Interview - METALMESSAGE

English text

Martín: Hi Markus! How you doing? First of all introduce you and your project METALMESSAGE to our readers.

Markus: Hello Martin! I’m doing fine currently, finally got some sleep after pretty stressful days here, which I’ve had after my return from a festival in the eastern part of Germany. Well, when I became in contact with metal the first time at the age of 12, it took my heart by storm. I’ve heard the "Killers" LP of Iron Maiden which I’ve pulled on tape immediately. I still own that tape even today, and it runs yet always grandly. Strongly stamped of a probably "classic" Hardrock- and Metal course, I began however anyway as early as possible enthused to listen totally the early heroes of various styles. And the development of my own taste has only just begun. So thousands of bands and a steadily increased enthusiasm came over the years for hard and sometimes less hard music into my life, which became straight through Metal – and music itself of course – a very aware. Delighted I observed the permanent own musical further development at and in me what concerned styles and contents of my favourite music. Today I actually listen to all, what positively touches me and I´ve already stopped a long time ago, to not letting approach bands my interest in proper manner only because they act in a genre, which doesn’t call me on the plan that much. Simultaneously to this passion I registered – with permanently growing displeasure – the ignorance frightening in places in some parts of the Metal press as well as a sometimes sheer frightening seeming dilettantism with which many articles or also just criticisms became and are composed over "my" bands. Also the truth content of the reports often passes not approximately at reality up to and also their lyrical approach fulfils only very rarely my aesthetic perceiving. Sometime I therefore began to write myself my enthusiasm right out off the soul; first only for me and for friends, then in increasing wise more professionally. I strive to make it always somewhat different as the large part of the guild; therefore primarily somewhat more enthusiasm and emotion into my articles to transform because the reader is to be moved at according to my opinion so to more interest. This culminated some time ago in the presentation of my own Web magazine: www.metalmessage.de – many times I experienced surprises as a heavy metal fan in any case already. And that proved me, that the most valuable pearls must be fished often out of very large depths. Mostly I’m nowadays into Pagan-, Heathen-, Viking- and Folk Metal. From time to time I also write reviews, interviews etc. for troops out of other styles. And I’m still an eternal fan of most of the old school styles in Metal - Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, Doom Metal etc. I grew up with these bands, and I’ve had the best times in my life at all with their music. But, yes, mainly my heathen heart pounds for the intelligent and talented kind of all the Pagan-, Viking- & Folk metal hordes. The most authentic ones of them understand the important close connection of praising Mother Nature’s marvellous miracles with appreciation of timeless heathen ideals and noble epic compositions. Modern Metal acts long more and more for more blood, cruelty, anti-humanism etc. Just take a look at most of the newer front-covers in most of the subcategories – totally horrible! I see myself as a heathen in the purest meaning of the term. I’m worshipping Mother Nature with extremely devotion. I disgust the modern day’s nearly completely rotten minded global society – which became a fearful lousy mass of sheep-minded creatures since the new world order has begun to fulfil the plans of the government behind all the governments more than 2.000 years ago. All the mass media’s cruel and mainly negative contents of the present hurt my heathen heart in an immense manner. So it has become nearly unbearably for me to be a full part of those foolish mankind. I avoid TV, radio and all the newspapers as good as I can. So now I’m on the best way to become a health minded hillbilly – what a great imagination! Within nowadays soulless and sick times many folks, especially the younger ones unto them, feel more and more discomfort in their minds and hearts. Too many of completely sick and cruel “news” day by day hammering into their heads, beside that there is too much nonsense all around them. Clever mass media spreads more and more fear – to take over complete control of the eerie inhabitants of mother earth one day. So many ones of mankind are therefor longing for real values in their inner mind, and for real beauty. But where do we find them? Answer: in our still marvellous nature-places on this planet. We all weren’t born to sit in front of a modern TV-set day by day. We were born to live in absolute common with mother earth. All other wise of life will definitely lead into self-destruction one day. The evolution of all known species in life until today is the perfect proof, to where lacks of accommodation lead. There’s nothing more to say here about, I guess.



M: “V” is your last creature. Is it hard to giving birth a new METALMESSAGE compilation?

