Iron Forces was a German fanzine in the mid 1980's written in German, but here's an interview translated to English for you.
The Masters of Black Romantic
Stormwitch, the Black Romantic band from Gerstetten, has just released their third full-length album, "Stronger than Heaven," which is once again a must-have for melodic metal fans. Stormwitch should appeal to every heavy metal fan. But now listen for yourselves to what lead guitarist Lee Tarot, aka Harald Spengler, told me about the new album before its release and the Stormwitch tour throughout Germany... More about the album in the crucifixes. As you may know, the five storm witches don't deal with violent themes or boring "always on the road" and "rock 'n' roll" drivel in their lyrics, but rather draw on motifs from classic horror stories by authors like Bram Stoker ("Dracula"), E. A. Poe, Lovecraft, etc.—the songs are about vampires, crypts, werewolves, bats, and are simply meant to express that eerie atmosphere of the old, classic horror era, before blood-soaked zombies existed. With their themes, they are therefore unique in the horror genre. So, now to Lee Tarot:
IF: Your LP "Stronger than Heaven" is coming out soon, right?
L: It was actually supposed to be released for our tour, but it's going to be delayed by about two weeks because something went wrong with the cover. This time there are eight songs, seven with vocals and one instrumental. IF: And the lyrics are again about horror themes in the style of E.A. Poe?
L: As always, of course. We're still staying true to that theme.
IF: And what are the individual songs about?
L: Oh God, I have to think about that. We've come up with something. We've got a real bombastic opera on it, an eight-minute song called "Jonathan's Diary." That's our masterpiece, so to speak; it's about Bram Stoker's Dracula story, the book that all the films are based on. We've basically adapted parts of the book. It's about Jonathan Harker, who travels to Transylvania, and The whole thing is structured like a diary. The piece incorporates an insane number of sections and tempo changes; we've crafted a real little opera. Then we have the instrumental "Dorian Gray," which comes from the story "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
IF: Where he only ages in the picture? L. Yes, exactly, you know your stuff. We structured the song so that it builds consistently; it begins with a lone acoustic guitar and ends in absolute disaster.
Then we have a track called "Rats in the Attic," which doesn't really have a story; it just captures the mood of the whole album (someone's lying in bed, and there's chattering and crawling above them). Then comes "Eternia," which is some kind of fantasy city. Then there's one called "Laid to Moonlight," where we've incorporated the werewolf theme again and mixed in some real wolf howls. Then, of course, "Stronger than Heaven," a real witchy piece, like the ladies sitting around the pot, cooking up their little concoction. Then comes "Raven Lord," and then "Alies of the Dark," where we're back to the vampire theme. It describes the scene from "Dance of the Vampires" where someone's sitting in the ballroom, and suddenly he realizes he can only see himself in the mirror! Naturally, he thinks, "Something's not right here!" So, they're all real horror stories.
IF: Have the songs changed in any way compared to the old ones? L.: No, they haven't changed. On "Tales of Terror," we actually experimented a bit, which we don't particularly like anymore. For example, "Trust in the Fire" doesn't really suit us at all. So the new LP is more in the direction of "Walpurgis Night," it's just that everything has become more complex in terms of arrangement, with more sections and tempo changes. IF: But it's not more commercial, is it?
L: Well, not more commercial, maybe in terms of the vocals, but not in terms of intensity. Our singer did all the choral parts himself; I used to join in because the others were even less able at it. But more commercial? Definitely more melodic. And that's automatically always commercial. I think there's a good way and a bad way to be commercial; there's a difference.
IF: You've finally shed the black metal image. What do you think of that, anyway?
L: I don't think black metal is bad thematically, if it's done well, although this Satanic cult aspect doesn't really appeal to me. But I do think there are some interesting themes. The awful thing, though, is that people always make the same kind of music. It starts, then there's some strumming, and someone babbles on: something or other.
IF: So you must like King Diamond, for example?
L: Yeah, the new album is supposed to be good (and how!!). He's the closest thing to it. But most of them sound too much like punk. I think it could be structured differently, instead of always having these violent lyrics, etc.
IF: Is there anything else you'd like to say about the new LP, the packaging, for example?
L: Yeah, the back cover is really well done. We have a castle or ruin on it, and a band photo. This time, though, there are no chains, studs, or leather; this time we're wearing costumes appropriate to the time period in which our lyrics are set, around 1750. We went to a costume rental shop specifically for this.
IF: Do you perform like this?
L.: No, not really, although I do wear something like that live, and the others do to some extent. But live, such an outfit is secretly uncomfortable and restrictive; you can't really move around in it. Regarding the lyric sleeve: At first, the record company said we wouldn't print one. (turn over)
Lyrics included, the fans buy the record anyway. But we felt that our lyrics weren't unimportant, so there are some included again. Our first LP didn't have lyrics, but we had a lyric sheet printed, and if anyone asked for the lyrics, we gave them to them, of course.
