Interview с Sodom : DARKSIDE.ru

You've prepared a big present for your fans – the double DVD release “Lords of Depravity Pt.1”. How long were you carrying such an idea and how long did it take you to make all ready?

Oh, I think I’ve been working for about three years now on this DVD. In the beginning the record company wanted to have a concert which would be recorded in Wacken 2001, and this DVD could also include a backstage area to complete it. But my idea was to get a chance to make a special gift. We talked to our producer to do the complete history from 1985, because Sodom is a concert band. I needed a lot of time to collect all the material – the photos, video material – and put it all together for a DVD. And now it’s coming out and fans are getting really crazy about it and very satisfied, I think.

Why did you title it “Lords of Depravity”? What did you want to emphasize by this title?

It’s a song title from the new album which coming out in April. It’s all about the metal team, the spirit of the 1980s, about the spirit of Heavy Metal. I think “Lords of Depravity” was a good title to combine everything – to combine the history and the concept, to combine the history of Heavy Metal, you know.

Do you feel sometimes a kind of nostalgia about the 1980s?

Yes. I think it was the best time in the beginning of the 1980s. We tried to depict it on this DVD. I think it was the beginning of the 1980s when the metal team was not so big as it’s nowadays, it was like a family. It was a big metal team here in Germany, in the area I live. Comparing it to nowadays, we have two different sides of heavy metal. In the beginning there were people who just liked metal, went to concerts, listened to the bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon, AC/DC… They were the biggest fans. And it was also the reason we started to play music, we were influenced by that metal team. For me, it was the best time and I always like to look back.

Will we see all the current and ex-members of Sodom? Are

there any early interviews or anybody of the ex-members agreed to recollect about their Sodom days for this video?

Yeah, it’s funny because from the beginning there was an idea to do a concert with ex-members of Sodom. But the producer said, “If you do a historical part of the DVD – interviews with ex-members and stuff - it will be great.” I’ve never seen a DVD where ex-members were making interviews. So I got a contact to Chris Witchhunter, I talked to Frank Blackfire living in Brazil to make the interview, I talked to Michael Hoffmann and Andi Brings. Members like Andi Brings we were going to have on this DVD, because he was collecting all the material from that time. And also Chris Witchhunter talked a lot about those times. It is the most important part of the whole DVD – the interviews with all ex-members. They all are metal fans or people who are into the metal thing and all fans of the old school heavy metal. It was very important that those people talked about Sodom.

Chris Witchhunter played in Sodom almost 10 years. Why did you finally part your ways?

(a deep sigh) I think… he was a real alcoholic at that time. We got a lot of problems because of him, we had to cancel a lot of shows. He often said, “I don’t play tonight.” But I as a musician looked forward, I wanted to go towards what I could do best, you know… So it was the best thing to kick him out. We both, Andi Brings and I, saw that Chris was becoming a real alcoholic. We could not do any shows with him anymore. For me it was a really heavy decision to kick him out, but it was the best decision I’d done in my whole career.

Do you still keep in contact with him?

Yes, yes. I’m in contact with him. There are a few interviews on the DVD, you know. I was hanging in his room, he was really angry sometimes because I was keeping aboard. But I think Chris was a big part of Sodom history, so he had to tell something. He’s used to telling the truth about what happened. So we were getting in the rehearsal room wi

th a camera and were talking about all that.

Well, what is he doing now?

I don’t know. Just ring him. I mean I don’t know if he’s doing music or if he’s got a job. He was drinking a lot. When he left the band in 1992 he wasn’t getting better. He’s got real alcoholic problems. It’s really sad because he was a really good drummer. He was a really big part of the Sodom history.

You have shifted release dates several times. What was the problem about it?

Well… I’ll try to explain. There was a lot of material that didn’t do right for it. There were a couple of TV shows which we put on the DVD but they didn’t get the mood of the DVD. So the record company said, “Cut it out.” There was a lot of typical stuff. It’s all about business. So, we had to cut some material and put in the other. So it was getting longer and longer, I know the fans have waited too long for it. I hope it’s coming out now. It’s not because we don’t want to do it or we’ve got problems, it’s music business stuff. We’ve got the contract and we’ve to fulfill it. And I’m really sorry about the delays.

According to the “Lords of Depravity Pt.2” – are there also documentary and concert material to be seen?

Oh yes, there is our history from 1996 up to now. You’re going to see the strongest Sodom line-up ever – we have played together for almost 10 years. Also you’re going to see a kind of a rock movie. We don’t want to have just a show, we want to let all Sodom people feel like they were on tour with us – being in the South America, having a good time… People will also get a chance to see what’s going on behind the scenes, to see the backstage footage… And we want to record a completely new show. I don’t know where we are going to do it – in Germany or whatever. We want a big show with pyrotechnics, with new songs… I hope it’s coming out in December 2006.

There is information about the upcoming Sodom album but nothing definite. Could you tell me a bit

about it? What’s the title, how many songs are there, where did you record it?

