DEADLY STORM zine: Interview - GÖTTERRDÄMMERUNG

Interview with thrash metal band GÖTTERRDÄMMERUNG.

Answeredl Brummbär, thank you!

Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.

Ave GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG! So I have to confess right at the beginning. The new "Neuschwabenland" is the first album I purchased after many years without hearing a single note from it. The previous album "Project Riese" (2017) fascinated me so much that I keep listening to it to this day. Plain and simple, when I get into the mood for good thrash metal, I play it. You mentioned somewhere that the novelty would be more technical. What can I picture under that? Where and how did “Meruňky“ (transl. apricots) move on the novelty? Please introduce it to us.

Thank you, Jakub, for your trust you put in us. We appreciate it a lot! Basically, we’ve been working on the new material similar to the first record. Of course, we try to wedge new elements into the novelty, and I do not mean the modern ones, but those within our style. We use many reduced beats, stops, speedcore up to 300bpm, and our newcomers in the band - Wunderpepi and Grinsen - also made a significant contribution to this. The opening part evokes the beginning of a turmoil, we go up to the stars, all the way to Alfa Tauri, pay proudly hail to the mound of Viktoria Höhe, continue ascending to Elbrus, return to the clip “Trojný bod“ (Triple Point), the fastest Talvisota, the mysterious “Poslední bitva” (Last Battle), the majestic Neu Schwabenland and the bonus “Klíče němce Strauba“ (Keys of the german Straub) / yes, intentionally with a small "n" (g)/, with Blackosh as a guest singer.

You recorded the new record again in Davos. I fully understand that for a long time, the best Czech extreme recordings have been published there. I would like to know how the recording went, the process itself. Did you have a lot of say in with the master? Did you have any comments? And what were the instructions? Was it something like - it should sound like old SODOM? Or did you approach everything very responsibly? From your music, I still feel the old enthusiasm that the bands of the nineties had.

At the rehearsal studio, we prepare the entire material as a demo, rehearse it dutifully and right to Davos. You know, the process of our recording at Master Otyn is and will be essentially the same. He already knows us, and we always agree on the sound; he can identify with the band, and by that, I mean with any. He is simply every inch a pro, and he shares the old-fashioned enthusiasm with us. We are all perfectly prepared, so there is no problem.

The novelty is wrapped in an interesting cover. It will definitely fit the music and the lyrics perfectly; you never let anyone down in this. These days, I'm just thinking when different symbols are being searched for, and they are often explained absolutely illogically, concisely, and confusingly - so as they would not ban you. You know, someone sees the motif straight out of old war newspapers, creating a problem where there is none. The Facebook warriors then complete the work. What exactly should the picture on the cover represent, and who did it?

Although I understand what you're coming across, I don't do lyrics in which someone should look for something. Moreover, Facebook isn't my powerful weapon. If I wrote about the First World War, for example, no one would dwell on it, but the second one simply bothers many people. As always, the cover was beautifully done by Teufel, my other self in the guitar section. It represents the pilot's view of the shores of New Swabia, and Miss Maria Orsic is propagandistically accompanying him into Queen Maud Land.

In the lyrics, are you moving around in the themes of the Second World War again? I read somewhere that you already have the lyrics ready for the third album. What do you draw inspiration from? Are they books, movies, chronicles? And how much do you stick to real data? What are the lyrics on "Neuschwabenland" about?

Yes, everything you write about, and I visit real places in our country, Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Slovakia. I try to preserve historical data, but I also write about various conspiracies, fictional stories that come to my mind when wandering around these objects. Let's see it: Jarní probuzení (Spring Awakening) is the last mission in World War II that is taking place in Hungary. Alpha Tauri, the star we travel to imaginatively and spatiotemporally. Viktoria Höhe, that’s a mound in the Vyškov military area. Elbrus 42, a true story from 1942. Trojný bod (Triple Point), a place where solid, liquid, and gaseous states clash. Talvisota, the Finnish Winter War. Die Letzte Schlacht takes place in the Benešov region during mysterious events, after the capitulation of Germany. Neu Schwabenland, a polar reconnaissance expedition to Queen Maud Land. Klíče němce Strauba (The keys of the german Straub), the story of a cave in the Moravian Karst, which was used during the war to produce components for the German armaments industry, and Straub, the last to lock the factory. The third album, for which I have all the lyrics ready, will have the uncompromising title “Totenburg” and will conclude the war trilogy.

I actually ordered the "Riese project" because once I came across it on YouTube. I know you had a clip, but it then disappeared. What the hell was YouTube bothered by? If I remember correctly, you were dressed there as soldiers; it was cold, nothing wrong, including the plot. No idea. A clip for the song “Klíče němce Strauba“ (The Keys of the german Straub) from the new CD has also been released. There are no problems with that yet? Who shot the clip, and how?

Sometimes such things happen. No one from YouTube will deal with any insignificant band at all. There is just something they don't like, and they remove it, done. Nobody minds that on Vimeo, so we have the Trojný bod (Triple Point) there. The Klíče němce Strauba (Keys of the german Straub) is not a classic video, just an image with text. Teufel, who used do graphics for a living, is, again, in charge of these things. We will probably shoot the new clip sometime in the winter to have the highest possible authenticity to the topic.

