My
Cold Embrace
Read in this interview
how a black metal band turns toward a modern sound and tries to become
more well known by their own force with a self financed album that saw
the light of day in Germany.
1. Hi there! Since this is our first interview,
tell us some things about the history of My Cold Embrace.
Dirk (guitar): Hi, My Cold Embrace are from
Kassel / Germany and exist since 1998 when we started as a Black Metal
band called Helfenstein. Just a few months later we changed our name and
our style because we found out that we prefer playing brutal but Melodic
Death and Thrash Metal much more. We have done 4 CDs, lots of Compilation
CDs and a split vinyl Single with the Swedish HC Crust legend Uncurbed
until now, we played lots of concerts everywhere in Germany with well known
bands such as Centinex, Deranged, CBT, Spawn of Possession, Gorerotted,
Agathodaimon, Totenmond, Thunderstorm, a tour with Danish Withering Surface
and Iniquity, we played in Italy etc. etc.(All bands we played with are
listed on our website www.mycoldembrace.de)
Our first release was „Raggabash“ Demo CD in 1999, which is totally sold
out as our second CD „The first day“ (2000), too. „The first day“ was used
as a film soundtrack so that we got a lot of positive response beside the
music scene. When we released „zur?ck aus H?lle“ in 2002 we introduced
our new singer Ernie and became a lot more professional. Our songs got
faster, more brutal and we started to combine our Melodic Death Thrash
with some Hardcore, Grindcore and Crust influences which is a very irignal
and special style of our own that no other band plays, except for Vomitory
from Sweden. With our fourth CD „Katharsis“ in 2004 we introduced our new
guitar player Timo who was playing in a very techninal Death / HC band
called Mind Seduction before. After the lineup changes the bands is now
Dennis on drums, Tim / bass, Dirk / guitar, Timo / guitar, Ernie / vocals.
2. How did you find this name for the band?
There was a very cool German Underground Death
Metal Band called Path of Debris in 1995. They had a song called „Cold
Embrace“ that I loved so much that we used „My Cold Embrace“ as our band
name. The meaning behind the name is difficult to explain. The reality,
the politics and the worldwide war, racism etc. pisses us off a lot. We
sing about that very much. We embrace the fans with our music and melodies
but it is with a really cold, brutal lyrical attitude, you know?
3. Can you tell us some details from the recording
sessions of your latest album?
Sure. We recorded „Katharsis“ in 2004 in Kassel,
G?ttingen and Guxhagen with our friend Nils Wiere who also recorded „zur?ck
aus H?lle“ in 2002. He is very popular in the local scene and produced
a lot of bands. We think he is very talented, very fair and his price is
good. We recorded different instruments at different places and tried out
different sounds etc. until the final mix was ready. Afterwards our friend
Jonas Kjellgren (guitar player in Centinex, Ex- Carnal Forge singer) who
owns the Blacklounge Studio, mastered it in Sweden and added some guest
vocals. I don't know if it is interesting which instruments and equipment
we used?! Just let me tell you that all guitars have been played with my
Fernandes guitar which was a present from Schmier of Destruction in 1994!
4. How were the reactions of the press and
the fans so far?
Until now we sold around 350 CDs which is
very good for a small asshole band without any contract or label / distribution
deal. We sent out around 150 Promo CDs all over the world and I can not
count all the fantastic reviews we got. We have been „Demo of the month“
very often, got very enthusiastic reviews in Mags like Metal Hammer, Metal
Heart, Heavy oder Was Mag, Legacy Mag etc. A lot of mailorders bought our
CD, even the biggest Metal Mailorder in Germany called EMP. We got lots
of concert offers and until now there are around 10 gigs to come soon,
for example with bands such as Vader, Rotting Christ, Divine Empire etc.
5. Have you already played any gigs in order
to support your release?
Sure. We played a huge release concert in
Kassel with popular Totenmond and others. After that we made more concerts
everywhere in Germany to promote this album. But one of the main promotional
facts is to make some interviews. This is one of the main reasons for becoming
more popular, so thank you a lot! But: We don't do this to earn money.
We love to be part of the underground scene, playing gigs, going to concerts,
rehearse, drinking beer, listening to new Metal CDs together etc. It is
our way of life and everything we want is just to play more concerts… but
you can?t get gig offers without a CD…
6. Can you tell me your future plans?
Although there is no label waiting for us
(most of them told us that is is too difficult to promote a German band.
They said that we would have lots of contract offers if we would come from
Sweden or USA…)…Ah… Yes, we play now for seven years and there is no reason
to stop the band. A lot of little dreams came true (playing in a foreign
country, playing a tour, having a Vinyl Release etc) and everything that
happens now is a „bonus“. We enjoy everything that happens but we also
try to work hard for the band success, too. I think there is a small space
for us in the scene that depends on our sound which is very different from
other bands, ha ha. We'll play more concerts soon and hope to record a
new CD in 2006, releasing more vinyls, more compilations, making more interviews
etc. My personal dream would be to play with In Flames. After that we could
stop the band, ha ha.
7. Have you written any new tunes for the upcoming
album?
Yes. Until now we have composed 6 new tracks,
5 of them are completely finished. I think they are still in the typical
My Cold Embrace style. Brutal Death Metal meets melodies, some Thrash Parts
come along with HC and Crust influences, some Grindparts… Some of them
are a lot faster and more brutal than before, one new track is a bit Defleshed
style and speed! We are going to record the new stuff in early 2006 when
6-7 more songs are done. I think the new ones are very strong and now worth
to be released as a regular label release, we?ll see what happens, otherwise
we'll distribute it on our own again. We won?t give up.
8. Do you have a label supporting you or did
you release it as a self financed CD? Is it difficult to be an unsigned
band?
The new Split Single with the Swedish Crust/HC
Band Uncurbed was a label release on Power It Up Records. Our album „Katharsis“
was completely released by our own but a lot of the magazines wrote that
there is no difference to a regular label release. We have www.goformusic.de
as co-distributors, they help us to spread the CDs but it is no „real“
deal. However: Until now a lot of mailorders bought the CDs, so it is no
problem to buy it in Germany. Sure it is difficult to be unsigned! It is
easier to get gig offers with a label in your back so this is the only
reason for us to get a contract: We want more Gigs! Playing live is the
best thing in the world. Please invite us! ;o)
9. Thanks a lot for your time! Close the interview
as you want...
Remember: Metal rules the world! It is our
music, a specific kind of culture we love and live a lot. Please visit
our homepage at www.mycoldembrace.de
and ask for our new CD, Merch etc. Up the irons! Thanks for your interest…
Dirk / My Cold Embrace
Antonis Maglaras
|