Interview с Rebellion : DARKSIDE.ru

Your latest album “Sagas of Iceland (the History of the Vikings Vol. 1)" is your first one for Massacre Records. How do you like the label’s work? According to the contract, how many albums are you to record for that label?

We are very satisfied with the work of Massacre, the current album is doing well and has so far sold a considerable amount on the market, so I guess everybody has been working well.

Your previous two albums were released by Drakkar Records. Why didn’t you continue with them? What do you think about working with them?

Drakkar did a good job for the band and we did not part with any bad feelings, it was simply a matter of business, we could not agree on the terms and conditions for the third album, so we decided to change companies.

Why did you take the theme of Vikings as the basic line in the lyrics? Are you much interested in Vikings’ history? Who is the author of the lyrics? Where did you take ideas from?

We chose the Vikings because it is a topic, which is of great interest to me personally and because it fits just perfect for heavy metal lyrics. I wrote all the lyrics. I read all the ancient sources basically “Heimskringla” by Snorry Sturlson and Adam von Bremen’s history of the church and a couple of other sources to get the facts and the ideas for the lyrics.

Your plan is to make a trilogy about Vikings. What ideas do you have for the second and third parts? We have heard that the second part will deal with “Russian Vikings” – can you tell us a bit more about that?

The second part will indeed also include the Russian history, we will probably lead the listener into the ancient towns of Russia, which were then inhabited by the svear or the “Rus” as they called themselves. I am aware that there used to be a great discussion in Russia between “Normanists” and “Anti-Normanists” about the question, whether the Russian empire was founded by the Norsemen or not. As far as I can tell, after doing a lot of readi

ng on that topic I believe, that the Russian Nation was founded by the Norsemen, and I also believe, that this fact ought to make people in Russia proud, because that would mean that there is still the blood of one of the bravest people on earth running in your veins.

Do you think that your music has changed as compared to your first album “Shakespeare's Macbeth - A Tragedy In Steel”? Are you more into “old school” heavy metal or do you have nothing against the “modern” sound?

I do not have anything against any sound, I believe everybody should listen to what he likes, but as far as I am concerned I still like to play that old school type of metal, simply because it suits me best.

Uwe and you are the ones that have produced all Rebellion albums. Have you ever considered working with an outside producer to add “a different touch” to your sound? Or do you think musicians are the persons who know best how their music should sound?

Well, the last albums have all done well, so I should not see any reason for changing our way of working.

The cover artwork for “Sagas Of Iceland” was made by Thomas Ewerhard. How did you get in touch with Thomas, and how do you evaluate his work? In your opinion, how much did he succeed in reflect the atmosphere of the album?

I really like the cover, the contact to Thomas was established by our management, I never really talked to him, but I do admire his work, it is the perfect cover for the album.

All of your albums have a pretty long playing time - about an hour. Do they contain all the songs you have written or are there any leftovers? And who decides whether a song is good for recording it on a Rebellion album or not?

This decision is made by the band but there have not been any great discussion, usually we trust each other, if one has a problem with a song, we simply will not take it on the album, even if everybody else likes it. This method has proved very successful in granting th

at there are only the best songs on our albums. Yes there are a lot of songs left over - some simply did not fit on an album, though they are good, others just did not turn out the way we expected them to be.

Could you tell us about your usual recording process? How much time does it usually take to make an album? What is the hardest part of the process?

There really is no hardest part, every part is difficult in its own way, but every part leads to results which make us proud. It usually takes about three to four moths of time to finish an album, because we keep changing things until we are really satisfied with them.

How did you like the recent tour in support for “Sagas Of Iceland”? What are your best memories from those shows? And what are your following touring plans?

The tour was a success and I enjoyed every minute on stage, the fans were great in every city, so it would not really be fair, to point a single gig out.

