Oh, sweet dark father of all that is unholy I bow down and give you thanks and praise for a new record. The Norwegian black metal masters in 1349 have seen fit to bestow their eighth studio album and latest offering of pure evil The Wolf & The King on us. It has been far too long as far as this Satan worshipper’s concerned since we’ve heard from the band. Getting my hooks into this disc had me all hopped up like a Texas high school linebacker on beer and painkillers! As soon as I pressed play, I knew I was not gonna be disappointed.
With each single the band released I could feel my excitement building, so naturally I was in heaven when I got my grubby mitts on it. Right away opener “The God Devourer” displays a band that is back, and back to destroy everything in its path, your neck included. “Ash of Ages” was and is this guy’s favorite track and is worthy of repeat listens. You add “Inferior Pathways” to this already potent sonic Molotov cocktail thus far and something is going to burn; maybe your stereo, maybe your ears. Either one works for me!
With “Inner Portal” I felt strong Behemoth vibes, not a bad thing by any means. Hell, we’ve just kicked the sinister vibe up a few notches. “The Vessel and The Storm” was another strong song on a record full of them. This bleeds seamlessly into “Obscura”, setting us up for blood. Closer “Fatalist” is an absolute masterclass in black metal that ticks all the boxes of darkness. Bottom line is this: 1349 are back with sharpened fangs and an evil thirst, hell bent on evil, fire, and mayhem. Get this one with a quickness!
Active ascension up the ranks due to quality releases backed up with energetic live performances (over 250 under the belts at the time before release), western New York artists Undeath have reached their third studio album for More Insane. When all the major components present themselves as far as riffing, variant tempos, intuitive transitions, and explosive vocals, it’s more a question of refinement to drill deeper on those key elemental details that keep consumers happy. As far as death metal goes, this quintet understands the balance between memorable songwriting next to impressive musicianship and brutality – a combination next to satisfying creative hunger to pay huge dividends long-term.
The sophisticated bass play from Tommy Wall propels certain songs into that extension of Steve DiGiorgio / Alex Webster scale of importance – characterized in the instrumental / hook accents for “Sutured For War” and the tumultuous head-ripping title track. As guitarists, Kyle Beam and Jared Welch push themselves in a chess war between punishing caveman riffs, left field bends / runs, killer lead play plus the occasional melodic passage. The first single “Brandish the Blade” chugs along in that diversity as parts build to tremendous payoffs, the mid-tempo breakdown midway through sure to gain some devil’s horns appreciation next to the tradeoffs/harmonized lead break. Beyond his obvious skill set as the band’s cover artist, drummer Matt Browning also flexes tremendous tempo fluctuations, going from blast beat madness to Lombardo-esque insane fill spots next to his normal death duties to make “Disputatious Malignancy” and the marching to the grave-like “Wailing Cadavers” immediate favorites. Over the top of this deadly destruction / horror-oriented lyrical content – of which “Disattachment of a Prophylactic in the Brain” could be my song title for this year – you have the expressive vocal prowess of Alexander Jones, who can growl, scream, and melt paint off walls as the best frontman should do in this style.
Continuing the trend of ‘less is more’ at a perfect just under 34-minutes runtime, More Insane showcases Undeath in that comfort lane where people know what they’ll get from this act – a tremendous affinity and passion for all facets of death metal. The intertwining of influences from Autopsy and Bolt Thrower to Cannibal Corpse and Obituary plus the occasional classic rock / metal nuance taken to the modern followers could allow this act to be a firm headliner very quickly.
While the quickly recognizable Japanese rock act Band-Maid hasn’t actually released a full-length album since early 2021’s Unseen World, the group has stayed busy with an EP and a number of singles in the meantime. While tuned-in fans of the Maids will undoubtedly recognize a number of these songs, as some were used in anime EDs and as previous singles, it’s nice to see how everything comes together to form a diverse and intriguing package in the form of Epic Narratives.
Some notable augmentations and advances have occurred for the group over the years, and the one that stands out the most on Epic Narratives is how much more progressive the music feels. “Forbidden Tale” showcases a lot of playful basswork from Misa, while the riff machine from Miku Kobato and Kanami Tōno injects a lot of complexity while still aiming for more of a stadium rock vibe at times. The playful riffing of the Miku-led “Brightest Star” all but tickles your ears with how it weaves around catchy tempos and melodies. It only takes a few moments of “Toi et Moi” for it to completely embed itself into your skull, and vocalist Saiki Atsumi brings it to the next level atop the proggy goodness with her urgent vocal lines that dance around them. “Shambles” finds a fine line between the progressive structures and all-out rockfest with it’s urgent riffing and more frenetic tempo. Of course, a Band-Maid instrumental was in order to close things out, and “Get to the Top” showcases that playful yet stylish level of Band-Maid playing with plenty of shred.
