This time I spoke with Christian from Chapel of Disease about the metal scene in Cologne and surroundings, past and present. Being the same age, I remember some things in almost the same way as Christian. By the way, because of his answers I think I found the perfect name for an old school death metal band: Massive Rat Infestation, haha.
Hey Gerald, yes, like you said, I've been playing bass for Chapel Of Disease for over ten years now and so far there's no end in sight. Before that I was active for many years with Grabnebelfürsten, who were able to make a name for themselves nationwide, which the band name was probably not completely innocent of, haha (Indeed, I remember people who weren't into metal in general talking about the band just because of that spectacular band name). My first "real" band after various school projects was a punk band in the nineties, with which I had enough for at least two or three gigs in local youth centres. In the meantime I am 42 years old and have been musically active for more than 25 years.
I grew up in a small village of 100 souls near Gummersbach, about 40 kilometres east of Cologne. My musical socialization was probably the classic school of metal, starting in 1990 with AC/DC and then quickly moving on via speed and thrash to death and black metal, although I would still call the latter two my musical home. Even though I now have an extremely wide range of musical tastes, even outside of metal, it always feels a bit like coming home with every new good DM/BM record. With mum it still tastes best, haha!
Both the Bergisch and the Cologne as well as the entire Rheinish scene have been very incestuous as long as I can remember, haha! But I don't think that there is anything regionally specific about it, I think it is something that happens in every region, that bands, circles of friends, interpersonal relationships etc. overlap again and again as long as you are within a subculture.
Apart from that, the first thing that comes to my mind are the various distinctive events in which just about everyone in our age group has taken part, even if they didn't know each other then. For example the "Gods Of Darkness" tour, which stopped at the Live Music Hall in '96, or the Christmas festivals in the Underground club. The opening of the Valhalla pub in 2003 and many evenings there since then are probably also etched in the collective memory of the scene.
A lot of rehearsal rooms have of course been seen in Cologne and the surrounding area, from the parental boiler room with its tenant complaining about the noise, to the demolished company premises with overflowing toilets and massive rat infestation. Of course, this also included parties appropriate to the respective ambience, whereby it is probably better to discreetly keep a cloak of silence over the things one remembers at all. Sometimes it was really, really mangy.
So, here of course the cardinal question: the best, most obscure or maybe worst bands from Cologne and surrrounding, past and present. Self promotion ist forbidden, haha. Maybe the most underrated bands as well- coming to this category I think to Baron, who played great death metal in the vein of Morbid Angel but didn’t get the attention they deserved I think ( still have the demo „Reborn in Revenge“ on MC and saw them once live at the MTC, together with Eternal Frost from Wegberg and another band playing death /black metal with keyboards, can’t remeber the name, maybe some reader knows some options which this local band could have been ?) What do you think ?
Phew, touchy subject, hehe. But what the heck.
I was and still am
not a big friend of the Cologne band scene, at least when it comes to metal.
Cologne has always been a musical stronghold and there has never been a lack of
great musicians. The problem I had with most metal bands and partly still have
today is rather the massive lack of ambition with which a large part of them
went to work or still go about it. You
could feel that over the years you could see the same mediocre groove-thrash
bands every other weekend in the same youth centres and clubs. Since the Rhinelander
likes to party, and preferably himself as well, it always looked like a vital
and active scene, as long as you were inside this bubble. From the outside or
in retrospect, however, nothing else but self-indulgent stagnation was
celebrated there. Bored by this, I withdrew from this bubble sometime in the
mid-zero's and did my own thing for a while, especially since my taste in music
also changed a lot during this time. I think the only band from that time worth
mentioning were Baron, as you said, they were really great.
Since then, I've kept it a bit like Fenriz, I'm my own scene, hehe. However, nowadays, apart from the "normal" Cologne scene, there is now a small parallel world, with a qualitatively higher standard, to which I would count bands like Ultha, Ketzer or Beltez (who will release a great fourth album these days via Avantgarde Music-note from the author), for example. All of them bands that burn for more than just being the party combo for weekendly headbanging. In addition, there are a few hungry young Hard Rock Bands with Cherokee and Galactic Superlords, as well as a very promising new Gothic Rock project from the Ultha environment with Ropes Of Night.
What’s your memory and opinion concerning concerts in Cologne and maybe surrounding regions ? In my memory regarding the past there had been two really outstanding live events people talk even after years about: In Flames playing at Engelshof in Köln Porz (together with Guerilla, Wolfen…) in 1996 and Immortal, Rotting Christ and Blasphemy some years ago at the Rose club in 1993. Did you attend one of these shows ? If yes, what are your memories ? In addition the next question: the most memorable live events in Cologne in your opinion ?
Cologne has of course often been the scene of legendary concerts. The "Fuck Christ" tour mentioned above was of course part of it, but unfortunately I wasn't there myself. For a fifteen-year-old from the countryside, Cologne was still half a trip around the world. I only know the In Flames gig from hearsay, but in the same year I was finally on a "real" Death/Black Metal concert for the first time, the aforementioned "Gods Of Darkness" tour with Dimmu Borgir, In Flames, Dissection and Cradle Of Filth. By the way, at this concert the well-known Dimmu Borgir/Dissection videotape was recorded. And what an awesome night it was!
In the years after the turn of the millennium, the above-mentioned Christmas festivals in the "Underground" were always a must.
And my very first big rock concert ever was Böhse Onkelz in the "Sporthalle" in 1994, shortly before it was torn down. What I have hardly any memories of, however, except that I made a lot of stupid comments with my "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" shirt by Napalm Death, haha!