How do you put together a set-list for your shows? Do you play the new album from the beginning to end, or do you mix the old songs with new ones? In your opinion, how much is it possible to recreate the atmosphere of “Sagas Of Iceland” in a live setting? Or do you think studio and live are two different things?

Studio and live are always two cups of meat, and it is good that it is that way. What other reason would there be to go and see a band on stage? This also explains why we never play an album as we recorded it, because we try to create the best live performance we can and not simply to promote the new album. A mix between new and old song has always been the best idea for a successful show.

You played two festivals in September: Die Börse in Wuppertal and Gebläsehalle in Neunkirchen/Saar. How did you like it there, the audience and the whole atmosphere? What do you prefer – big festivals or your own shows?

It is different. You get more people on a festival, whereas if you play

headliner shows you are the boss and can arrange things as you want them, and on a festival you always have to make compromises. But all that does not really matter, what matters is the music that we like to play no matter where or under which circumstances.

Simone Wenzel is now a permanent replacement for Bjorn Eilen. How do you like playing with a girl? And we cannot keep from asking you – do you agree that girls can play metal not worse than men do?

I have never really thought about that question, Simone is not treated as a girl but as a musician and member of the band. We expect from her no less and no more than we expect from anybody else in the band including ourselves. And if she does not fulfill the expectations, we shall tell her so, as we would with everybody else in the band.

How much time do the members of Rebellion spend together? Do you feel tired of each other from time to time? Are there any things that unite you except playing in one band?

We live in different parts of Germany, so we do not spend much time together if we do not play shows or record albums, I believe that is a good thing, because I always look forward to meeting the others and I hope they do the same (smiles).

Do you still have any contacts with your former colleagues from Grave Digger? And how do you evaluate their latest records?

There is no contact to Grave Digger, I do not regret the time I spent with the band, but the end was not a friendly one. I prefer to remember the good times we had and forget about the nasty things. I do not wish anything bad or good to Grave Digger, I simply do not care. I have a job, a child and a wife, these things are important or me, and when it comes to music I am honestly only interested in Rebellion. That is not because I am arrogant, but simply because I have no more time for other things. I did not even listen to the latest Grave Digger album.

By the way, if reasons for Uwe’s departure from Grave Digger ar

e well-known, your parting with this band is quite obscure. What happened between you and the rest of the guys in Grave Digger?

Telling you my side of the story would mean digging up things which should better be left where they are. Just let me tell you so much, one of my greatest values in life is friendship, I have met very few people in my life that I honored by calling them friends. A friend can have almost everything from me and I do expect a lot from him. I once called Chris Boltendahl a friend and that is not so anymore. If Chris decides to say certain things about me that is his own decision, my honor does not allow me to talk about people who are not there to defend themselves.

The name Rebellion – was it chosen to point at your work on one of Grave Digger’s most successful albums, or were there any other reasons for giving this name to the band?

Yes, it also sounds great and in a way expresses how I feel towards modern society.

What are Rebellion’s biggest musical influences? What music do you like to listen to outside Rebellion?

As I said before, I hardly listen to any specific music because I have very little time in my life. I believe the only influences are the great bands from the 1980s like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest.

Does anybody in the band have musical education? Do you see any advantages in being musically educated for a metal musician?

Nobody in the band has musical education. It surely does help but it also tends to take away the personal style of a musician, because if everybody plays perfectly everybody would sound alike.

All your albums were released in Russia by Art Music Group. How do you evaluate the work of the label? Do you personally have any contacts to people from the label and to your fans in Russia?

We have no contact with these people, it is a matter of business and that is naturally done by the record company, I can not really say anything about their work because I do not know, you should tell me.

Can you say a few final words to our readers? Or probably there are some things that we forgot to ask you and you definitely want your fans to know?

All I want to say is trust in yourself and find your own way, the warrior is always alone.

Special thanks to Art Music Group for arranging this interview.

Ekaterina Fyodorova, Anna Babicheva
December 6, 2005
27 дек 2005 the End

Rebellion

Eternal Rebel