Interview withAsenblut
Nowadays, new bands are rising up all the time, trying to reach some fame. And so is the German blackened trash metal band ASENBLUT. They first came up with the thought of founding a band in the year 2006 when Jan (bass), Schlecki (drums) and Tetzel (guitar and vocals) got together to play their first sessions. But unfortunately, mainly because of studying and scheduling issues, this constellation didn't last and soon, the band broke up.
In October/November 2007 Tetzel and Claus decided, to relive the thought of the
band ASENBLUT and so, they were looking for a new drummer. Soon, they began playing their first songs and the new band was founded. Now, they released their first demo and this was my motive to set up an interview to introduce this great band to the whole world, or at least to music-loving people in Germany. RoD: Hey guys, would you like to introduce yourselves to our readers so that they get to know you better?
A: Hello Everyone, I am Tetzel von Asenblut - singer, guitarist and partially also songwriter of Asenblut. I am studying at the University of Göttingen and love Heavy Metal! My Band plays a mixture of almost all kinds of Extreme Metal and we call it “German Blackened Thrash Metal”.
RoD: How would you describe your music to others?
A: As already mentioned we play a mix of almost every style of metal. We have a lot of Thrash and Death Metal influences as well as Black Metal and a lot of melodic stuff inspired by some earlier NWOBHM stuff, too. We call our music German Blackened Thrash Metal. But it really is up to the listeners whatever they want to call it. If you think it's Thrash, fine, if you rather call it Melodic Death Metal – that's cool with us, too. The lyrics are in German and are mostly growls and screams – so if you like harsh music it should be fine for you.
RoD: Why did you choose the name ASENBLUT for your band and what does it mean?
A: The Æs or “Asen” as they are called in Germany are the ancient gods of Germany and the northern countries. Blut - which is blood in English - refers to their legacy which is part of us and the blood running through our veins. RoD: Your band exists for about a year. How, would you say, did your music change during this time?
A: Good question. I think it has not changed too much. From a musical perspective maybe the riffing got more complex and our new drummer plays a lot more diversified. But we still have a lot of musical styles in our songs. I think everyone who listens to our songs could find something definitely “Asenblut” in them. But still every song is unique and has its own flavour - power, weaknesses and drive.
RoD: Your music is influenced by all kinds of different styles of music. What are your “heroes” and how did they contribute to your style of music?
A: For my part, my biggest heroes are first and foremost “Riger”. Their music is reinforcing, powerful and simply great. There are many other bands I love like Amon Amarth, Grailknights, Adorned Brood, Menhir, Behemoth and many, many more. Our Bassplayer is a huge Death Metal fan; his biggest heroes are bands like Obituary,
Bolt Thrower and Unleashed. The Balrogh - our drummer - really likes a huge variety of metal bands, starting with a lot of classics and ranging to really great modern stuff like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath to Quo Vadis and Necrophagist. Last but not least there is Claus, our lead guitarist. He is into “oldschool” stuff like Iron Maiden, Megadeth and Pantera, but is also interested in progressive Metal as well as Viking and DeathMetal. The main musical influences we incorporate into our music are probably the ones of Claus and me. We don't try to copy any of our idols but rather reach their greatness and tribute to their great styles!RoD: Your lyrics are mainly about the Northern/Germanic mythology. Why did you choose this topic? Is it one of your personal interests?
A: Yes, this is a topic I am personally very interested in. I am studying history. So it is important for me to get to know how people lived and what their believes where. There are a lot of nice tails about the Æs. They really are more human than godly and it shows us our own flaws and weaknesses but also that we have to stand in for our deeds and live our lives to the fullest. When we have to regret something we don't moan about it every day of our live but instead try to do better. No one is responsible for our acting but ourselves. It really is something that encourages our way of living.
RoD: You just released your first demo. What does that mean to you?
A: We released our demo a while back in March 2008. It was some huge effort and we had to do it quite fast. I wanted to release it back at the then upcoming Ragnarök festival. So we just did it really fast and recorded the drums, vocals and both rhythm guitars on one day and the solo stuff and the bass on the next. We recorded it in our rehearsal room but thanks to the abilities of our guitarist Claus as a sound engineer it does not sound like that. Playing songs for a record is always hard because you see all your flaws and you have to compromise between your perfectionism and your ability. I think we managed it quite O.K. if you consider the short amount of time we had. After all it did get us signed to “Asatru-Klangwerke”.
