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What's the
story behind the band, how did you guys
start the band?
Drown Inc was
started back in the 90s by Micha(Drums) and Tommy(Bass). After
releasing a few demos the band had to suffer the loss of singer
Oliver Albrecht who died in a car accident after a show in the
year of 2000. To keep the spirit alive the band tried to make a
new start by searching new members and thats how i got into the
band. I found an entry in the internet back in 2001 that a
hardcore/heavy band from Düsseldorf is searching for a singer so
i wrote a mail and two weeks later i stood in the rehearsel room
to see if it fits and it did. After we recorded "Momentum" our
former guitarist Lars decided to leave the band because of
personal issues. We directly started to look for replacement to
be able to promote our record as fast as possible and to be a
band again. Again, after a short periode of time, we were lucky
enough to find Eike as our new guitarist who, as we all thought, fits
perfectly into that role. Thats how we got together.
Just two month ago you released your debut album, Momentum. I personally think it's a really good album and one of the must-haves of 2006. How do you feel about it - did you achieve the sound you were hoping for?.
First of all its
very nice to hear that you like our record! We all are very
proud of our first release cause we worked and waited a lot to
make this one real. To read all the positiv reviews now is what
makes us even more proud cause it gives us the feeling that we
did something right. We always tried to put everything we love
about heavy music into this record and the feedback makes all
the work worth it. The sound was always intended to be raw. Our
aim was to make something that sounds real and organic and to
avoid an "over-produced" sound which you can find on many heavy
records nowadays. There are no special effects on voice like
destortion, no keyboards, no choir, nothing like that. The
listener should only hear what you see in
the UTLE-video four
guys making heavy music and loving it.
Drown Inc. are known to play raw and original metal, much in the veins of Down/Machine Head. Is this a deliberate choice or does it come naturally?
I'd say its both. As mentioned before we wanted to make the
record sound raw and real but there are many aspects in
recording that you just cant control cause it comes out of
yourselve naturally as a result of trying to express yourselve.
The way you express depends on your background in music. I
listened to all the great 90's bands a damn long time and think
that this period was the best in metal ever. Bands like Down,
Pantera, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, COC etc. influenced me
and created my understanding of music. Thats exactly what you
should hear on the record. So I say its both.
What's the main concept of Momentum? And why did you choose this title?
The main concept of "Momentum" is to let it all out. There's no
deep meaning, no talking about things we are not or dont know
about. The title should express that this record is intended to
sound like the physical gain of momentum. We try to
accelerate our favorite style to the limit.
Where does the name of the band come from? Does it mean anything?
I really can't say much about the
bands name cause i wasn't in the band when it was choosen. First
of all i guess it sounds cool which is the main reason for it
but it also expresses several things. On one hand some kind of
depression if you get drowned on the other hand some kind of
superiority if you are able to be in the activ position if you
know what i mean.
How do you feel about the German metal scene today? Do you think that there are still vast metal horizons to be conquered?
I
think the german metal scene gets better and better. There are a
lot of good underground bands that release their stuff through
communitys in the internet which is really nice. The mainstream
sucks in my eyes. There are a lot of "Pop-Metal" bands in the
media that try to follow the gothic-hype thats around here since
one or two years. My hope is that the mainstream of metal is going
to be more authentic sooner or later in germany. If theres
anything to be conquered around here?? We'll try to find out...
Is there a certain formula that you guys use, or does it vary from song to song?
We
always write songs with the whole band. One of us comes up with
an idea and the others try to get into it by jamming. With this
way of songwriting we try to support the organic feeling of our
music cause there is no masterplan in any song. The main theme
and feeling always comes out of the idea itself, not at random
but also not calculated. If thats a formula its ours.
Momentum it´s your debut album but Drown Inc. has five demos. How do you feel about your older stuff?
I
like most of the old demos. Especially "Appetizer" is really
nice to listen to. At least those songs were the reason why i
wrote a mail to the band when they searched a singer so i have
to say that i really like them. The instruments always kick
major-ass even on the oldest ones. Only the vocals on the demos
are not my favorite but that's what im here for hehe...
Are the older demos still available for purchase? If so, where can fans buy them? You can get them at www.drowninc.de . Its the only source for those i guess. Can you tell us a bit about the videoclip for the song Until The Light Ends?. Making the video was damn nice. It was our first experience with Eike and it was a hell lot of fun. We shooted the video last summer at a studio near Bremen in which we also recorded "Momentum". A lot of bands say that making videos suck cause you have to play one song over and over again and you have to perfom with 150% every take. I can't say so. For us it was only fun cause the whole atmosphere was right and everyone, including the camera-team, gave his best to make a good video. Because of the good communication between us and the filmcrew we were also able to implement our ideas even to the final cut. The effects were done by Eike and us after the final cut so we also had free hands this issue. Alltogether i think the video represents the record very well cause it shows how much fun we have making this kind of music and this is what i felt during the shoot. Is there any chance for a European tour/festivals in the near future? Sure, we hope so. At least the billing always depends on organisiers but we try to be present at any festival or show that is on our way. A European tour isn't planed yet but may be possible in the future so keep your eyes open and always check dates at www.drowninc.de ... What's your favorite movie of all time and why? Hmm, good question. There are a lot movies i like but if i have to name one it must be "Empire Strikes Back" because noone is as cool as Darth Vader is in this one. What is your favorite band or even person that just influenced you in your every day life or music, who would that be? If i have to name a famous person it must be Mr. Phil Anselmo cause he is, was and will be the best hardcore/heavy singer ever in my eyes. But the one who really influenced me is my brother cause he brought me to the music i do and showed me how to sing! My favorite band is Down but i try to keep all that a secret hehe... Any last words to our readers? Thanks for supporting our kind of music and we hope to see you all around soon!!!
Best wishes
PaTMan
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