Category Archives: Interviews

Interviews, Various

(interview) The Crimson Ghosts – horrorpunk legends are back with ‘Forevermore’!

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It’s been more than five years since I talked with German horror punk legends The Crimson Ghosts. This time, they have an awesome new album which I reviewed couple of weeks ago and it was about time to talk with them about various themes.

It’s been five years since our last talk, so what is new in last couple of years?

J: Well I guess the main news would be a pandemic that kicked us all in the teeth big time and our new album ‘Forevermore’ that will kick you all as well but in a much more positive way! 18 years after our debut album ‘Leaving the tomb’ we´re still alive (…and screaming…) and I´d say our newest output proves once more we´re not doing what one might expect from us…

The new album is upon us. So, tell me the story behind the concept of the album? How long was the songwriting and recording? Did you do physical copies or only digital like some bands do?

J: I started writing new material maybe a year after ‘Yet not human’ was released but when the pandemic came my creativity pretty much was gone since I had the feeling writing songs etc makes no sense anymore and no one could say if there will be live shows again or a record release etc…during that time I didn´t touch a guitar for at least half a year maybe longer. Then when there was a light at the tunnel I did a lot of research about instruments routing on stage and monitoring because I wanted to bring in more samples and keyboards without the need of an additional musician. And yeah – as soon as I knew how to achieve that I wrote songs like for example ‘Me or you?’ which has a piano playing along, or ‘From the underground world’ with a lot of in time samples. The last song I wrote for the album was ‘Devil in the white city’ and this was about a month before the actual recordings took place. Looking on the 11 tracks of the album I´d say they couldn´t be more diverse and I am very proud on how they turned out.
We released the new album not only digital (Spotify, Deezer, Amazon, Bandcamp etc) but also as a digipack CD with a fat 28 pages booklet, as limited LP with white vinyl and a 16 pages LP sized booklet and as strictly limited cassette for all the nostalgic people among you.

Could you talk us thematically song by song through the new album?

J: Well it would be easy to do so but since there are certain songs where you can read between the lines and find a complete different meaning than it seems to be on first sight I want to leave that up to the fans and even encourage you all to write to us and let us know what you THINK they are about.

I kind of think you always had problems with changing drummers? Is the line-up now complete and stabilized?

J: Well actually we never had problems with drummers until our original drummer Rev. had to leave the band for health reasons in 2016…then we had a hard time to find a good drummer at all but then in 2018 Ol Nick joined us and is still with us.

I saw that you had some gigs booked for promoting new album. Where do you play, is it going to be an European tour?

J: yes we will play a few single shows in Germany during mid 2023 but the main event is coming during October/ November 2023 when we will go on tour finally! And even if I can´t go into details but the band that we share stages with on said tour hasn´t been seen for a long time and EVERYBODY in the horrorpunk community will probably cry tears of joy when they read the name on a tourposter.

You are so tight as a band, there are years of experience here, but I always wondered, how many times a week do you guys practice?

J: Usually we gather once a week but when there was a longer break during holidays and a show is coming up we do rehearsals twice a week

How does Vlad keep his voice so great and so beautiful? He sounds the same on the records and live and he is for sure one of the best voices in the scene? Do you guys have formal musical education or you learned it all yourselves?

J: The blood of countless virgins. Thats the key.

Question like a blast from the past, taken from your songs. Who is Mary you sing about, and who is Ophelia?

J: Well since the 4th chapter of the Necrobabe story (‘Of a guilty man’) is released on our new album I´d say it´s a blast from the past as well as it is mega present. Mary was a girl that was loved by a sick and driven man who murdered her only to keep her for himself…in the end he did regret his deed but it was too late of course. And that’s where the lyrics ‘Of a guilty man’ start.
I am afraid i can´t tell you anything about Ophelia since that’s one of the song lyrics that the Rev wrote back in the day…    

How is life in Koln besides the carnival, I know practically nothing about your city. I am lying I know you have a nice cathedral there.

J: I´d say Cologne is as every other big city..lot´s of people you don´t wanna see or hear…noise…dirt…I´m rooted to this city but I know all of its dark sides and therefore prefer to stay home.

Are there any new music you would like to recommend? What are you listening to at the moment?