That said, even with the intricate playing going on, melodies still reign supreme. Their collaboration with Mexico’s The Warning on “Show Them” feels ready for mainstream radio with it’s immediate chorus, fun melodies, and strong emphasis on English lyrics. “The One” lets Saiki take a front-and-center role in an almost ’80s-esque power ballad fashion and allows it to absolutely soar. “Letters to You” delivers a punchy level of guitar groove and crunch while leading the melodies build up to a catchy sway in the chorus. Likewise, the otherwise more frantic “Protect You” provides urgent volleys of riffing and drums while doubling down on the more melodic aspects in the background and making the song quickly find a way into the favorites list.
Band-Maid continue to walk a fine balance in providing catchy, heartfelt rock with a strong sense of intricacy. Epic Narratives is pure fun that you can still deep dive on the instrumentation to further enhance your experience if you choose to. Their sound is immediately identifiable, able to provide a distinct energy that is lacking in the current scene and still manage to up the ante with each new release.
By this point, a band sure to be on many people’s radar, especially fans of doom and gothic metal, has to be that of Cemetery Skyline. With members from established acts like Dark Tranquillity, Omnium Gatherum, Sentenced, Dimmu Borgir, and Amorphis (to name only a few) coming together, it’s bound to pique some interest. Worthy of the hype, the act’s debut, Nordic Gothic, merges elements of gothic, pop, doom, and more into a hooky yet melancholic sound. We spoke with guitarist Markus Vanhala to get a better picture of how the band came to be, their goals, and much more.
Dead Rhetoric: You all are in other groups, where’d the idea come about to do another band together?
Markus Vanhala: It actually happened during 70,000 Tons of of Metal, the first sparks of Cemetery Skyline. I was speaking with a few friends in the bar, and we talked about it and then we wrote an album and we’re an actual band now! We all love this kind of music. It’s what we listened to in the ‘90s, growing up. We were metal teenagers but everyone was listening to stuff like Sisters of Mercy and Type O Negative in secrecy. That’s kind of the thing that ties us together in the band. It’s totally different than what we are all doing in our own bands. It wouldn’t make any sense to form another band and do melodic death. I already have two of those, and Mikael [Stanne] already has a few of those.
Dead Rhetoric: It does seem kind of silly to get all of these people together and just play the same thing you’ve been doing, just in a slightly different way.
Vanhala: It would be really boring. The idea of this band is to keep everything really interesting for ourselves and doing something we haven’t done before. For example, Mikael has never sung for a whole album. It’s been a while since I was in a band with a clean singer. It’s been really nice in keeping it nice and fresh for us. In the end, we tried to copy Type O Negative and Sisters of Mercy and I guess we failed. The album doesn’t sound much like them, so we accidentally went original.
Now it somehow seems like gothic music is trendier. There are bands like Unto Others in the US, and I just listened to the new song from Tribulation yesterday and they have been going in that direction. There’s a Netflix show about Wednesday, a gothic girl. All of those things happened since we formed the band four years ago. It wasn’t trendy at all then, so we were just going off of the nostalgia in our minds. Now it seems like we hit the right spot for this kind of music somehow. It’s weird.
Dead Rhetoric: I do remember in the early 2000s there was a ton of gothic metal coming out, that Sentenced sparked with their last few albums. It’s been a while but yeah, now there is a new wave coming in. You’ll get there before everyone really gets back into it.
Vanhala: That’s how the music world works. It’s always in circles. A few years ago, everyone was doing ‘80s-type music and synthwave. Now it seems like the ‘90s is trendier. Then theres bands like Lorna Shore and newer groups sounding like Dimmu Borgir. Somehow music always goes in circles.
Dead Rhetoric: You mentioned the band formed at the bar. Is it safe to say that this is more a band of friends than anything else?
Vanhala: Definitely! We are all friends. I hate the word supergroup. The label is doing this because it’s people from different bands, but for us, it’s more like a band of friends. We have known each other for a number of years. We have done a bunch of tours and met in the buses. For us, it’s like doing this with people who are your really good friends who are easy to work with, and have a lot of fun together.
Dead Rhetoric: You have been at this for a few years. Was it a matter of schedules lining up to get it together or ensuring nothing was rushed?
