Answered Lenny and Ben, thank you!
Translated by Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - ENDSEEKER - The Harvest (2019):
Ave ENDSEEKER!
I am listening to your new album "The Harvest" and I think it is really good. Where do you see the development from the previous album? What sound did you want for the album and how satisfied are you with the result?
Lenny: Glad to hear that you enjoy listening to what we do. Well, the evolution is in the details. The songwriting is a little bit more sophisticated so are the lyrics and in general the singing style. “Flesh Hammer Prophecy” was our first full-length album and we experienced what we were able to do back then. The guitar sound was brutal and we still enjoy it a lot. But for “The Harvest” our aim was to make the brutal guitar sound a little bit more transparent. Also the bass stands now more for itself. You can hear so many details on our new album. As you can see, we are very satisfied with “The Harvest”. We couldn’t do the song and text writing any better than now. Listening to the album brings pure joy to us! It is exactly the sound we wanted.
The band's history dates back to 2014. How the idea to play death metal was born? Who were your idols? Please remember for us! How does it feel to be a death metal band in Germany?
Lenny: Jury wanted to start a Sweden Death band since many years. He always was (and still is) an old school Death Metal freak with passion for bands like Entombed, Dismember and Grave (just to mention a few). It took him until 2014 to realize his plans. Since 2015 the line-up is complete and we play live. At the beginning, Endseeker was just thought to be a project to have fun with playing a few shows und maybe recording something someday. But we found out very soon that we have to (and want to) put more time and passion into the band. Of course the fun is the same! :-) We have a lot of Death Metal bands in Germany. I would say the scene is very healthy. The quality is also extremely high. Especially in our hometown Hamburg, you can go to Death Metal concerts every weekend. Just perfect!
How was the new material for "The Harvest" created? Tell us something about ENDSEEKER creative process.
Lenny: Most of the songs are written by our guitar player Jury. He locks himself in the attic with his guitar and computer and comes back with new material and some horror visions. :-) He sends us demos and we give feedback. After rehearsing the new songs, we get a feeling if they are perfect or something is missing. I improvise the singing and get a feeling what vocals will suit. Then it’s up to me to lock myself into the attic and write the lyrics in hours of night shift. A new song is born when everyone is fine with them. For “The Harvest” Ben and me created the lyrics for the title track together. This was a new experience and felt very good.
In death metal lyrics are sometimes forgotten. What are the lyrics on the new album about and who is the author? Are you trying to tell something, give a message?
Lenny: For me writing lyrics is just like a catharsis. There is so much insanity in this world and we are used to find that normal. I get my inspiration out of news articles and strange behaviours in natural environments. My aim is to write lyrics that are not existent yet. They can be seen funny, they can be seen serious. All of my lyrics have different levels to recognize. Our lyrics tell stories and give messages. But at least, the listener can create his own story around the signal words he can understand while listening. I do the same with other bands lyrics. :-)
The new cover is decorated with a great cover art. Who is the author and how did you choose the theme?
Ben: The artwork is created by a South Korean artist named Albert Ché who already made the artwork for Flesh Hammer Prophecy. The bundle of skulls symbolize one of the many meanings behind the title “The Harvest” and displays the equality of everyone in death and decay in such a perfect way. No matter who we are and where we come from, we all gonna die and in death we’re all the same. It’s basically a memento mori and totally reflects the atmosphere of the album.
You made again a big movement with ENDSEEKER in the sound. This is exactly the sound that suits me. Striking, readable, dynamic and at the same time "uncombed and dirty". In this form, it fits you. Where did you record and who is signed under the mix, etc.?
Lenny: Thank you so much! We highly appreciate it. “The Harvest” was recorded in the Chameleon Studios with producer Eike Freese, where we recorded “Flesh Hammer Prophecy” in 2017 as well. The collaboration is great and we know each other very good. Eike knows what we want and how he can tease out the maximum of us. A superb dude! He did the recordings, mix and mastering.
I think "The Harvest" deserves to be released on vinyl. Do you think about it? What is your relationship to the vinyl and their sound? Are you a collector?
Ben: Actually the record IS released on vinyl, even in several colored editions. Next to the black vinyl there are 4 more colors available I think. Vinyl is super important, especially in death metal because the whole glory of the artwork only shows when seen in this size. You hold a proper piece of art in your hand and bands are able to put additional stuff into the sleeve as well. In our vinyl edition you will find an A1 sized poster with the artwork. I’m a vinyl collector myself and when I listen to music it’s usually on vinyl. I like the whole feel about it. 8
How do you perceive contemporary metal? Do you have any favourite bands? I don't know about your opinion, but lately it seems to me that everyone is playing faster, crazy, more unintelligible. You stand under the stage, nodding your head for a while, yes they are great musicians, and then you don't remember anything. Then you go home and play old good SODOM.
Lenny: No easy question. I think it depends in which metal scene you operate. Sure, there is a big Extreme Death Metal scene with super complicated and difficult drums, guitars and vocals. Very furious and good produced. Harder, faster, louder can be a deal for some. In my opinion the atmospheric metal genres also increase. In Black Metal as well as in Death Metal. When you think about Behemoth, I would say the most extreme songs are already written and they concentrate on more unhurried songs. I listen mainly to the bands of my youth. All time favourites are Cannibal Corpse, Krisiun and Immolation. Not the Sweden Death Bands you would maybe expect. But in the last years I discovered this great genre for me. I also dig new bands like Lik very well.
When I go through your work, you have come a really long way. You're working on yourself as a band. How often does ENDSEEKER actually rehearse? Are you an honest group that meets regularly, or are you rather punkers leaving it more free?
Lenny: We rehearse once a week and chat 24/7. We discuss many topics and talk about future plans. Especially due to the video materials (like signing session, track by track and so on) we met very often in the last months.
Death metal is not a style that would be in the point of interest for fans. That is a reason why depends on support. From the old days I have fixed that my favourite bands should be supported by buying CDs, t-shirts, and going to a concert. But time has changed. The world is ruled by the Internet, music downloads. How do you perceive these changes as a band? Did you had to change your attitude somehow? What about the fans, are they also different?
Lenny: Sure, the music world changed. Due to we are active since 2014, we haven’t struggled with the changes this intensive. Selling merch is our most important income and always was. We have fans that buy CDs and Vinyls for their collection. We have fans streaming our music and buying some shirts, hoodies, patches or jogger. It’s an advantage to sell the merch via internet shop, but we sell most things on our live shows. Attitude? We are just some guys that enjoy to play music together and have a good time with fans und beer. Everything additional to that is truly a gift.
On the end I would like to ask one philosophical question. How would you define a style called death metal? What this music mean for you and why did you choose this style?
Lenny: I will give a short answer to your questions: Death Metal = freedom.
Do you follow the scene, do you like to discover new albums? What record get your attention in last days?
Lenny: I love to check out new music. The underground scene is so huge and you can discover so many great bands. I was very much looking forward to listening to the “Sthlm Death Metal” EP from Lik.
What are the ENDSEEKER plans for upcoming months?
Lenny: We are currently in the booking phase for 2020. Ready to crush some stages and eardrums. We have some shows left for 2019 and will play a Germany tour with our friends from “Milking the Goatmachine” at the end of the year. Will be a lot of fun! Also the songwriting process for a future release has already started. But please, be patient! :-)
Thank you for the interview and I wish you a lot of sold CD, hundreds of mad fans and tons of good ideas.
Recenze/review - ENDSEEKER - The Harvest (2019):
Minirecenze/minireview - ENDSEEKER - Corrosive Revelation (2015)
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