It’s already recorded, and the next year (means 2006) we’re stating a small U.S. tour. When we come back we’re going to mix it. What can I tell you about it… Some people who listened to the rough mix say it’s the best Sodom album ever. We’ve got a new producer, we’ve got a really good sound. The sound really shreds. The songs – you can compare it to “M-16” (2001), because “M-16” has a lot of songs that are really classic. And on our new album each song is going to be classic. It’s a bit different. I think every single Sodom fan will enjoy, ‘cause it’s a really good production, we’ve got a really good cover-artwork… It’s a real thrash killer, a very typical Sodom album. The title of the new album is just “Sodom”. This is a very special title for us. I hope it’s coming out in the end of April 2006.

You had to cancel you show in the USA this summer but soon (in January) you are going to hit America again. Did you find a new local promoter there? How often do you encounter such kind of problems?

I hope so. It’s always a problem to get a promoter on a period, especially in America. I don’t have such problems if we get to South America, we have never had the problems also in Russia or whatever we played. Bit it’s always a problem when we go to the U.S. I don’t know why, because we have so many fans over there. I get e-mails from American fans, they are waiting for us to play there next year (means 2006). Now we’re coming. But it’s just a small tour, we do three shows in America and three shows in Canada. I hope we found a good promoter and we would have a good support. I know we have a lot of fans there and I never want to get them disappointed. It was not our mistake that we didn’t play that time, we were going to do that, but the shows were cancelled because of the problem of the promoter. Because if you get to America you need papers – you need visa and the stuff which lets you lead working life. He didn’t get it. And if you go to America just to t

our you’re not tourists, you’re a band. You want to make money there. If you go to America it’s all really difficult at that time. You have to prepare everything. And everything is getting OK now. But we’ll see. When we get back from America I can tell you about it.

What fans do you think are more into metal nowadays – Americans or Europeans still?

I think Americans, especially South American people, and Bulgarians. Bulgarians are really crazy, and Greeks are really crazy, and German people are nor so… well, I can not compare them to South Americans, you know. Because in Germany you can see any band in any place every week. People don’t have to go to every metal concert. If you get to South America there are not so many bands that are going to play there. That’s why people were really crazy when we played in Bulgaria, for example, or in Russia. People just come to see Sodom, they are really “sodomaniacs”, getting really crazy and never being disappointed. I know we cannot make a lot of money in this kind of countries but I never mind. We just go on tour giving people the chance to see the band live.

Let’s turn a bit to Onkel Tom. You played in Moscow back in November. How did you like it there?

It was a really good experience because previously I thought that people wouldn’t like the German lyrics. But when we entered the stage in Moscow that time it was really great! I loved it. People know the lyrics, they sing them together as a choir… Even if they don’t know the lyrics they can get the massage, the meaning of the song. And the massage is very simple – drinking beer, having a good time, having a good party, you know. It doesn’t matter what kind of metal you like, you listen to Onkel Tom and you know what the meaning is behind the metal. And also the Russian promoters were really a surprise for us. They were really crazy. I talked to the promoter and he said: “‘You have to go back with Sodom and Onkel Tom both and have a week-end.” We will go back in 2006 because we have so many fans over

there.

Well, one could read great reports after the show in November.

There were a lot of people and it felt like something really special was going there. It was a rock’n’roll show. The big difference between Sodom and Onkel Tom and all the other bands is that we aren’t rock stars. We always try to go out after the show and contact with the fans, to take some beers and talk about everything, about metal things… We are not rock stars. Rock stars just go on stage, play their set and go away home. We are different. We had a really good time in Russia, we got a lot of drinks, a wonderful hotel… It was great. The guys of Onkel Tom were surprised being the first time in Russia. You cannot compare it to Germany. The people in Moscow were really friendly, they gave us a lot of help, a good stage, a good venue…

Did you like the venue?

The stage was really high, it was a good venue for concerts – it has a bar where people could drink beer. You never find a club like this in Germany. I don’t know why. The Russian people really enjoyed it – I mean, they know our music. That’s one of the reasons I want to go back. It was a really wonderful trip, I will never forget it.

There was a lot of stage diving. Is it a normal feature for your shows?

(everybody laughs) Yes. In Germany fans always come out on stage. There are a lot of microphones on stage in Germany and you can crawl up on stage, sing and then go back. But some guys are really crazy. When people enjoy the show they are coming up on stage being aggressive but in a positive way. That’s wonderful, I like it. People that are coming up on stage have a big party.

Tell me a bit about the bass player and the drummer of Onkel Tom who played in Moscow with you. How long have those guys been playing with you? Where are they from?

They have been in the band for a couple of years now. Sascha (Tilger), the drummer, also plays in another metal band called Tyrant Eyes. Sascha is a really good drummer. Sascha (Sattler), the bass player, is very aggressive, very young. But the most important is the drummer because the drummer is really straight. There are a lot of things happening on stage but the drummer is always clean, he’s always self-controlled during the show. He’s always in timing while the others are going crazy – it’s very important for Onkel Tom because our drummer is always live.

Special thanks to Maxim Bylkin (Soyuz Music) for arranging this interview

Anna Babicheva
December 20, 2005
6 мар 2006 the End

Sodom

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