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Since when exactly is Warhammer back, if I followed it correctly, you were disbanded for quite a while or one band member continued under a different name, right?
It's been almost two years now, I think, since we got back together. It took us almost a year to find a suitable bass player. So there has been a long break since the recordings of "Curse of the absolute Eclipse". Necros II wanted to continue under a different band name, I've heard, but I haven't noticed anything release-wise from him since then.
What exactly led to Warhammer's demise?
I have no comment on this. That only concerns three people. Necros II, drummer Rolf Meyn and me.
Please describe the characters in the band? Do any of you have unusual hobbies? What do you do for a living?
Rolf is a little quieter in character. Christoph, our bass player, is 19 years old and has even more energy than us old guys (I'm 36, Rolf is 39) and has already done a lot for the band, such as designing and realising the homepage. My big hobby besides music are films (all sorts of things) and TV series (e.g. Oz, The Wire, Sopranos, The Shield, Carnivale, Twin Peaks, Babylon 5). Rolf is very fond of the Simpsons and Futurama, his favourite film is Blood in, Blood out. Christoph often attends gigs, more often than Rolf and I anyway.
Rolf works as a heating engineer, Christoph is about to finish school and I'm retraining as a media designer.
Will there be another Warhammer album? Did you already have the feeling of being trapped in a stylistic corset that was too tight? ? Would you like to try something different that doesn't fit in with Warhammer?
I hope we get another album together. But that will take some time, I guess. I see the tight corset as more of a challenge. We will never allow anything other than Hellhammer riffs for Warhammer. If we can't manage that, there won't be a final Warhammer album. No compromises, we stand by what we said and decided when the band was founded: only Hellhammer-stuff to the extreme!
What do you think about the Celtic Frost reunion and the new album?
I think the album is bottomless, and Tom looks ridiculous with the make-up corners of his mouth and the cap that seems to be stuck to his head. Nothing fits together, just like on the album..
Are there any bands from the underground that you can recommend, maybe bands that play a Hellhammer-like style like you, I'm thinking of bands like Incriminated or Apocalyptic Raids (read an interview with the band here).Well, you can hear a Hellhammer-like riff here and there, but never entire songs or albums. Even Gallhammer or Winter sound different, I think. I don't know Incriminated, but I think the album "The third Storm" is Apokalyptic Raids' best. There are a few hits on it, but also a few weaker songs. Still good though! Some underground bands that I definitely like are Funeral from Sweden, Denial of God from Denmark and Insane from Italy.
Do you only listen to the old stuff, or also more modern stuff like Dying Fetus, Origin or Skinless?
I listen to a lot of 80s stuff, but also newer bands from time to time. For example, I like the new Amon Amarth album, the I-record (The Immortal spin-off at the time-author's note), and I even think the latest Dissection disc is awesome! I don't listen to much death metal, but some bands I like from this genre are Incubus / Opprobrium, Insanity, Resurrection (US) and Hellwitch. I hardly listen to black metal at all, except for old Bathory. Current bands that I like are definitely The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Toxic Holocaust, Pagan Rites, Stormwarrior, Outrage (Ger), the previously mentioned Denial of God, Insane, Funeral and furthermore Stormrider (Ger). Albums that blew me away in the last few years were "Sonic Bullet" by Destructor and "Blood of Tyrants" by Exciter! The first album by Ritual Carnage, "The highest Law" is divine anyway! But only the first album! These are thre fucking Killers! I also listen to a lot of doom metal, e.g. Iron Man, Thunderstorm, Count Raven, Terra Firma, Solstice (UK) and Reverend Bizarre.
Am I right in thinking that you're a band that polarises, people either think you're really cool or really shit? And have you ever had to deal with extremely negative reactions during a live gig?
Of course, at one of our concerts, a girl dressed like a goth kept shouting "lächerlich" (what means "ridiculous" -author's note) after every song. I then said to her during a song break that if she thought it was so ridiculous, she should leave, it would be better for her and for us. Then she grudgingly left, haha. If someone thinks our sound sucks, I don't really care, it's a matter of taste anyway and I'm not offended by it. Just keep your mouth shut in front of the stage!
I think we are clearly a German underground band. But as such, we have a very good reputation because we are honest and authentic! I can't say much about the sales figures, but I think they're manageable, haha.
Do you still have a dream that you would like to realise as a musician?
I would love to play live in Asia or South America, preferably in Japan.
Is there anything that bothers you about the metal scene?
All right-wing nutters should fuck off! There was no such thing in the 80s, at best they were loners. "NS Black Metal", when I hear such a shitty term! Apart from that, there are great festivals like Keep it True or Festung Open Air. That's how it should be and stay.
How important do you think (print) fanzines are? Can you recommend any?
Metalstorm is a great webzine! I also like to browse through Snakepit or That's Metal, often in old issues. The best kiosk metal magazine is still "Heavy, oder was?".
The last words are yours!
The album cover of Tragedy's "Vengeance" tells me everything I need to know...
