real Heavy Metal band on this planet! I also know that Iron Maiden was the very first Metal group Thomas ever got in touch with, and somehow he has lost his heart to this legend forever! Maybe it`s similar to my passion for Black Sabbath, as this band was my first contact with Heavy Metal music - although I`m definitely not such a huge maniac travelling to all of their shows once they tour the globe / Europe in particular...!
So it`s only logical that Thomas and Patrick worship "The Final Frontier" as well, they even think it`s one of the best Maiden records ever! I have to say, I listened to it for exactly one time, and it didn`t catch me, honestly said. When I`m listening to Maiden, I want straight, great songs in the vein of the first two records (Paul Di Anno rules!), not some progressive stuff. I mean, everybody knows that Maiden can play their instruments very well, but that doesn`t mean they have to offer complex, long songs! Anyway, in the end it`s all a matter of taste. And, by the way, my wife worships "A Matter Of Life And Death" also very much, there were times this record was on constant rotation in our house, hehe...!
9-Was your “theatrical” appearance at the HELL’S PLEASURE with fireworks, scythe, etc inspired by IRON MAIDEN? Haha!!!
No, at least I don`t think so. - Maybe the theatrical aspect can be linked to Maiden, but anyway, we just did it because we imagined it would be looking good on stage. Even Sigi`s mother told her son before that a band with a name like HELLISH CROSSFIRE has got to offer some fire on stage. And when Thomas told us that he got some pyros from a friend, we agreed on doing that at the "Hell`s Pleasure" show. I mean, we didn`t play many open-airs before yet, so we said to us that it was the right time to do something like this now.
The scythe has been a stage prop at several occasions, mainly at shows in our home town Nürnberg. Right now it`s in our rehearsal room and waiting for another evening of thrashing mayhem and head-cutting, hehe...!
Anyway, I think the whole appearance at "Hell`s Pleasure" was, well, "theatrical", with Thomas and Sigi being very drunk, hehe! Our bassist even fell off stage during sound check, haha! But the show was great anyway, one of our highlights, I think! - And most people thought it was quite entertaining...!
10-What do you think about the following things:
-PROCESSION’s last album
You mean their debut album "Destroyers Of The Faith"? - Absolutely killer, man! I really expected very much after that great "The Cult Of Disease" EP as well as those intense live shows at "Keep It True" and "Hammer Of Doom", but I never even dared to think of such an awesome record like "Destroyers Of The Faith" eventually turned out to be! Damn, this is definitely one of the bestEpic Doom Metal works since a very long time and stands in one row with masters of this genre such as Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus and Maltese Forsaken!
-Fenriz’ band of the week blog:
Well, there are some good advices he made in the past (Körgull The Exterminator, Ghost, Division Speed, Witching Hour, Children Of Technology etc.), but also some bad ones I won`t mention here. As long as you take it as a subjective opinion of someone that usually got a very good taste in Metal music, that`s definitelyok. But I can`t stand this huge hype concerning this "band of the week" blog - there really seem to be people that take everything for granted that is spread there, people that hail everything that is posted there! I think Fenriz himself wouldn`t like to see such a huge hype concerning this as well, so use your brain instead of believing everything you read! Take this blog as a good opportunity to get aware of promising new bands, but keep in mind that you have to decide for yourself if this or that band is worth being supported!
-I HATE recs:
A very good label that helped us out whenever they could. We really identified with the program of this label, there`ve been some very, very good bands on it! The time you`re asking concerning our opinion about I Hate Records is very bad, I must say: I mean, there`ve been talks about our business future, and it seems as if we`re not gonna continue working together with them in future anymore! Don`t get me wrong: We`re very thankful for what I Hate has done for us in the past, but we reached a point where we had to decide where to go with HELLISH CROSSFIRE: Staying on the same level or maybe trying to push everything a little bit further. However, nothing`s been decided to 100 % yet, we`ll see what future may bring...so this topic is very, very "vague", and I won`t add any comments right now as long as there is nothing sure!
-SEPULCHRAL VOICE recs:
Great record label, having put out Excoriate`s album "On Pestilent Winds...", along with some other good releases such as records from i.e. Drowned, Grave Miasma or Necros Christos. Sepulchral Voice seems to be a very down-to-earth label with very dedicated maniacs behind it that do it for the music`s sake and nothing else!
-KATHARSIS and the guys’ fascination for obscure 70’s music:
Katharsis is for sure one of the most sincere Black Metal bands coming from Germany ever! Their music is well-done and unique, that`s all I can say. I remember one of their members having joined some rehearsal weekend in our rehearsal room, and there`ve been some intense jamming hours till dawn...!
Although we don`t meet each other too often, our drummer Patrick has a good connection to the Katharsis guys, and we definitely appreciate their music and their consequent attitude towards playing live and giving interviews.
Well, I have to say that I share their fascination for obscure 70s music. There`s so much stuff to discover! I mean, many bands back in these days were extremely heavy and intense, and not many people seem to care about them anymore! It`s always great to dive into this chapter of music history, quite awesome! I always discover new bands - for example, thanks to a great French maniac I got in touch with legends such as i.e. Dust, 70s Death or The Flower Travellin` Band! - Thanks again, mate, for these great trips through time and space in your van, hehe...!-Your stay in Asia:
I`ve been to Asia quite often during the last few years, but I guess you`re asking for my trip to Malaysia / Borneo / Cambodia one and a half years ago: In Kuala Lumpur I`ve met two guys I`ve been in touch with through the internet before, they`re very dedicated Metal maniacs (Hails to Nic and Ahmad!), and somehow the news that the guitarist of HELLISH CROSSFIRE was in town, spread quite fast: We met several other maniacs during our stay, even on the more or less isolated island of Borneo we met some great people that showed us round and gave me tons of records of Asian Metal groups. Even when we changed planes in Kuala Lumpur when we flew back, a bunch of maybe eight Metal heads (of the band Antacid, among others) met us to have a drink. They travelled two hours to simply meet us at the airport - that`s crazy! People over there are very much into German Thrash Metal, they really worship anything that comes from there (even such a dirty group such as HELLISH CROSSFIRE, hehe...!). There are lots of groups from Malaysia playing traditional Thrash Metal the German way, like i.e. Vault or Antacid. People`s hospitality is very huge, I have to say, we felt very comfortable there. Despite the cultural differences, it`s the music that unites us all!
