Interview with thrash metal band from Germany - DARKNESS.
Answered guitarist Arnd, thank you!
Recenze/review - DARKNESS - Blood on Canvas (2024):
Ave DARKNESS! Greetings to Germany, hope you are well! I am, because I just got back from work where I spent the whole day listening to your new album "Blood on Canvas". I'm working on the computer and I had my headphones on all the time. I'm literally fascinated by the energy I feel from the record. I don't think you can tell me the recipe for where it comes from, but I'm sure you'd be happy to describe how the new record was made? Has the way DARKNESS composes changed in any way compared to previous albums?
Hello Jakub. Thank you, we are doing very well. Last weekend, Friday May 3rd 2024, we entered the official German album charts at number 92 with our new album. A French metal magazine „converted“ last week's german charts into rock charts, so we're in very good company with Accept, Darkthrone, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Deicide and even Rammstein. It could be going worse, right?
As for the new album, I can't give you a recipe because there isn't really a recipe. Since “The Gasoline Solution” we've been doing it this way: the ideas that really work are turned into songs. I wrote most of the songs on “Blood on Canvas”. It's also important that “the cooks” cook a recipe properly. In our case, we're just as angry at this world as we were when we were 20 years old - not much has changed for the better since then. So we're still cooking with the same anger as before. That's probably the energy you feel. I think it's great that it comes across when you listen to it.
We've put a lot of energy and work into this album and we're very proud of the result. I think it's the most aggressive album we've ever recorded.
Personally, there's one thing I like most about "Blood on Canvas" and that's the melodies. Clear, distinct, relying on interesting riffs, the songs gradually graduate, they have drive and power. To me, these are the things that make good music great. I wonder how you know when a song is finished? Who has the final say? And then how do you feel about their live presentation? Does there have to be chemistry between you and then the fans? Do you also have ideas that you then scrap?
It's true, we used more melodies on “Blood on Canvas” than on the albums before it. That just happened, it wasn't planned. But we're not afraid of melodies anymore. A song can be melodic and still be fast and brutal. What's important is the feeling and the message that a song conveys.
You can't plan when a song is finished, you have to feel it. It fits when it fits. As far as I'm personally concerned, a song is never finished, because at the latest when I hear the final mix in the studio, I think: “We should have played it like this, we should have made a stop here, there could be a solo there.” But at some point you have to finish and record and that can happen when you feel: that's good! What you think about it later is irrelevant. No one in the band has the last word, everyone has to be satisfied with the performance. And of course ideas are discarded.
Live, the choice of songs is always a problem. We have a repertoire of about 60 songs, of which we can usually play 10 or 12 live. A few classics like “Death Squad” always have to be included, that makes it difficult to choose the rest of the set.
The chemistry between the band and the audience is of course essential. That's what heavy metal thrives on and the crazier the fans are, the more we realize that they like it, the wilder we get on stage.
I know a lot of bands that have lyrics to songs just to sing something. What I always liked about DARKNESS is that they have an idea, a meaning, an opinion. How do they come about? When does the inspiration come and how do you fit them into the music? Personally, I think writing lyrics is an insanely hard discipline and on the new album "Blood on Canvas" in particular, they are great. I often think to myself, yeah, that's exactly right, that's how I feel too.
Thank you for the praise, I'm glad you like the lyrics. I wrote 7 out of 9 lyrics and you're absolutely right: writing lyrics is very hard work, it's often underestimated. You have to find good rhymes and adhere to a certain meter, and the text has to have a message: combining all that can drive you crazy. Writing a decent text can also take a little longer. For “Nights in Turmoil” I was inspired by the movie “Athena”, the text was finished in two hours. “Blood on Canvas” took a few days because I wanted to paint a musical and lyrical picture.
The inspiration for the lyrics comes from this world that could be beautiful and yet is so full of shit. The “good” thing is that I will never run out of ideas.
I couldn't and didn't want to write lyrics without content. Heavy metal to me is still rebellion and rebelling against the establishment, I can't write about bees and flowers. I feel obliged to denounce things. Besides, meaningless or irrelevant lyrics wouldn't fit the music, it's about creating a coherent overall work of art.
If you then manage to say: “yeah, that's exactly right, that's how I feel too!”, then I've done everything right. That makes me happy, thank you very much.
A long time ago, back in elementary school, a friend once drew your logo in my notebook. I didn't know who it was and I was pissed. I immediately ran home and tried in vain to get some information about you. Then I finally heard "Death Squad" and when I went to the pub afterwards I told everyone that the best thrash band was DARKNESS and not SLAYER! We almost had a fight, ha. It was a beautiful time, you were young. How did you experience your beginnings? Can you tell our readers a little bit about how albums were recorded back then? Please reminisce.
Wow: DARKNESS instead of SLAYER?! That shows that you have a very good taste in music, hahahaha! But seriously, that's a too great honour!
The beginnings were magical, the Ruhr area in the eighties was at rock bottom, but metal was literally exploding. There were bands, rehearsal rooms and concerts everywhere. You always met someone you knew, every weekend there was a concert or a party somewhere. It was like a gold rush, you can't really describe it. Our rehearsal room was my real home.
To explain it all in an interview, the first recordings, back then still fully analogue on 24 tracks and the first big shows: that would fill a whole book! I'm sorry, but this trip can't be answered in one question.
