Dead Rhetoric: Which songs in the Brainstorm catalog carry a special place in your heart either because of a touching story you’ve heard from the fans or just from a personal perspective?
Ihlenfeld: There are quite a few. What I will always remember is when we worked on the trilogy of songs for the Soul Temptation album (“Trinity of Lust”), which was such a big effort. Everybody in the band worked very hard on those three songs, we were very proud when we heard the result after the recordings. This will always have a special place in our hearts, definitely.
Dead Rhetoric: How does Brainstorm handle the changing tides in music consumption, where younger listeners seem to desire everything instantaneously at their fingertips in a shared/ free for the taking model?
Ihlenfled: Well that’s a hard thing because when we grew up we waited every Friday in a record store to get the newest vinyl and all that stuff. Music was not available any time of the day, 24/7/365. For the young people, that’s hard to say. They miss the real value of the music- but it’s not a fault from them only. They only learned it that way- they see that everything is available a second after it comes out. They don’t make up their minds about how long it takes a musician to write a song or to be able to play their instruments well. But it would be very good if that would come back into the minds of 14, 15, and 16 year old teenagers.
Dead Rhetoric: Is Germany still the main ‘metal’ mecca of Europe? What aspects keep the scene thriving in a variety of sub-genres there?
Ihlenfeld: I think Germany is definitely the center and main market of metal in Europe. I know from our sales Germany is definitely the biggest market, followed by the UK. It’s kind of thing that people in Germany combine with metal, the hard work they do during the week and they look forward to the weekend where they can listen to some music and forget about the problems that they’ve had during the week. That’s maybe one reason why metal is so strong and still so strong nowadays over here.
Dead Rhetoric: What would you consider some of the peak moments in the band’s career where you knew Brainstorm was heading in the right direction in terms of increased popularity or personal satisfaction from a particular tour or album cycle?
Ihlenfeld: Oh, there have been many moments. The first tour we did, we had just signed a record contract and the album came out but half of the tour was already over. We learned a lot from that tour, the second tour we did was a big tour supporting Iced Earth on their Something Wicked This Way Comes album for their European run in 1998, and that was an amazing experience to go deeper into the music business. The first chart entry we had with the Soul Temptation album, the first headlining tour we did in 2005 with the Liquid Monster album. The first time we played Wacken, there are so many great moments and we are so thankful that we still have the band running and to share so many great memories in between the band. We are pretty lucky to be able to have reached at least some goals that you have when you start a band.
Dead Rhetoric: Are there any possibilities for Brainstorm to do sustained North American touring – as I know you’ve been able to come over for ProgPower festivals, but that’s all?
Ihlenfeld: That’s mainly it, we did another festival in 2004 in Cleveland (Brave Words). We all have a family to feed and we cannot be over five-seven weeks to tour in North America without bringing at least some money home. That’s not possible, if we get an offer that at least would not ruin us (financially) we would definitely be ready to go because we always have such a warm welcome when we played in Cleveland and Atlanta.
Dead Rhetoric: Is there something to be said for still living in the town you were born in the Swabian Highlands on the German Ostalb? Would you say personally you prefer consistency over constant change in your life?
Ihlenfeld: That’s a good question! I for sure prefer consistency as long as other things do not stand still. We need change for progress, but we should not lose our roots. I think roots are very important in life.
Dead Rhetoric: Being an elder statesman in the heavy metal scene as well as a guitar teacher, do younger musicians seek out advice on a musical or business level from you – if so what sorts of topics do you discuss?
Ihlenfeld: Oh yes, they definitely do. There are so many young people that want to play guitar like even our heroes, Tony Iommi or Eddie Van Halen. All the great guitar players and that’s good to see. They come to the lessons like I would go to my guitar teacher back in the days- they are still hungry and want to learn about harmonics, scales, all that stuff. Some things do not change that much- a good amount of people are serious about what they want to learn and that’s good to see.
Dead Rhetoric: When you were learning the guitar, was it difficult to learn under a teacher at a time where you probably wanted to go in a more metal direction?
Ihlenfeld: Luckily I was always interested in music theory, so I was very thankful that I had good teachers that I could learn from. When I discovered my love for hard music, the easiest thing to do was buying the records and then learn by hearing the songs. That was a good school for my musical development. I never had a problem doing classical stuff which is amazing to play on the guitar, and learning harmonics. I did consistent learning until the beginnings of my twenties, and it’s one of the main reasons why I became a music teacher.
Dead Rhetoric: Considering Lemmy’s recent passing, any special recollections of Motörhead through the years? Who are some your musical heroes that inspire you and fuel your passion?
Ihlenfeld: My biggest heroes and influences are the big bands from the 1980’s – Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Van Halen and a bit later the American metal bands like Metal Church, Savatage or Queensrÿche. Those are bands that I still love to hear when I am sitting in my office and when it comes to the evening I play those old albums and it is great music. When you listen to it even after 30 years you know why it’s great music- because of the great songs. I was never such a huge Motörhead fan- I liked the music and I’m very proud to have some Motörhead beer in my collection. I grew up with all the classics, I saw them so many times live and I always enjoyed it. I enjoyed Lemmy for who he was.
Dead Rhetoric: What does the rest of 2016 look like for Brainstorm – I know you’ll be touring Europe soon with Primal Fear and Striker, and I would imagine lining up some summer festival action as well?
Ihlenfeld: Definitely, we will play a lot of summer festivals. We are working on more shows in the fall. Hopefully we get the chance to come over for at least a few shows in North America. We would love to do that. As far as the plans go now, we have a lot to do for the tour in February, the festivals coming up- the indoor festivals between March and May and the outdoor festivals between June and September, as well as some more club shows in the fall so it looks like a busy year for us.