Interview de Dark Age de Juillet 2004

Hi, first, thanks answering this interview. And could you start it with a little biography of Dark Age ?
Hi! This is André (drums) answering. I founded the band together with Eike (vocals, guitar) in 1995. We needed some time to find a constant line up. Since early 1998 Dark Age is complete with the following further companions: Martin Reichert (synth, joined 1996), Torsten Eggert (bass, joined 1997), Jörn Schubert (lead guitar, joined 1998). We did two demo tapes in 1996 and 1997: “Doubtful Existence” & “Promotion Tape Winter ‘96/’97”. 1998 we recorded our debut “The Fall” and it was released in 1999 by Remedy Records. The songs and atmosphere on this record are a little more black metal, progressive and unstructured than nowadays. I’m still proud of this CD, it has a very special atmosphere. In 2000 we recorded “Insurrection”. The production again was done by Schrödey but in a new studio. It was a great time with a great result. Songs like “Trial by Fire” belong to every Dark Age gig. For “The Silent Republic” we choose Andy Classen as the producer to close up to the top of German death metal. The time was short and forced us to work very concentrated and disciplined. The sound and the songs on this album were the best we ever did till then. The tracks are very catchy but still hard, dark and melodic. 2003 we decided to let Eike do our future productions. He studied audio engineering and is very skilled. That’s why we used the production money to build our own studio instead of giving it away for some days of recording. As a first try we re-recorded and released our old demo songs for the EP “Remonstrations” which was released in 2003. The result was very satisfying considering that the recordings were done on one weekend an the studio and equipment were not really completed then. For the recording of “Dark Age” we took us all the time needed and so the songs and the sound developed to real jewels. Last but not least I want to mention that we did about 70 gigs so far with the highlights in 2000 and 2003 on the “Wacken Open Air”, March 2003 on the “Rock Station Festival” (Ankara, Turkey) and the “Wacken Roadshow”-Tour in April/May this year. More information about our bio- and discography can be found on www.dark-age.de

Now, your fourth album is out, how was it received by the fans and the press ?
The press reviews are overwhelming. There was not a single bad review. Due to that we gain lots of new fans. From our old fans no one seems to be disappointed. First they have to get used to the fact, that some elements changed but then they really start loving the album. Dark Age will never stagnate - every album is different than the former one but it’s always Dark Age.

And are you personnaly satisfied with your album ?
We are all totally convinced, that it is the best product we ever did. I love the songs and the sound of the record. Especially Eike’s vocal lines are great.

 

His name is Dark Age, like your group, why this choice ?
Everything on this album was done by our own hands. We had the total control of the production. So the album is for the first time 100 % Dark Age without foreign influences of a producer. We wanted to make this clear by naming the album like the band.

Could you explain to us the concept of the album ?
There is no special concept behind the album. We just concentrated our forces to write the best songs we could. Everyone is involved when single parts are arranged to a song. While doing this we try to make the songs catchy but varied and interesting. Lyrically Eike deals with negative emotions caused by inner and social conflicts. Neokillers for example deals with the growing lack of conversation and coldness in the modern societies. The Elegy Of A Forgotten Science describes the estrangement of homo sapiens from nature and Nikita is a virus that defeats mankind totally. Last example is Neurosis 404. 404 is a page in the www that does not exist and the lyrics of this song are about people who fancy that they are ill.
As for all Dark Age albums I am responsible for the cover artwork. This time I worked together with a very skilled artist. Together with him I could realise my ideas much better. He also had some good own ideas especially in the booklet. His name is Partic Debus, he also did the photographs and is very much integrated in the German shock-rock band Philiae.
For us Dark Age is more than music, it’s a life style and it’s our tool to deal with negative impressions and experiences that enter your life. All bad emotions can be therapied by our music. We absorb all sadness, hate and aggression in and around us and with the help of our music we convert it to something positive in strength, energy and hope. I think our fans also feel this. You see this especially live – it’s a good way to let out and deal with negative emotions. Since the album is called Dark Age I wanted to present this message with the cover: power from music! The motiv shows someone in a mixture between powerful and imploring gesture, he’s very much into Dark Age. Out of his fingers come this energy rays that form the Darkagramm. I created the Darkagramm as a new sign. It is put together from two triangles that represent the D and the A. It’s similar to the pentagramm but different and it has no other meaning than all the things Dark Age stand for.

