Desaster is a legendary band from Deutschland! They have been spreading metal mayhem since the 90's with their black/thrash assault! Earlier this year they put out the album 'The Oath of the Iron Ritual'. They also toured the U.S on this new album and played MDF. I caught up with Infernal to talk about the new album and also Desaster history!
1. Hails Infernal! So you guys just did a successful U.S tour and also a Canadian show if I’m not mistaken. How was the experience and how was MDF? Sadly, your LA show got cancelled and I was planning to go to that one, hopefully sometime in the future.
Infernal: Well, the tour went quite well although we expected some more people to come to the shows. Also playing at 4´clock in the afternoon on Maryland Death Fest was not a fantastic slot! I´m not sure if we will do something like this again in the future, so better book your ticket for a show in Germany!
2. So your new album dropped earlier this year, how has the reception been to the new record?
Infernal: The response was very good! I don´t pay too much attention on album reviews in magazines, but if fans who follow DESASTER since Demo-days write to me that the album kicks ass I´m proud!
3. I noticed this album is slightly more “thrash/speed” compared to your last album “Arts of Destruction”. Now, Desaster has always had a healthy dose of black metal and thrash. So was this a conscious decision or did it just naturally come out that way?
Infernal: We don´t “plan” the songs for an album but I think we again managed to find the right DESASTER mixture on “The oath of an iron ritual”. Yes, compared to “The arts of Destruction” it´s a little bit more “thrashy”. I agree with you.
4. The new album just kicked my ass, it’s just pure metal at its finest. How did you guys come up with the title “Oath of the Iron Ritual”. It really fits the music that’s on the album. Also, it’s like an ode to metal just like Metalized Blood is just an anthem to all the maniacs! What is your thoughts on “modern metal” and “modern metal production" and sound?
Infernal: Yes, you are right, the title of the album stands in a kind of tradition with “Metalized Blood” and is dedicated to all those maniacs who are into Heavy Metal music for all those years like we are. We all have sworn an oath and celebrate the “iron ritual” everyday when listening to Metal! I´m not into modern metal, bands like Sabaton are absolutely not my cup of tea and I also don´t like the sound of the modern bands with their triggered drums and Rammstein guitar sounds. I grew up in the 80s and still like this “old-school” sound most. The perfect production for me you can find on “Ride the lightning” or “Reign in blood”.
5. Later this year there is going to be a re-release of the old demo stuff. I’m hoping to snag a copy because the song “Tears of an Old Wizard” is actually one of my favorite songs by you guys. Looking back what are some of your favorite songs on those demos and how do you think Desaster has changed the most from the demo days?
Infernal: Cool you like the old "wizard" song! It´s also one of my all-time DESASTER fave songs. We already re-released the demos on vinyl in our 20 years anniversary box but it´s cool that the people out their still like tapes. So when we got the offer to re-release the demos on tape again we agreed. The two demos from 1993 and 1994 will come in a limited box as well together with a third tape with a live show from that time. I still like the songs from this time, for example “Into a magical night” always reveals some great memories and other songs like “As the deadworld calls” or “In a winter battle” we still play live from time to time. I don´t think we have changed our sound much, the way we write songs hasn't changed at all and we still have all the elements in our music we already had on our demos. We of course became tighter and I also would say more brutal in our sound during the years, especially because of Sataniac's brutal voice.
1. Hails Infernal! So you guys just did a successful U.S tour and also a Canadian show if I’m not mistaken. How was the experience and how was MDF? Sadly, your LA show got cancelled and I was planning to go to that one, hopefully sometime in the future.
Infernal: Well, the tour went quite well although we expected some more people to come to the shows. Also playing at 4´clock in the afternoon on Maryland Death Fest was not a fantastic slot! I´m not sure if we will do something like this again in the future, so better book your ticket for a show in Germany!
2. So your new album dropped earlier this year, how has the reception been to the new record?
Infernal: The response was very good! I don´t pay too much attention on album reviews in magazines, but if fans who follow DESASTER since Demo-days write to me that the album kicks ass I´m proud!
3. I noticed this album is slightly more “thrash/speed” compared to your last album “Arts of Destruction”. Now, Desaster has always had a healthy dose of black metal and thrash. So was this a conscious decision or did it just naturally come out that way?
Infernal: We don´t “plan” the songs for an album but I think we again managed to find the right DESASTER mixture on “The oath of an iron ritual”. Yes, compared to “The arts of Destruction” it´s a little bit more “thrashy”. I agree with you.
4. The new album just kicked my ass, it’s just pure metal at its finest. How did you guys come up with the title “Oath of the Iron Ritual”. It really fits the music that’s on the album. Also, it’s like an ode to metal just like Metalized Blood is just an anthem to all the maniacs! What is your thoughts on “modern metal” and “modern metal production" and sound?
Infernal: Yes, you are right, the title of the album stands in a kind of tradition with “Metalized Blood” and is dedicated to all those maniacs who are into Heavy Metal music for all those years like we are. We all have sworn an oath and celebrate the “iron ritual” everyday when listening to Metal! I´m not into modern metal, bands like Sabaton are absolutely not my cup of tea and I also don´t like the sound of the modern bands with their triggered drums and Rammstein guitar sounds. I grew up in the 80s and still like this “old-school” sound most. The perfect production for me you can find on “Ride the lightning” or “Reign in blood”.