Vanhala: Both. Because when you look at the calendar when you look at the members, its insane to work on trying to get gigs and stuff. But we are actually going to do that at some point. We took our time because we didn’t even exist for the people. We did it for us, and we didn’t have any deadlines. Usually we would have a plan for bands like Omnium Gatherum on labels that you have to have an album by this time. But we didn’t have that pressure so we took our time. It took four years. It’s the longest time I have spent on an album. We really worked hard on this one, and we wanted it to be the best, most mature Cemetery Skyline album we could present. I’m really happy with the album after many months, so we did something right!
Dead Rhetoric: Given your history, what’s the most important piece to you when presenting a new band?
Vanhala: Down the road I have been noticing that marketing a band, you have to have a band. Back in the day, it was more about the music. Unfortunately, the band needs to have some sort of story and this whole 360-styled thing. Of course the music comes first, and that’s what it is all about. We started to do this to do music that we really liked. Mikael came up with a really cool concept about the lyrics all around this album dealing with Nordic/Scandinavian gothic style living. Which is about living in solitude and being alone in the North. Which some might romanticize but it’s real, and it’s self-chosen because people here in the North are antisocial than those in the South, and we don’t have the kind of culture of big families living together.
So we have a lot of people living alone and the largest rate of people dying alone. When you are alone in your apartment, you always hear about people lying dead in their own apartment. That’s pretty much what the album is dealing with. We want to do the music videos to create this world too. We got this crazy, great French guy to do our videos called Metastazis. He’s quite a household name in metal visuals. He worked hard to make this Cemetery Skyline world with his artwork and “The Coldest Heart” music video. So we are building our own world, it’s more than just music.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you think that the whole concept sells people on the idea, rather than just being absorbed by the music?
Vanhala: Yeah, that’s what people are after. They aren’t after just the music, but brands and images and words. For example, Ghost. I love Ghost, and there’s nothing wrong with them. But if Ghost had been more ordinary band, with guys just playing in jeans and stuff with short hair, it wouldn’t be as interesting to people. Or Amon Amarth, without Vikings.
Dead Rhetoric: So what makes Cemetery Skyline stand out to you? In terms of the music, presentation, or even just in contrast to the other bands that you are involved with.
Vanhala: It’s a completely different band, so it’s a really different music that I am used to doing. Which is what makes it more interesting and fresh. Of course, working with my buddies that I have known – Mikael and Santeri [Kallio] for 15 years and we have done a number of tours together. We never imagined that we would be in a band together. We always had late night jams and drinking beer and getting to know what our musical tastes were. We were really in the same lane in our way of the thinking for the music.
Of course, I was always a huge Sentenced fan, so having Vesa [Ranta] drumming for us is amazing.When I was 15 years old, I was listening to Sentenced, Amorphis, Dark Tranquillity, and Dimmu Borgir, so it’s quite weird that now those guys are in the same band as me. You have to stop and think at those type of moments and think, “This is actually really cool!”
Dead Rhetoric: I know you said you didn’t like the term supergroup. The other thing we tend to do nowadays is that bands, despite presenting an original sound, inevitably get compared to other things and categorized. What are your hopes for that? Are you trying to avoid the goth label?
Vanhala: It’s tricky because at some point we just said ‘goth.’ The working title for the band was ‘Finnish/Swedish goth band.’ But I agree that we are not just ‘goth,’ even though the labels call us that. I would say we are more like dark rock or whatever you want to call it. It’s music. I think the album is quite different. There’s pop metal, there’s ballads, and really gothic stuff. I don’t want to label it too much, but people can listen to the album and figure out what they want to think. If they want to say at the first press release that we are a doom band, then probably everyone would be asking if we are a doom band. People always get fooled by the terms on the press releases and then people buy it.
Dead Rhetoric: You have a number of bands you are in that have a melancholic tone. Where do you draw inspiration when it comes to gloom?
Vanhala: In my world, every band is really different. Omnium Gatherum is really uplifting and technical, Insomnium is really gloomy and melancholic and very Finnish music. Cemetery Skyline is then something completely different. It would be melancholic, but it can also be poppy. There’s a bunch of pop elements and hope on the music and lyrics. There has to be some hope if there is despair, but there’s really no despair without hope. Then it’s all black. But that’s just the way I see music. Finnish Christmas songs are really miserable. Finnish church songs are really miserable, and this melancholic music is taught to kids at a young age, so I guess that makes a big thing in terms of the Finnish bands being more melancholic. It is programmed into our DNA at a tender age.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you feel is an important aspect to riffs within metal songs? What do you aim for when writing?
Vanhala: There’s never a real template for how I work. Sometimes it can be a good riff that doesn’t make a good song, and sometimes a silly riff can make a song golden. I don’t know how doing the music happens, it’s always a different kind of process. It just kind of happens. It’s never easy, but I would say that some people might think that I am doing four albums in a short time, but it’s never easy. I don’t get those songs out of nothing. It’s a lot of work and it’s hours and hours in the nights, awake and doing music. Music should never be easy. If it records too easy, then its probably bullshit. That’s my experience from my own adventures. You have to suffer a bit to make something that will stand out.
