Schmier (Destruction)
June 2008
You have released a special kind of compilation album called Thrash Anthems last year. Whose idea was that?
Actually our fans were asking us to do that because they had difficulties in finding the old albums and they wanted to hear the old songs with a different sound. Especially young people were demanding it for a long time. Then we thought about it but all of a sudden Testament and Anthrax did that around 2002 so we put the idea on ice, as we didn't want to follow any trends. Then when it came to the new album we were kind of burned out a little bit. We were producing a new album almost every year so we thought that maybe this would be the perfect time to do this best of album. That's how the idea came back and the label liked the idea and the release of this compilation gave us time to recharge the batteries for the next studio album.
How did it feel working on those old tunes again?
It was great because it brought our memories back and it also brought back the songwriting from the old days. I think again we've learnt something about the variety of Destruction and that's why we tried to do this new studio album extended in all directions. So recording the Thrash Anthems album really helped making the new album better.
Was it easy to put the tracklist together for Thrash Anthems?
It was difficult. We made a contest on our website so the fans had their chance to vote for the songs they wanted to be on the album. Then we took a lot of those songs that the fans voted for and we added our favourites but still it was difficult because we had the top playing time of a CD. First we thought about doing a double album but then people would have to pay more for the CD, so we agreed on doing a single CD with 14-15 songs. Maybe there will be a second part one day.
Btw, what would be your all time favourite song from Destruction?
(Laughs) Difficult to say. Bestial Invasion and Curse The Gods are definitely the old classics. From the new ones I really like Nailed To The Cross, which is a great live song. I cannot say only one song, that's impossible.
Thrash Anthems doesn't only have the best of Destruction but also two new tracks. How come?
We wanted to give value for money for the fans and a lot of people expected new material from us instead of the compilation album. So, we decided to put on two new tracks where we had the chance to experience a little bit more, that's why those two songs became a little bit different. The fans got something new and the band got the chance to experiment a little, so I think both parties got what they wanted.
Your new album has a very weird title that goes hand in hand with the names of the songs on the album. How did you come up with that?
The basic idea was about the lyrics where we are talking about the degeneration of mankind. All those song titles together give the name D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. which is kind of a word game and it was interesting to me to cope with the challenge. It's our 25th Anniversary album so it had to be something special, so we tried to make the whole album with lyrics, cover artwork to be very special. Of course it was more work but I really liked the challenge and I will remember the making of this album for a long time. I'm best when I have a challenge so it was great for me to do something else this time not just another album.
You seem to be like a person very passionate about his lyrics...
Even when I was a kid I didn't want to fit in the crowd, I didn't want to be part of the establishment and I've been hanging out with punks. We had some satanic lyrics with Destruction in the beginning but they've also been against the regime already at that time. Then we changed the lyrics in Destruction to be more social critical. This has always been a big part of me and it's been a big part of thrash metal and to me it's very important. I want to say something, I don't want to hear some silly or pagan lyrics about the Lord of the Rings. I want to put my fears and thoughts into my lyrics and that's the way it works for me.
How long did it take to round up the songs for the new album?
We worked pretty intensely on the songs, almost daily and it took us about two months to finish them up. I am a guy that always tries to learn and do things differently so this time we had a different approach when it came to the writing. In the past we've been working in different studios, recording the drums in Germany, recording the vocals in Switzerland and then mixing in Sweden. This time we thought it would be more positive for the whole production if we go to just one studio and we record the whole thing with one guy. So we went to Jacob Hansen in Denmark, which I think was a very good idea because it was very easy to work with him and we had a lot more peace and quietness because we were out in the woods somewhere in Denmark where was nothing else. We could really focus and concentrate on the album. I'm sure it won't be the last time we worked with Jacob. He's a metal producer; he grew up with our stuff. He told me that his first extreme metal record was Infernal Overkill from Destruction and Pleasure To Kill from Kreator so we're kind of partners in crime.
I know that you don't mind having guests on your albums and this time you picked some cool musicians again...
Yeah, since it's our 25th Anniversary record I wanted to have some great guitar players on it and this song called U.rge/The Greed Of Gain features Gary Holt, then a short solo by our guitar player Mike and at the end there's a huge Fender solo by Jeff Waters. So it's basically all my guitar players in one song. That's a great honour. They are all good friends of mine and we were talking about cooperation many times before and on this album it finally happened. And it's something you'll always remember when you look back at this album in a few years. We also have Vinnie Moore from UFO on this album and some other people like our former guitar player Harry Wilkens. This guest thing shouldn't be overextended. It just happens when it happens and on this album we wanted it to happen. Maybe on the next album there won't be any guests. We'll see. It's always nice to play with your friends and have them on the record. Back in the past it wasn't possible because it would have been too much money. Today with the Internet you can send files back and forth and it's a lot cheaper and easier and that's why there are more guest appearances these days.
What song off the new album do you think fits the live setting the most?
There are a couple of those. It's difficult to say. My favourite part of the album is from song number 1 to song number 6. All those six songs are songs that I could really see in our live setting. And also the last one N.o One Shall Survive is a really great live tune. We composed this album on the awareness that the songs have to be more to the point. We've already played V.icious Circle/The Seven Deadly Sins live and it felt really good playing live. Hopefully a couple of the new songs will remain in the set of classics that we're gonna play in the future.
What are your plans for this year as far as touring?
I wanna finally play in Hungary again. (Laughs) We're going on tour in November and it's gonna be the 25th Anniversary Tour that we start in Europe and this will bring us all over the world again. I also want to play places that we haven't played for a long time and that's what I asked from my agent. As I said I really want to come back to Hungary because I think we only played there twice and also I'd like to play in countries where we never played before, countries like New Zealand or China. That would be the plan. We haven't played a lot since the last tour in 2005 so I'm looking forward to go back and sit in the tour bus and have a show every day. It's my fucking life and I love it.
25 years is quite a lot in one's life. If you look back on your career, how would you sum up these years?
The good thing about is that we had everything from the high tops of the beginning to the breakdown of the band in the beginning of the nineties and the comeback in '99. If I look back I think all these ups and downs were needed to make the band a special unit. We needed those to understand what we want to do and what we enjoy to do because if you are on the same level all the time I think you start to forget how special it is to be a musician and travel around the world. Of course there were some difficult times for me and the band but it's still a great memory as a whole. I have the chance to play with this band for such a long time. It's my life and I could not see anything else in my life that is as important as the band.
What would be the best and worst period for you during these years?
The best point definitely was the first record deal and then the comeback of Destruction in 1999 when we did Wacken and the great response we have received there. The lowest point of course was when the band kicked me out. During that time the entire band was going into the wrong direction. There were too many people that wanted to write songs and everyone wanted something different. That was the worst point in our career I guess.
It would be stupid to ask of how you see the band in 25 years from now but how about the short-term future like 5-10 years?
The goals are still the same: producing honest, original, good music. Right now we make albums that we are proud of if we look back at them after some years and I hope that we can be able to produce albums like this because it's not getting any easier the older the band gets. And it's the same for live situations because that's much of a physical thing so I don't know how many years we can go on with this. On the other hand my biggest idols are like Lemmy and Motörhead and he's doing that for a long time. Also Ronnie James Dio... he's 63 I think and he's better than ever. So there's still hope that we can do this as long as possible. Thrash metal has now a big coming back worldwide. It wasn't always like this so I think honest work can pay off.