J: I am not good when it comes to discovering new music I am more that ‘yesterday’s stuff is best!’ guy…so when not listening to ‘Live shit, binge and purge’ at least once a week it´s probably 90’s death metal, 2nd wave black metal or some nice and lovely aggrotech…but I can enjoy stuff like Wardruna or Heilung during work pretty much!

How do you like all these new horror movies that are coming to cinemas, kind of mainstream cinema horror, did you like new ‘Evil Dead’, ‘Boogeyman’ and couple other new horror movies or do you still prefer oldies goldies.

J: Long story short – new movies mostly suck. Lack of innovation, the only goal seems to be that it has to be more gross than any other movie before no matter if the script is shit etc…I couldn’t recommend a good horror movie that came out in the last 5 years.

That is all for this time. Hope you come to Croatia one day. Is there anything you would like to add and I didn’t ask you?

J: Hell yeah we wanna play Croatia! SO – if any Croatian promoter reads this – GET IN CONTACT! Until then – check out our new album ‘Forevermore’, join us on tour and stay undead!

Interviews

(interview) Solnegre – ‘Nowadays extreme metal is part of pop culture and probably a great part of the magic is lost.’

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Solnegre from Spain intrigued me with their music, so it was about time for me to talk with them a little for this webzine.

For start, classic fanzine question: how would you describe Solnegre to the readers of this webzine that didn’t hear of your band before?

We are a Doom Death Metal band from a small island amidst the sea. We try to process our negativity and our frustrations into something with purpose, not only as a mean to express how fucked up we, which is easy, are but also in order to turn this darker being into something beautiful and controllable.

What does doom/death metal, mean to you? Or extreme metal in general?

Extreme metal as a way of taking things a bit beyond is a language through which one can connect the dots of its darkest self. It’s the realization of the fact that Art is not always about being constructive, extrovert, or joyful. It’s the supreme recognition that a darker self exists and that it deserves to be heard above the social conventions that pushes everyone to show its best happy face in order to be successful. We were teens in the 90’s teens, so we’ve experienced the extreme metal in its rawest form, when the concerts were stopped or best case you were bombarded by ice cubes from the crowd and people called you ‘nothing but noise’. I recall those as a very good time, a true fight. Nowadays extreme metal is part of pop culture and probably a great part of the magic is lost.

You are releasing single called ‘Vessel Part I: The Night Within’. What can you tell me about this single? What is it about? Is there some deeper concept and philosophical meaning behind the music and lyrics?

Vessel reflects how easy it is to become prey for anxiety and depression, how easy it is to give up and to surrender to an existential void that nothing can fill. This is the inner night we refer to and can be there until the last day you live. The point in my opinion is to reach a non-aggression pact with this feeling, as trying to eliminate this darker self is impossible without being destroyed in the process.

Your release, new opus is coming out in October as far as I understand. How was the writing and recording process? How do you write songs? What comes first, riffs or lyrics? As far as I understand your lyrics deal more with spiritual and personal themes. Are you a spiritual person? What do the lyrics mean for you? Are you more reclusive or open person privately?

I call this form of composition ‘channeling’ because I realize that I’m not 100% conscious of the process. I can be doing some other stuff and here it comes, an idea, a vague melody, a riff…then another, then an arrangement…so I pick the guitar quickly and start recording everything and in minutes, there you have: a song. After this there’s of course a process of trimming down, restructuring and arranging, but the main thing works this way. My best songs come from the worst moments of victimization, from my imposter syndrome, from my sleepless nights, but it’s not like dropping into a rehearsal room and trying this and that, once you start channeling you get full blocks from somewhere else. On our prior projects we used a somewhat more ‘standard’ way of composing but honestly all you get is a soup of riffs, no intention at all and above all, hours of procrastination and wasted time. I always have some concept in mind, and I know what I’m writing about, which is possibly about some personal failure, someone I’ve fucked up, something or someone I will have no more…there’s always purpose in desperation. As per my mood, in general I’m quite misanthropic, I live in my own world and I hardly see the good side of things, or I don’t give a fuck in general what people do. The Pandemic didn’t help and now some agoraphobia breaks every now and then.

Do you guys tour? Did you play anywhere outside of Spain? Do you like to play bigger festivals or smaller club shows? What can we expect if we go to your live gig?

