Get ready to enter a world of alchemy with the debut solo album from renowned bassist Linus Klausenitzer. Inspired by the German book “Die Sphinx” (1873) from Emil Besetzny, ‘Tulpa’ takes listeners on a musical odyssey through time, exploring the story of an Austrian lord’s attempt to create artificial humans through the ancient art of alchemy.
Linus Klausenitzer is a German metal bassist who is best known for his signature 6/7 string fretless bass, which gives his playing a unique and unmistakable sound.
Linus Klausenitzer, the son of two musicians, was surrounded by music from a young age. Before discovering his passion for the bass at the age of 15, he dabbled in playing the piano and trumpet. He honed his skills at the music college in Regensburg and went on to graduate from a pop music course at the conservatory in Hamburg.
Linus found his true calling in metal music, performing internationally as a band member of experimental band Noneuclid. In 2008, the band premiered their 25-minute death metal symphony “Black Vortex Cathedral” as soloists with the world-famous “Dutch Metropole Orchestra,”. 2 years later the band embarked on their next symphonic collaboration, this time with Linus’s father Professor Ulf Klausenitzer’s “Bavarian Chamber Orchestra“: “Transition Metal”, an encounter between the music of Richard Wagner and Noneuclid.
Linus Klausenitzer joined the German band Obscura in 2011 and helped establish the band as one of the leading acts in Technical Death Metal. Over the course of several albums and numerous tours, Linus honed his craft and developed a reputation as a virtuosic bassist. He participated in extensive world tours with notable artists such as Sepultura and Children of Bodom. Obscura went on to headline tours in Europe, Australia, and Asia, as well as Central and North America, including stops in countries such as Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia.
3 years later he co-founded the extreme metal band Alkaloid, which became the first German Death Metal band to perform in Egypt. In 2020, Linus left Obscura with his 2 band mates Rafael Trujillo and Sebastian Lanser to pursue their musical journey with a new band: Obsidious. Their debut album ‘Iconic’ was released in October 2022.
In addition to his band activities, the Ibanez artist is an international bass educator (“Guitar Summit”, “Popakademie Mannheim”, “Bavarian Bass Days”, etc.) and session musician for studio recordings and live music (Beyond The Black, Martin Miller, Bernth, Kaoteon, different artists from Pakistan, Lebanon, Australia, USA, etc.). He speaks at music conferences and colleges about his role as a “digital musician” and offers digital masterclasses on various online platforms.
Linus Klausenitzer’s impact and influence in the bass and metal scene continues to grow, as he is known for his dedication to his craft and his commitment to always pushing the boundaries of what is possible on the bass guitar and metal music.
It was a great pleasure to chat with Linus on the new album”Tulpa”
Greetings Linus, I’m Keith Clement from Metalheads Forever Magazine, How are you today?
Hi Keith! Thank you for having me! I am doing great. I have a spectacular festival summer behind me and now I focused on the releases of my band Alkaloid and my solo album.
October 6, You will be releasing your debut album “Tulpa”, Can you tell me about the songwriting and production behind the album?
A couple of years ago I wrote some songs that didn’t really fit to one of my bands. However, I liked the mood of those songs and wanted to compose more in that direction. That was when I first started thinking about the possibility of a solo album.
Most solo albums I’ve heard from bass players change the role of the bass or present pieces that are more complex and wilder than the music they usually play in their bands. In my musical career, I’ve already played enough complex music, so I had more of a desire for straightforward songs with an emphasis on riffs and melodies.
First I wrote and arranged the songs in software to get an idea of the overall sound. I am neither a good guitarist nor a good drummer. So I have to work with the computer as a tool. I set up the notation and prepared an detailed pre-production with various sound simulators. Then I sent the material to some amazing guest musicians that added their musical character to the music. My good friend and Alkaloid band mate Hannes Grossmann mixed and mastered the album.
For everyone who would like to know more: I describe the process in detail on a video course on my website.
What is the concept behind the album?
Frankly, it happens very rarely that the concept and lyrics of an album really captivate me. But there was one album in particular that blew me away early on as a teenager, and in which the lyrical, visual and musical elements formed a unity: The Chemical Wedding by Bruce Dickinson. A big theme there is alchemy, which is why I started looking for ideas on this topic. Thereby I came across the rough story from Dr.Emil Besetzny’s book “Die Sphinx” (1873). But I found only superficial information online and took this as a reason to read the whole book, which can be found online in its entirety in the digital collection of the Bavarian state library.
