Interview with death metal band from Germany - CONVICTORS.
Answered Lasse (Guitars), thank you!
Recenze/review - CONVICTORS - Tartaros (2023):
Ave CONVICTORS! Greetings to the German underground. I hope everything is fine with you. It should be because this year you have released a third long-play full-length album in your band's career. I have to admit it has literally blown my mind. It is dark, energic and as if it cuts by the sharp edge of the knife. can hear from the record you did a really good job and you added a big portion of the talent, too. How do you perceive the new album in comparison to the previous albums? Where did you want to move and in what are these records different?
Hey Jakub thank you for your introducing words and your praise.
I think every album is something special for a band. We wrote the music for the 3rd album during lockdown. In those dark times we put all the energy into our song writing. There is a lot of aggression in the songs and yes you can hear that...
We were energized to write the songs and also we wanted to be faster, harder and more straight-lined. I think we made it...
„Tartaros“ includes all attributes of good death metal. For me personally, it represents the record, which I really like to listen to. How did you produce it? How look the writing process of new material in the case of CONVICTORS?
Our bass player and I work seperately at home on new songs.
During our weekly sessions, as long this was posssible, we presented the new songs to our band mates in our rehearsal room. Based on their feedback we reworked the songs or we moved on with the drum sessions. Our drummer brought his technical skill into the songs algong with the speed. Our singer came with the lyrics and added his clear and brutal voice to the songs, which made them as they are today...
Who is signed for mixing and mastering? I have to confirm that the sound literally kills. It still makes me turn up the volume on my hi-fi tower. You've got a sound that's harsh, raw and dark and animalistic at the same time. What studio did you record in and how did everything go?
Since many years we record our albums in the Iguana Studios close to Freiburg in Germany.
The sound master is Chrisoph Brandes, he is a brilliant metal drummer and sound engineer.
He knows excactely how our music must sound. That is one of his strength. For this album we went in three different session to the studio. Frist we did the pre-production a few month later we recorded guitar and drums and the last session with bass and vocals was made half year later. So we had enough time to produce the new album.
An important part and a kind of extra bonus for fans today is the physical CD, vinyl. You issue it at Kernkraftritter Records, and it has a monumental cover art. Who is the author? How did you choose the motif and how does it relate to the music at the record?
The artwork creator is DAEMORPH. He is also a metal musician and creative artworker.
Based on our song lyrics, we had a vision in our mind. Those ideas, let´s call it concept, we discussed with Daemorph and introduced our ideas. With his creativity he developed this brilliant artwork. This artwork is the mirror of our music.
I have been wandering the underground for over thirty years and I still go to Germany for music with certainty (I love MORGOTH!). I think we have a similar nature and taste when it comes to metal. I like your bands a lot and I monitor your scene carefully. Maybe I envy you a little, because we only have a few death metal bands that are worth it. How do you explain that death metal are doing so well in your country? How do you perceive your scene, fans, labels?
Wow, you are also a long time in the scene. Great to know. Morgoth was an old and absolutley great German Death Metal Band. I also love the sound, style and the voice of them. Yes indeed, in Germany there is generally a huge underground scene. Our friends Deaf Aid, Death Metal from Freiburg started for example also very early, in 1989.
I think many Germans love the rough and hard sound of this style of metal. Also there are many excellent undergrond bands and also festivals. I love the variability of the scene and bands. This is really amazing.
You're a band from the 90s, but you were only active for a short time between 1986 and 1987, only to come back after a long time. Can you please take us through the history of the band?
We were a couple of friends loving the early sound of bands like Napalm Death, Death, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Messiah, Slayer and many more. So we decided to start doing our own music. At that time, 1986, it was quite a challenge to find the equipment so that you can play for the sound you love.
At once we had our instruments and a rehearsal room we started to write our songs. It took quite some time until we had some acceptable songs. We recoreded them in our rehearsalroom on a tape recorder... You can imagine that the sound was awful. Nevertheless we moved on and published and offered this tape “The Last Jugdement” in several metal magazines in Europe.