Dead Rhetoric: You talked about moving away from just the music earlier, what do you other shifts in terms of metal have you seen through the years?
Vanhala: The rise of social media, which is horrible. I don’t have TikTok. It’s a scary world for me. All the people listening to music for 20 seconds in TikTok and that’s how many bands are getting their breakthrough. Now with all this artificial intelligence coming in with music, it doesn’t look too bright in the future. But luckily, we are getting old, so soon we will be gone [laughs]. I like the old world better, so maybe I’m a boomer, but music had some value. You actually had to buy the cd and listen to it. It gave it some value. It’s not something people just click on Instagram and have some random music play for their story…which will be online for 24 hours and it’s gone.
Dead Rhetoric: It’s more disposable…
Vanhala: Yeah, that’s the word. Metallica had the song, “Disposable Heroes.” They did that in ‘86 but it’s about modern times.
Dead Rhetoric: If you had a goal with Cemetery Skyline at this point, what would you want for the band? What would you like to see for Cemetery Skyline in the future?
Vanhala: The album isn’t out yet so we don’t know if people will hate it. But if they do, it doesn’t matter because we are really happy with it. We worked so hard for four years and now it’s just about enjoying what it will become. We are doing a small number of gigs, and that’s already a big bonus for me because we were not supposed to be a live band. But we played our first festival this summer.
There is already some hope for next year, and we have ProgPower in the US confirmed. That makes me happy enough that we are doing some gigs. We are not going to be a big touring band because there’s no time with everyone’s schedules with other bands but if we can play a show every now and then that’s okay by me. We are already writing stuff for the next release. Looks like we are not going to be a one-album wonder. We actually signed a deal with Century Media for more than one album.
Dead Rhetoric: Plans for the rest of this year and into 2025? Anything going on with your other bands?
Vanhala: Tomorrow I will be leaving for Japan with Omnium Gatherum. We are touring Asia for three weeks. Then we have a record release party in NYC at Duffs for Cemetery Skyline album. I have to fly right to New York so it will be interesting with the time zones. Then I am off, so I have to write the new Omnium Gatherum album. Also, I Am The Night is doing a new album at the moment. Then Insomnium is going to South America and Insomnium and Omnium are touring Europe together. So for the next few months, I know pretty much every day where I will be. My future is quite planned by other people. I don’t have any problems of thinking what I would do with my free time. But I’m used to it.
Having successfully completed their ambitious trilogy last year, the time was ripe for Ad Infinitum to change things up a bit for their latest album, Abyss. Jettisoning some of the more symphonic aspects of the band and leaning into a more modern direction seems like a logical jump for the band. After all, Melissa Bonny’s vocals offered plenty of dynamic to work with and the band has continually expanded as they went through their 3-part Chapter releases. That said, it comes with no hesitation that the band’s continued shift on Abyss gives them their most powerful performance to date.
Abyss starts things off wisely with “My Halo,” a song that opens with Bonny’s serene singing atop of some electronic soundscapes that lead into some heavier grooves. The elegant chorus is effectively subtle, eschewing the expected ‘big pop’ sound for something more melodic and almost proggy. Of course, the song bears its fangs before it ends, doubling down on the heavy riffs and Bonny’s screams. “Follow Me Down” instantly grabs with it’s hooks built upon progressive, downtuned riffage and playful, background-augmenting synths. The chorus here escalates the feelings into something that feels nothing short of beautiful and spellbinding, particularly the blurring of the cleans and growled vocals. “Euphoria” is an aptly-titled track that does push the melodic side more, into some pop-ish territory with it’s hypnotic riffing layered around Bonny’s soaring vocals. But those seeking more teeth should check out “Parasite,” which sees some of the most effective growls on the album and churning guitarwork juxtaposed with an ear-worming chorus and surprisingly pretty solo.
Certainly something that has yielded the group some benefits is how entirely cinematic they can sound without succumbing to the modern and symphonic genres. A number of the choruses are all but spine-tingling (“Anthem for the Broken” and the aforementioned “Follow Me Down”) but they swerve into different directions. Likewise, the usage of electronics help to push the band into new territory. “Dead End” closes the album in almost dance mode with it’s rolling bass and flirty keys. “The One You’ll Hold On To” has a dose of industrial and techno flavors when paired with the almost mechanical riffing. Then “Outer Space” feels appropriately sci-fi given the combination of cinematic soundscapes and the instrumentation that moves between exploratory and punchy.