M: It lasts long to release such works filled with own ideals. And as one easily can imagine, any new Metalmessage-release contains mainly countless emails and sheer endless hours of listening to so much genre-CDs, to pick up an homogenous together fitting bunch of hordes. Also the giant amount of work itself on the compilation’s frontcover, layout-design etc. should be mentioned here at this point. And not to forget the difficult process of clearing all the details with the pressing factory, which can take not less days of email- and phone-work. I had to work one and a half year for V, normally every day. Luckily, I’ve worked together with an outstanding designer for a long time to do the layout for my release. Apart from the music, I really liked the gorgeous and detailed painted front-covers and I was totally fascinated by the graphic presentations of the releases in Metal. It oftentimes happened that I bought records only because of the cover, though the music did not please me that good. That’s crazy, but that’s the way an addicted collector acts like. Therefore I dislike that some really ingenious cover artists did not get famous concerning the release contrary to the particular band. One day I had the constructive and abundant idea to create a sampler by myself. It should be a possibility for bands as well as acting cover artists to get bigger support. That’s why I work together with a drawer, who does the cover in regard to my associations. I send a lot of promos to many metal mediums, whereby I never get tired to tell the reviewers to write something about the cover artist, too.

M: METALMESSAGE is an international compilation. How do you choose the bands for each album?

M: First of all a band must address me the complete musical as well as optical attitude and a non-materialism general view in a 100% way. After the first starting in the mutual communication the bands must then also explain me unconditionally positive characteristics such as to mediate for example seriousness, correctness, sincerity, sovereignty and reliability. Yes, and they should stand intensively passionated behind their art. Many groups do not write or answer only every few weeks once, I really can’t cooperate with such half-hearted profession participants. Over the years of my previous compilation releases, I’ve certainly learned a lot on this sector. And as said, yet from the beginning I was fortunately highly careful, whom I got me into the sampler boat, which saved me much annoyance and disappointments.

M: Many bands are mixing Folk with Black Metal. What do you think about this connection between the dark, nature and the ancient?

M: It’s such great combination in my opinion! The ancient ones always loved their mysteries – which were mainly dark, occult and spiritual. They had gods of wrath, which were respected and feared a lot. Therefore it’s awesome to listen to a specific kind of music, which contains wrath, mysticism, spiritualism and endless love for our overmother Nature!



M: Can we learn from ancient mythology nowadays?

M: Of course, Martin!! The ancient rules, wisdoms and philosophies had their immense meaning for the once nature-nations for so many thousands of years – all of these values developed over so immense long time to their perfection. Until some others, mighty ones out of the ‘cultured’ areas of these world begun, to modify all the ancient cultures. That has begun with all the conquerors around the globe, which killed millions of natives and enslaved the rest, while stealing their treasures and gold; all in the name of a well known fictive figure with a gloriole above his head. “Their” goal was and it is until nowadays to rule the whole world. But take a look into this “brave new world” – it has become hell for nearly 75% of all the human- and animal-existences. Put on all the modern day’s mass-medias – they transport mainly fear, cruelty and perversions. Today’s people (also already their children…) more and more need psychiatrists for their mental sickness – in the ancient times the model “family” guaranteed mental health. But in the present we do have so many over-emancipated women, which’s greed for materialism and for all modern desires are targeted alimented by mass-medias also. So much of them prefer to make careers, earn their own money (while paying additional taxes of course…) instead are being there with a big heart for their children. Or let’s go over to all the old people on this earth, which having to spend the last days of their lives in well paid homes for the aged – instead of having a dignified place into their families. A shame, I say. Instead of praising the ancient and well proofed ideals of having a well functioning and harmonic place of home, nowadays’ modern people got an detailed description from ‘clever’ scientists day by day through mass medias etc. about every single hidden secret in the cosmos. No more real mysteries for the ‘enlightened’ - ‘enlightened’s’, which need to swallow so many pills to stay alive in mind. I also could begin to list here all the horrible new civilisation-afflictions, with which are to earn year by year more milliards of money, but anyone of us surely know them by himself. Just go out on the streets in the bigger cities, there you can see so countless people, which are ‘rich’ with materialism while being lousy poor in their souls. Every year so much new created ‘trends’ on all levels of the society’s areas lead to all the ‘stressed’ robots out of flesh and blood.

M: This time you worked with the legendary Ed Repka for the cover artwork. Tell us about this awesome cover.