We toured extensively with our past projects, but SolNegre is about studio work only. I don’t feel the need to play these songs live, or at least in front of humans. In fact, I would be ashamed to conduct this exercise of self-exposure live.

Do you know something of Croatia? Do you know any Croatian bands, or have you played in our country?

Of course, we know a lot from you buddies. Even I have some indirect family ties with your country, but never got the chance to play there. Talking about bands, let’s mention the classic and super cool Ashes you Leave from the 90’s especially, and there’s an amazing Doom Metal band called The Old Night that I’ve been following since long ago.

How is the underground music scene in the place where you live? Do you have a strong scene there? How is life in Spain in general?

In general, the Balearic Islands have an amazing scene being as small as they are. Mainland Spain too, of course, but the islands are disproportionately productive in all the areas of extreme metal, and some funny guys call this ‘little Sweden’ not only for the number of Scandinavians trying to get laid and drunk but also for that reason. Having said that I wouldn’t call this ‘a scene’ because each band does its own little war, with a high degree of success by the way. Life in Spain is good if you like to socialize, good weather, good food, cheap drinking and giving a fuck on everything else. None of this I like except food and the drink thing, but hey, this is what it is.

Are there any notorious or scary urban legends in the area where you live?

On a mysterious island amidst the sea? Sure! Hundreds! Lights in the sea, caves that are gates to the underworld, water maidens, monuments from lost civilizations, dragons, lone wanderers on the mountain range, talking animals…. with 8 years I witnessed a mourning lady dressed black running full speed through my grandma’s house and fuck I swear that was real, I recall even the cracking of the floor and the air moving. That thing physically existed. Insane.

Let´s talk about horror. Do you love horror movies and literature? If you do, what are your favorites? Mine are old Hammer horror movies and found footage, also golden era slashers from early eighties. As far the literature goes, my favorite is H.P.Lovecraft, then James Herbert, Adam Nevill, Graham Masterton, Dan Simmons…

Hehe, that’s cool. We grew up with Saturday-hangover horror sessions on the times pre-dating internet, so all that zombie/slasher/weird Sci-Fi/paranormal thing is something we love and admire. About HP Lovecraft yeah, he’s the grandpa of us all and in fact the post-legacy is mostly enjoyable (Derleth, Campbell, Bloch). On Sci-Fi I like Scott Westerfeld, Simmons too, but I’m more on the classics and especially love stories about dystopian worlds. Not really much into horror literature lately but definitely much more into occultism, kabbalah, automatic writing, psychology, anthropology, demonology and things of that sort.

What are plans for immediate future? Classic for the end, is there anything you would like to add? Thank you for being part of Kraykulla Webzine.

We’ll release Vessel on the 29th this month. After this probably a second single probably in June and a full album down the road, probably in October. We are sincerely thankful for your time and for keeping it real and pushing the scene forward. Big cheers to our Croatian friends. Stay Doomed!

Interviews

(interview) Master Nate & The Reprobates – Canada’s most interesting band at the moment!

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Master Nate & The Reprobates have been catching my ear with their awesome music for a long time now. It was about time to talk with them for my webzine.

Hi and welcome to my webzine. So, first of all, talk of the day is your new album. Can you tell me about it, the concept behind it all and as I understood this will be eventually a concept full length, what is the theme and how did you imagine the release dynamics?

Master Nate & The Reprobates -MNR’s new album “The Dusk” is actually the 3rd release in MNR’s debut 8-Album Concept set entitled, …”The Diem Series”.

“The Diem Series” is a themed set, which encompasses the span of light to dark in the physical, emotional and spiritual realms, while painting a mural of the passage of time.

Albums in “The Diem Series” include:

1. “The Dawn”

2. “The Day”

3. “The Dusk”

4. “The Dark”

5. “Tomorrow”

6. “Overmorrow”

7. “Between The Days“

8. “Between The Nights”

All albums covers align to form a Huge Artistic Mural when laid out together. The artwork from the first 4 albums has now been released to the public. The remaining 4 will be unveiled after Bare Bones Records Touring Season for 2023 has concluded.

So as you can see, this is actually a “Concept Album” multiplied 8 times. 

No other band in the world has debuted with an 8-Album Themed Set!