As Ad Infinitum always has done, they continue to excel due to a willingness to take risks in sonic territory while making sure equal spotlight is given to the instrumentation instead of simply allowing the charismatic Bonny to otherwise steal the show with her rightly impressive vocals. Abyss sees them take their biggest jump yet, and it really pays off for them in dividends. This is an album that can stand out without having to sit down and classify subgenre allegiance. It’s heavy, it soars with melody, and it’ll leave a lasting impression.
Serious Black are back with a new album Rise of Akhenaton, just in time for the band’s tenth anniversary. This represents the second album for singer Nikola Mijic, who has really come into his own as he gets better with each release. Guitarists Bob Katsionis and Dominik Sebastian are the riff brigade, while bassist Mario Lochert and drummer Rami Ali cover the rhythmic landscape nicely. Now, about the songs…
From the jump I was instantly attracted to “Take Your Life”, “Silent Angel”, and “We Are the Storm”, a well-done triumvirate of bangers all in a row. “Shields of Glory” also boasts some of the heaviest chunky style riffs I’ve had the pleasure of hearing this year. With “United” the group delivers one of the finest power metal anthems known to these ears and it’s again, one of the album’s best cuts. The guys stay onboard the heavy train when it comes to the title track. This one should slay in a live setting.
Also, the cover song “I Will Remember” (originally done by melodic rock / AOR veterans Toto), is dedicated as a tribute to Mario’s father who died recently and is nicely done. The album closer “Metalized” was another winner and a fine way to end things. Once again. Serious Black have delivered a good one with Rise of Akhenaton. I guarantee all you power metalheads will dig this!
Standout Tracks: “Metalized”, “United”, “Silent Angel”, “Take Your Life”
Categorically speaking, in the art of promotion 101 they say if you create your own niche this could be a stand out aspect to generate attention. Dwarven metal act Wind Rose has quickly elevated their TikTok/ “Diggy Diggy Hole” acclaim into headline tours and festival appearances – including a recent run across North America earlier in the spring of 2024. Trollslayer as the sixth studio record sits in that comfort zone where musicians traverse the uplifting nature of folk and power metal – adding in key guttural or cinematic accents to diversify the approach yet not losing people already well indoctrinated to the keystone choirs or jumpy musical components which put this quintet on the map.
The keyboard to guitar ratio sits at similar plateaus no matter what style of song employed – be it more folk-happy in drinking antics for “The Great Feast Underground” or leaning on that mid-tempo power platform with “Home of the Twilight”. Listeners will be humming the main musical hooks or mead-hall driven gang vocal parts instantly, or dancing in the aisles even as the double bass salvos reign next to some deeper growls on the peppy “Dance of the Axes” – vocalist Francesco Cavalieri deftly working his mid-range charm with savvy swiftness, his baritone capabilities shining in the killer chorus. Video games as well as board games show up in the lyrical themes of “Rock and Stone” (Deep Rock Galactic-inspired) and the Warhammer-theme fueling the title track. The majority of these tracks fly by in economical fashion (five minutes and under), yet the group can stretch their epic, emotional wings for the 7:37 closer “No More Wings” – a touch progressive in the transitions, full of choir splendor in a way that Blind Guardian followers treasure which surprised this scribe for its mostly up-tempo, cultural riffs.
As the band prepare to tour Europe with Powerwolf and Hammerfall on a triple-bill for the ages, Wind Rose aim to keep people smiling through delightful anthems in a fun, folk power metal format for Trollslayer. This is a modern record that won’t make people think deep – it’s entertainment tailor-made to convert new followers on stages small and large, far and wide.
A metal mecca for mainland Europe, Germany has maintained a strong presence in a variety of subgenres to keep the movement alive and thriving. Especially in terms of traditional, power metal-oriented outfits – of which we have here for Turbokill. Their sophomore album Champion elevates their abilities in all directions – stronger vocal harmonies, great guitar hooks / lead breaks, steady bass/drum support, and this overall dynamic atmosphere of what’s possible when you pour your heart and soul into your craft. We got the chance to speak to guitarist Daniel Kanzler about the thought process and work behind the new record, the input Freedom Call bassist Lars Rettkowitz had into shaping the record in his studio, the special narrative sequences in their video for “Go Your Way”, favorite records / concert memories, the importance of live performances to the growth of the band, and what’s in store over the next year or so.
Dead Rhetoric: Champion is the second studio album for Turbokill, released almost five years after your debut Vice World. How do you feel the songwriting and recording sessions went for this set of material? Where do you see the differences between the two records?
