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?

Timmy - The band was formed by four old friends in late 2000, we named it DOOMSHINE in the beginning of 2002.  The current line-up is Markus Schlaps (dr), Carsten Fisch (b), Sven Podgurski (g) and me (Timmy Holz – v/g). Our first recordings were the songs “Shine On Sad Angel” and “Where Nothing Hurts But Solitude” which we put on our website. The German magazine “Heavy oder was?!” took “Sad Angel” on their “Metal Crusade”-sampler in December 2002. We did a few live gigs, especially the first Doom Shall Rise festival with Thunderstorm, Dawn of Winter, Mirror of Deception, Forsaken and more. A small underground label called “Metal Supremacy” was interested in making a 7” vinyl. Of course there was nothing to be said against this idea. So the title of the single containing these two songs was “Shining In Solitude” and it was released in late summer 2003. Meanwhile we recorded 7 more songs, we signed at Iron Glory Records and our debut will come out on June 28^th 2004.

2. How has your new album been received by the media?

Timmy - The reviews and reactions until now are absolutely great and much better than we expected. We surely know that we have written some strong material but the 5^th position in the german magazine Rock Hard is unbelievable for us. The 10 best records of the month they call “Dynamite”. Hey, we are dynamite! Like the Danish football team in 1992, haha.

3. I know artists are not happy to categorize their music, but how would you describe your music to an outsider?

Timmy - Our guitar player Sven had a vision to title our music “melodic doomed metal”. I think this is a perfect description. There's nothing to add. But if someone writes a Doomshine review you always find “Solitude Aeturnus” and “Candlemass” in there. We don't complain about that of course.

4. Where does your inspiration come from, both musically and lyrically?

Timmy - Musically we let ourselves go and try to direct into our own built Doomshine path. Every friend of metal will sound out we play doom metal but we compose very open minded. If an idea doesn't sound like Candlemass it doesn't have to be bad. I don't know if you really hear our favourite bands when you listen to a Doomshine song. There are so many influences between Rainbow and Slayer.

Lyrically I try to find my own style, a balance of fantasy and reality. Of course I can't hide the influences of great writers like Devon Graves (f.k.a. Buddy Lackey), Warrel Dane, Martin Walkyier or John Arch just to name a few.

5. What topics do you deal with in your lyrics and why?

Timmy - There are so many trains of thought I like to follow in my lyrics. Not every song must have a special subject. Sometimes I create the whole lyrics of a song because of one sentence that arrested my attention. I heard the words “Where Nothing Hurts But Solitude” on TV by someone I can't remember. But I was caught! And that's the way I write songs about loss, life, death, love or war. Except for “The Cross” which was inspired by a movie called “The Gathering”.

6. Who has produced and mixed the album, and are you pleased with the end result?

Timmy - The album was recorded, produced and mixed by our bass player Carsten. Of course we are highly pleased (I can't answer anything else, he surely will read these lines, haha). I really think he did a fantastic job and this is one point which is frequently mentioned in reviews. The mastering was made by Achim Köhler.

7. Who has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have a great cover?

Timmy - Hard to believe but our awesome cover and the complete artwork was also made by Carsten! Strange guy, isn't he? For the booklet I gave him detailed informations about the lyrics and so he created his own kind of art. And it matches perfect with the music.

8. Do you have any touring plans?

Timmy - We play some single gigs this year for example with Count Raven and Mirror of Deception, Sacred Steel, Tankard and Lunafield, and we are also confirmed for the third Dutch Doom Day in Rotterdam. Certainly there will come some more dates, but we have no touring plans.

9. How do you feel about the co-operation with your label, and are you satisfied?

Timmy - Yeah, we are! And the reason is quite simple. The guys from Iron Glory Records and Doomshine are old enough to do plain-talking. They know what we want and we know what they are able to do for us. We have know these guys for many years, so the signing of the contract was something like a meeting of old friends.

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?

Timmy - Personally I use the internet to see what's going on in the metal scene, to read the news of today. So I visit just a few webzines continuous. But I know that it is important and helpful for bands to present themselves on their own sites. It's 2004 and everything goes faster. That's the modern way for spreading the word. But if you have in mind to form a new band you should look after the correct order. Write songs before you create a website!

11. How do you see the metal scene at the moment?

Timmy - I can't complain about unimpressive music. Each month I find new CDs which I MUST have. But it's very difficult to overview all the metal releases. Nevertheless I think that the metal scene is more healthy than some of us talk about it, especially in Germany. I still have fun to be a part of it. There were ups in the 80's and downs in the 90's, that's the way of life.

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?

Timmy - This is too difficult to answer if you have to bear in mind all kinds of rock music. So I name 5 records of doom which are the most important for me personally:

• Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath 
  The beginning of all. The title track is probably the first and best doom song ever and I also love cover of this album.

• Candlemass - Nightfall
  Epecially “Samarithan” is one of the greatest metal songs on this planet.

• Solitude Aeturnus - Through The Darkest Hour 
  An unbelievable high level of doom metal. A level they never reach again I guess. Prove that black is white, dudes!

• While Heaven Wept - Sorrow Of The Angels 
  Take a deep breath and listen to “Thus With A Kiss I Die”!

• Dawn of Winter - Celebrate The Agony 
  This record is to blame for that I lapsed into doom.

Thank you for the questions! I hope that I´ve brought some useful informations to light…

Thanx to Timmy for this insightful interview, and if you are at all into doom metal, then you should get their excellent debut album NOW! Also a big thanx to Claus (Intromental) for setting up the interview.

Album out on Massacre Records.

Click on the album cover to see more info on Doomshine.