Generally said, I think I`ve been a bit too often in Asia during the last few years. Maybe next years I`ll focus on the African or South American continents, hehe...altough there are still some interesting countries to check out in Asia, just as i.e. India, Myanmar or Nepal...
It`s not only about the great landscapes, the beautiful beaches, the great people, why I like Asia, I`m personally very much connected with philosophies from Far East and I consider the Hindu religion a very interesting topic. Furthermore on islands just like i.e. Bali the spirits seem to be a guiding life in everybody`s life - the whole society is much more based on tradition and spirituality than in Western society - and exactly this attracts me to this part of the world very much!
-The hype around doom metal today
I don`t care for things like hype or stuff like this, as long as the music itself remains good! - And there are definitely many great groups around these days, which I really appreciate! But I understand what you mean: There seem to be more and more groups that simply play this kind of music because it`s so "old-fashioned" and very "cool" to play nowadays. Those people have lost the real feeling for this kind of music or they melt it with happy-sunshine-Hippie-music. Real Doom Metal was meant to be depressive, utterly dark, melancholic and desperate! Many of those hype-wannabe-bands think that if they repeat old Sabbath riffs, it`s all they have to know about Doom Metal. But that`s definitely not the case! Anyway, the real bands will survive this trend, as it`s always the case! Just wait a few years, then Doom Metal is back again in the underground and that`s the place where it ultimately has to dwell!
-Old German metal from the DDR:
Damn, another huge passion of mine! Ok, I`m not as extremely possessed by DDR Metal as Patrick Engel, but I also worship bands such as i.e. Formel 1, Macbeth, Plattform, Titan, Biest etc. Just recently German Democratic Recordings unleashed old material of Deathtrap, one of the very best extreme Metal acts to come from East Germany ever! They sound like a raw, savage mixture between old Sepultura, Kreator and Sarcófago - check them out!!!
As kid I`ve experienced the Cold War, of course, but I was too young to care for Metal bands from East Germany. I was raised maybe 20 kilometres away from the intra-German border: We travelled quite often to the border and even visited the land behind the Iron Curtain in the 80s. However, I can`t remember too much from those times, except of the fact that toys were quite cheap and the food was awful over there, hehe! And everywhere was this unbelievably intense smell of brown cole!
Anyway, when I got into Metal music, it was only natural for me to get into the East German scene as well. And up to this day there`s so much to discover, it`s unbelievable!
If you consider the immense passion these bands must have had to play this kind of music despite all harsh rules and censorship from the government! I really appreciate this deep dedication, honestly!
-Your involvement in the German metal press and BLOOD OF THE ANCIENT zine
There are good times and bad times concerning my involvement in German "Legacy" magazine: Right now I experience really good times, having just recently attended a fine Accept concert I really enjoyed writing about, having done some fine interviews with bands I already worship since a very long time. The interviews were done without any complications, which are very seldom, believe me! Of course the negative side is that you have to listen to a lot of crap music, but that`s ok. At the moment the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones.
Concerning "Blood Of The Ancient" zine, well, I decided to take a break a few years ago due to lack of ime and money. It seems as if nothing`s changed since then, and I guess some more years will pass by till I`ll be able to re-animate this zine. Right now I`m satisfied with the work I do for "Legacy" mag, but maybe one day my love for my small fanzine will grow and there`ll be another issue of this mag, who knows?!? - We`ll see...at least it was possible for me to collect many interesting topics over the years that would definitely be enough for an 11th issue - but I`d need time to give it all a good shape, I`d like to long for an ambitious, satisfying result - otherwise it would make absolutely no sense! So we`ll see what future may bring here...!
11-Alright I’ll leave you at that my friend. For sure we’ll cross the steel again sooner or later! Drink yourself into a metal stupor and puke the last rites of hellish crossfires now!
Thank you very much, Nathaniel!
Hails to all French Thrashers out there - just listen to our music and become possessed as fuck, hehe!!! Maybe we`ll come over to you this year - there are plans to tour France together with our comrades Division Speed in May this year - nothing`s confirmed yet, but we`ll see...stay tuned!
I guess we`ll meet very soon, Nathaniel - it`s always good to have some beer and boozing nights with you! And finally, I definitely hope we`ll share stages together again soon! - Viva la Résistance, hehe!!!
On Speed we die,
For Thrash we cry,
In Black we rule,
Slaughtering the fool!!!
Merchandise:
CD “Bloodrust Scythe”: 10 Euros + P&V
LP "Bloodrust Scythe": 12 Euros + P&V
Patches 3 Euros + P&V
Shirts (album cover motive or logo motive) 13 Euros + P&V
Contact:
Christian Wachter
Hauptstraße 2-4
1. Obergeschoss
Wohnung Nr. 3
93346 Ihrlerstein
- Germany -
Email: wxaxcxhxtxexr@web.de
Christian Wachter
Hauptstraße 2-4
1. Obergeschoss
Wohnung Nr. 3
93346 Ihrlerstein
- Germany -
Email: wxaxcxhxtxexr@web.de
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