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1.
Hi, first off I just want to congratulate you on your new album.
To new fans could your please fill us in on the history behind it
all?
Andy - O.K. - Black Abyss is making music since 1990, in
1992 a first 4-Track Demo was recorded. In 1997 the first CD
called "Why" was recorded. After that independent
release we signed a deal with Sub-Zero-Records in 1998 and
recorded our second CD called "Land Of Darkness". But
then Sub-Zero could not release the CD because they lost their
Distributor! So we searched for a new Label and signed up with B.O.
Records and releaseed the album. The album had a lot of good
reviews and was a great succes for us. After some problems with
the Line-up we went in the studio to record our third album called
"Angels Wear Black", but during the recording our label
got insolvend and we had the choice: quit recording or finance it
on our own. So we decided to do the second, and had the same
problem again: Looking for a label! We are very happy that we
could sign a deal with massacre records and here we are:
"Angels Wear Black"!!
2. How has
your new album been received by the media?
Andy - We are happy with most of the reviews we recieved
from the media; Some are not happy with the sometimes different
sound of the songs, but that’s the problem of the break we had
during the recording. But most like the songs and gave us a
positive feedback!
3. I know
artists are not happy to categorize their music, but how would you
describe your music to an outsider?
Andy - Powermetal with no "squeeze my
balls"-voice and a good mix between melodical and thrashy
elements!
Andi - Timeless Heavy Metal.
4. Where
does your inspiration come from, both musically and lyrically?
Andy - That’s a little bit different for all of us;
Stefan, who is our "creative head" has favourites like
Iron Maiden and Iced Earth for example, I am impressed by a lot of
things like old-school Thrash- or Death Metal bands, but also things
like Running Wild or Slayer!
Andi
- My musical taste is also very broad. I grew up with old
school Metal stuff like Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Exodus and Slayer.
In the meantime I like bands from almost every Genre, e.g. Morbid
Angel, Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, Death,
Vicious Rumors, Ministry, Machine Head, Carcass, Kyuss, Down,
Meshuggah, The Mars Volta,
Nevermore and so on.
But
when it comes to songwriting of course we try not to be influenced
too much by the stuff we’re listening to, as you want to try to
create something more or less “new” (althought that’s very
difficult). In the end we don’t care what it sounds like, if we
like it.
The
lyrical influences for Stefan are very often the things that
happen in his life.
5. What
topics do you deal with in your lyrics and why?
Andi - As mentioned above a lot of the lyrics on “Angels
Wear Black” deal with things that happened in Stefans life and
the feelings he has or had about them. The time of the recordings
was pretty tough for him. That’s probably why the lyrics are
mostly “dark”. In fact they’re quite personal, with some
exceptions like “Dark Legacy” and “When Angels Wear
Black”.
6. Who has
produced and mixed the album, and are you pleased with the end
result?
Andy - The album was produced and mixed by Dieter Roth.
We are happy with the sound, it could be better, but we had the
problems with our label during the recording, so we think that’s
the best we could do!
7. Who has
done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have a
great cover?
Andi - The Artwork was done by a friend of mine called Ali
Reza Bakhshandeh. He studied grafic design and before I joined
Black Abyss, we played together in a band.
To
us a “good” album cover is very important, but it’s very
difficult to deal with five different tastes within the band and
so it is always a little compromise for everyone of us.
8. Do you
have any touring plans?
Andy - Yes, we are on Tour with Exciter from 08.10. -
17.10.
in several german citys and some citys in the Netherlands, Belgium
and Switzerland!
Andi
- We’re already very “Excited” ;-) We’re very, very
happy to have the opportunity to go on tour with such a legendary
band and I’m sure that we’ll have a lot of fun.
9. How do
you feel about the co-operation with your label, and are you
satisfied?
Andy - Yes, we are really happy with Massacre Records! They
are doing a lot for us - things like the tour or our merchandise,
they help everywhere they can!
Andi
-
At the moment Massacre is the perfect label for us. We got
the impression that they really believe in us and they did a great
job up to now.
10. The
internet is a very important source for many metal fans ? how do
you use the internet and how important is it for you and other
bands?
Andy - Oh yeah! - For our band one of the most important
things! Our homepage has a lot of visitors, so we have a good
platform to give our fans the newest information about our band! I
think there is no way to get more actual infos than the internet!
Andi
-
Personally I’m using the internet for quite a long time
and I can’t imagine to organize concerts or to keep in touch
with friends of mine all around the world without the internet
anymore. It’s a great thing and a chance for smaller bands like
us to get fans “worldwide”.
11. How do
you see the metal scene at the moment?
Andy - I think there is a good scene in the moment, not like
in the 80's, but there are still a lot of very loyal people, who
help the bands by buying the albums and don't copy everything
from the net! - and they are the best fans of all!
Andi
-
To my mind the metal scene has never been as exciting as it
is now. There is such a diversity and so many bands making great
music that I’m very happy to be part of that scene.
12. To
finish things off - could you pls. make a all-time Top 5 or sort
of the 5 most important albums in your opinion?
Andy
-
-
Iron
Maiden - Number of the Beast
-
Running
Wild - Death Or Glory
-
Metallica
- Kill'em All
-
Death
- Spiritual Healing
-
Dio
- Holy Diver
Andi
-
- Iron
Maiden – Live After Death
- Slayer
– Reign In Blood
- Tool
– Aenima
- The
Mars Volta – De-loused In The Comatorium
- Machine
Head – Burn My Eyes
Thank
you very much for the interview and your support! Hope to see you
sometime on tour!
A
big thank you to Black Abyss for this insightful interview.
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