Interview:Resurrectionists

Finally, the streak of Luka and me having no luck with receiving answers from bands is broken, thanks to this wonderful interview with "Resurrectionists"! Extremely happy that we got the chance talk to Björn and Lars, once again thanks for your time! Hope you boys and girls enjoy the read, it's been a while since the previous interview.

1. First I would like to thank you for accepting to do this interview. Please, introduce yourself and the rest of the band.

We are Björn , Sabine, Nils, Jojo , Lars and with us are most of the time Leia-Mae, Amelie and Jasmin.

2. A bit of a classic opening for the interview, so tell us the story behind the formation of the band.

L: Well , we discussed this a few times now. It seems like Björn had the idea to do another band and since he knew me and Sabine from being in bands together before and actually being in a band at that time with Jojo he just brought everyone together. the funny thing is - no one really know why and how Nils got involved - seems like he heard of it and showed up during the first practises and simply stayed in the band hehe...

3. Why did you choose the name "Resurrectionists" and what does it mean to you as a band?

B: “Resurrectionists” were people, who dug out recently deceased to sell their corpses for medical research. First of all the name sounded appealing to me and it is not too common. Plus nobody came up with a better idea. So you see there isn’t really a deeper meaning behind the name.

4. One can hear a score of genres and different soundscapes in your tunes. How would you describe the music you create and what are you biggest influences?

B: On how I use my voice my influences are more in the death and black metal genre. Basically I would describe us as a punk band or if you need a specification a grindcore band. On a show flyer we were once described as “steamroller”, what suits pretty well I think, hehe.

L: Personally we all have different musical tastes that range from old death metal to mid 90s emo - musically we are influenced mainly by grindcore/powerviolence and emoviolence... We love blast beats, but also this melancholic touch of bands like "Uranus" or "Orchid" and the heaviness of bands like "Buried Inside" or "Planks" to name a more actual one :)

5. Your lyrics are written in German, so tell us something about them. Who usually writes, what are they about and what inspires you the most?

B: Sabine and I are writing all lyrics for "Resurrectionists" and we always try to include English explanations to our records.  I would say my lyrics are more general and misanthropic. They tend to be dark and bleak and mostly with a negative outlook. I’m more influenced by literature or just by watching the news than by any other band.

6. You released a demo, an LP and several split records. Tell us a bit more about those releases, did they all have some specific ups and downs as far as recording went? Which one of those are you most fond of?

B: All of our records are somehow special for me, but both songs and sound on the split with "Lich" I like most. You are always happiest with your newest output, right!?

L: This is hard to tell - I really like the 12" because Stefan created this awesome artwork for us. And even though the recordings aren't the best that we have done, the atmosphere of the sound fits pretty well to the rest.

Then again I love the people and music of all our split partners so far and couldn't be happier with the choices we made!

7. The mentioned splits were with "Battle of Wolf 359", "Lich", "Merkit" and "Arse Moreira". How did all of those happen?

L: We have met the "Merkit" guys when they were on tour in Europe the first time and I really admired their passion about what they're doing. They definitely have the heart on the right spot and are working hard to contribute to and enrich the diy-punk scene (now with their new bands, zines and labels). It made perfect sense to me to ask em for a split release... same for "Battle of Wolf 359"... I know Sam and Derek for quite a while now and we're good friends... and it was obvious that we have to split a release with their new band "Lich" as well :)

8. Are you currently working on some new material? In general, what are your plans for the future?

B: I’ve written a small concept on atheism and right now we are writing songs for this. It might be released as a seven inch, but we will see what future brings.

L: We'll be touring with "Thou" for a week in June and play some festivals next year... we'd love to record for a bigger vinyl output, but I m really slow with writing songs at the moment...   

9. Some readers probably don't know that you also run a diy label called "React With Protest". Give us some brief info about it, with which bands you worked, records you released thus far, etc.

L: Sabine and I started the label 10 years ago with our friend Fabian as an attempt to support friends and our own bands... the first release was a compilation 12" called "About Life In A Dead World" that featured mainly local bands and bands we were involved in at that time... Up to now we've been part of 60 releases - you can find a list and more infos on www.reactwithprotest.org 

10. Similar to question number eight, what are your plans for the label at this point?

L: At the moment the BEAU NAVIRE/ REPUBLIC OF DREAMS split 7" is at press , planned is: TITAN 2x12", LENTIC WATERS / PLANKS split 12" and a new TEMPEST 12" before summer 2012...We just released the HUNGRY LUNGS 7" last week...

11. Being involved with label work and having a band, what are your experiences with diy ethics?

L: It works! We met and still meet a lot of awesome individuals and collectives that make it go on. Sometimes you get the impression that it s a real small core of activists, but then you meet someone else and you realise it's maybe just yourself that circles in the same periphery all the time...  If there wouldn't be these three letters involved I'd be just a metalhead with "extreme" political views I guess...

12. "Resurrectionists" features former members of "The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra" and "Arsen AKA König Der Monster". How do those people feel when they compare their involvement with those ex-projects and the current one? Is the process of creating music dramatically different in some way?

B: The process is the same since Lars is the main (or should I say only) composer in "Resurrectionists" as he was in "The Apoplexy Twist Orchestra". The rest is slightly different, because we are older and more experienced now, plus, when we play shows we always travel with Lars and Sabine's kids.

