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DISBELIEF is a metal band from Hesse, Germany. Their music is rooted
in death metal, but has an unusually melancholic tone. The band was
formed in 1990, but did not become one solid line-up for several years.
They began with Karsten Jäger, Oliver Lenz, and drummer Markus Gnap,
with guitarist/bassist Denis Musiol joining later. DISBELIEF
released their self-titled debut album in 1997. The band can easily be
generalized as death metal, although they have progressed from this
style significantly. The label often designates them as "emotional
deathcore", while others find the simple description "noise" or "extreme
metal" fitting. The extremely brutal music is performed with a strong
melancholy and depressive tone.
Chapter 8
in the history of DISBELIEF is opened ‘Protected Hell’ (out now)
is the title of their new album. DISBELIEF still do not create
easy listening music but they manage to write catchy songs in their own
style, devastation on the one hand, deep empathy on the other - a
tornado of emotions!!! Once again, Michael Mainx was hired to produce
the album (he also the ‘Navigator’ album in 2007). The sound of this
record is aggressive and heavy but it also spreads the typical
DISBELIEF - atmosphere which is necessary to transport the intensity
of the songs!! To finalize it all, Tue Madsen did the mastering at the
Antfarm studio. Songs like “Hate/Aggression Schedule” embody the lyrics
in a frightening way, “Hell Goes On” or “S.O.S. - Sense Of Sight” blow
you away and finally there are the typical, deep emotional works like
“One Nation´s Son” and “The Return Of Sin” that stop your breathing!!!
Apparently
there is much to talk about and so we had a little chat with Bass player
Jochen "Joe" Trunk, here you can read what he had to say to the
readers of Metal-Experience.com:
It’s
been two years since your previous record, ‘Navigator’ was released.
Could you start this interview off with a short introduction of the
(new) bandmembers, the origin of the name of the band and what you’ve
been up to the last two years?
Jochen: Our
new guitarists are called Alejandro Varela, he’s from Spain and Witali
Weber, and he lives in our hometown. The name of the band has no special
meaning, our singer Karsten took it from a prong-song, that´s it! The
last 2 years we´ve been busy touring and preparing the new album
‘Protected Hell’!
How did
you launch into writing material for ‘Protected Hell’ and how much time
did you spend on the songs?
Jochen: It
took more than 6 month to finish songwriting and pre-production! The
most difficult part is always to find a beginning, when I reach this it
is like a flow! This time we had the possibility to do a more detailed
preparation of the new songs by recording them in Witali´s studio!
Who was
responsible for writing the songs and the lyrics on this album and where
do you get your inspiration from?
Jochen:
Since our ‘Worst Enemy’ album in 2001 I’ve done nearly all the
songwriting, Karsten is responsible for the lyrics! Inspiration can be
anything, things that happened in your life or around you, music from
other bands, doing live-shows, this all sums up and is shown in the
riffs I write!!
What
approach did you take to make this album, did you go for a more raw
exposition.. or something more reminiscent of your previous works, or
something all together different?
Jochen:
Yes, raw is a good term!! We wanted to sound more aggressive but also
still atmospheric and I think we reached our goal!! The guitars are more
in the front, combined with melodies the disbelief sound is really put
into another dimension!
Did
ideas come easily so that you just had to write them down or was it more
of a careful composing thing?
Jochen:
Both of the above, our intention was to strengthen the guitar-riffing,
more technical stuff!!! When I have a cool riff I try to add melodies or
chords to make them sound very special and put this typical
disbelief-feeling in the song!! This is what I missed a little bit on
our previous album ‘Navigator’!
What
comes first, lyrics or melodies?
Jochen:
Music comes first and then Karsten starts with his lyrics!!
What
were the goals you had in mind when you started to record ‘Protected
Hell’, any elements you definitely wanted to have on the album?
Jochen: The
album should sound strong and like one heavy stroke!! We always talk to
each other about what we want to improve or add in our way of
songwriting and then we follow this masterplan!
What is
the utmost important ingredient for a song according to you, Is there
any typical way that a Disbelief song comes into being?
Jochen: The
groove and the deep, emotional melodies we add in our songs are the
typical elements in our sound, of course we have some fast songs like
“Hell Goes On”, these songs sub-line the power that is embedded in our
music!!
Could
you please describe the implications of the title ‘Protected Hell’, what
does it stand for and is there a special meaning behind it?
Jochen:
They are kind of opposite terms, “hell” is outrageous, not safe at all,
and “protected” means being sheltered and having someone care about
you!!! “Protected Hell” for us is the perfect term to describe a
situation of being in a prison and mistreated by the person that keeps
you in there!!
Who was
responsible for the lyrics on this album? Where do you get your
inspiration from and can you tell me more about the lyrics?
