The Crimson Ghosts from Germany are one of the best European horror punk bands out there. When I first heard their songs, I became a die hard fan and I was very happy that there are bands like this one out there that share the vision and the melody and gore. I had an honour talking with them for my webzine. Enjoy!

SO IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOUR LAST ALBUM. WHAT IS NEW AMONG THE CRIMSON GHOSTS?

Jackal: Yes our last album “Generation Gore” was released in 2010 and we only released a 7″ split EP called “Bloodgods” in 2012 after that. We had to struggle with a lot of things since then. First i got sick and wasn´t able to write new songs for a longer time and as soon as we had enough songs for a new album our drummer Rev. had first problems with his right hand. We even started recording but had to stop because his hand got worse and worse. Basically our fifth album is ready to be recorded since the end of 2014.

Monstro: We´re burning for 2017! The new record, the gigs, making new friends and fans!

YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW BANDS THAT THE VOCALS SOUND THE SAME ON THE RECORDS AND LIVE, HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR VOCALS SO SUPERB WHEN TOURING? ANY SECRET RECIPE?

Jackal: The main key is to sleep a lot and to not talk loud for hours after the show. I heard not drinking alcohol helps as well but…that´s not really my way haha

Monstro: My job is doing the backing growls! So I have to talk a lot and loud before and after the shows. Cold beer is a good recipe as well……for anything!

YOU HAD SOME LINE UP CHANGES RECENTLY I HEARD. WHATS UP WITH THAT?

Jackal: That´s the sad truth, yes. We lost our brother Rev due to a chronical disease he got in his hand which wouldn´t let him play drums anymore. The good news is we found a new demon on drums and that´s his name – Demon.

Monstro: It´s always sad to lose a family member, but it´s in his sense that we go on with the Crimson Ghosts. We are still in touch with him and he helps Demon when it´s necessary.

Demon: Luckily I knew the band from several shows we played together with my old band through the years. I always have been a fan of the band so the music comes kind of natural to me and. Feels great to be a part of the TCG Family now.

YOUVE BEEN GONE FOR SOME TIME, WHEN IS THE NEW ALBUM COMING OUT? WILL IT DIFFER STYLEWISE FROM THE OLDER MATERIAL?
Jackal: We work really hard to release our fifth album in the 2^nd half of 2017. If it comes to style i would say we still don´t limit ourselves to a certain one. Each song differs from the next and it ranges from really dark and doomy atmosphere to great singalong-punkrock tunes. We got raging speed going on as well as mid-tempo grooves…you name it – you never know what songs we will create next.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION WITH TOURS AND GIGS? ANY CHANCE TO SEE YOU ON EUROPEAN TOUR IN THE NEAR FUTURE? 

Jackal: Our live but undead return to the stage will be in february. We confirmed 5 shows so far: 3.2. – Leipzig/ 4Rooms, 4.2. – Lippstadt/ Don Quijote, 10.2. – Hamburg/ Bambi Galore, 17.2. – Cologne/ Sonic Ballroom, 18.2. – Essen/ Cafe Nord……not too bad, right? On top of that we will play a few festivals later that year which we are really looking forward to.

MY FAVOURITE HORROR SUBGRENRES ARE HAMMER HORROR CLASSICS, SLASHER FROM THE GOLDEN ERA AND FOUND FOOTAGE. WHAT ARE YOURS? HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR LYRICS? WHAT COMES FIRST? RIFFS AND MELODIES OR LYRICS?

Jackal: I really enjoy well made found footage movies. You know if the cam shakes so much you can barely see what happens at all it sucks, but “Cloverfield”, “Rec.” and “Paranormal Activity” are just awesome made films!
The way towards a finished song is never the same. Sometimes i got a few lyrics first sometimes i have only a chorus on guitar and sometimes both pops up at the same time.

Monstro: I like the modern stuff, like the ring or Saw and 28 days later. I am also a big fan of TV-Shows like Dexter, The walking dead and American Horror Story. Fresh blood for rotten brains!

