Grabak
There are many things to
be considered when describing a band as professional and worthy of our
attention. First and foremost is the music itself and then come the lyrics
which must be of equal importance. What I like in Grabak are all of the
above and the fact that they are really hard working and obviously try
to do the best for their band. They love what they do and this is something
you can realize by reading the interview that follows...
1. It’s been three years since your last
album “The Serpent within Paradise”. What took you so long this time?
Well, we have had a difficult time. After
we released our latest album in 2003 we felt more and more uncomfortable
with our last drummer. He moved to another city and we were often unable
to rehearse. As a result we only finished one (!!) new song in one year.
So we decided to kick him early in 2004. We quite easily found a successor
who adapted in the old songs really fast. Our style of music changed over
that time and we had to rewrite some older songs… this all took a lot of
time.
2. Now I know you guys are working on your
new material for a long time now, right? Is it finished and can you tell
us more about what's to be expected?
Until now we finished ten new tracks but I
guess there will be one more ‘til June. So you can expect eleven songs
that are much more brutal than any previously released stuff. Our skills
developed very much. In terms of drumming there seems to be no speed limit.
On one hand, I would say we are definitely one of the fastest Black Metal
bands in Germany, only comparable with Mor Dagor or Endstille. On the other
hand, we put very much emphasis on riffs. Both, guitars and distorted bass
guitar perfectly harmonize.
3. Are you pleased with the results so far?
Yeah, we absolutely are satisfied. Of course
there will always be small things that have to be changed or improved during
the recordings. All in all, the new songs perfectly reflect Grabak in 2007.
4. Do you have a title yet?
Yes, we do have one. The new album is entitled
“Agash Daeva”. She is an old Persian demon who is responsible for diseases,
decay, pain and death.
5. After three albums with CCP Records, now
you have a new contract with Black Blood Records. What made you leave CCP
Records and how are things going so far with Black Blood?
What made us leave… well, our contract ended
in July 2006 and we had to decide whether to continue with
CCP or to gain a new contract. There were some things in the past that
made us feel a little bit disappointed. But these things are very internal
and I am not willing to make them public. Anyway, we sent some demos all
around the world and got responses. The offering Black Blood Records made
was the best we got. Therefore, we decided to meet with Björn and
Olaf of Einheit Produktionen. We discussed all things and signed the deal.
Although BBR isn’t that known until now, we feel pretty comfortable because
Björn wants to concentrate on only a few bands to support them adequately.
We feel this is a chance for both parties to grow together.
6. What other things changed in the band these
last years? There were also some line-up changes since 2003. Tell us a
few things about them.
As I told you we had to fire our last drummer.
It was one of the hardest decisions we ever made. Dirk was a founding member
and a very cool guy. We really appreciate his work for Grabak and we will
never forget the time we have had together. But we wanted to elaborate
and develop our skills and he didn’t.
7. Give us a little information about the lyrics.
Which are your main inspirations and what kind of a mindset do you put
yourself in to write them?
Okay, this will last a little longer… I would
say there are three major themes on “Agash”. First one deals with the Nazarene.
I took some milestones in his life, added a huge amount of blasphemy and
got a fine result. Just to give you an idea, I took the time of his temptation
by Satan. Three times the dark Lord is trying to tempt Jesus and in my
story there is a fourth, successful one. Another song is about the betrayal
of Judas Iscariot who doesn’t feel remorseful. One text is about the time
at the cross – pure mockery. Our second theme is about mystical things
and myths. I decided to write about Gorgons, Strigoi and other creatures
born out of darkness and fear. I get my inspiration from books, films,
dreams and sometime word phrases I listen to. There is no need to put myself
in a special mindset. I see myself more as a storyteller or author who
wants to inspire fantasy of the recipient. There are always some hidden
things to interpret in my lyrics. You just have to find them. As you now
might consider, I put very emphasis on my lyrics but I know for sure there
are only a few who really read them.
8. You seemed to be looking for something special
for your new cover album. Is it ready yet and are you satisfied with the
result? Can you tell us more about it?
You are well informed. We decided to have
something really dark or even black for our new artwork. Our music is much
blacker than ever before so the visualisation of our music must be black,
too. Furthermore, we wanted to have a picture that on one hand is fascinating
and on the other hand disgusting. You know these things must look as if
you don’t like the view? That’s what we tried to express. Andreas Marcher
is an artist from Austria who made some nice pictures that perfectly fit
into our wish. He created our Agash as a woman of a strange beauty - strange
insofar as she is heavily decayed. In our booklet, we continue with this
theme. All musicians’ pictures are also elegantly decayed and mutilated
to show our dependency on Agash.
9. What's been your favourite live performance
this year?
That’s easy. The best gig we did this year
was the Chronical Moshers Open Air. We got a perfect sound, a perfect organisation
and a perfect crowd.
10. How did you get into metal? When did you
decide you wanted to be a musician yourselves?
I started with some hard rock and heavy metal
bands in the 80s. Bands like Helloween, Running Wild and the godlike W.A.S.P.
who are still one of my favourites. I went over to Thrash and Death Metal
but still some time later I was searching for something more extreme and
dark - Black Metal. Early in the 90s, I started thinking about my own career.
I founded my first band called Hecatomb – unworthy to tell more about.
Well, next step was to found Grabak…
11. What’s your opinion about the black metal
scene- do you think that the genre is actually decaying or do you believe
it can still be in the progressing area?
This is difficult to answer. I lost the overview
how many bands are around there. Must be thousands... Anyway, years ago
I answered in an interview that those bands who are really skilled will
survive. I told of productive competition between bands. I was totally
wrong. Nowadays, it is enough to have an extreme image, only, to gain attention
from the crowd. The decay I witnessed started in 2000 when old Black Metal
began to play experimental music. The total downfall came with this stupidity
named NSBM. There are only a few bands left who really deserve the label
Black Metal. At least in terms of ideology something really strange started
to spread around. But there are some bands that are really progressive
in a positive sense, e.g. Vesania, Dark Fortress, to name only some.
12. Thank you! Leave your message to our readers!
Thank you for this interview. For the readers
I have the following: Be aware of our coming album that will be released
at the 8th of June. “Agash Daeva” will blow your ears away.
Vaso Prassa
|