Interview: Serum114 - April 2011

Written by Sebastian Huhn Thursday, 28 April 2011 10:21

Interview with

Esche (vocals, guitar) of Serum 114

SERUM 114’s second album ‘Antiheld’ is about to drop this Friday and we were lucky enough of getting our little catalogue of questions regarding the new album answered by front man Esche and this is what he had to say.

Reflections of Darkness (RoD): You’ve probably heard this question a thousand times before, but I’d like to ask it anyway for those being no movie freaks. How did the band name SERUM 114 come about?
Esche: If you love the subtle, you must not complain about getting the same questions on and on, even if you feel like having answered them a billion times already. The name’s out of the movie ‘Clockwork Orange’ and for us embodies things like political incorrectness, punk and provocation.

RoD: What’s the story behind ‘Antiheld’ and what does the term mean to you?
Esche: After the Bodog label record we were on our own and figuring out how to continue. We wanted to do another album but were not willing to agree to any compromises we don’t feel content with. The fact we are about to release our second album without bending over just for once is the result of hard times. We did it our way though we weren’t right about everything. That’s the meaning of ‘Antiheld’ for us.

RoD: The artwork feels like being inspired by a kind of comic noir. Why did you choose that particular visual style for the album?
Esche: Heroes in comics, especially those having a dark side embody a certain kind of invincibility. Otherwise there are no bigger references. Since ‘Die Stadt In Der Wir Leben’ is a core theme on the album and almost every comic’s setting is a bigger city, a comic artwork just seemed natural to us. Fans can already look forward to a thoroughly designed story booklet with poster and some swag but only with a limited number of copies.

RoD: Did you design the artwork yourself?
Esche: The concept’s made by me and Holger Fichtner. The rest has been made by him alone. Never thought of getting to toss ideas around with a Frank and that being the result *laughs* Greetings to Middle Franconia.

RoD: Are all songs part of a story or does each one stand on its own?
Esche: We’ve placed great value on having a golden thread on the album so you could say it’s kind of a story. Additionally, we’ve created a little comic story for each song which can be found in the artwork.

RoD: Any chance of seeing you guys playing live in the near future?
Esche: We’re not playing a lot at the moment which surely is going to change after the album’s release. The literal calm before the storm! I’m looking forward to playing a show in Berlin again. We haven’t been there in a long time.