HOW IS THE GERMAN HORRORPUNK SCENE? ANY BANDS THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND BESIDES THE OTHER AND JAMEY ROTTENCORPSE….?
Jackal: Well i don´t know many German bands especially the new ones come and go pretty fast haha…But a few names would be “Hellgreaser”, “Dr. Geek and the freakshow”, “We´rewolf” and “Dead united”.

Monstro: I like The Fright and Angelstrife! Hopefully we´ll meet some new and fresh bands on tour to check them out.

Demon: Of course I can highly recommend my other Band, Hellgreaser. It’s a different style than we play with TCG but it’ s still horrorpunk. It’s more a mid-tempo Punkrock oriented band.

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, YOU MANAGED SOMEHOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN STYLE AND RISE ABOVE MEDIOCRITY AND BECOME AN EXCELLENT BAND. WHAT WOULD YOU, NOW AS EXPERIENCED MUSICIANS SAY TO ME IF I WERE A KID JUST STARTING MY OWN BAND?

Jackal: Thats easy: Look at your idols but do not copy them. Instead create something you actually miss on your favourite bands.

Monstro: Take your friends, get your stuff together and move into the practice room and have fun! That´s the best way to start a band and have a lot of fun together!

Don´t listen to that bullshit American idol or Superstar-Shows bullshit on TV!

HOW WAS PLAYING WITH BLITZKID? I THINK THEY ARE VERY NICE GUYS. SO DOWN TO EARTH AND SO FRIENDLY. ANY FUNNY STORIES FROM THE TOUR OR THOSE GIGS THAT YOU COULD SHARE?

Jackal: It was great really. A very family-like atmosphere and a great time surely. But it´s a long time ago since we played the last time with them so i cannot really remember any funny stories, sorry.

Monstro: No doubt! Awesome guys and brilliant songwriters and musicians. So sad that they split up!

Demon: When I first met Blitzkid I played with my old Rock´n´Roll band Mad Chapel as their support act. I was blown away by their style and music. This was my first real contact with the horrorpunk genre and it still lasts.

HOW IS LIFE IN GERMANY IN GENERAL? HERE IN CROATIA MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT IT IS PROMISED LAND LAST THREE YEARS NOW WE ARE AN EU MEMBER AND MANY OUR PEOPLE WENT TO WORK THERE. IS IT REALLY PROMISED LAND?

Jackal: Oh well i would say the term “The grass is always greener on the other side” would describe it…i bet you guys have things going on that i would be jealous of and you on the other hand would find German things better compared to yours…but of course both countries are surely fucked up in so many things, right?

Monstro: It´s the promised land if you have the money!

DO YOU THINK THAT HORRORPUNK LOST ITS TOUCH? I MEAN, MANY PEOPLE DONT WANT TO LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE THEY SAY THAT ALL HORRORPUNK BANDS ARE MISFITS CLONES.
Jackal: You know there seem to be three kind of people: 1) The ones that hate a horrorpunk band because they do NOT sound like the Misfits 2) The ones that hate a horrorpunk band because they DO sound like the misfits 3) The ones that don´t give a fuck as long as it sounds good. Me personally i don´t care about this opinions anymore. I write songs the way i like and if they are influenced by the Misfits – so be it. In the end the Misfits were the reason The Crimson Ghosts were started in the first place.

Demon: For me horrorpunk will never lose its touch. It has been a small scene ever since on the one hand but on the other hand there are fans worldwide. I really like this and i am pretty sure it won’t change.

ARE THERE ANY GOOD GERMAN HORROR FILMS/TV SERIES OR BOOKS YOU KNOW AND COULD RECOMMEND? HORROR FILMS VS BOOKS, WHICH IS BETTER?
Jackal: Not that i knew of, sorry.

Monstro: It´s too sad, but i have no idea!

WE ARE COMING TO AN END OF THE INTERVIEW. ANY WORDS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY IN THE END AND I DIDNT ASK YOU?

Jackal: Keep your eyes open because The Crimson Ghosts will return in 2017 and be stronger than ever!