Not The Beatles! Not Elvis!! No One!!

That is more albums than many bands release in their entire careers….and we are just getting started.

Can you tell me more about process of making songs? You guys have such awesome and smart lyrics behind the music and how is the creation process?

For me, the process of writing songs is an unending process. It flows like proverbial water from a spontaneous ‘faucet’…so I always try to keep a metaphorical ‘cup’ on hand to catch the inspiration whenever and wherever it comes. I always carry a note book, often have lyrics written on my arm when no paper is present…and a guitar is in my hand daily.

The Song Pool for “The Diem Series” alone exceeds 100 songs. Our sister band Sofa King Addicted -SKA has 4 albums of about 70 songs….AND there are our Seasonal Side Bands as well: 

-‘The Frostbite Faction’ (Christmas)

-‘The Tombstoners Union’ (Halloween).

I write all the songs for these bands and they just seem to spew forth from me endlessly.

Is it going to be a physical release of new material? How much is merch important to you as a band?

For the release of “The Diem Series”, here’s what will transpire…

-the first 4 albums will be released online.

-MNR will then release a Vinyl “Greatest Hits Of The Diem Series -Part 1”.

-MNR will then pause to release an Acoustic Album on Vinyl and online, which features Keith Douglas (Mad Caddies).

-the last 4 albums of “The Diem Series” will then be released online.

-MNR will then release a Vinyl “Greatest Hits Of The Diem Series -Part 2”.

*MNR will then release the entire “Diem Series” on Vinyl in a Special Limited Edition Box Set!

Sneak Peak of the Acoustic Album…

Have you toured? Have you played Europe and what do you think are main cultural differences between Europe and America/Canada? Did you already play new material live? 

We have toured…just not Europe. We tried, but no European promoters would take us on. So we made our own tour!

-Last Year, Bare Bones Records (the label I founded) created “The Pirates & Punks Festival Tour” and toured Costa Rica.

-This year, The Pirates & Punks Festival Tour will run through August & September, and will visit: Canada, Costa Rica then Australia.

-Next year, in 2024 MNR plans to tour in Europe. Although nothing is formally planned, MNR intends to tour Germany and as many of the surrounding Countries as possible, with the goal of playing some shows in Paris during the 2024 Olympics.

We look forward to speaking with European Promoters and Agencies regarding this.

And yes, we have played some of our new material during the Costa Rica tour to some really great reviews!

As for the cultural differences between Europe and North America…

Even from our perspective from across the Atlantic, we can see that North American culture is much more uptight and restrictive when compared to European culture. Needless to say, we are looking forward to experiencing the shows and scenes in the much more carefree culture and atmosphere of Europe.

As well, we are filming “The Bare Bones Records Hardcore Travel Show” during these tours. So we look forward to experiencing and showcasing Europe’s extensive history, as it’s the roots of the North American culture which we have experienced our whole lives.

Out Soon: Season 1 -Costa Rica

Slated To Be Filmed: Season 2 -Australia

In Pre-Production : Season 3 -Europe!!!

What was the highest and what was the lowest point for MNR so far?

The highest point for MNR is right now! Talking with you about MNR in Croatia, while I am in Canada, having the 1st half of “The Diem Series” AND our Acoustic Album Mastered and slated for release, pending International Tours…the high point is today!

The low point was every single time we have built something, only to have it fall apart. We commited to the Costa Rican your, only to have our drummer quit. We had no time to find another, so the band from England we were touring with (Hinge) loaned us their drummer for the tour.…*Thanks Matt for doing double duty!  Dann and I hadn’t jammed in 9 months, had no drummer, brought no gear, and boarded the plane to Costa Rica with nothing but confidence and guitar picks.

…but we did it, and we filmed the 1st Season of The Bare Bones Records Hardcore Travel Show, AND we turned the biggest possible challenge into another high point!

This year, we’re comin’ fully loaded and ready for war!!!

Question that went through my mind as I read the newspapers the other day. Does the situation in the world look line 1930s more and more? Does history repeat itself?

I do agree that history repeats itself, and that there are unprecedented global challenges…however, I don’t think we can compare it to the 1930’s.

