Interview with death metal band from Germany - SLAUGHTERDAY.
Ave SLAUGHTERDAY! Recently you have published a fresh
new album „Laws of the Occult“. I have
to say I love it! How is the response of fans, critics?
Thanks! Until now the response to the album is great!
There is not one review that we consider as being unfair or in any way bad for
us.
How does SLAUGHTERDAY compose? How the process of
making a new album works? Who is the author of music?
It was a very natural process to write this record. All the songs were
written within two years. We didn’t have any pressure to finish the songs and
took as much time as necessary to do all the arrangements. The songwriting
process is always the same: We meet at our rehearsal room once a week to play
and try out certain parts, find the right drum patterns to the riffs and to put
fitting pieces together. When a song is finished we record a live rehearsal
version with just the drums and one rhythm guitar. After that I add some flesh
to the bones by recording the other guitar tracks and the bass by using a
simple home recording tool. Finally Bernd does the vocals to finish the song.
So in the end we have a complete rehearsal version of the song which gives us a
good impression of how it could sound in the studio. In addition it’s a good
way to find out if the song really works or if it still needs some changes.
Although modern technology offers a lot of new possibilities to write and
record music, we still like the old fashioned way of playing live in the
rehearsal room.
I really like the sound of the whole album. It is
dark, cold and sharp at the same time. In which studio did you record? Did you
talk about the final sound and mastering as a band?
As always we recorded the album at the soundlodge
studio with Jörg Uken near our hometown. He is probably one of the best
producers in Germany and a close friend since I know him for more than 25 years
now. Of course we decide everything together, but Jörg knows what he is doing,
there is no need to watch his fingers all the time.
Who is the author of lyrics and what are those lyrics
about? Where do you find inspiration?
As mentioned before Bernd writes all the lyrics. He is
very much influenced by H.P.Lovecrafts Horror stories. Not so much the
Cthulhu-based ones, but the old school horror stories.
You have always had a great covers for your albums. Do
you take a special care about how the album cover should look like? Who is the
author of the new album´s cover “Laws of the Occult?”
Once again it was Mark Cooper who did the artwork. We
In my opinion an album as a whole is a piece of art, so the cover has to fit to
the music and has to transport a certain vibe. Also Thomas Westphal did some
additional artwork. He is a good friend of us and has already worked with
Deserted Fear and Massacra.
It is said that in your band SLAUGTERDAY are only two
members. Jens Finger and Bernd Reiners. However, there is more of you in some
pictures. What does it mean? Is that a concert team?
Yes! In the beginning we didn´t plan on being a
two-man project, but after the first rehearsals it became clear to us that it
has to be like that. Both of us have made experiences in a 5 piece band and I
must admit that everything is much easier now. Bernd and me have the same kind
of idea, how Slaughterday has to sound like. With every respect to our live
line-up, but things would be a lot harder. Besides, they all have there own
bands in which they can be creative.
You play classic, typical old death metal. You have
always played this music, you are “orthodox”. Personally, for me that is the
reason why I like your music so much. However, have you ever wanted to try
something different? To change something with SLAUGHTERDAY?
No, Slaughterday stands for Death Metal. If we ever
want to do something different it will certainly not be under the name
Slaughterday. We play this kind of music our whole lives now and I don't think
that it will change.
In the Czech Republic, there is a low attendance in
concerts – at least I have heard that. I want to know what your experiences
from Germany are. For us you are a big country with a lot of bands, promoters.
You have a lot of concerts by bands which often skip the Czech Republic. Do
people go to death metal concerts in your country? Do you prefer smaller clubs or bigger
festivals?
That depends on the bands and the location. Small
clubs have the advantage of having a more intimate and mostly more enthusiastic
audience. Festivals are often well organized and as a band you are able to
reach more people that otherwise would not show up.
Nowadays, people download new albums on the Internet and
they just use the digital forms. What do you think about this problem? I am
interested on your view as a musician.
Well, if it´s an illegal download it´s nothing else
than theft. I myself buy all the albums in a physical form: LP or CD. I
consider an album as a piece of art with the cover, the lyrics and all that.
But I can understand some people who prefer downloads since it's a lot easier
and comfortable and you need less space in your home for all that, haha.
Nowadays, a lot of young bands begin to play the “old
school death metal”. Some of them are not very successful, however there are
some good new bands which figured out what is this music about. Do you have any
favourite band which can bring those “old good days” back to life?
There are many bands that came out in the last few
years. Just to mention a few: Morbo from Italy, Reptilian from Norway or
Exhumation from Indonesia...
Are there any albums which you like from a past few
months?
Puh, that´s a difficult question, because I got loads
of albums in the last months... Hmm, I guess Grave Miasma, Interment and
Deströyer 666 are my favourites.
Do you know and listen some Czech bands?
Of course! Master´s Hammer are great and I liked
Krabathor and Hypnos. Bruno and Pegas are very cool guys. I went on tour with
them through the Czech Republic about 10 years ago.
What are SLAUGHTERDAY´s plans for the next few months?
We will play some shows like the summer breeze
festival and will continue writing songs
.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish you a lot
of sold music, full concerts, crazy fans and I am looking forward to seeing
you!
Thanks a lot for your support! We really appreciate
it!
http://slaughterday666.bandcamp.com/
http://www.fda-rekotz.com/