What are your favourite concert venues in Cologne and its surroundings (each for more underground bands and for bigger bands ) ?
As you might have noticed I'm a little bit enthusiastic about the "Underground", haha. This venue was the first club I attended in Cologne and it quickly became something like my second living room. Even though I cursed it many a time, when it was so sold out that you couldn't get in or out. The demolition three years ago was an absolute tragedy for me.
Apart from that I still like the "MTC" , "Gebäude 9" and the "Blue Shell" very much. All small and charming clubs, which I hope will survive the Corona crisis somewhat unscathed. As far as bigger venues are concerned, I like the "E-Werk" and the relatively new "Club Volta" quite well.
And of course you also like to go to the Ruhr area, to "Turock", "Helvete" or the "Zeche" in Bochum. The "Zeche Carl" in Essen has always been great, but unfortunately there's not much left.
Maybe I am wrong, but I had the impression that after a lot of international bands came to Cologne,there had been a period where a lot of bands more preferred to play at the Ruhr area, mostly Essen, maybe because of the bigger cathchment area—but since some years there are again more bands attending Cologne. What do you think ?
Yes, sometimes I also actually have the feeling that it alternates in phases. There are years in which you could go to five interesting concerts every weekend for months, and then again there are dry spells when nothing is going on and everything interesting happens in the Ruhr area or even further away.
What about other locations, pubs, clubs and bars ? Are your or were you a regular visitor ? And which ones do or did you prefer ?
Actually one of the reasons why I moved to Cologne was to go out more often and spontaneously, but with growing older one has become calmer and appreciates the peace and silence on the sofa at home, hehe. But every now and then I like to go out again, mostly to the "MTC" or the "Frieda Bar", or you just let yourself drift and end up in one of the countless pubs or breweries in the city.
Concerning buying records: Do you still buy records at shops ? Of course, there’s not much left in Cologne as in other cities as well. I still like to remeber buying records at Saturn Hansaring where they still had these big catalogues and you had to notice a number under which you could find the record in endless corridors and you were really happy if the record you searched for was available-I remember the store was considered and / or advertised as the biggest selection of records worldwide ,I think this huge selection ended maybe in 1997… ? Did you bought there records as well ? Which other shops did you attend (which all are dead and gone now with one exception I think).
Saturn was of course unbeatable. When I was an apprentice in the nineties and had vocational school in Cologne, I regularly browsed hours in there and spent my entire salary there. Today you can't imagine how big the CD department was. It was officially the largest in Europe! And across the street there was also the second hand shop, where you could get one or the other rarity for little money. Good times. To be honest, I hardly buy any sound carriers in stores nowadays. With the mass of new releases and my special taste, I usually buy very targeted online. Unfortunately, the money just isn't loose enough any more to browse and buy spontaneously. But of course I can't pass by any record shop or vinyl stand at the flea market and am happy about a chance find every now and then. But it's been a long time since I last drove into town to buy music.
Apart from the Underdog Record Store, I even don't really know of any useful record shop in town anymore. However, a café with an integrated vinyl shop has just opened in our neighbourhood, I will definitely have a look at it.
To sum up: What do you think about Metal in Cologne, would you call it some kind of scene -do you maybe have the comparisation to other cities or regions ? What do you like here in Cologne, what is maybe horrible or could be improved concerning bands, gigs or visitors ?
Even though I may have been a bit hard on the scene in the above answer, I feel quite comfortable in Cologne as a whole. There are a lot of very pleasant people and locations here. Even though the choice of really metal-relevant nightlife is quite limited compared to other cities. But I haven't been complaining about that for a long time any more, because the past has shown that more choice doesn't necessarily mean higher quality. With a little flexibility in taste, you can get through the nightlife in Cologne quite well and, if need be, you can easily get to the Ruhr area, which is not that poorly positioned in terms of Metal.
Thanks for doing this interview- the last words are yours - in general and / or concerning the topic of this interview !
Thank you for having me, it was a pleasure and really fun to take this trip through town. Even though I was shocked to discover that over time a lot of things have been forgotten, which can probably only be attributed to excessive Fanta consumption, haha.
But always remember: Et hätt noch emmer jootjejange!
Note from the author: If you're interested in the metal scene in Cologne / Bonn and surroundings, I can further mention the following bands (regardless of quality), of course a lot of them don't exist any longer or split up a long time ago, so regarding some bands you won't even find anything in the world wide web: Guerilla, Skum, A-Rise, Sic Zone, Contrary, Wolfen, Endart, Mortorm, Aardvarks, Syre, Klabautamann, Malus, Woburn House, Owl, Island, Jack Slater, Pripjat, Ayahuasca, Raptvre, Mysticism, Unholyland, Frozen Illusion, Thy Majesty, Orkus, Perzonal War, Citadela, Antichrist, Holy Flame, Sezession, Dakria, Centaurus-A, Chapel Desecrator, Tortur, World Downfall, Disörder, Tankobot, Infernäl Death, By Brute Force, Exsanguination, Shredhammer, Mistress, Asmodina, Atrium Noctis, Somnium Mortuum, Odium Immortalis, Act of Worship, Morast, Serpent Eater, Alchera, Garstig, Mortal Peril, Thornostrum, Legacy of Vidar, Thorn, Sun of Sadness, Ages Gone, Jumpin' Jesus and for sure I will have forgotten some !
photo credits: Karina Feldmann / Saskia Zillekens