My Grandfather grew up in the 1930’s in Ontario, Canada. The son of a farming family, he had it hard. I remember my Grandparents telling me stories of what Christmases were like for them growing up in the 1930’s. They woke up, went downstairs and they each had a bowl on the kitchen table. In it was left an orange. That was their Christmas gift, as oranges were exceedingly rare in Canada at that time, and in that season. But that’s what they knew…and they were happy! More importantly, they knew how to be happy with what they had! Comparatively today, we live in excess.

Our Christmases exceed those of the 1930’s a thousand times over. Today, when we feel we have it bad, we are still living in excess by comparison.…even most homeless have phones. We’ve never had more (usually at the cost of the environment), we’ve never had it better (usually at the cost of someone else)…but few seem happy. Few seem at Peace. Back then, most had nothing…and most we’re happy. Many found Peace. No, this is not like the 1930’s…this is something else entirely.

What do you guys do for living? I almost wrote ‘ordinary lives’ but I thought one thing. When you are into punkrock and music for long time and it becomes indivisible part of you, this actually is ‘ordinary life’ or is it not? 

I got my 1st job in 1994 (when I was 14) working for my small town. I took that job so I could buy a Gibson SG. I held that job til just last year, largely to finance music. Before I departed that position, I financed a career’s worth of songs, which MNR is now unveiling. Now, I work where I choose…and when I choose, making music the Priority of my Life. We are the sum of our imaginations, and I don’t imagine myself to be confined with no options nor means of egress.

How much would MNR make compromises in possible situation: You are signed to a record label, I am not talking about major, but some, let´s say, bigger name in punkrock/indie label and they tell you to do something this or that way, how far would you be ready to compromise in given situation?

I have built Bare Bones Records and our bands so we answer to no one. We do everything on our own and do a better job because there is no outside influence, nor vested interests beyond our own. Even when it comes to the songs, I am very secretive for fear of outside influence. I have a very clear vision of these songs in my head. No one else is hearing what I am hearing, so no one is then qualified to influence what they have not yet heard. 

We record in a reverse order. I go into the studio and track guitar and vocals alone. Dann usually hasn’t even heard the songs before he enters the studio later on to pay down bass, much of which he writes on the spot. Then drums are usually done last. Our new drummer Kyle tracked drums of 27 MNR songs in a 2 day session.

Dann and Kyle (The Reprobates) are both Troopers and have many, many unseen gifts, which are perpetually at work beneath the surface. Without them…it does not happen!  It’s unorthodox and counterintuitive…but that’s just how it has to be. And that’s why we’re coming out of the gate with over 100 original songs! It works for MNR!!!

Having said all that, although I like to be open-minded whenever possible…MNR has no need to compromise for anyone. Take us or leave us!

Are there any spooky or scary urban legends in place you live?

There’s a spooky experience that hits really close to home…

When I was a child, our family was building a house. It was not yet finished when we had to vacate our old home. So during the month or two interim of having no home, my family stayed at my Grandparents house until we could move into our new home. All the bedrooms we’re filled, and me being the youngest, was given a mattress on the living room floor as a sleeping area (which was on the ground floor level). For reference, this was a rural Canadian Road going through fields and wooded areas, about 15 minutes outside of the town.

One night, an ex-husband showed up at his former wife’s house, across the road…to kill her & her new boyfriend, and to abduct his children. He shot and killed the boyfriend, but the wife and kids got away and ran through the fields to our house, to hide from the killer. I was awoken to the wife and kids trying to open the living room door and windows, screaming “HE SHOT RICKY!!!”

The screams and cries are something I will never forget.

I wrote a song called “Another Man’s Life” about the incident.

Here is a video of both the Acoustic and Electric Versions of the song. (Released on upcoming albums: “The Dark”, and the Acoustic Album “How Did I Get Here?”)

So, for the end classical zine boring question. Is there anything else you would like to add? Thank you so much for your music, your time and your friendship.

In closing, I really want to Thank You Vlad! What you do is such an invaluable service. By your sharing and exposing music, you are creating opportunities and connections.

Without you, everything I’ve just said stays within. Words are one of the most powerful things on this planet. Music is one of the most inspirational things to people.

You facilitate Power and Inspiration Vlad!

On behalf of MNR and Bare Bones Records

…Thank You!!!