WITCHBURNER (Eng.)
– Hello, lots of thanks for answering our interview. How is everything going into the WITCHBURNER’s camp right now?
Hail, Pino here. Nothing special is going on in the Witchburner camp. We are just rehearsing for our few upcoming gigs for the end of 2013. We will raid Belgium, Finland and the Satans Convention Fest in Germany.
– Your latest album, «Bloodthirsty Eyes», came out earlier this year so, now that it has been a while since it was unleashed; how do you feel on the result obtained?
We are still satisfied with the album! Most of the reviews/reactions are really good. It’s great to play the new songs live. Path of the Sinner and Possession became something like small hits in our live set.
– Though it’s been a while since it was released I would like to dig a bi into it. First off, I would like you to tell us where did you take inspiration from for the lyrics, as they are mainly dealing with endtime topics and horror in general, but it also has some variety of themes.
I got my inspiration for the lyrics from old horror/splatter movies like The Devil Rides Out, Evil Dead, Dellamorte Dellamore, old cult comics, Conan books and so on. Not only just from that stuff but also from watching the news or noticing the happenings on this planet or being confronted with our society.
– For instance «Path of the Sinner» differs a little bit from the overall theme on the album. What’s the story behind this song?
I think the lyrics are self-explaining! But to make it short: Behave like an “Asshole” and become your own master!
– Musically it feels to me like a more aggressive album than «Demons». Is every album you release a mirror of a certain moment in your life?
Yes I also think that Bloodthirsty Eyes is the most aggressive release so far. For sure is it also reflects our mood during that time. Through the new lineup Witchburner became a strong unity again. We were all hot to play live, compose songs and thrashing wild (and we are still) so there was a fire in the air. Some of us had their private problems to handle which anger got compensated in the rehearsals and writing process.
– It’s also more dynamic and diverse. Was this something you were aiming for?
Not really, but I think Mächel and I brought some fresh blood into the Witchburner sound without distorting it..
– Talking about such; how was the songwriting process for this record? Were the new members involved?
Mächel and I are not able to take part on every rehearsal so the base frame of the songs is composed by the trinity of Seegel, Felix and Andy S.. But we also contributed our parts. Mächel contributed his solos and also composed the intro for Sermon of Profanity. I wrote all the lyrics and also had some ideas. Master and Slave, for example, is based on an idea of me that I explained to Seegel. You know like :”I want this style of riffing, the chorus should be something like that…”
– The new members are guitar player Mächell and vocalist Pino. Changing vocalist tends to be a risky change, as singers are the members where people draw most of their attention to so, how have your fans reacted to the line-up changes?
Yes you are right, but it wasn’t the first change of the vocalist or lineup change in general for Witchburner so that is not an unknown situation for the band, so they knew how to handle it. There are different reactions, some prefer the voice of Andy R. and some prefer mine, some like both, that’s normal. But the most of the reactions are very positive.
– In fact you recorded the album at Mächel’s studio. How did the whole production process go?
We had a very good time in Mächels Studio. Everything was very relaxed, no pressure of time. We wanted to do as much as possible by our self for the album and Mächels studio was the perfect choice to accomplish this desire. It is a plus when your band member is the owner of the studio and also knows how to use his equipment. We destroyed many beers. After the recording session the mixing was done by us in the cellar of Andy S. Then we gave the recordings to Patrick Engel of mighty Temple of Disharmony for the final mastering.
– Once more, the cover artwork was crafted by Jowita Kaminska. After working with her for several albums now, is everything easier? As I guess she may know and understand perfectly what you want.
With your last sentence you answered the question by yourself. We just think she is the perfect choice to do the cover art for the Witchburner albums and Bloodthirsty Eyes is the proof for it!
– «Bloodthirsty Eyes» was your first opus with High Roller Records, one of the biggest labels you’ve worked with to date. Have you noticed you have had a bigger exposure? I also seems to be a quite fitting company for you considering the bands on their roster, so how is everything working with them thus far?
We wanted to try something new and landed on High Roller. Some of us know the owner since a while. We were searching for a label, High Roller made an offer and we signed… nothing special. Our choice of a label is not influence by how big the label is or whatever but by the quality of its work and when it comes to this, High Roller was a real good choice. For the other bands on HRR I can say we are in good company.
– All this about «Bloodthirsty Eyes» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Intense Teutonic Thrash
– You are hailing from Germany, a country that has always had a strong Metal scene, specially a strong Thrash Metal scene since the 80’s. What have been some of the most influential German bands for you? Lately there are also coming out several interesting bands for your country so, any ones worth mentioning?
We have so many influences from every style of real Metal! But one of our most important influence is early Sodom! Actual German Bands worth to check out are the maniacs of Witching Hour (one of our best hordes!) and the hell commanders of Burstin’ Out!
– In fact the scene is not just limited to the amount of bands, but festivals like Keep it True help keeping the underground alive, so to speak. How good in exposition terms are festivals like that?
Yeah we have alot of great festivals here in Germany. Especially the Keep it True, with its incredible billings, is an important festival. It’s a place where you can meet a lot of dedicated maniacs, (not only from Germany but from all over the world) have good conversations, establish contacts. There are also smaller concerts, organized in youth clubs, bars, cellars or places like that! Such concerts are very important for the scene, because this is the place where the underground lives!
– Thrash in general seems to be experiencing some kind of «new wave». Are you awar of what’s going on lately musically?
Fortunately this Thrash hype seems to be over now and the trendies disappear one by one and the serious ones remain…
– And finally, what are your near-future plans? I see you have a few gigs until December.
We have no big plans in the moment. As mentioned before, we are rehearsing for the upcoming gigs. During the next weeks we will record a coversong for a tribute sampler, hailing a important German Underground band.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank you very much! Hail the Cult!
Pino/Witchburner