I keep telling everyone and it's clear that once upon a time there was rock and heavy metal and then thrash. There's no evolution without the basics. Staying in the past, what musicians actually brought you to music? Is there anyone you still admire today that you've wanted to maybe meet and thank for inspiring you?
Well, the first heavier band I heard was KISS, but the first real fix of heavy metal was STRONG ARM OF THE LAW by SAXON. After that it was UNLEASHED IN THE EAST by JUDAS PRIEST. I still love both bands to this day, and I'm a big fan of NWOBHM in general. I agree with you that the history of music and the evolution that genres have made is very important. Most people I know see it the same way.
I would thank a lot of bands and musicians for the influence they have had on me and my music. It's hard to name singles. Ronnie James Dio and Rob Halford would be two that I still think are great.
I always take each band as a whole. Not just their music, but their performance, how they treat their fans. Honestly, a band can play like gods, but then I come to a show and they're arrogant and a few slaps and that's it for me. What I've always loved about DARKNESS is that you guys are civil, cool, heartfelt, go-getters. How do you perceive the fans? I feel like you guys enjoy every show immensely. Am I right?
It's nice that you see us that way. That's how we are indeed. We love playing live; we enjoy every damn second on stage and always give everything. For me personally, it means the world to be out there in front of the crowd. I don't particularly like the word „fans“ either, it's so subservient, like: „us up here, you down there“. That's not how we see it. After the shows, we always like to be with people, drink beer with them and talk to them.
There's no reason to be arrogant, because without the banging crowd we'd be rotting away in the rehearsal room. We owe them everything we are!
How do you perceive contemporary metal? Do you have any favourite bands? I don't know about you, but lately it seems to me that everyone is playing faster and faster, crazier and more incomprehensible. You stand under the stage, nod your head for a while, what great musicians they are, and then you don't remember anything. Then he goes home and prefers to listen to good old Saxon.
As I read what you wrote, I had to laugh! That's exactly how I often feel: sometimes I think that making music is another form of masturbation for some people because they find themselves so awesome, hahaha.
But that's neither fair nor right. Many young and new bands today are talented and very good. Their musical skills often far surpass what we used to be able to play compared to the eighties. But being able to play great doesn't mean being able to write good songs, and that's what it's all about in the end. A lot of bands lack that and then it's a shame when you're overwhelmed by their playing skills but can't remember a single song after their show.
All in all, though, I see contemporary metal in a very positive light. There are many talented and enthusiastic bands with good concepts and the scene is diverse and active.
And, hey, let's be honest: a few questions earlier we talked about music and genres evolving. That's also the case here: maybe younger people are into more extreme music and different song structures. If that's the case, then that's the development and that is ok.
But metal will never die, I'm convinced of that.
You're a memory now. Times have changed a lot since the '80s. You're kind of a legendary band, you have a lot of fans, you get invited to gigs. Still, there's a lot that's different. Nowadays you have the internet, new technologies, a lot of people listen to music in the style - download, listen and then either forget or delete. You come across as a very positive person, how do you look to the future? Will metal be just for old people anymore? And how do you see the changes as a musician? And where is DARKNESS heading at the moment?
Well, I don't think we're just a memory, because we're still playing concerts and releasing albums. But it's true that we belong to the old guard. That can be very annoying sometimes when you realize that you are some kind of dinosaur, hahaha. But in my opinion, age doesn't really matter, because you're a heavy metal maniac all your life. I meet people of all ages at concerts, from newborn to almost dead, and I don't have a feeling that anyone cares.
The changes in recent years are certainly serious and certainly not always positive for the musicians, but there's nothing you can do about it. You have to see the new technologies as an opportunity and use them. Either you move with the times or you perish.
We're on a high at the moment, as I said before, we're in the charts and more present than ever before. For us, it's all about moving forward!
I'm sure as a band you still have some dreams, goals, milestones you want to achieve. Will you reveal them to us? You're thrash veterans, you're recording great albums, you can still hear the enthusiasm for the music. You play gigs, you play festivals, you tour. Is there anything else missing from the puzzle?
Sure, I miss the hot twenty-year-old groupies, they should definitely look after us backstage again, hahaha!
We're coming to the end, so I'd like to try a more philosophical question. How would you define the style called thrash metal? What is this music for you and why did you choose this style?
As I mentioned before, music has been the most important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Music has always accompanied me and kept me going.
Thrash metal is fast, hard, uncompromising. It's the music of the Ruhr region, the area we come from. In the eighties, times were bad, there were hardly any jobs, industry was at rock bottom, the Ruhr area was loud and dirty with tough but warm-hearted people. In such an area, in such a time, we couldn't make any other music than thrash, that was the valve to get rid of all the shit.
What is DARKNESS going to do in the next few months?
We are going to promote the new album and play shows.
Thank you very much for the interview. You don't even know what it means to me. A boyhood dream come true. I wish you many more great ideas, sold out records, sold out shows and may your private lives prosper as well. See you at the concert! DARKNESS RULES!
Thank you very much, Jakup. The honour is on my side! Thank’s for your believe and support, I hope we’ll meet soon. Metal on!
Recenze/review - DARKNESS - Blood on Canvas (2024):
Recenze/review - DARKNESS - Over and Out (2020):
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