Few questions – interview with death metal band from Germany - NIGHTBEARER.
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Well, hi there! NIGHTBEARER was basically founded as a side-studio-project around 2017 with just Micha doing vocals and me doing the instruments. We wanted to play some old school Swedish Death Metal and couldn't fit this into any of our other bands. One year later we had our EP ready and got some great resonance. That's why we decided to go „full-band“ with live show etc.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
We did the whole process by ourselves. Both Micha and I wrote the songs. Then I did some Demotracks, to which our drummer Manu recorded the Drums in his own Hateforce-Studios. After that I tracked the guitars and basses in my Hellmouth-Studios where we recorded the vocals as well. Then I did the mixing and mastering myself with constant feedback from the other guys.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
The album is released both digitally and physically. As far as the physical formats go, we have 300 hand-numbered CDs and 300 LPs in three different designs (black, black/orange swirl and white with red/blue splatter with 100 copies of each design). We're also doing a small run of 100 cassettes. If sales are good, there might even be some reprints!
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
Micha wrote all the lyrics and based them on Fantasy and Horror themes from famous authors. His intention was to re-tell those stories from different perspectives etc. You could actually say, that the title of our album „Tales of Sorcery and Death“ answers your question fully. He's also a big fan of pen & paper role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons for over 20 years now, so there are lyrics which deal with topics that apply to known and not so well-known campaigns. There are also a few songs about our mascot „The wanderer“ who is a tragic adventurer and traveller between the worlds the authors created.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
Micha designed the logo and is in charge for the visual design (and our media representation) in general. But he doesn't make it himself. We rely on the works of Timon Kokott, who did our EP-Cover as well as some additional graphics and our HM-2 tribute shirt design. For the album however, we spiced it a bit up with Juanjo Castellano doing the artwork.
I think social networks are very important these days. As a small band, it's your only way to reach out to the public without spending lots of cash. Another advantage is that you can directly interact with your fans and get direct feedback, which makes it a lot more personal.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?
The album is released via Testimony Records. We were in contact with Dennis for a couple month before signing and he seemed to be an honest and nice guy, but first and foremost a true fan of the music itself. That's very important for us, because people can and will tell if you're not authentic. As of right now, close to the release date, we're quite happy how he does things. We have a friendly and professional relationship that will hopefully grow even more over time.
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
I don't like the term „idolise“. I think I'm too old for this sh*t, haha! I personally have a wide taste of metal music and like bands as Opeth, In Flames (old ones of course), Nevermore, Blind Guardian, Bloodbath, Hypocrisy and a lot more. Micha on the other hand is a real Death- and Black-Metal enthusiast, therefore he is much more into everything extreme as well as the extreme underground.
My Inspiration comes from various things. Sometimes it may be music, especially Swedish Death Metal of course, but it could also be music or video game scores. Some other times a cool riff or lick happens by accident during practising and while working on it I have a clear picture in my mind what other parts will compliment my initial idea.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
Haha, easy to answer this one. Nope, just Testimony.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
As of doing this interview we played 4 club shows with NIGHTBEARER, but me and the other guys played substantially more shows over the last years with other bands. I personally prefer festivals, because normally you have more space on stage to move around and reach more people that might have not listened to your music otherwise, but club shows have also their Pros, f.e. you're closer to the audience and the atmosphere is more intense.
With only 4 shows played with this band, I can't highlight any show. I try to improve my performance every time, but each show has some good and some not so good moments. So I think the best performance is always the next show!
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
First of all, we want the album to release and people to like it. Of course we also want to play more shows, hopefully some festivals or shows in other countries. And after the album is before the album. We want to release some more music in the future. But first things first ;-)
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
Fans can contact us via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nightbearer/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nightbearer_official/) and E-Mail (nightbearer[at]gmx.de). And if some of you want to nerd out with me, you can visit my YouTube-channel where I do gear reviews regularly and even throw in some information about NIGHTBEARER here and there (www.youtube.com/c/DomeNightbearer)
Thanx for the interview.