RoD: Next Saturday, 6th December, you will play a concert at the Barfly in Schönebeck, Saxony-Anhalt. Are you excited about it?
A: Yes! I think all of us are. But I am the one who is most excited. It is not only our very first concert but in my hometown, too. So I will probably know about 50 % of the people in front of the stage personally which gives me the creeps because I want to fulfill their expectations and deliver a fucking great show! The rest of the guys are kind of cool about it, but we all are really looking forward to it. The next week (13.12.08) we play a gig in Coburg at the Album release of our label brothers “Ivenberg” together with “Helvegr”. So come to the Oylenspygl and bang your head!
RoD: What else is coming up in the near future?
A: We just released a little video of a rehearsal of the song “Die Legende” (Can be seen on our webpage and on youtube). We signed a deal with http://www.asatru-klangwerke.com/ and we have some new merchandise stuff! Check it out at http://www.asatru-versand.com/. We plan to play a lot of gigs in the Future starting April '09! So if you are interested in our music just give us a call or drop us an email! We also will record our Album in April next year and hopefully release it soon afterwards. There is always something going on in the “Asenblut” kitchen so just stay tuned and check for news and updates on our website and myspace page!
RoD: Is there anything you would like to say to your fans, supporters or critics?
A: Thanks to everyone who is supporting us and likes our music! Huge thanks to Valadir, who practically does everything non-music related for us. Buy our music, buy our merch, come to see us at concerts and let's have a beer - or eight. Last but not least, thanks to you for this interview and to the reader who read it to the end. And if you don't like us that´s fine with us too, just go and listen to some more Pink and Tokio Hotel!
Keep banging your heads.
Sincerely yours,
Tetzel von Asenblut.
A: We released our demo a while back in March 2008. It was some huge effort and we had to do it quite fast. I wanted to release it back at the then upcoming Ragnarök festival. So we just did it really fast and recorded the drums, vocals and both rhythm guitars on one day and the solo stuff and the bass on the next. We recorded it in our rehearsal room but thanks to the abilities of our guitarist Claus as a sound engineer it does not sound like that. Playing songs for a record is always hard because you see all your flaws and you have to compromise between your perfectionism and your ability. I think we managed it quite O.K. if you consider the short amount of time we had. After all it did get us signed to “Asatru-Klangwerke”.
RoD: Next Saturday, 6th December, you will play a concert at the Barfly in Schönebeck, Saxony-Anhalt. Are you excited about it?
A: Yes! I think all of us are. But I am the one who is most excited. It is not only our very first concert but in my hometown, too. So I will probably know about 50 % of the people in front of the stage personally which gives me the creeps because I want to fulfill their expectations and deliver a fucking great show! The rest of the guys are kind of cool about it, but we all are really looking forward to it. The next week (13.12.08) we play a gig in Coburg at the Album release of our label brothers “Ivenberg” together with “Helvegr”. So come to the Oylenspygl and bang your head!
RoD: What else is coming up in the near future?
A: We just released a little video of a rehearsal of the song “Die Legende” (Can be seen on our webpage and on youtube). We signed a deal with http://www.asatru-klangwerke.com/ and we have some new merchandise stuff! Check it out at http://www.asatru-versand.com/. We plan to play a lot of gigs in the Future starting April '09! So if you are interested in our music just give us a call or drop us an email! We also will record our Album in April next year and hopefully release it soon afterwards. There is always something going on in the “Asenblut” kitchen so just stay tuned and check for news and updates on our website and myspace page!RoD: Is there anything you would like to say to your fans, supporters or critics?
A: Thanks to everyone who is supporting us and likes our music! Huge thanks to Valadir, who practically does everything non-music related for us. Buy our music, buy our merch, come to see us at concerts and let's have a beer - or eight. Last but not least, thanks to you for this interview and to the reader who read it to the end. And if you don't like us that´s fine with us too, just go and listen to some more Pink and Tokio Hotel!
Keep banging your heads.
Sincerely yours,
Tetzel von Asenblut.
RoD: Thank you so much for this interview!
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