Endstille - Cruor
Posted on February 27, 2008 at 10:56 pm by admin
As strange as it sounds, all the black metal band encounters I’ve had have been extremely positive. Not only did Endstille rock this interview back to me in record time, bass player Cruors answers transcend mere text to let the enthusiasm and honesty come through, especially when he gives some answers you wouldn’t expect. Read on, and give Enstilles latest album, “Endstilles Reich” a listen.
Way Too Loud: Things seem to be picking up for the band. Are you planning to do more touring? I’ve noticed you’ve already got some shows booked.
Cruor: Yes, in summer we’ll play at some festivals like “Party-San” or “Summerbreeze”. We’re also playing a lot of other concerts all over Europe. But at the moment we’re not able to go on tour because of some private circumstances. Maybe we’ll be able to go on tour in autumn or winter this year. We’ll see…
WTL: What’s your feeling on production? I noticed that the production on “Endstilles Reich” had much better production than the standard of “raw” production most black metal bands prefer.
Cruor: You expressed it right: “the standart of ‘raw’ production…”. We never wanted to be standard. There are so many bands who copy each other, we never wanted to do that. So we’ve got our own concept how an Endstille CD should sound. I think we accomplished our goal and we’re absolutely satisfied with the production.
WTL: What are some of the personal experiences that had an effect on your latest album?
Cruor: “Fuck Hell! We’ll create the hardest, ugliest and best black metal album this fuckin’ planet has ever seen.” That might have been and always will be our experience.
WTL: I’m interested to know about the lyrics involving Germany, such as the subject matter surrounding your home country.
Cruor: Could it be that your thinking of the first and second world war????
Our lyrics are often dealing with historic events, the weapons and the cruelty of german history. On “Endstilles Reich” are also songs which are describing the effect history had on Germany. “No heaven over Germany” for example is about the fact that people still compare Germany only with the world wars and that we still have to atone for what happened in history. But we were not born… so I think it was not our fault.
Anyway it’s very controversial to make such songs here in Germany and many people are hating us for the way we’re dealing with German history. Fuck them!!!!!
WTL: There was a period in time when you were releasing albums year after year (four albums between 2002 and 2005) was the band simply not playing live very often?
Cruor: We played live during that time, too, but of course not as often as we’re doing it now. Our schedule became much closer the last years. So it takes us a bit more time to produce a new album.
WTL: It appears as though the lineup has been incredibly stable since the inception of the band. How are you able to keep such a stable lineup?
Cruor: Maybe it’s because each member of Endstille is involved in every process. There is no band dictator who makes decisions on his own. So each member has to be satisfied until anything happens. Of course we’re not always in complete agreement and we’re argueing a lot but that’s just helpful when you’re making such music.
WTL: I haven’t been able to obtain much information about guitarist Lykaon. Was he simply another guitarist on “Operation Wintersturm”, or is there a bigger story there? (Feel free to correct me if I happen to be mistaken).
Cruor: He wasn’t another guitarist on “Operation Wintersturm”. Wachtfels played all guitars on that album. Lykaon was just a guitarist we tested for playing the second guitar but it did not fit.
WTL: I’m familiar with some of the long standing power metal and thrash bands from Germany, but it seems since the late 90’s metal in general has been exploding in Germany. How is the metal scene going in Germany, or at the very least, black metal in Germany?
Cruor: I think the metal-scene is quite big here in Germany but that doesn’t mean that everything is good which comes from Germany. Of course there are some good and some very bad bands. But I think that is quite normal.
WTL: There’s been an interest in black metal from fans people wouldn’t expect to be black metal fans, or standard metal fans. What do you think about this gain of interest in black metal? I know there’s been a few bands and artists who would prefer the scene to remain on the elite side.
Cruor: But what is the elite? Are you a part of the elite when you’ve got very long black hair, a giantly inverted-cross around your neck or if you’re in a bad mood and lonely the whole day? In my opinion some people seem to be more a parody of what black metal is about and are taking themselves too seriously. I think everyone one who is listening to Endstille, for example, couldn’t be a normal person, otherwise he/she wouldn’t get in touch with our music. Normal people get upset by such music. So I’m not afraid that black metal could become a mainstream-genre.
WTL: Everyone always has a different explanation for the visuals associated with black metal, which are always entertaining. What is it that you like about the visual aspect of your live show and promotional pictures? (Leather and spikes, corpsepaint, etc.)
Cruor: Iblis and I are always wearing corpsepaint on promotional pictures or when we’re playing live. Wachtfels and Mayhemic Destructor just sometimes wear corpsepaint. For me the corpsepaint belongs to me when I’m going on stage. I don’t know how to explain it better. But I think that spikes and corpsepaint aren’t a “must have”, it’s all about the music and not about the look of the musicians.
WTL: Thanks for doing this interview! I liked you’re latest album quite a bit when I reviewed it!
Cruor: Yes, I read your review - nice work. Vorwärts!!!!
The Official Endstille Website
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Endstille at Regain
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