Jochen:
Karsten did all the lyrics, he tried to put a kind of concept into them,
not telling the story of a specific person but giving examples of humans
that make other humans’ lives feel like hell!! Our daily life is full of
rape, war, hijacking, murder – and it seems that it gets worse every
day!! This is what is described in our lyrics!!
How
important is it to you that people pay attention to the lyrics apart
from listening to the music?
Jochen: It
makes the music more authentic and easier to get for the listener when
he reads the story as well!! At our listening session with some guys of
the German press Karsten announced what every song is about and after
the listening session they told us that they were really impressed and
even had goose-bumps because they could really feel the pain that is in
some of the songs!!
Did you
guys spend a fair amount of time working on the record before heading
over to record the album?
Jochen:
Yes, pre-production gets more and more important to get a first
impression of a song!! After that you still have the possibility to
improve for example the arrangement, the vocal-line or the melodies and
riffs!!
What do
you think are the main differences between your previous album
‘Navigator’ and ‘Protected Hell’?
Jochen:
‘Navigator’ contains 10 songs which I still really like, but the
connection of the songs was not that listenable, they were all kind of
single-works!!! ‘Pprotected Hell’ should have this connection between
the songs, this is what we wanted to care about!!
Do you
have any favourites on the album?
Jochen:
“One Nation´s Son” is one of the most intense songs we ever did, this
story of a soldier is also listenable and feelable!!
Have you
received any feedback on the album yet?
Joe: So far
the German press have written some great reviews, we are amongst the
best 10 albums in the 3 biggest magazines. The fans also showed great
response and I think they like the new album!!
Are
third party opinions (press, fans, etc.) on your music important to you?
Or are your music and band the only things that matter?
Jochen:
Firstly we as a band must be happy with the new material, but of course
we hope that all external parties like the stuff as well!! The fans’
opinions are the most important, they should share our emotions towards
the songs, this is what we always try to reach!!
Overall,
are you pleased with the outcome of the songs or would you have liked to
have changed anything in retrospective? Which element on the CD are you
most proud of?
Jochen: So
far we are!!! The sound is great, the songs are too!! But you need a
bigger distance before you can criticize your own stuff!!
Who are
your greatest influences - both in terms of composition, as well as your
guitar playing?
Jochen: I
learned a lot from guitarists like Wilton/Degarmo from Queensryche, they
really know how to put emotions in riffs !! I was impressed by their way
of composing!! But I am the bass player and Steve Harris was the man
that made me play the bass 8-10 hours a day!!
Can you
tell us a little about yourself and the kinds of things that motivate
you in your writing, your poetry, and your lyrics?
Jochen: As
a musician you have the possibility to say more than words through your
music, you reach people in their very inner self; this is my motivation
to share feelings with the fans and at a concert to get rid of bad
things and to transform them into positive energy!!
What
were the highlights and low points throughout your career?
Jochen: The
first European tour with SFU in 1997, we were really proud of that!!!
The lowpoints are always when someone leaves the band!!
Regardless of the albums you have under your belt, do you feel you have
to prove yourself with each release due to the climate in metal right
now?
Jochen: We
just want to be happy with the new album and show the best possible
quality!!!
What is
your opinion on the metal scene these days? What do you think about the
overload of bands at the moment and is there anything missing in the
scene?
Jochen: You
are totally right – this overload sucks, lots of bands just follow a
stream and do not care about individuality!! So it gets more and more
difficult to find cool bands in this release-ocean. But nowadays, and
this is one positive aspect, I think the fans are very open-minded to
all kinds of music and this makes me think positively about our future!!
What can
we expect from Disbelief in the near future, any touring plans?
Jochen:
Playing live as hell!!! We want to do as many shows as possible!! This
is where we win most of our fans!!!
Where do
you see the band going within the next couple of years, and where do you
see the band’s musical direction going for the next album?
Jochen: We
keep on doing it the way we did it over the years: keep on progressing,
improving and destroying live on stage!!
Anything
left to say to our readers? Here’s your chance!
Jochen:
‘Protected Hell’ is the best summary of the
disbelief-works so far, listen to it and see us live – you are welcome
to our shows!!
Cheerz,
Jochen "Joe" Trunk
and Disbelief.
Thanks
for your time,
Eugene
Straver
Current
members :
Karsten "Jagger"
Jäger – Vocals
Jochen
"Joe" Trunk – Bass guitar
Kai
Bergerin – Drums
Alejandro
"Alex" Varela – Guitar
Witali
Weber – Guitar
Previous
Members
Markus Knap
– Drums
Jonas
Khalil – Guitar
Denis
Musiol – Guitar, Bass Guitar
Jan-Dirk
Löffler – Guitar
Tommy
Fritsch – Guitar
Olly Lenz –
Guitar
Discography
(1997)
Disbelief
(1998)
Infected
(2001)
Worst Enemy
(2002)
Shine
(2003)
Spreading the Rage
(2005)
66Sick
(2007)
Navigator
(2009)
Protected Hell |