It tells the story of an Austrian lord who tried to create artificial humans through alchemy. He didn’t succeed, but according to records he found, he was able to grow 10 artificial, human-like mini-creatures. Besetzny struggles with the thoughts which parts of this story could be fiction and which could be reality. All these creatures had unique powers and strengths and they all have their little stories. Each song on my album is about one of these creatures.
Would you like to share the story behind the album cover-art?
I found this artist on Instagram who makes very unique artwork that looks like dreamy oil paintings. All the creatures in the story of my text have to live in a jar to survive. So I asked him to paint an anonymous creature that is a prisoner in a jar. He also painted each creature from my story with a different color background, which I later used for the booklet.
10 amazing metal songs with great growls and melodies, the power of guitars and drums can be heard throughout the album, great musicianship overall, how do you feel about the outcome?
Thank you so much for all your nice words! I think that the people, that know me, associate with being a fretless metal bass player. This album was also a way to present myself as a composer and to shape my musical identity out in the music world. Composing is always like a soul striptease and I tend to lose an objective view on my work fast. So I was very curious about what people would think about this album mix of Death Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal and Prog that you can find on the album. The musicians that I invited to play on the album, were mostly people, that I met along the years. They made an amazing job and had a huge impact on the sound. I am very grateful for their contributions and I am happy to know them all. When I listen to the songs now weeks after the production I am still very proud of the material and I am excited about people’s first reactions now.
Do you have some release day plans?
On Wednesday, the 04th of October I will have a pre-listening party on Bandcamp. On the day of the release I don’t really have plans yet.
What are your touring plans post release of the album?
We are planning some live shows with my band Alkaloid now as our new album came out in September. In November I will fly to New Zealand and Australia to tour with “Beyond The Black”. Next spring I will tour with them through Europe. In the meanwhile I have some single shows with “The Spirit”.
I don’t think I have capacities to play my solo material live in any context.
You have released the music video for “King Of Hearts” can you tell me about the song and making of the video?
Making a record alone can be very expensive. To save money, I created the music video entirely on my own with the knowledge that I gained during my college time studying media IT years ago. Stock videos and AI helped as well. This project took quite some time but it also allowed be to tell the narrative of the album concept in a way that felt authentic.
Are you planning to make more videos from the album?
I actually have 3 videos more out already:
The music video for “Our Soul Sets Sail” I edited myself too. I asked Ibanez Germany to record me with their equipment at their headquarters. The video also featured my new bass with a steel fretboard that they created for me. I am very lucky to have this good connection to the great Ibanez team that they have in Germany. Then I made a video for “Lunar Assailant”. The music video shows a journey through my musical career – from the very start with my first bands to more recent material of Obsidious. It shows exclusive personal recordings including impressions from various tour locations and shows.
“Sehraff” is a lyric video that the “MetalIndex” created for me. Check them out if you don’t know them – they have a great Youtube channel where they interviewed me once and we stayed in touch.
A lifetime of a career with Obscura and forming Alkaloid and now your own solo band, how has the road been so far?
The older I get, the better I understand how lucky I am. I honestly really love the metal scene, especially the crowds and followers of the bands that I have played in so far. They like progression and experiments, are loyal and value music and the work behind it. Every music manager would tell to you that you always need to stay present and release music regularly if you want to stay relevant. There were 5 years between the last 2 Alkaloid albums and people still care the same. It’s very fulfilling to see that people care.
Last year I opened up a discord server and I enjoy the discussions there a lot. People learn from each other and just have a good time. It’s so much more positive than most places in the internet.
On the road I experienced so many unique moments as well. Now I couldn’t imagine to play in bands where I would appreciate the band members more. I am a really lucky guy.
What would be some of the highlights of your career in metal music?
Playing in countries like Indonesia, Lebanon or Egypt were incredible experiences where I was able to dive in really different worlds, compared to my daily life. Playing metal concerts with symphony orchestras or headlining a main stage at Wacken Open Air this year with an online stream are very special memories as well.
Upcoming plans?
Beside the upcoming shows and tours, I will release bass books of my solo album and all Alkaloid albums on my website. I will record some material for some bands as a session bass player and I start songwriting with my band Obsidious for the second album.
Finally what is the message for the fans?
Thank you so much for your endless support with my solo project and all the different bands over my career! I am deeply grateful!
Greece has always been an amazing place for metal and live shows. I hope you so you on the road or my discord server soon!
King Of Hearts
Axiom Architect
Our Soul Sets Sail
Sehraff Streaming
Sword Swallower
Sister In Black
The Devil’s Tongue
Queen Of Hearts
Dig Deeper
Lunar Assailant
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