Daniel Kanzler: That’s a good question. Five years is a long time. We had a good run after the release of Vice World. We had great shows, and we were scheduled to go on tour with our mates from Freedom Call, but then in the beginning of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit like a truck, and every ability to play live was postponed being rescheduled far, far ahead in the future. That was quite a shock for every one of us. We had some amazing gigs, and we wanted to go out and play Vice World for the people. We were so inspired and had so much fire, and all of a sudden things came to a standstill. That was really depressing for us.
We weren’t allowed to meet. We weren’t allowed to rehearse. When we write our songs, they are created in the rehearsal room. We need to be together to make this magic happen. You have a riff; someone clicks in, and you advance things. All of that was missing. That was a hard time for us. Ronny (Schuster) and me, we are the main songwriters, so we wrote music at home, but it didn’t feel quite the same. You haven’t got the possibility to play it for the guys. You can’t play it together. For the songwriting process, it was not the best time. We gathered a lot of ideas during that time. In the middle of 2021, the restrictions were taken down, we were able to meet once again and play. We took that opportunity and made the best out of it. We wrote more songs, went on tour with our masks on, it was a crazy time. We were awoken from our slumber.
We went on tour, got a new drummer, and in 2022 we had the chance to work with a guy Karl-Ulrich Walterbach, our manager. He’s the former manager of Helloween, Running Wild, the boss of Noise Records. He was in charge of all the stuff with Stephan our singer’s first band, Alpha Tiger. They were a big underground heavy metal band. Working with him fueled our fire once again. He told us we had been out in the scene for three or four years, write an album as fast as possible. Show the world you are still there. That positive pressure made us write songs like in a week. We rehearsed almost every week, and we are from five different cities in Germany. Everyone has to drive about one to two hours to get to the rehearsal space. For you Americans, that’s nothing (laughs). A wide area, but for us it’s a lot. We didn’t care, we wrote songs, we rehearsed, we played.
We’ve evolved a lot. We have our sound that we established with our first album. We asked ourselves: where we can go from there? What else is within us that we can show the world? So, that was our approach to the songwriting this time. We have all the top trademarks on Champion. Fast, headbangers like the first song “A Million Ways” or “Wings of the Thunder Hawk”, we have the mid-tempo, heavy metal cliché songs like “Sons of the Storm” and “Power Punch”, we even entered the realm of power ballads with “Shine On”. We just wanted to make the music that we feel. We didn’t have something in mind like writing a record that Helloween would do, or Judas Priest would do. We write what comes to our minds. Let’s not think of any role model. There are a big variety of songs on this album, and I’m really glad about the outcome. I think we have developed stylistically a lot with these songs.
Dead Rhetoric: What was it like working with Lars Rettkowitz of Freedom Call in Emperial Sound Studio – were there any specific aspects or elements that he helped shape up in the studio that were key to achieving what you wanted sonically or through the performances?
Kanzler: Oh yes. Lars was a big help. We did all the vocal recordings at his studio, and he was a guide for Stephan. When you record it for yourselves you think it’s great – you record things, then pass it on to the mixer. If you have a coach or supervisor who says maybe that part was great, but maybe that could be sung a little different here – let’s try it out. Lars thought it was great to bring in a choir with a lot of people singing in the background. We did it all ourselves on the first album, but this time we had really trained singers, and they did an amazing job on the background choir stuff. It sounds really amazing to my ears. That was his biggest influence. He said the songs were great – maybe add a little synthesizer here, like in the intro of the title track “Champion”. It gave our sound the final shape.
He did a great job also when it came to the mixing process. It was clear for us we wanted the heavy, hard sounding guitars but also to sound modern. It’s 2024, you can’t sound like Venom, 1984, you know? I still love that (sound), but times they are changing.
Dead Rhetoric: Does this mean there will be more work behind the scenes with other band members to recreate a lot of these background vocal parts live from the record?
Kanzler: We have to rehearse this a lot. Our drummer Kevin (Käferstein) is a trained singer as well – can sing almost as high as Stephan. He’s doing the doubling in the higher voices, and Ronny and me are doing the deep, almost Accept-like background vocal stuff. This takes a lot of rehearsal time to get it all together. We want to perform this on stage as best as possible. We don’t want to take no prisoners – give the audience the best experience they can have. I agree it will be a huge part of our rehearsal process.
Dead Rhetoric: Outside of the normal performance video clips you’ve made for the singles on this record, you have a special narrative theme going across “Go Your Way”. What can you tell me about the video treatment for this song – is it autobiographical in nature with the lyrical theme, and how did you decide on the location and extra elements for this special video?
