Crematory
Interview By Gothik Divaa
The German Gothic Metal band with Death Metal influences “Crematory “, will be with us in this issue of “Metalheads Forever “, talking about their career and of course their upcoming album “Oblivion “.
Hello, guys! I hope you are fine, greetings from Mexico City, how are you today?
We are fine at this time and work in our practice room at the live programm for there german tour in May.
We know that you gather together to form the band back in 1991, and you have a lot of albums… so which one would you consider the most emblematic of your career?
A lot of fans still consider the “illusions” album with the song “Tears of time” which was the breakthrough in our career. I also think that release was a milestone for the bands career. We had more time in the studio as the two albums before, and as a young band at that time, that helped us a lot to work on the songs and sounds.
Now “Oblivion” features a lot of that typical CREMATORY trademarks, if you listen between the lines. After the line-up change we added even more clean vocals to the songs. That was the time when we used the name “gothic metal” to describe the music .
I think the hit “the fallen” is one of the best examples for that. For that song we shot the most expensive video of our career. “Oblivion” of course stands for CREMATORY today. With 2 guitar players, this album will blow you away. The sound is fantastic and the songs are really power full. The first single “Salvation” will be released with a video on march 16th.
How has this journey been?
Exciting and challenging. When we had the first record deal, a dream came true, but nobody thought, that we could do that for such a long time and find such a great fan base that keeps us going. We are very proud of that and also thankf ull.
And I have to say, that CREMATORY was never liked and pushed by the press. So everything we are today, we are because we stand up for what we wanted, and the fans supported us.
The band went tough rough phases too. Exchanging band members is one part of that. We all are friends, and we don’t work with hired guns.
You have been influenced by several musical genres in your career… What has been the most enjoyable so far?
We experienced with some genres, that’s correct. Most of us listen to different styles of music. That keeps the band fresh. Hard to tell what I like the best. I am producing the albums and spent a lot of time in the studio to work on everything and make sure that it still sounds like CREMATORY.
On the other hand, you have shared the stage with bands like: My Dying Bride, Tiamat, Atrocity …and many more! What has been your most significant stage or tour participation?
I loved the “summer metal meetings”-tour in the 90ies, cause I am big fan of Tiamat and like the drumming of Lars. It’s perfect to watch your favorite bands, and even share the stage. I think that keeps a lot of bands going. Not to forget, we played really great festivals. Wacken is always a pleasure to perform and to meet friends and musicians.
Talking about your new album titled “Oblivion” … which will be released on April 13th, 2018. How was the process to produce this album?
After a long time in the business, we have a routine when it comes to working for the new material. We collect ideas and put them together. So before we enter the studio, we have a solid base of songs to work with. Everything comes to my desk and I am starting to really sort things out. A great riff can sound great, but still doesn’t make a good song. Working with 2 guitarists now, I get twice as many ideas to listen to!
When we start recording the basics are done. That gives us more time to work on the details. We also try a lot of different ways of singing. Tosse and Felix work on their parts in the studio, so we have different impressions how the songs would sounding.
Besides our ideas, we work together with 3 co-producers, that also come up with ideas. We recorded probably 20 songs, and then before the final mixes started, we voted which songs would be on the album. The majority was easy to find, but with some songs we had long discussions in the band.
What is the message that you want to share with your fans?
This album has 13 songs…And will be released on Friday the 13th of April. Just a perfect match. 13 Hits at Friday the 13th
Which one is your favourite song?
“Salvation”, the first single, is one of my favourite songs and will make sure we play that live! Also “Ghost of the past” or “Immortal” and a lot of new songs. I like the whole Album very much.
Any particular anecdotes you want to share with your fans?
Not an anecdote really, but if you want to see a gothic metal guitarist dancing, you have to make sure, you don’t miss the third video from “Stay with me” release.
According to the media and fans …How do you think the reception of this album will be?
We are happy with the album and I am sure the fans will love it. We improved our sound with the new band members. You can hear that it sounds fresh and strong. You like it our you hate it. That’s the way it has always been.
Some experts think that the band is currently influenced by Industrial Metal? Do you agree or disagree?
I disagree because we are listening to different styles of music from Pop till Death Metal and we got inspiration from all of them not only Industrial Metal
You consider that this album has a specific genre?
We are still the leading gothic metal band in Germany and we influenced so many bands. The guitars dominate the new “Oblivion” album, and when it comes to the keyboard sounds, we also put orchestral elements to the songs.
Finally… What’s next for the band?… Any plans with the new album?
Starting at the end of April we will promote “Oblivion” on our tour in Germany and hope to see a lot people at the shows. In summer we will play some festivals in Europe and for fall, we will see. Maybe there will be more live activities.
Thank you guys, it was a pleasure to talk to you, thanks again for your time for “Metalheads Forever Magazine”, Gothik Diva .
Thank you for your support Markus / CREMATORY
MHF Magazine/Gothik Divaa
