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Endstille is a black metal band
from Germany. It was founded in 2000 by L Wachtfels (guitar), Mayhemic
Destructor (drums), Iblis (vocals) and Cruor (bass) in Kiel. L.
Wachtfels and Mayhemic Destructor had previously played in the band
Tauthr, while Iblis and Cruor came from the band Octoria. They describe
their music as “ugliest aggressive black metal with the fire-speed of a
MG42 and the power of heavy ship-artillery”. The lyrics refer, to a
large extent, to personal experiences and opinions of the band members.
In its self-manifestation, the group refers to well-known German weapons
from the time of World War II. This, in addition to the band's lyrics,
is for many critics an indication of a right-wing extremist affinity
within the band. Endstille clearly dissociates itself from such labels,
explains to have no sympathies for right-wing ideas and says black metal
"is in its principle unpolitical".
Recently I had the chance to ask the band some questions about their
latest album ‘Endstilles Reich’ which was released last month!
How did you launch into writing the material for
‘Endstilles Reich’ after your previous album, is it still hard to come
up with new ideas or is it just an easy job for you?
We never stop writing new songs, when we finish the recordings for a CD
we start making new songs straight away. It is not so difficult for us
to write new songs, because we’ve always got new ideas, we create the
songs together as a band.
Did you have a certain idea of what you wanted to do on
‘Endstilles Reich’, any elements you definitely wanted to have on the
album?
We just wanted “Endstilles Reich” to sound exactly like an Endstille CD.
So we did not feel the need to experiment. But we didn’t want
‘Endstilles Reich’ to be a copy of ‘Navigator’. Our goal was for
‘Endstilles Reich’ to become faster and slower than the previous CDs, to
perfect our style.
Was it a conscious decision to do it this way?
Yes, everything we do is calculated.
How do you manage to come to one musical agreement when
you work on a new record?
Each member of the band has to be satisfied with new material. But that
is no problem, because each member of Endstille is involved in the
songwriting.
In song writing, what is the utmost important ingredient
for a song, according to Endstille?
Good riffs, good riffs and good riffs. I think that a song has to have
a recognition value. After listening to a whole CD you have to remember
each song, then it is a good album. If you can’t remember one song,
because everything sounded the same or the band used 216 riffs in one
song, which didn’t fit together, it’s a bad CD. So every Endstille song
must have its own charm.
You have a pretty outspoken opinion in your songs, which
is often voiced in your lyrics. How important is it to you that people
pay attention to the lyrics apart from listening to the music?
Of course first of all the music is the most important thing. The
lyrics can make a song better or of course worse, when they are boring.
But the second case doesn’t happen to Endstille songs ;) Because our
lyrics suppor our songs and help to build up the atmosphere we want to
create. Also there are songs like “Scars” which have a big personal
meaning for Iblis. Therefore I think that the lyrics are quite
important, because they give a song meaning.
Could you please describe the implications of the title
‘Endstille’s Reich’ , what does it stand for and is there a special
meaning behind it?
The title represents everything Endstille stands for: cruelty, chaos,
destruction, death etc. We searched for a title, which represents all
this topics. That is the reason why the CD is named “Endstilles Reich”.
Who wrote the lyrics for this album and can you tell us
something about them?
Most Lyrics are written by Iblis. His lyrics mostly deal with subjects
like hate, religion, misanthrophy, war and hate again. In addition,
Wachtfels wrote some Lyrics. “No Heaven Over Germany” for example is
about the fact that everyone has to get along with the history of his
home country. I just wrote the lyrics of “Vorwärts”. These lyrics are
about the cruelty of war and its absurdity.
You guys are from Germany. Is it hard to sell your albums
there as the music scene there is dominated by power metal?
Do you think so? I don’t think that the German scene is dominated by
power metal. We have no problems selling our CDs, we’ve got a big
fanbase here in Germany.
What are the main differences between your debut album
and the recently released ‘Endstilles Reich’?
Overall I must say that we have worked out our own style. We always
tried to change things which we thought we could do better on the
following CD. So we never stagnated. For example, compare the sound of
our first album to “Endstilles Reich” and you’ll know what I mean.
You recently signed a deal with Regain records, what was
the reason why you joined them and do you think they can help you out in
the future?
We were unhappy with the work of our former label. Mainly with their
work outside of Germany. So we decided to change. I think that Regain
Records will be able to support us a lot. It’s a fantastic label which
has accomplished a lot.
Did you have a larger budget for this album than for the
previous albums and, if so, did this change the way you worked?
Never speak about money. But of course we´re not aggravated.
How did the recording process proceed, how does Endstille
work when they write and record a new album and how much time did you
spend in the studio?
This time we had a bit more time for the recordings. It was very
relaxed. We needed two or three weeks just for the recordings and then
we worked for about one month on the sound. The recording process is the
same like in every other band. It’s only important that there is enough
alcohol inside the studio. I think we´ve never recorded an album sober.
The same goes for when we’re writing new songs at our rehearsals, there
has to be enough alcohol. Prost!
Have you received any feedback on the new album yet? How
do you feel about this album – are you satisfied with the outcome or
would you have liked to have changed anything in retrospective?
I’m totally satisfied and the feedback we achieved is good as well.
How do you see the future of Endstille, do you think, for
instance that the band will still exist ten years from now?
I think so. Unless someone dies, then “Endstille” dies too.
What is your opinion on the black metal scene these days,
is there anything missing?
I cannot answer your question exactly, because the black metal scene is
so big nowadays. So it’s absolutely impossible to view the whole scene.
But I’m satisfied. Needless to say there are a lot of bad bands, but
also many good ones.
Which album has been your biggest musical influence, one
that made you think “this is what I want to do!”?
There are many. Look at old Sodom, Celtic Frost or Bathory CDs. These
are bands which excited us.
What can we expect of Endstille in the near future?
You can expect new CDs and concerts. Maybe we can capture world
domination? Anything else…I don’t know right now.
Have you already launched into writing some new songs and
what can we expect of them?
Yes, we did. You can expect good music! We always try to write the best
songs we ever did.
Is here anything you’d still like to share with us?
I’m empty now.
Tschüss und gute Nacht!
Current members :
Iblis - Vocals
Mayhemic Destructor - Drums
L. Wachtfels - Guitars
Cruor - Bass
Albums:
Operation Wintersturm (2002)
Frühlingserwachen (2003)
Dominanz (2004)
Navigator (2005)
Endstilles Reich (2007)
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