I personnaly thought to Samael, but what are your influences ?
Yes, Samael is a band we all appreciate. But I don’t think that one can here this that much except for the song Nikita. It is funny that you mention this band because normally comparisons with Swedish acts are made. Generally we are influenced by and listen to all kind of harder music be it black, death, thrash, heavy, new or what ever metal some of us also like glam rock, hip hop or drum and base. I think this broad palette of influences makes our music very varied.

 

How would you describe your music ?
Dark, new, brutal… rhythmic and groovy but also very melodic… very varied …
Lots of people give comparisons with other melodic death metal bands, but also say that we are self-standing and no copies. Since I’m a artist I don’t want to compare my band with another. For sure we didn’t invent (melodic death/dark) metal but we are unique!

 

Nowadays, more and more people looks for “sophisticated “ musics, no ?
That’s right. I think the reason for this is that lots of fans play an instrument as well and also look for technical inspiration.

 

After „For Whom The Bell Tolls“ and „Hells Bells“, you covered this time „Suicide Solution“ from Ozzy Osbourne, why this choice ?
We first looked for a song with “Bells” in it to continue the series. But after trying “Jingle Bells” we gave it up ;-) Generally we like to do our versions from classic heavy metal songs that everybody knows. We are all big Ozzy and Sabath fans. There are so much great songs. And the guitarists who accompanied his solo career are really amazing. We thought that Suicide Solution fits well the Suicide Crew.

A dvd is already planned, could you say us a bit more about it ?
Our new album appeared as a special edition with a 120 min bonus dvd. It includes over 40 min studio diary, a video clip of “The Fall” and over 60 min live material and lot of party and backstage stuff. Except for the clip everything is amateur material but done with consecration and love and the menu and intro of the dvd is also very professional. With only a few Euros more than the normal version this special edition is really value for money.
The whole “Metal Bash”-Open-Air will be filmed with six cameras and recorded digitally. I think that we will get high quality live material. In addition we are in negotiations to do a video clip for the new album. Together with tons of new party and backstage stuff from the Rock Station gig and the Wacken Road Show we have enough material for a professional dvd. So perhaps we will release one in a few month…

 

Others projects now ?
Dark Age is the only serious musical project for us. As the former Stormwarrior drummer I made the experience that it is very hard to have two bands with professional aims if you don’t get money for it and have to do something else. Jörn also learned this in Holy Moses. We decided to play in Dark Age elusively because it’s the music that satisfies our hearts and talents the most.

What is the meaning of your group’s name, and why choosing it ?
Our band’s name originally was inspired by the song “Dark Age” from Vader. For us the dark age is now. The situation on this planet gets worse everyday.

 

You were on the Wacken Roadshow tour during april and may, how was it with groups like Freedom Call, Primal Fear and Metalium, that are quiet different from your style ?
We had the times of our lives. We really got friends with the other bands and the crew especially with Freedom Call with whom we shared a bus. We had to play as the opener but we could convince many guys that haven’t known anything about us until we rocked their town. On the other side there were fans that visited the concerts only to see us! Man, they pay 20 Euros just for 35 min of Dark Age! We really have crazy fans. Besides the music we had lots of sex, drugs and R’n’R on tour.

Are some dates in france planned ?
One gig just was sadly cancelled. But we will play in Paris the 23rd of October. Visit www.dark-age.de and go to “events” to check the latest dates.

 

And, to finish, could you explain to us, your vision about the “spirit of metal” ?
Metal is a very emotional music. An ideal valve to let out negative feelings and aggressions. This is the reason metal is not just a music category it’s essential for the fans and a life style.