Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with us here at Metalheads Forever Magazine. I look forward to your conversation and for your fans old and new to get to know What is Finsterforst and to get to know and understand what makes you so special and unique on the Metal scene and in the Metal World. With that being said let’s begin.
I love the band name; who’s idea was it to name the band Finsterforst? Dark Forest in English and I’ve read that it’s named after a wooded mountain range in your home state, Is this accurate?
Wombo: I think it must have been either Simon or our old singer to come up with this name. And yes, Finsterforst is a synonym for the area we are from – the Black Forest.
What countries have you played and toured and which countries would you wish to play and tour?
Wombo: We have played quite a few European countries so far. We always love coming to new countries where we haven’t been before. We don’t expect to have any fans there because it’s the first time but then when we see the crowd at the show we are overwhelmed. For the future we would like to play a few shows in South America and Japan.
How is your musical style and direction received in your native country? It’s been described as Folk/Pagan/Black/Symphonic Metal, how do you guys describe your sound and does such labels appeal or even matter to you guys?
Wombo: We don’t like this kind of stereotyped thinking. We are influenced by so many different musical styles that we work into our music that we decided to just call it Black Forest Metal.
You have 4 full l
ength albums, Which one is your favorite?
Wombo: I personally like Mach Dich Frei the most. Although Rastlos also has really strong parts that Ialways enjoy listening to again.
Hannes was in the band Ten years, Was it easy to find a new accordion player/singer for the band when he left?
Wombo: Hannes has left a huge whole in the band and it is definitively not easy to find a substitute for him. We haven’t been lucky finding one yet so for the near future we will continue as a six-piece.
Oliver Berlin being the newest member of the band what has been the biggest difference in style between him and Marco Schomas?
Wombo: The biggest difference is that he is an actual singer hahahaha… Seriously though we have to say that his variety in different singing style is much larger than Marcos. Also Olli is a really cool dude to work with.
Is Finsterforst currently working on any new music? hopefully a new album on the horizon? If so What direction will you guys be heading in? Will it have the Finsterforst signature sound or will you change directions a little?
Wombo: We are currently not working on a new album. But: we have recorded an EP with all the fun stuff we have always wanted to do but which wouldn’t fit on a real album. This EP will be released in autumn 2016 but the first video will be online at the end of May I guess. And yes it will have the Finsterforst signature sound but not as you know it. It will be different otherwise we could have just put the songs on a normal album.
What was the inspiration for the Mach Dich Frei album? Amazing album cover by the way. Who was responsible for this art and will you guys be working with them in the future?
Wombo: The process when it comes to Finsterforst songs is that first Simon composes the music and afterwards we contemplate which topic would be most suitable on an emotional level to fit the music. Mach Dich Frei in comparison to Rastlos is a little bit more straight forward and in your face with songs like Mach Dich Frei, Mann Gegen Mensch or Zeit Für Hass, so we thought lyrics around revolution would be most suitable.
The cover artwork was drawn by Pär Olofsson who has also done the Rastlos cover and worked forother bands such as Immortal or Exodus. We haven’t decided on a cover for the new CD yet.
What is your favorit
e song on the Mac Dich Frei album? And how is the reaction from the crowd when you play it live?
Wombo: My favorite live sing on Mach Dich Frei is definitively Zeit Für Hass. In the middle it has a great buildup part which is followed by a blast beat. At this point the people go really nuts and start wall of deaths and circle pits which is always great to observe from behind my drumkit.
Do you guys enjoy the creative process, songwriting, recording, mixing etc and how does this process transform or translate itself into your live show?
Wombo: hahaha to be honest we usually just meet for concerts or video shoots. Everything else is dealt with via E-Mail. Simon composes the songs all by himself and after we have decided on the general topic of an album Olli writes the lyrics.
I understand that some members play in both Cryptic Forest and Fins
terforst? Or are they essentially the same band or two different entities altogether?
Wombo: Simon who also composed the music for Cryptic Forest, David who wrote the Cryptic Forest lyrics and I also played in Cryptic Forest until September 2015 when we decided to concentrate on Finsterforst. So now Cryptic Forest and Finsterforst are completely separate entities. We don’t really know what kind of plans they have for the future.
Who founded the band Cryptic Forest and what are the similarities and differences of the two bands? What do you think your biggest accomplishments have been in Cryptic Forest and Finsterforst respectively.
Wombo: Cryptic Forest was founded by Simon and Peter (who used to be a session guitarist in Finsterforst) even before Finsterforst was founded. The biggest accomplishments with Cryptic Forest are always linked to Finsterforst shows because we usually played shows together. With Finsterforst it was certainly playing at Wacken, Summer Breeze and many other great festivals.
Are you all Excited abou
t being added to the CAMF 2016 LineUp?
Wombo: Yes, we are! We have been there last year and it was just killer! To play again this year will end up in a huge party!
Where else can your fans new and old find you in 2016?
Wombo: We have not many shows this year compared to last
year. We will play in Iasi (Romania), a few dates in Germany and Czech Republic and we are planning to do a Europe Tour in autumn to promote our new CD.
Any final words or thoughts to our readers?
Wombo: Be at CAMF and have a drink (or many) with us!
I want to thank you for your time! I’m excited and honored to have been given the opportunity to do this interview with you and I can’t wait to hear more of your music. Once again thanks for taking the time to spend here with us at Metalheads Forever Magazine. I hope we can do a follow up in the very near future.
CEO Metalheads Forever : David Maloney
Official Finsterforst Facebook Page
FINSTERFORST – Mach Dich Frei (Official Video)