5. Later this year there is going to be a re-release of the old demo stuff. I’m hoping to snag a copy because the song “Tears of an Old Wizard” is actually one of my favorite songs by you guys. Looking back what are some of your favorite songs on those demos and how do you think Desaster has changed the most from the demo days?
Infernal: Cool you like the old "wizard" song! It´s also one of my all-time DESASTER fave songs. We already re-released the demos on vinyl in our 20 years anniversary box but it´s cool that the people out their still like tapes. So when we got the offer to re-release the demos on tape again we agreed. The two demos from 1993 and 1994 will come in a limited box as well together with a third tape with a live show from that time. I still like the songs from this time, for example “Into a magical night” always reveals some great memories and other songs like “As the deadworld calls” or “In a winter battle” we still play live from time to time. I don´t think we have changed our sound much, the way we write songs hasn't changed at all and we still have all the elements in our music we already had on our demos. We of course became tighter and I also would say more brutal in our sound during the years, especially because of Sataniac's brutal voice.
6. Back in the 90’s your guy’s style was very underground. Yes, you had the death metal explosion and even the black metal scene from Norway gaining attention but your band and bands like Usurper, Pentacle, Destroyer 666, Witchburner in the vein of the ways old weren’t as known or it seemed to be as appreciated. Do you think people now are more into Desaster now then let’s just say the 90’s? Because to be into those bands like I have mentioned before you had to me a total metal maniac and not just your Nuclear Blast bands at that time. Also, in the 90’s Desaster all though I don’t want to say pure “thrash” but you were one of the few bands that were playing that style as well.
Infernal: Well, since the first demo we had a speed/thrash element in our sound with songs like “Witchcraft”. After our debut album was released in 1996 we put more attention on those old-school elements because we were fed up with the Black Metal scene with all those keyboards and female vocals which really didn't fit in our metal-universe! So since our “Stormbringer” mini-LP in 1997 I think our roots can be heard much better and also Okkulto found it´s own singing style. Yes, I agree with you that this style of black/thrash wasn't very popular back then and we could have sold more albums with some tits and orchestra stuff back then, hehe! But we didn't give a shit and decided to swim against the stream and play the music we loved and still love. Yes, it´seems that some few more people are into our music right now, but it´s still underground and although there´s again a little “thrash revival” going on it´s no mainstream at all.
7. When was it decided to record the live album and DVD “Live in Bamberg” for 25 years of Desaster? Also, on the DVD was a documentary about the band. How was that process of doing the interviews for the documentary and finding old archived footage and such?
Infernal: It was a pain in the ass to collect all those old photos and video-material but really fun to do all those interviews and meet some old friends again. I think the documentary turned out really great and is also a kind of documentary about German extreme metal underground in general. It took some years to plan the anniversary release, so for example the show in Bamberg had to take place one year before our anniversary so that the show could be released in 2014, 25 years after our first concert in 1989 which marked the official beginning of the band.
8. What gear do you use? Does it differ from live performance and recording?
Infernal: No, it´s mostly the same stuff. I mostly use my old Ibanez RG 550 left handed guitar, I use the Metal zone distortion and a digital delay and play an old Hiwatt amp with Marshall speakers. That´s it. No amp imitation stimulation amputation or whatever this modern shit is called, haha!
9. During the late 80’s when you formed Desaster and even before how was the metal scene in Koblenz? Everybody knows the big bands from the 80’s that came from Germany. Was it an exciting time to be picking up the new albums by those bands? Were you involved in tape trading back in those days?
Infernal: No, tape trading began when our first demo was released in the 90s. In the 80s we were mostly into the “bigger” bands which already released albums, but soon we listened to more extreme bands because we were pissed by the big Metallica hype back then. So the first records from Pestilence, Protector etc. were the most extreme stuff we knew and we always drove with our bicycles to the next town to buy the latest album releases. The first demo I had was from the Speed band “Pyracanda” from our hometown Koblenz which was released in 1988 and called “Welcome to crab-louse city”, haha! But the metal scene in Koblenz was not as exiting as in other cities. The bigger bands didn't play here and we had to organize a lot on our own to keep the flame of metal alive here! Now in 2016 there are some more bands and people around in this area, but it´s still no Heavy Metal “Mecca”.
10. I was watching some early videos of Desaster live and I noticed that you guys had torches on stage, was that influenced by the medieval sound you guys had in your music in those early days?
Infernal: Yes, exactly! By the time when our debut came out we tried to support the atmosphere of the music by some torches and candles on stage, later we weren't motivated to carry all the shit with us any longer, hehe! I think we still have this medieval elements in our music, just listen to the middle-part of “At the eclipse of Blades” on the new album!
11.Over all the years of being a metal maniac do you feel your influences have overall stayed the same or have there been slight changes throughout the years?
Infernal: No, I think it´s quite normal that you are influenced by the music you listen to when you are a teenager. And I still prefer the old albums to the newer ones. It´s also a matter of fact that in metal music you can´t invent something completely new, so I prefer to listen to the original albums.
12. Well I want to say thank you for your time and answering these questions. Any last words for the fans?
Infernal: I want to thank everybody who supported DESASTER so far and I want to greet our loyal fans in the worldwide underground! BANG OR BE BANGED!!!
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