Nedavno je izašao fenomenalan novi album One Step Away, pa je ovo bio idealan trenutak da popričam o svemu malo za moj zine. Album možete skinuti ovdje: DOWNLOAD ALBUMA – NI GRAMA SRAMA

Prošlo je prilično puno vremena otkad sam zadnji puta čuo za vas, jel se radilo o kreativnoj pauzi ili baš o klasičnom raspadu, pa onda reunionu benda?

Da slažem se, stvarno je prošlo ohoho vremena i nismo baš bili prisutni na sceni radi kojekakvih paralelnih situacija/obaveza, al po pitanju raspada u bendu tu nikada nije bilo riječi pa čak ni pomisli na tako nešto strašno. U kratkim crtama bi se moglo reći da smo u to svo vrijeme bili prisutni u nekim drugim bendovima/projektima poput Rens Argoa, Overflow, Dunstabzugshaube, tako da smo samo strpljivo čekali pravi trenutak da svi zajedno ponovno kliknemo i nastavimo gdje smo i stali, bez grama srama!

Neki dan je objavljen novi album, koja je osnovna razlika između novoga i V šumi drijeva…? Sviđa mi se produkcija, onako je malo prljavija, a sve se čuje, gdje ste snimali? Postoji li i fizičko ili samo digitalno izdanje?

Prva i osnovna razlika je u samom nazivu albuma i to da je novi album mlađi od starijeg za samo 11 godina…Ima dosta razlike, prije svega mi smo danas i drugačiji ljudi nego prije 11 godina, tako da se to sigurno odrazilo i na sami pristup rada na novom albumu, nekada smo željeli mijenjati sve oko sebe, a danas želimo mijenjati i prihvatiti samo sebe. Moram priznati da nitko od nas nije neki pretjerani sound-nazi ili ti ga filozof što se tiče dobivanja samog zvuka u studiju ili prognoziranja unaprijed kako bi album trebao zvučati, već jednostavno svatko od nas dolazi sa svojim zvukom koji želimo što bolje pretopiti u jednu cjelinu, nazovimo to u ovom slučaju album, sa jednom jedinom misli na pameti, a to je da nas četvorica moramo zvučati ko jedna tipka na klaviru, a ako to uspijemo, super, a ako ne, moramo se naštimati :)  Za sve ostalo bi se moglo reći da prepuštamo producentu tj. čovjeku kojeg smo odabrali da nam naše misli sažme u input – output, a ovog puta za to je bio zadužen Mark Markovčić zvan Mark Markovčić.

Naravno tijekom svih tih godina došlo je i do nekih promjena u bendu. Album V Šumi Drijeva Falidu snimljen je sa starim bubnjarom Ivan Bukovec – Buki (KC) i još uvijek prisutnim glavom i bradom Bojan Kurbanjev – Bobo kao trio, za razliku od novog albuma Ni Grama Srama gdje smo sada četveročlana družba sa novim bubnjarom, a da budem precizniji to mjesto zauzeo je lijep, visok, skroman i naočit koprivnički momak Marko Kuhar – Krt, al kad smo već kod KC-momaka onda dolazimo i do naše predivne bradate bebe Domagoj Čokonaj Perec – Čole kao druga gitara, tako da sada spajamo Podravinu i Zagorje u jednu našu takozvanu regiju, Zagorjevina! Osobno mislim da do danas nebi izdržali kao bend da nismo Bobo i ja njegovali jednu posebnu ljubavno-prijateljsko- glazbenu sponu koja nas je držala svih tih godina zajedno! Za sad je album samo u digitalnom obliku, a fizičko izdanje mislimo svakako napraviti barem za sebe i jos nekolicinu divnih i dragih ljudi, al ko više sluša te cedeje??? hah

Na albumu je po mom mišljenju fini miks osobnog i punk ljutine što se tiče tekstova, smatrate li da je ovaj album ono zrelo, ona esencija vas kao cjeline odnosno benda? Zašto tekstovi samo na hrvatskom?

