Abandoned
If there is a band
out there that can bring the old ways of 80s thrash metal back to us, deliver
it with a good attitude, love and devotion and yet maintain that live,
party feeling, then this is Abandoned from Germany we must be talking about.
So, here we have the band's two mainmen, Holg and Kalli answering our questions
in a very friendly and honest manner. Let's here them out!
1. Congratulations on “Thrash You!”! Are
you happy with how it turned to be now that some time has passed?
Holg: Yes, definitely! “Thrash You!” is how
we’d define “Thrash Metal”! Everything
sounds like we wanted and the recording process was much easier compared
to our first CD. Sadly we didn`t get the chance to play on one of the summer
Open Airs this year, but we`ll change this next year.
2. Give us in brief an Abandoned bio by pointing
out the most important moments and achievements of the band. Please also
present the current line up.
Holg: Abandoned was formed in `99 by
Kalli and me. We started writing some riffs and were looking for a drummer
and a bass player. In late `99 we found Konrad on Drums. We recorded our
first 4 songs on the “Forcefed” demo which we burned on CD-R. That’s what
I call real underground, haha. In 2000 Guent joined the Band and we did
our first gigs around our hometown Darmstadt. The first important moment
was the release of our first “real” demo “Misanthrope” and all the good
reviews on it, especially the “Demo of the Month” in German Rock Hard Magazine
in `04. The second important incident was to play the warm-up show from
Rock Hard Festival in `05 in front of more then 1000 people. Still a great
memory. Due to this gig we got in contact with Dockyard 1, our record company,
who offered us a deal a couple of months later at Wacken Open Air. These
were the major highlights. Of course the release of both CDs, especially
the first one. It was the first official CD by a record company we held
in our hands! The line up is still the same as on our first demo. That`s
Kalli on guitar and vocals, me on guitar, Guent on bass and Konrad on drums.
3. There is also one other band with the same
name. Haven’t you faced any problems up to now?
Holg: Oh really, is there another band with
the same name? Last year I read at www.metal-archives.com there was a band
in Germany more than 10 years ago, but they split up. We had no trouble
until now.
4. What’s the highlight of “Thrash You!” and
what part or element do you think needs further improvement? In which ways
have you evolved? How has your music changed all these years?
Holg: My highlights on “Thrash You!” are “Sands
of Time” and “Trapped”. I think my leads have improved, but that needs
a lot of practicing and there`s not much time between job and bedtime.
I spent the most time for writing new songs.
I think the music didn`t change very much.
Most of my favorite records and CDs are still from the 80`s, and that`s
my style of making music. Of course there are some new bands I listen to,
but I don`t try to sound like them.
5. If you were asked to write a review for
“Thrash You!”, what would you say trying to be as objective as possible?
Holg: I would say, it`s a really cool Thrash
CD, containing the songs that Destruction, Testament and Forbidden never
wrote…something like that.
6. Please pinpoint the main differences and
similarities between “Thrash You!” and “Thrash Notes”.
Holg: The main difference is that “Thrash
You!” seems to be more melodic. This is based on the better sound of the
CD and Kalli, our singer, wrote more songs on the CD. I write songs based
on riffs. I don`t have any vocal lines in mind when I write songs.
Kalli also takes care of the vocals and not just the riffs. That helps
him to have more room for vocal lines, what makes the songs more “melodic”.
It`s not just screaming some lyrics to the songs. Similar to “Thrash Notes”
is that the whole band lives, eats and breathes old school Thrash Metal…and
the way we write songs is still the same.
7. Give us reasons why the metal heads should
check you out. What do you think you have to offer to the contemporary
metal scene?
Holg: If you like straight forward Thrash
Metal with lots of killer riffs, you will love our CDs. Lots of Metalcore
and Death/Black bands are using Thrash Riffs in their songs, to make them
more interesting. So, why not buy a real Thrash CD?
8. What kind of procedure do you follow whilst
composing the songs? Is it a one man job or do you all have a say on the
end result?
Holg: Usually me or Kalli do the songwriting
at home. We record the guitar tracks on our PCs and send them to each other.
This makes rehearsing much easier, everybody knows the songs before we
meet. During the rehearsals we also make some changes, but the main song
structures stay. Sometimes we have a starting riff from Guent and finish
the song together. “Too blind to see” was written during a jam Session
from Konrad and Kalli…sometimes this works, too.
9. Who are those musicians or bands that have
made you realize that the thrash metal is the music that runs in your blood?
Holg: I`m listening to Hard Rock since `78,
KISS is my first and all time favorite. So of course my first contact with
Speed/Thrash stuff was Metallica, Venom, Slayer and Destruction. That was
the time I discovered all those underground stuff. In the 80s I was much
into tape trading, that`s where I discovered Death for example. Everything
has to be harder and faster these days!!
10. Which are your sources of inspiration?
Which are those topics or situations that “force” you into putting them
down on paper? Tell us a few things about the lyrics.
Kalli: The lyrics don’t follow any special
purpose, they deal with topics that I want to write about, e.g. “We are
in hell” describes mankind’s situation and the role of religion in it.
Often, I develop a chorus with a certain statement and try to find descriptive
words for the verses and bridges. Other times a whole song is written down
in a couple of minutes. It depends on the mood I am in and the topic I
deal with. For “Misanthrope” and “Thrash Notes” Konrad wrote some lyrics
too, but I found out that it’s much easier to sing my own stuff because
of phrasing issues. I always have my right hand in mind when I write lyrics
and the verses and especially the choruses need to be synchronized with
that very hand, haha!
11. How is the cover artwork connected to the
music and lyrics of “Thrash You!”? Is there something in particular you
want to suggest?
12. Have you got any plans for live shows or
for a possible tour? How do you plan to promote your new album?
Holg: We usually play weekends, due to our
jobs. A real tour wouldn`t be possible for us, maybe one or two dates more
combined with a weekend. Hopefully we will play some of the big Open Airs
in Germany
13. If you had a huge budget to shoot a video
clip, which song of yours would you choose and how do you imagine it to
be?
Holg: Our drummer just cut a clip using snips
that we shot in the studio while recording “Thrash You!”. He did a real
good job but it isn`t a “real” video. I think an animated Live video, with
a totally crazy crowd would be a cool video for us. We have no special
messages or stories to fill a video but I think the live thing would be
cool…and very expensive…
14. What kind of emotions do you think your
music creates to your listeners?
Holg: I don`t know. More fun while driving
your car? Thinking of the good old 80s? Maybe something like this?
15. What thoughts or ideas pass through your
mind whilst playing or listening to your songs?
Holg: Why the hell am I 20 years late playing
this kinda music, I`m old enough for having done this in the late 80s!
Haha…
16. What do you aim to achieve with this album
and which are your goals in general?
Holg: The very big goal was to get the record
deal in 2005. I never thought that it would happen to a band like ABANDONED.
I hope we`re able to play on one of the big Festivals next year on the
main stage. That`s still a big goal. All these “Rockstar”-Dreams are thru…it`s
the wrong music we play to earn much money with it. We just want to do
the music we like and have some fun…that`s OK for us right now.
17. What’s the ideal title to sum up the whole
Abandoned essence?
Holg: Haha…that`s “Feel the Fire” to sum up
all the Metal/Rock clichées and there`s “Sands of Time” that reflects
our age! …but don`t take this too seriously…haha…
18. Thank you! Leave a message to your fans…
Holg: Thanks a lot to you for this interview
and to all who finally read this! Keep Metal alive!
Kalli: Yeah, thanks for lending us an ear or
three and cheeeerrrzzz from Darmstadt!
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