IF: And what does your show look like now? I've heard something about some crazy stage setups...
L: Yeah, the problem is that our next tour has three bands, which means the bands are limiting each other because of the changeover breaks, which we want to keep simple, short, and smooth. Not everyone can build their castles. We're all using the same drum kit, too. So there won't be any big stage setups this time. But we'll use pyrotechnics as always, and we've got our monster guys with us again.
L: Yeah, the back cover is really well done. We have a castle or ruin on it, and a band photo. This time, though, there are no chains, studs, or leather; this time we're wearing costumes appropriate to the time period in which our lyrics are set, around 1750. We went to a costume rental shop specifically for this.
IF: Do you perform like this?
L.: No, not really, although I do wear something like that live, and the others do to some extent. But live, such an outfit is secretly uncomfortable and restrictive; you can't really move around in it. Regarding the lyric sleeve: At first, the record company said we wouldn't print one. (turn over)
Lyrics included, the fans buy the record anyway. But we felt that our lyrics weren't unimportant, so there are some included again. Our first LP didn't have lyrics, but we had a lyric sheet printed, and if anyone asked for the lyrics, we gave them to them, of course.
IF: And what does your show look like now? I've heard something about some crazy stage setups...
L: Yeah, the problem is that our next tour has three bands, which means the bands are limiting each other because of the changeover breaks, which we want to keep simple, short, and smooth. Not everyone can build their castles. We're all using the same drum kit, too. So there won't be any big stage setups this time. But we'll use pyrotechnics as always, and we've got our monster guys with us again.
IF: The "Priest of Evil"?
L: Exactly, he'll be running around with an axe and a scythe. For "Sword of Sagon," we have an intro where a guy sits on stage with plenty of smoke and fire while he tells the story. We also have pyrotechnics, thunder, fog, and lightning, but it all depends on the stage, which sometimes certainly won't be big enough for us to really let loose.
IF: You've never done a tour like this before, have you?
L.: No, we've played back-to-back many times, but never anything this extreme, 14 days on the road. We don't even know yet if we can make it through. We'll do our best. Every day is different than twice a week.
IF: What kind of bands do you like to listen to?
L.: Well, what do I actually listen to? Maiden, mainly. But I don't really listen that much, I don't have the time. Dio, of course, Loudness, and old Anvil stuff. The others are all a bit more American-oriented; the drummer listens to... B. I like Dokken, etc., but otherwise we're pretty much on the same page. I don't particularly like Ozzy Osbourne, for example, because I find his singing style annoying, but I listen to him because I like the guitars.
IF: And what do you think about the influx of newcomers in Germany and the heavy metal boom? L.: I think the labels are buying too impulsively. Of course, everyone wants a go, but it's like with the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) back then, although it's not quite as extreme with heavy metal because it's less pushed by the media. Heavy metal will definitely last much longer. The boom? Well, I think it's good that there are so many heavy metal bands, especially new ones, but it's awful that they're all doing the same thing and no one is doing anything new. All the Slayer/Metallica fans are picking up a guitar now and off they go. And that's ruining the scene.
IF: OK., thank you very much for the interview.
L: Exactly, he'll be running around with an axe and a scythe. For "Sword of Sagon," we have an intro where a guy sits on stage with plenty of smoke and fire while he tells the story. We also have pyrotechnics, thunder, fog, and lightning, but it all depends on the stage, which sometimes certainly won't be big enough for us to really let loose.
IF: You've never done a tour like this before, have you?
L.: No, we've played back-to-back many times, but never anything this extreme, 14 days on the road. We don't even know yet if we can make it through. We'll do our best. Every day is different than twice a week.
IF: What kind of bands do you like to listen to?
L.: Well, what do I actually listen to? Maiden, mainly. But I don't really listen that much, I don't have the time. Dio, of course, Loudness, and old Anvil stuff. The others are all a bit more American-oriented; the drummer listens to... B. I like Dokken, etc., but otherwise we're pretty much on the same page. I don't particularly like Ozzy Osbourne, for example, because I find his singing style annoying, but I listen to him because I like the guitars.
IF: And what do you think about the influx of newcomers in Germany and the heavy metal boom? L.: I think the labels are buying too impulsively. Of course, everyone wants a go, but it's like with the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) back then, although it's not quite as extreme with heavy metal because it's less pushed by the media. Heavy metal will definitely last much longer. The boom? Well, I think it's good that there are so many heavy metal bands, especially new ones, but it's awful that they're all doing the same thing and no one is doing anything new. All the Slayer/Metallica fans are picking up a guitar now and off they go. And that's ruining the scene.
IF: OK., thank you very much for the interview.