INTERVIEW MANDATORY

"When I personally think back to the last really great death metal records from Germany, whose songs I can always remember, I can only think of Morgoth's "Odium" and the debut album by Crack Up, which was released twelve years ago."

Here is an interview with German old school death metal outfit Mandatory, which I conducted in 2007. Bandleader and guitarist Sascha Beselt talks about the German death metal scene in an interesting way- from a music-historical point of view alone this interview is interesting. The new wave of German death metal bands - names such as Chapel of Disease, Lifeless, Slaughterday, Arroganz, Sulphur Aeon, Wound or Revel in Flesh, many of which were or are still based at the busy label F.D.A. Records - only started a few years later. The album "Adrift Beyond" announced here was finally released in 2010 via the renowned Spanish label Xtreem Music, and in 2012 the band released their previously unreleased debut album "Ripped from the tomb" from 2003. Nothing has happened on Mandatory's Facebook profile since 2015, so the band is probably no longer active, even if there was never an official break-up. Looking back, you might think that Mandatory should perhaps have stayed active with their old-school sound for a few more years in order to gain more attention in the course of the aforementioned revival of more traditional sounds. But be that as it may, enjoy this little trip back in time to an era when most bands were still on Myspace instead of Facebook.

INTERVIEW CALL FROM SUBCONSCIOUS

Call From Subconscious were a band from the beautiful Franconian city of Nuremberg, Germany that existed in the period 1990-1997. Post mortem, the recordings of the band that never made it out of demo status are now officially released on a discography CD (and tape) called "Sorrow and avidity" by the Greek label Repulsive Echo Records, more than two decades after the demise of this formation. However, this is completely justified, because even if no technical masterpieces or sound fiddles are to be expected here, the album is more convincing with what really matters, the music and its charisma. So if you like old, melancholic and sometimes extravagant, but never cheesy death and doom metal, you will definitely find what you are looking for here. In addition, the CD convinces with a really beautiful artwork. Listen to the band and buy the CD if you want to acquire a small piece of German metal underground culture. Looking at the photos, you can almost feel the breath of time and nostalgic memories of the golden era of death and doom metal spread. But now read for yourself. I talked to ex-guitarist Stephan, who makes a strong plea for uploading old demo recordings on YouTube before they are forgotten and decay. And: Where is Herbert ?

So after the interviews with Ulcerous Phlegm (read HERE and HERE) and Mangled Torsos (read HERE), this is the third part of the interview series with long faded German underground acts to preserve the past.

Hey, first of all it's nice that your works are officially released on CD after all these years. How does it feel and how did it come about ? By the way, isn´t it nice that a fanzine called "Systematic Desensitization" interviews a band called "Call of  Subconscious"?

Hi. Thanks also to you for your interest. Systematic desensitization works only and exclusively through the call from the subconscious, that's correct. But now to the interview questions, hopefully with full consciousness.

Yes, it is amazing when suddenly, after such a long time, a label takes notice of you and wants to release something. At first you think it's a misunderstanding and ask again if you're really meant. 

REZENSION "IN EWIGKEIT" VON IAN CUSHING

Vor längerer Zeit entdeckte ich mehr oder weniger zufällig die Facebook-Seite des Berliner Autors Ian Cushing, damals hatte er gerade sein Debütwerk "Fünf Minuten" veröffentlicht. Einige Monate später sandte mir der Autor sein mittlerweile neuestes Werk namens "In Ewigkeit" zu. Dieses enthält zusätzlich das Debüt, hier allerdings unter dem Namen "In Ewigkeit -Zweiter Teil". Ihr ahnt es also schon - die beiden Werke bauen aufeinander auf. Teil II ist der Nummerierung nach logischerwise im hinteren Teil des Buches platziert, so dass man im Sinne des Aufbaus von hinten nach vorne lesen sollte. Die schlichte, aber dennoch (oder gerade deswegen) äußerst gelungene Coverillustration stammt übrigens von Karmazid, dem oder der einen oder anderen eventuell bekannt von Arbeiten für  Bands wie Urfaust oder Demonical. Auch ansonsten tauchen im Verlauf der Handlung immer wieder Querverweise und Reminiszenzen an Bands aus dem extremeren Bereich auf, dazu aber später noch mehr.