Present yourself to the readers
Hi, we’re German Goth-Folk-Rock/Dark-Metal band THANATEROS. We’ve recently released our new album “Insomnia”. THANATEROS was started in 1999 by myself. After the release of the first album The First Rite in 2001 a several weeks lasting support-tour with IN EXTREMO followed as well as a large number of concerts and festival-shows in 2002. Over the following years until 2009 we’ve released four CDs, toured in Germany and Austria and played lots of festivals and headliner-shows. In 2009 I’ve split up the band for different reasons.
Then in 2015 I’ve started the German-metal band PHOSPHOR which released two CDs (Raum/Zeit and Weltenbrand). During the work on a third album in 2018 I’ve noticed that the songs won’t fit to the PHOSPHOR concept at all and so I’ve decided to revive THANATEROS instead.
What’s the story for INSOMNIA ?
As I mentioned I’ve heard the call of my musically roots while I was writing new songs. And so – together with Chris Lang, the guitar-player of PHOSPHOR – I brought THANATEROS back to life, following the words of H. P. LOVECRAFT: “That is not dead which can eternal lie and with strange æons, even death may die”!
We’ve looked for the right musicians to complete the new line-up and started producing the new album “Insomnia” in March 2019.
Who composes ?...How does it work in the band ?
From the beginning on it’s me who is composing the songs and who is writing the lyrics. Normally I’m recording a new song in a whole and then the rest of the band takes it and works on it, so that everyone could identify itself with the new song.
What are the lyrics talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
At the first chapter of THANATEROS – that means between 2000 and 2009 – magical and pagan motives and also Celtic mythology and shamanism have often been the base of the lyrics. On our new album “Insomnia” the lyrics are more personal an deal with dreams, our subconsciousness and the realm “beyond the walls of sleep”.
What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?
Well, I’m listening to lots of different music styles – mainly of course to goth bands – e.g. “Fields of the Nephilim” or “The Mission” and metal bands like e.g. “In Flames”, “Deftones”, “Bullet for my Valentine” and so on. I’m also a big fan of “New Model Army”. Besides this I like also much softer acts like “Soley” or “Lisa Gerrard”. Recently I discovered “Heilung” – a really great act that leads you into our Nordic-shaman music-roots. Absolutely astonishing! All those bands are definitely influencing me on one or another way…
What's your best live memory ? And why ?
Wow that’s difficult. Because we haven’t got lots of concerts with the new line-up and the new CD until now, I think it was a concert back in 2001 when we supported “In Extremo”. We’ve played in Stuttgart and even if no one knew us until then, all 3.000 people started clapping their hands and began to shout when our intro started. Throughout the whole concert the atmosphere was absolutely breath-taking. But I also like small concerts, when the atmosphere is really familiar, and you could communicate with the audience in a more personal way.
In studio, what was the atmosphere for your new album ?...etc.…
We’ve recorded “Insomnia” mainly on our own. That means that we’ve recorded drums, bass and guitars at our own little studio. Because of that there was no pressure concerning time and so everything was really relaxed. For the violin and vocal recordings our producer Jens Busch came. Because he’s a good friend of us also those recordings took place in a very smooth atmosphere.
How does it work for the great design of the CD ? and why this title ?
“Insomnia” is about dreams, about our subconsciousness and the world behind “the wall of sleep”. So, I thought that a gate in combination with water – which is a great symbol for our subconsciousness – would fit very good to those subjects. Because lots of the lyrics deal with shuttered dreams and lost hopes, the whole impression of the cover is a dark one.
How was the shooting of the clip THE LOST KING ? and why this choice ?
We thought that “The Lost King” would cover the styles of the new CD in a whole and so we’ve chosen it. We’ve produced the clip inside of an old, completely fucked up industry-hall. We thought that this broken up surrounding would fit to the lyrics which are about broken dreams and lost hopes. Unfortunately, the video-producer was kind of unreliably and so we’re not 100% satisfied with the result…
What are your projects ?
Besides THANATEROS Chris (bass) is playing in a Thrash-Metal band called “Smokin Hell Bastards” and Christof (violin) is involved in a couple of folk-projects. Chris (guitars) and I are running PHOSPHOR. But because I concentrate 100% on THANATEROS now, this project is kept on hold at the moment.
What's your motto ?
Hmm, I don’t really have a “motto”. Live is changing so often and so I’m always changing my mottos… But a motto I do like is from famous Bavarian comedian Karl Valentin – he said: “When it’s raining, I’m happy, because if I would be annoyed it would rain anyway”.
Website to remember
We’d invite you to visit our official website www.thanateros.net, our FB-page www.facebook.com/thanateros.music and of course our Instagram, YouTube and spotify accounts. (https://www.instagram.com/thanateros.music/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyq62PBBIgvewKz9ZJxkG8w?view_as=subscriber
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4PKuYgwTT6Hr6DU5tfWeFK)
What would you like to say to the readers ?
Thanks to all of you who read this interview! We hope that maybe we’ve aroused your interest. Goth on!
Thanks for the upkeep
Hugues B.