Kanzler: Yes, the whole album deals a lot with positivity. We started writing the album during the COVID-19 times, and there was always bad news, everywhere you looked around. Wars, pandemic, economic crisis. We thought we had to change that. We don’t want to sing about war, the deep state or something that thousands of other bands do. Let’s go in the other direction. Let’s talk about being yourself in this cruel world and making the best out of yourself. The song “Go Your Way” was created in one week. It was a very fast songwriting process; Stephan wrote the lyrics. It’s not about himself or anyone he knows. It’s about someone who wants to break from the golden cage that has ordered his life. You have your nine to five job, and you don’t follow your dreams because you have no time after work to do something for yourself, and not for a boss you work for. That was our call to arms for freedom – get out there, go your way, do what you want.
Let’s do a video for this – what could it contain. What’s a symbol for freedom? An open highway, a great landscape. An amazing car that we rented, this 1960’s Ford Mustang. Drove it in the landscape of Saxony. What was really cool was the child at the end of the video, it’s Stephan’s son. You can see it, how they interact, and it was such a lovely scene. We shot a lot of scenes, and then we had to decide what we were going to include in the video. That was so cute and wholesome, to put it in – we are a metal band, a power metal band, we just did it. We felt this was right, the symbol for freedom, being yourself, going on your own way. No matter the obstacles in your way – just go your way. Be your own champion, that was our message behind that.
Dead Rhetoric: I felt it was a great video. A lot of metal bands go in one direction, without showcasing their personalities. I enjoy this personal side – you are serious about your craft, but it is acceptable to show other sides of who you are as people…
Kanzler: I totally agree. I thank you. The response from the video has been amazing. We get messages about it all the time, and it shows us that we made the right choices.
Dead Rhetoric: How did your tour with Sintage and Fireborn go earlier this year? How would you describe what the band’s live performances and outlook is like compared to what they experience through the recordings?
Kanzler: The tour was simply amazing. It was in January; it was freezing cold in Germany. We did a lot of rehearsals for that tour. It was our first headline tour, let’s show the world what we are capable for. We had a lot of live gigs in the past, but on a tour it’s different. You have to rely on everybody – not only people on the stage, but off stage too. That was the thing that impressed me the most. We were on point and accurate on everything, with the planning, we drove through all of Germany, from the north to the south, east to the west. And that takes a lot of planning and organization. I’m proud of that. The other bands as well – Sintage and Fireborn are now friends, they were very professional. A lot of people were at every show – even on a Sunday afternoon, will there be 10 or 20 people? We had over 70 people for a Sunday, Germans are couch potatoes too when it comes to their Sundays (laughs). The people are coming to see us, and we are about to announce a great package on the next tour as well. It will be in winter as well for December 2024- January 2025, ten to fifteen shows. We are preparing the stage set for it.
There will be new elements. The stage design, a new banner and in the background, the colors of Champion – a deep purple style. We will have new side scrims, a new stage wardrobe, of course a new setlist. We can finally be able to go out and play new songs. We like to do a cover song in the set – in the past we’ve done “Painkiller” by Judas Priest, or “The Sentinel” from Judas Priest. We did “I Want Out” by Helloween, our latest one is “Black Wind, Fire and Steel” by Manowar. It makes the people go crazy at every show.
Dead Rhetoric: What would you consider three of the most important metal albums that shaped your outlook and love for the genre the most? And what’s your most memorable concert memory, attending a show as a fan in the audience – and what made this such a standout moment for you?
Kanzler: The albums for me personally that shaped me, gave me the will to grab a guitar and go out there to play. In third place, it would be Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers. Ritchie Blackmore is my big guitar hero. I saw him when I was 17 years old on DVD, Come Hell or High Water. What’s that guy doing there, with his fingers flying across the guitar, it looks so easy. His whole ability made me grab the guitar, I was 16, twenty years ago now. From that day forward I was obsessed, I played sometimes ten hours a day practicing in my room. In the number two (position), I think I must say it’s Accept – Balls to the Wall. That’s one of my other great guitar heroes from the old days, Wolf Hoffmann. I know him personally as well, he’s such a nice gentleman. I was in contact with him when Accept reunited in 2010, and what was so great for me is he sent me an email and said, ‘look Daniel, it’s been so many years since the last reunion shows – what do you think could be a song that a diehard Accept fan would like to hear on a reunion tour?’. I said, there’s only one answer to that – “Aiming High” from Russian Roulette. And guess what, they played it the whole tour, it was so amazing. My number one all-time favorite is Defenders of the Faith – Judas Priest. It’s my most beloved album, it only has hits on it. “Rock Hard, Ride Free”, “Jawbreaker”, “The Sentinel”, “Night Comes Down”, the title track.