I've seen you live several times. For me, as a fan, it's another piece of the puzzle, where my favorite band becomes dear to my heart. Hey, I really felt like I was in the 90s. For me, the most successful one so far was in Modrá Vopice, together with PROTECTOR. In general, it was a great event. I took the train home in the morning, and I have many memories and experiences with both you and the PROTECTOR. What do concerts mean to you? How do you perceive them as a musician? Do you enjoy them? And do you prefer big festivals or concerts at clubs?

This is exactly the reaping of benefits, after a long journey of growing and breeding:)) As soon as the CD comes out, we fine-tune the arrangement details, summarize the order of songs for concerts, do merchandise, plan transport and go out to share our joy. I personally prefer clubs to festivals because the preparation is not so hectic, unlike at larger events. I like to prepare everything in advance, and I know that I do not have to worry if I will be able to fine-tune or if any unexpected problem shows up.

I was recently wondering how many young thrashers today are trying to play/copy old bands. They are often very bad, sometimes they style really well, but it still seems to me that when I go to a concert of some veterans, they beat their asses. Not always, but mostly. How do you see the new wave of thrash metal, all the bands around, young men with mustaches, jeans, stylization to the eighties? As Martin Missy told me once, it's great, they're just more tuned appearance, and they have cell phones in their hands; otherwise, they're the same as we used to be :)).

We also copied our icons, it happened, and it is normally happening. Since the days of DEEP PURPLE and URIAH HEEP, music is only copied in various ways with minor or major changes. It depends on the individual or band how they handle it. In each period, there is always a clash between the young one and the old ones. When you're 15, you swear at idiots who are 40, and as you turn 50, idiots are the young ones:)) No, I like some young bands, and I'm mostly sorry that they didn't experience the eighties/nineties. Some indeed confuse thrash music with a political movement, I don’t care about them. When we started, thrashers and punks played together, and everything was fine. I remember, for instance, the SAX/SPS tour, we got on very well, and the music was connecting us. Now I feel that music has become a political tool, and everyone discusses who is left and who is right. I am absolutely not interested in politics. And talking of which, GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG gets on well with BLOODY MARY, who are punks:)).

Speaking of music as a whole. What do you actually listen to? Are you an orthodox thrasher, or do you have a broader scope? I have often seen you in MARDUK t-shirts, for example. What CDs have you bought recently, and which band can always convince you to buy from them? And what about Czech and Slovak packs that you like?

Well, finally, my answer will be longer than your questions:)) I started with THE BEATLES, STRAY CATS, TRIO. They were followed by DEEP PURPLE, URIAH HEEP, YES. And then I got carried away… SANTANA, ACCEPT, SAXON, OVERKILL, NUCLEAR ASSAULT, SLAYER, SEPULTURA, KREATOR, SODOM, HOLY MOSSES, ASSASSIN, A-HA, RUSH, VADER, THE CULT, CLAWFINGER, STYX, PUDHYs, OBITUARY, CANNIBAL CORPSE with Fisher… That’s just what comes into my mind now. There’s more, of course. Around forty, I was finally ready for black metal, and I MARDUK and MAYHEM, which I am closest to, became my thing, but I also listen to others. Now, in my collection, I have the latest records of DEEP PURPLE, PUHDYS, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, PRIMUS, LAIBACH. In our case, it's quite simple: FERAT and the first CD of CRIONIC from thrash metal, the others are VLTAVA, KAVIAR KAVALIER, HYPNOS, ANIME, and BRATŘI EBENI.

I mostly write about death metal, and so I have this habit of asking bands what death metal means to them… I don't mean playing technique, but rather a philosophy, what it means to play it, how they perceive it and how they would explain it to a person who he does not know and does not listen to this kind of music. So what does thrash metal mean to you?

Well, I wouldn't be able to explain it to such a person:)) .

I will see you now at several concerts and festivals. For sure, there will be beer, but tell us, you will already have a new CD with you and how many songs from it will you have ready for us? Unless, of course, they won’t ban everything due to that Chinese bat flu.

The CD was released on September 1, and so it will be on the first stop that awaits us, which is KAFEST. We play the whole new material, except for the Neu Schwabenlad protest song. Adding a little bit of spicy: Haudegen, Polarnacht, V_2 from the first CD.

Thank you so much for the interview. I'm really looking forward to "Neuschwabenland". Can’t wait for playing the CD home in the player. Thrash metal war can begin again! I wish your CD to be successful, that the fans go nuts for it and that you succeed in your personal lives as well. Thrash!

We thank you for a pleasant chat and support… THRASH TILL DEATH!!!

GÖTTERRDÄMMERUNG /CZE/Neuschwabenland /Full Album 2020/

ORDERS: SK/CZ :

https://www.slovakmetalarmy.sk/produkt/gotterrdammerung-neuschwabenland-cd/

WORLD : https://sma-gotterdammerung.bandcamp.com/album/neuschwabenland

GÖTTERRDÄMMERUNG SOCIAL LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gotterdammerung.thrash/

Bandzone: https://bandzone.cz/_103860

Email: gotterdammerung.thrash@gmail.com

SLOVAK METAL ARMY

Web: https://www.slovakmetalarmy.sk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slovakmetalarmy/