Ne, mislim da se ono “zrelo” bude tek došuljalo kad budemo i mi sami zreli, a sada to slobodno mogu reći da to sigurno još nismo…, viš dobro pitanje, jer i sam se često zapitam pa dokle više…, al da, budemo još malo pričekali na te “zrele dane”! Uglavnom što se tekstova tiče, tu mi nije bila namjera da se nešto mnogo mudruje, već da bude direktno i jasno kao trn u oko, te da se stvori neki mix sarkastične-komedije sa dozom ozbiljnosti, u principu to je i naš način zezancije na koji volimo udriti brigom na veselje! Tekstovi na hrvatskom zato da nam i roditelji i šira rodbina mogu razumijeti o čemu pjevamo, engleski je dosadan i na njemu pjevaju svi i nije neka fora, a čak smo razmišljali da počnemo pisati stvari na mađarskom, što i nije tako loše jer već imamo i prvu pjesmu za sljedeći album koja nosi ime “Njošto Kebedeš Kilenc Otoš”… radimo i na prijevodima… pa da nas ceo svet razume!

Pitanje koje postavljam svim sugovornicima, kako ste došli u dodir s tom underground scenom?

Kad malo bolje rezimiram te dane ili-ti- ga godine, mislim da smo bili još ta generacija koja je donekle rasla u toj underground sceni, bilo je brdo bendova, klubova, koje kakvih mirisa, zapišano-izbljuvanih wc-a i naravno ljudi koji su bili spremni raditi sve samo da budu dio scene, na koncu imati bend, pa da život barem malo ima smisla, tako da smo se i mi zatekli u ono vrijeme tamo i objeručki se uhvatili za taj brzi vlak…

Mislite li da postoje ljudi na hrvatskoj sceni koji su umišljeni? Što vas može razljutiti? Postoji li neki događaj u nazovimo je karijeri OSA koji vas je na neki način obilježio i kojeg ćete uvijek pamtiti?

Čekaj, pa ne postoje umišljeni ljudi! Ljute nas ovakva pitanja! Jednom prilikom u jednom gradu išli smo na spavanje poslije svirke i sljedećeg jutra se probudili nagi jedni na drugima u nekoj čudnoj sobi. I dan danas je taj dan enigma!

Pošto ste već relativno dugo aktivni na sceni, što mislite o ljudima koji su tzv tipkovnica ratnici, koji preko weba samo nešto prigovaraju, a nikada nisu prstom mrdnuli da nešto naprave za scenu?

Nek si kupe novu tipkovnicu!

Mislite li da je scena ove sjeverozapadne Hrvatske sada bolja nego prije recimo 15-ak godina? Postoji li mjesto gdje bi rado svirali, koje je recimo velika želja ili san da svirate tamo?

Ne znam, kad bi išli na uspoređivanje, mislim da nebi gledali isti film…Nemamo nikakvih želja ni snova, srećom probudili smo se i sad se trudimo zadržati klince u sebi dok radimo na klincima :) Volimo ići bilo kuda samo da je svirka i sve što vole mladi!

Koji je cilj, odnosno slijedeći nivo kojeg ste si zadali kao bend da morate dostići? Postoji li neki vrh kada biste recimo mogli reći, evo to je to, sada smo postigli sve što smo htjeli?

Mislim da smo već postigli što smo duboko u sebi i htjeli, imamo bend, svirke, supruge, novi album, Konzum (koji ide s nama kroz život), HDZ (idemo dalje, rekao je Ivo Sanader), Željku Markić (neuspjeli abortus), te najbitnije da imamo jedni druge i naravno tebe Davore Krajcere – Viteže da ti imamo priliku dati ovako divan intervju… od srca k srcu!

Kakvi su članovi OSA privatno?

Zoki – lijep

Bobo – ljepši

Krt – najljepši

Čole – besprijekorno predivan

Bližimo se kraju interviewa. Klasično fanzinaško posljednje pitanje: Ima li nešto što želite reći, a da vas nisam pitao? Hvala puno na razgovoru.

Sve smo ti otpjevali, bolje rečeno ogolili smo ti naše gole duše, čak i više od toga!

Veliko hvala i tebi Davore, bilo nam je neizmjerno ugodno, štoviše drago nam je da se još netko bavi i piše za fanzin, jbno…”just straight ahead”.