L: It was different with Arsen cause most of the music was written by at least three people but as Björn said already it's not a big difference to T.A.T.O.... since I'm not really the best guitarist I'm pretty happy we found another awesome drummer that can make the shit work ;)

13. Are band members involved in other music projects at the moment? I know that some play in "Ding Dong Dead", but the band went through some changes, correct?

L: Yes . Almost all members of "Ding Dong Dead" are now in "Lentic Waters" and we are sharing the same drummer. I am playing bass in a new band called "Republic of Dreams" with two of the loveliest people in the world... We recorded for a split 7" with "Beau Navire" which should be out in early January.

14. I'm interested about the scene in your hometown. Are there a lot of active bands, zines, venues where gigs take place? Is there anything that you love and/or hate about it?

L: Sabine and I are from the deepest countryside. We don't have a scene at all. The next town with a scene would be Mmünster... The most active band I know from münster is "Alpinist"...  These guys are also involved in a concert group that sets up shows in different locations there.

15. Similarly, what do you think about the scene in Germany as a whole? Do you have some favorite bands which you would recommend to the readers?

B: Everything changed a little over the years, but I think the scene is still vital and good. Bands worth checking out are: "Hungry Lungs" (!!!), "Planks" (although I think everybody knows them by now), "Alpinist", "The Gentle Art Of Chokin'", "Republic of Dreams", "Lentic Waters"…

16. Do you have some particular thoughts regarding diy music and the internet? Are you actively following some blogs or webzines?

B: Every now and then I stop by at the “Red and Anarchist Black Metal” blogspot, but not on a regular basis.

L: There s a nice blog about older canadian hardcore/metal/emo bands called howcantheyintendtoheal.wordpress.com that I've been following for some time ...

17. Time for you to ask a question!

What's the diy scene like in Serbia? Recommendations (bands? labels? groups?)

I've been asked this question before and have been bashed by the locals for my answer, since I (and a lot of other people, in fact) am quite bitter about the situation here. The scene is extremely weak, to none existent, in Belgrade at least. Novi Sad, the second biggest city, started building up a really nice scene and I predict some interesting projects bursting from there in the future. Bands which I would recommend are "Dazd" (in my opinion, probably the best band hailing from this soil, killer apocalyptic crust), "Reflections of Internal Rain" (whom you maybe already know), "Went", "Ground Zero", the Novi Sad newborn "Furtive Forest"...to name a few. There are several active zines and I am also considering to turn "Natures With No Plagues" into physical, paper media. I'd also like to point out one group of people doing a zine and booking shows based in Novi Sad, going under the name "Rebuild Collective".

18. Aside of work regarding music, do band members have some other hobbies, jobs/attending schools, sports, etc.?

L: Sabine is also working at an organic store and I'm mainly caring about the label. Björn and Nils are studying and Jojo works with kids at school.

19. Are members of "Resurrectionists" interested or support some kind of activism? Human/animal rights, ecology, etc.?

B: I think all of us are interested in left wing politics including animal rights, etc. to a certain extent, but none of us is an activist.

L: Most of us are part of a bimonthly vegan brunch group that supports different projects through donations...  I guess some of us would like to be more active, but through a mixture of being busy and lack of local activist groups that we feel comfortable with it has not happened so far...

20. The year 2011 slowly draws to an end. Which releases left a mark on you this year? And what are your all time favorites?

B: I’m a little lazy now and will just name the bands.

All time favourites: "One Eyed God Prophecy"; "Union of Uranus"; "Chokehold"; "Orchid"; "The Swarm"; "Emperor"; "Dissection"; "Entombed" (early); "Behemoth"; "Neurosis"; "The Cure" + the ones I forgot

2011: "Wolves in the Throne Room"; "Chelsea Wolfe"; "A Storm of Light"; "Tempest"; "Dead in the Dirt"; "The Devil’s Blood; "Anaal nathrakh"; "Rwake" + a few more

L: I got to know and fell in love with "Tempest" this year. Awesome new angry, dark and heavy Canadian band which will tour europe in 2012! "Thou" blew me away at Cry me a River Fest - couldn't  stop listening to random stuff of them for weeks. "Veloz", "Hungry Lungs", "Beau Navire", "Lich", "The Gentle Art of Chokin'", "Planks", "Lentic Waters", "Black Cobra", "Zann" are bands I enjoyed over the year as well...  plus a bunch that I can t think of right now. Forgive me I'm getting older...  

Classic: "One Eyed God Prophecy" -  s/t 12", "Jeromes Dream 10"",  "Orchid" - Chaos Is Me 12", "Acrid" - all of it, "Chokehold" - Content with Dying 12", "Union of Uranus" - Desaster by Design 12", "Infest" - mankind 7", "Earth Crisis" - Destroy the Machines 12", "Hellnation" - At War with Emo 5"

21. Once again, thank you so much for doing this interview! Do you have a final message for the readers of this blog?

B: Visit: leichenraeuber.blogspot.com there you can find all our records for free download. Thanks for your interest!!

L: Blogs are great - just make sure you give something back if you like it! Go to shows - show support! Keep the underground vital and alive!

Thanks for your interest.