M: Usually it’s pretty difficult to get a fine brushed frontcover by Ed Repka, I guess, because he’s so busy all the time. Who doesn´t know "Peace Sells…" or "Rust In Peace" of Megadeth for example or "Spiritual Healing" of Death? Timeless graphical masterpieces. I am a absolute fan of these works since the first contact with them. So I wrote good Ed over the years again and again my gigantic enthusiasm about these really wonderful works, therefore we already know us for a longer time. Ed’s admirable style is absolutely inimitable; nobody knows to set up the presences of gorgeous illuminating shimmering colours as good as he does. With the front cover of "V" I am more than satisfied. Ed has especially transferred the both cave trolls exactly after my presentations. I always want to have front covers for my Sampler, which I will look at in 20, 30 years damned gladly. This time I wanted to move quite away from all the formation clichés, which are established meanwhile so firmly in the cover scene in pagan metal. All the Vikings or the scenarios around began to look always more similarly for some time. Gloomy it must be predominantly unconditional there, and coloured it has to be if possible as wretchedly as possible. That is however not so very much my thing. So I thought to myself, "why not even a typical Heavy Metal front cover?" As said, this time I wanted, away from all the usual graphic stereotypes or the annoying uniform Pagan- and Viking Metal, similarities.

M: Which artists would you like to work with for the future cover artworks?

M: There’s only one superior cover artist, I really can name here as a wish: Ken Kelly. A great brush-man.

M: You are the owner of the photos used in the gorgeous booklet. Where did you take those pictures?

M: Yes, all of them are done by me. They were shot in Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. Mainly I shoot my pictures here in my really gorgeous environment or in the endless marvellous Bavarian and Austrian Alps respectively. I’m glad every time to be into my forests and woods. The nature into my region have had good luck, we don’t have so much industry here so far. From time to time I travel a bit to visit bands or friends, where I also take my camera with me of course. I hope, that I’ll be able to visit the autumnal Rocky Mountains in USA and Yosemite National Park the next years – one of the most beautiful places in the world ever in my opinion. So I hike as much I can, to discover anytime new fine places.



M: You have reviewed lots of Metal genres besides Pagan Metal. How do you see Metal scene nowadays?

M: It’s commercialized in total manner like any other music scene or subgenre, too. In the earlier days it has had a totally different meaning to be a ‘metal fan’. Values as rebellion or coherence were praised, but they got nearly lost complete over the years. I would say: once we were a huge metal family, but meanwhile we became many metal families, which seeming to aren’t be able to respect other tastes. Too many subcategories were invented, mainly by the always greedy music industry. Most of the listeners today lead a subtle war against the other listeners of different subcategories. Most of nowadays fans collect MP3s as hell on their PCs without knowing most of the band’s names. The loss of passion celebrates the victory year by year more. Very sad. And just take a look at the Death Metal area: how inhumane brutal, unspeakable cruel and visual horrible became all the frontcovers, lyrics etc. in the last years there? I disgust it.

M: What is your opinion about the internet and mp3 downloads?

M: Of course it depends on, how one uses it. When it’s well and rational used, it’s a very good tool to discover new interesting acts all over the globe. But most of the people sheer get lost in all the download-areas with their millions of songs. So I still prefer to own the original CD, when I like a band and their music instead collecting countless folders with disposable songs.

M: This is a hard question. Your Top Five albums ever?

M: Ever? OK; so I have to pick some of my private classics here, which helped me a lot through difficult times in the past when I was younger.

1. Candlemass / Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
2. Virgin Steele/ Noble Savage
3. Helloween/ Walls Of Jericho
4. Running Wild/ Port Royal
5. Agent Steel/ Sceptic’s Apocalypse

M: Thank you very much for your time Markus. Here you have space to write what you want as farewell.

M: Sincerely thanks for this interview to you, Martin! There have been released really not less of underground-CD-compilations these past years, and so many of them all unfortunately were done without real heartblood and therefore with a very low degree of passion – especially in this unique musical genre, called Pagan Metal! The Metalmessage-compilations on the other hand are created with a real massive dose of strong enthusiasm. I did them with my deepest dedication for the arts of the chosen hordes and for the contributing cover-artists. For some of you it’s just music, simply just a specific period of your life. But for a small und rare amount of the other ones of us Pagan Metal means a unique way of life - bounded to an endless loving view on our marvellous planet and our all great mother nature. Enjoy all the harsh beating rhythms, furious guitar-attacks & beautiful tunes – and stay mainly true to yourself! I wish you and your activities in the scene also all the best for the future! Hail to the hammer, in all eternity!

Markus Eck

http://www.metalmessage.de/