The most memorable concert I attended as a fan was my first Judas Priest gig. It was in 2005. I have the poster behind me, the 11th of March in 2005. It was their reunion tour, and I was 17. I skipped school that day, Priest was more important for me. I went there with friends and my dad; it was an awesome time for this. I stood there front row, KK Downing and Glenn Tipton walk to the middle of the stage and played the intro for “Victim of Changes”, and that was it. I had to be a musician, I have to get better, I want a band. That was such a great moment that I will cherish forever.
Dead Rhetoric: Where would you like to see the following of Turbokill over the next three to five years as a band? What factors are most important in your view to elevate your following?
Kanzler: I think the most important thing to develop to grow your audience as a band is to play live. There are so many bands out there nowadays, you must stand out from the whole bunch with your live shows. You have to make the people think that you are amazing – let’s go to the next show of theirs, let’s listen to their music. Going out there, playing for the fans, being nice to them. They are the people who pay you, we have a booking agency that came with the management, and they are about to schedule a festival tour for the next summer. It’s so important to have a good partner in that area. As a band, you can write to the festivals and say you are amazing, but if you have a booking agency that says something, that’s a big difference. That will be the main thing for us to grow.
We have already started writing songs again for the next album. It won’t be a five-year span to the next album, we promise. To have material ready, and maybe then choose from a pool of songs for a new album and not only write twelve songs and take them. That’s our goal for the next one to three years.
Dead Rhetoric: What would surprise people to learn about Daniel the person away from what you do and have achieved as a musician?
Kanzler: Well, because I’m looking in my kitchen right now, I’ll have friends over tonight – I love to cook. I love to play music, but I also like to cook – I’ll be making a special Greek recipe. My friends really like to come over here and taste my food. That would be the most surprising thing about me – when you see me wearing leather and all my guitars, you would think I’m a guitar nerd. I live in the middle of Germany with a great landscape, a lot of forests and lakes so I like to hike here. I love being outside, it’s a great contrast to sitting in your room and playing the guitar.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the agenda for anything related to Turbokill over the next twelve months as far as promotion, shows, and other activities?
Kanzler: We want to play a lot of shows in the next year. We are in contact with a lot of festivals for the next year. Festival season usually starts in Europe in May. We didn’t play live a lot this year, we wanted to take the time to write these songs and make them ready to record the album, shoot the videos. If you have live gigs on the weekends, the time isn’t enough. Next year we will play hopefully at least 25 shows, play Champion to the world. We want to play abroad as well. Our booking agent said he wants us to play outside of Germany, to get more attention and some new fans. To promote Champion all over Europe, and hopefully come to the United States and play for you guys. We would gather a lot of fans there – they like the European power metal style as well.
Appearing on this scribe’s audio radar through their second album World Sacrifice, Temple of Dread has been a steady creative force in the European death scene, now up to their fifth studio record with God of the Godless in a fairly swift six years. Hailing from the East Frisian island of Spiekeroog in the North Sea territory of Germany, the band employ psychologist Frank Albers as a lyricist to spin tales of mythical beings in gory, intelligent prose while the musical underpinning hits on a multi-level old school death metal platform that pays homage to many classic Florida and European pioneers from the 80s/early 90s.
Many of these songs possess this hypnotic ritualistic aspect that pummels ears as if climbing the savage walls in purgatory – where the trio of musicians lock onto a key riff / tempo, branching off in twisted, evil permutations only to circle back to another brutally catchy part. Seething growls next to raspy semi-screams emanate from the seasoned throat of Jens Finger – combining elements of Death, Obituary, and Morgoth when it comes to his enunciation plus bone chilling delivery track to track. Check out the diversity of vocal approaches in highlight “Sacrificial Dawn” that features guest contributor Marc Grewe (Morgoth, Asinhell) as the mid-tempo riff churn hits like a sledgehammer. Drummer Jörg Uken also serves as producer in his Soundlodge Tonstudio – allowing the band to develop some cinematic splashes for “Demise of Olympus” and the title song that push dynamic opportunities yet never diminish the main death foundation at play. Depending on which pass of the album, favorites could change daily. For these ears, it’s hard not to resist the blackened tremolo / twisted slower run transitions that come out of the gate on “Carnage Ritual” or the steady supply of rhythmic evil tones next to some Middle Eastern-oriented chord progressions for “Terminal Putrefaction” which should fire up any extreme follower of this style.
Finally ready to bring these albums to live audiences, Temple of Dread keeps the classic sound of death metal alive and isn’t afraid to inject some different influences to the mix as they gain more comfort in their ways. God of the Godless could be the strongest record in an already steady, impressive catalog – prepare to be slaughtered.
