I recently got a Lifeless promo for the bands 2nd release called "Godconstruct” and it easily won me over with its speed, power, and overall brutality. Here is an interview with Marc who is the singer/guitar player in the band.
Give me a little band history and who is in the band now and how long has the band been around?The band was officially founded in early 2006 although the idea arose yet in late 2004. Our former guitarist Andy and I came together again after being off the music business for some years and we were driven by the old desire to rock again. I had the idea to found a band in the vein of the early Entombed and Dismember etc. So, we started writing songs and looking for some additional members.
In 2007 we recorded our debut "Beyond the threshold of death" all by ourselves. It was officially re-released in 2010 by Ibex Moon records. In 2011 we signed with FDA Rekotz for our second album which will be released in March 2013.
I see the band is from Germany home to many great bands over the years. How is the metal scene there nowadays and is there many places for bands to play?
Well, we have a great and healthy scene with a lot of fans and bands. Even too much sometimes I think... You can play a lot but people seem to be bored sometimes because of too much shows and bands around.
What were some of the early bands that you guys got into and when did you finally think you came to the Lifeless sound so to speak?
We started - like every Metalhead at that time I guess - with bands like Maiden, Metallica, Slayer etc. Then in 1990 Entombed released "Left hand path" and I was into Death Metal right from the spot. This album never released me from its iron grip until today... unbelievable!
I see this is your 2nd release. Tell me about your 1st release and is it still available and what label did that come out on?
As mentioned before it was done and released all by ourselves and then re-released by Ibex Moon Records - the label of Incantations John McEntee - in 2010. We had the option to release two more CDs on this label, but we wanted to get more reputation on the European market as well.
What was it like going into the studio for the 1st time? Did you record any sort of demo before you release your debut?
No, we did everything ourselves and it was a kind of learning by doing process. But the result was not that bad for some first steps.
What did you do in the studio this time around as opposed to the 1st time? How fast did the songs come together for the debut? Are you still happy with it?Well, this time we had support from our producer Martin who is currently building up his own studio (www.anubis-klangwerkstatt.com). He did a great job. It is better to work with a person who knows what he´s doing instead of finding out for yourself while trying. The songwriting for the debut took about one year I guess. We are still happy with the songs but we would change a lot production-wise nowadays. We think about re-recording a few songs of it as kind of bonus for the third album.
Are lyrics important to the band and how do lyrics come about?
Yes, the lyrics are important to me personally. But if someone is not interested in reading the lyrics it´s fine for me too. The voice is a fifth instrument in first case. I start writing lyrics when the first riffs come together. I have ideas of melody-lines on my mind as well as first words and sentences. Then the lyrics form around these first ideas. But it can take a while until the lyrics are really done. The last two lyrics I wrote for the new album were finished just two days before recording the vocals.
Now as far as the music goes, how does a song come about and what was the hardest and easiest song you have wrote so far?
Quite often I write whole songs at home. Then the band puts its ideas into it and we arrange it together in our rehearsal room. Sometimes someone comes up with a few riffs that could match together somehow and we work something out. I can´t really name a song that was very hard to write although some songs take more time than other ones but the easiest song was "Sworn to death” which was written during two rehearsals. It´s quite unique for us to write a whole song just in the rehearsal room.
Now when you hear a band, what do you look for in the music, the riff or the singing or both?
The whole picture. Everything is important. If a band writes great songs and the singer is shit everything´s destroyed. All parts have to fit together. Songwriting, skills, sound, vocals… It´s an overall construct finally.
I was totally blown away by the speed and intensity of the band. The singer also has a great death metal voice to boot. The production is amazing to boot. Where did you end up recording it at?
Thanks for the kind words. We recorded it with our friend Martin Bondzio at Anubis-Klangwerkstatt (www.anubis-klangwerkstatt.com)- his own studio.
If you had to record 3 cover tunes, what songs would they be and why?
Oh, that´s a hard question, because it is quite dangerous to cover great songs. You can easily end up destroying some cult stuff, ha, ha.
Well, for the official re-release of our debut we recorded "Casket garden” from Dismember as a bonus track. That was quite cool, ´cause our version was a bit faster and more aggressive then the original recording. I think covering a song that is not Death Metal makes more sense at least. Changing a song into a Death Metal song rather then covering a song from the same genre. But live it is quite cool to cover some stuff from the old heroes…
How did you come up with the name and were any other names considered?
No, there were no other names considered. As I came up with the idea founding this band I thought about a name that fits the whole thing. It had to be short and related to death like in the early 1990´s when bands were named Entombed, Dismember, Grave etc.
How did you end up on the label you are on and have they done a good job for you up to this point?
Well, after re-releasing our debut via Ibex Moon we decided to look for another label that could get us more reputation on the European market even though we had the option for two additional albums on Ibex Moon. I contacted Rico from FDA Rekotz and asked him if he could be interested. And he was as you see, ha, ha…
Working with Rico and FDA is quite perfect for us. Rico is a real fan of this music and he is totally ambitioned and fair.
Do you hope to do any type of touring for this and would you ever want to get to the US to play a couple shows?
We recently did a short three days tour with our label mates Deserted fear and Chapel of disease. Of course a longer tour would be appreciated. Yes, we would love to tour in the US too. Hope that day may come…
Has the band played live much and are there any live tunes floating around on You Tube at all?
Statistical we are doing about one show in a month. You can watch some live clips on our YouTube channel:www.youtube.com/lifelessofficial
Do you think you’re a good live band and what were some of the early shows like?
Well, there are always a lot things to improve but we try to be not a boring live band at all. We rather bang our heads and move on stage then to play everything perfect. In any case it is always a lot of fun playing live.
For somebody who has never heard the band, what would you say you sound like?
Dismember meets Desultory meets Obituary ha, ha…
What is some of the most overrated music in your ears and eyes?
The whole mainstream Pop music business. There is nothing in there but profit and superficiality. Quite bad…
Where do you see the band and the underground in say 5 years? Do you see everything going the way of the internet?
I guess the Death Metal scene will shrink within the next five years. Good bands will survive, others may die. Time shall tell if Lifeless is among the survivors. But I think Metal fans will always buy records, despite the internet.
Plug any merchandise you have any websites you may have.
Our websites are:
www.lifeless-deathmetal.de
www.facebook.com/lifelessofficial
www.youtube.com/lifelessofficial
www.fda-rekotz.com
New merch will be available very soon.
Now you being the singer, when it comes to you singing, do you have to be in some sort of mood, or do you get up there and do it?
The best mood for singing is after having three to four beers, ha, ha…
What do your parents think of the band or they don't give a shit?
They are kind of proud of course but to be honest, I don´t think that they understand it musically, ha, ha…
Do you feel that there are too many bands out there nowadays that sound like bands of the past too much?
Yes. When I had the idea to found this band back in late 2004 I would never ever have thought that the scene would move in this direction. Now it is almost a kind of trend again.
How does the band come up with that amazing guitar sound?That´s simple: BOSS HM-2, ha, ha…
What are some of the best shows that you have seen and I imagine you have been to fests like Wacken and the like, how amazing is it to go to a show like that?
Wacken is just too big. Too much people. I prefer smaller fests with about 8 to 10.000 visitors. That´s enough. The "Up from the ground festival” was great, but it is dead and buried unfortunately.
How have been the reviews for the release been and imagine the label was big time happy when they heard the release?
The reviews are quite amazing so far. Just great responses and high scores. Fucking great! We are very happy and I guess the label is too…
Are there any leftover tracks that might see the light of day so to speak one day?
No. All the tracks we recorded are on the album. But we already started songwriting for the next one…
Any last words, congrats on a great release.
Thanx for this interview and your support. Folks out there, please check us out. Hope to see you on stage soon…
Interviewed by Chris Forbes
Answers by Marc
April 2013