We sold all the tapes we have produced. We played concerts in the local scene. But somehow we stopped to play music. At that time we were all at school or in the aprrenticeship and we had no money.
Over all the years we stayed together as friends and visited many concerts. In 2008 the energy for making own music came back and we started to play again. From the original band the drummer had a rehearsal room so it was easy to restart. We wrote five songs and went into the Iguana Studios to record them. We played concerts, we had some changes in the band and in 2014 we released “Abdication Of Humanity, in 2019 “Atrocious Perdition” and now in 2023 “Tartaros”.
You play death metal influenced by, among other things, the old school. Today, the band can't avoid comparisons, but I would like to know how the idea to start CONVICTORS was born, who was and is your metal idol? Where do you want to move your band? Are you attracted to large foreign festivals, for example, are you willing to go on tour with a more famous band?
I remember the day, it was a Wednesday evening, listening as every Wednesday to the Swiss Metal Radio Show. It was in November or December 1985. They played an intro I have never heared bevore. It was “The Excorcist” from Possessed. That was increadably amazing. I still get chicken skin when I think back. And at that time also Kreator, Sodom, Desruction and Slayer had there first albums out. This kind of music influenced us extremly. I still love the albums from that time.
We would love to play some bigger festivals in Europe. Yes and we would also be willing to play small tours with more famous bands. I mean, performing on stage is still a huge pleasure.
When I started my blog six years ago, had a vision that I would try to support bands that are not so much popular, or they are lost in underground. To let the world knows about them. I think I'm doing quite well, at least according to the responses. How do you approach the promotion of your music? Do you rely upon the label or do you send the CDs for various reviews by yourself? For example, I buy albums that I really enjoy. What about you? Are you also fans who often support your colleagues? Do you go to concerts?
Your blog and others are elemetary for the underground scene. Without magazines and blogs the underground scene would probably not exist as it is today. I love reading the underground blogs. There are many interesting reports and interviews. I also like to discover new bands.
I am also a big fan oft underound music, a buy a lot of shirts and patches. Sometimes also records. It is important to support the underground scene. Making your own music is an expensive hobby.
For our pormotion we have the support from the label but we also send CD´s to magazines or blogs by ourselves.
I and also my friends and band mates love to go to concerts.
On the one hand, today the band has a lot of opportunities to make themselves more known, but on the other hand, there are a huge number of groups and the fans are getting lost in this big metal sea. A lot of people just download mp3s from the internet and instead of to visit the concert they prefer to spit poisonous saliva on Facebook. How do modern technologies affect you as CONVICTORS?
Yes indeed the social media platforms and the internet is like boon and bane. Compared to the early days it is good to have those tools and platforms, on the other hand, the music itsleves lost the worth. As you mentioned, there are inumerable bands in the scene and everyone tries to sell the music and is looking for shows. For the scene it is elementary that fans are visiting concerts.
What do you think about downloading music, google metalists, streaming music, etc.?
Personally I am also listening often online music. That is an easy way to listen to metal.
I like to ask the musicians what death metal means to them. How would they define it, whether it is more the philosophy and lifestyle thing for them or "just" relaxation? What does it mean for you? How do you perceive and experience it?
From my perspective metal in general is a lifestyle. Either you love or hate the music. I am wearing often metal shirts from bands, so yes for me it is a lifestyle.
Finally, a classic but important question. What is CONVICTORS planning in the upcoming months? Where can we see you at the stage?
We are looking for shows, mainly in Europe. Yes that is what we are working on. We hope to get some slots for 2023 and later in 2024.
Thank you so much for the interview. I wish a lot of success to the new album and let the number of your fans expand as much as possible. I will look forward to seeing you somewhere live again. I wish you a lot of success both musically and personally. I'm going to push „Tartaros“ into my head again!
Thank you very much for the interview questions and your blog. It is realy amazing that people like you are working with the bands and for the underground scene.
Recenze/review - CONVICTORS - Tartaros (2023):
Recenze/review - CONVICTORS - Atrocious Perdition (2019):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sledujte nás na sociálních sítích - follow us on the social media:
instagram:
facebook:
