I guess that the German band Kreator doesn't need any further introduction here. These days the guys released their 15th album "Hate Über Alles" (read review here) which is a really old-school thrash wrecking ball. Nevertheless the guys let flow some more unusual influences into some of the tracks which makes the whole thing pretty much interesting. I got the chance to do an interview very spontaneously (1 ½ hours after getting the reply) and of course you don't say no to such a thing. So I had a very nice and funny chat via Skype with their guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö about all this and many more. Thanks again for this and enjoy reading!

Michael

Hi Sami, thanks for doing the interview that spontaneously! How you're doing?

Everything is fine! We wanted to rehearse twice because we are flying to Czech Republic the day after tomorrow for a festival and we haven't played that many shows yet this year and we wanted to warm up a bit and play through a set for our condition. Today went well, tomorrow hopefully better and then at the show hopefully really well (laughs).

How often do you rehearse together, probably not that often because you live in Helsinki, right?

For the albums we rehearsed a lot. We always had two-week sessions where we recorded demos, then we took a two-week break and then it started all over again. That was before we went into the studio in Berlin. We rehearsed a lot, but that was also during the pandemic. Before a tour or before festivals, whenever we want to try new stuff, we rehearse. Helsinki is not that far away either, it's a 1 ½ hour flight.

On the 10th June you're going to release the new Kreator album "Hate Über Alles". Until now, except in the Deaf Forever, the biggest German metal zine, there weren't any reviews about it. What are your expectations towards the reception?

This is always a question. We did our best and worked on the songs for 2 years. We had a lot of time and we used it well. As a musician you do your best and you can only hope that people like it. This time the approach is more direct and spontaneous than on the two albums "Phantom Antichrist" and "Gods Of Violence" before. There we worked with Jens Bogren as a producer, who is very good, though sometimes you get the feeling that he is a perfectionist (laughs). We thought that for the kind of music that Kreator makes, we'd try it with a different producer this time, which is Arthur Risk from Philadelphia. He's a younger guy and I think that was the right decision because the music is straight in your face and very spontaneous.

What would you say that this is the biggest difference to "Gods Of Violence"?

Okay, spontaneity...we already recorded many demos and when we were in the studio in Berlin, we didn't have so many takes like over and over again. We realized when the feeling was right after recording something and said "this is it, let's keep it like this!". We didn't try to make it too perfect and if there's a little mistake here and there it's not the end of the world because I think that's part of that kind of music and that it belongs there. That kind of difference in the recording was there but otherwise it's like making music as usual, trying to write good riffs and write good songs and make good songs and do your best. Of course for a band that is as old as Kreator the biggest challenge is trying not to repeat oneself. That's what we always have to be careful about, after all it's the 15th album we released. But I think it has a very fresh approach to it and a nice atmosphere not only because we have a new producer but also a new member in the band (Frédéric Leclercq since 2019; M.).

Your new bass player is in the band now for 3 years. How did he settle in very well Kreator?

Yes, but unfortunately we didn't have so many opportunities to play shows. Once we had this livestream for Wacken, in Chile we played a festival together with Slayer and a few weeks ago at the Inferno Festival, but everything worked out great and we know Frédéric from before. In the studio he was there almost all the time; he's also a very good guitarist and has a lot of ideas for me as well (laughs).

I have to confess that some songs confused me a little bit because in my opinion songs like "Midnight Sun" or "Dying Planet" or the almost balladic vocals like in "Become Immortal" remind me a lot of Endorama, which wasn't the most attracting album in the Kreator discography. Did you want to break out of this frame that you set with the last albums?

As I said, we've been around so long that we try not to make the same album twice. With Dying Planet, we tried to write riffs that were as evil as possible (laughs). "Midnight Sun" - "Endorama", I don't know if it's similar to "Endorama", that was more of a gothic record. I think the new album is versatile and it wouldn't be good if every song is like "Hate Über Alles" (laughs). A little bit of variety in the music is always important for me.

Another aspect I noticed is that you have much more classic heavy metal elements in the songs and you are acting much more playful than before. Is this something that you did intentional?

I think it was more unconscious, at least for me. We never think that a song should sound like another band. Sometimes, of course, you notice a riff, for example in "Dying Planet", that could be from Celtic Frost, but then we try to change it somehow.

"Hate Über Alles" is a reference to the Dead Kennedys and a very matching title, especially since the war in Ukraine broke out. I guess this may be, sad but true, the most matching title in 2022. Would you agree with that?

Definitely, unfortunately yes. The title was created before the war, but unfortunately it fits quite well. Some people thought that the title is too crass for a German band. I don't think that at all, it's totally okay. Eliran Kantor, who did the cover, said that if someone thinks the title is too harsh, they should know that Eliran is a Jew. "Über Alles" does, after all, appear in the German national anthem. Everyone who listens to Kreator knows what it's about.

In "Midnight Sun" you're cooperating with Sofia Portanet, a German newcomer who is more into pop music. How this collaboration did come to life? I was pretty surprised that a vocalist like her is taking part in a Kreator song, haha!!!

Sofia lives in Berlin, Mille lives there too and that's where they met each other. When we were in Berlin to record the album - for the drums we went to Hansestudio and guitars and vocals we recorded in a smaller studio in Kreuzberg - we thought that the chorus needs something special. On the first demo I thought the first verse of "Midnight Sun" was totally cool, but with the chorus I thought there has to be something more. Then we asked Sofia if she wanted to sing on the song and tried that with her (laughs).

Can you tell me a little bit more about the lyrical content of the album? Is there a red line between all the songs?

Mille wrote all the lyrics, but the themes are similar. It's about death, the end of humanity, natural disasters or war (laughs). It's kind of a reflection about the time we live in. I think Mille writes very good lyrics, but it's also best if only one person does it. Probably that's why there is a common thread - if everybody would write lyrics, maybe it wouldn't be so good.

You have postponed the album release a few times because of the pandemic. When did you finally finish "Hate Über Alles"?

We had demos of all the songs that we had recorded ourselves in Essen in 2020. But then we took our time because it wasn't easy to fly Arthur Risk in at that time. We recorded the album version in October 2021 in Berlin. It was okay to have that time after the demo recordings, because it gave us time to think about the songs and change something else. You don't usually have that.

You have released three videos from the album so far. Are there some more planned?

Yes, from "Become Immortal". There are kids playing the song and we are not on it at all. Among others, the son of our drummer plays on it.

A lot of fans are eagerly awaiting "Hate Über Alles" - what is the album you're eagerly awaiting in 2022?

Yes, many. If I could remember them all! Finally also shows and festivals. Especially in Finland there are over 30 festivals every weekend and I will go to many of them as a visitor. That's the best thing that can happen.

With "The Warlock Of Da'ath", Dutch death/black metal band Lucifericon released their second full-length album via Invictus Productions a few months ago (read review here). Stylistically quite close to some Swedish black metal bands (Lord Belial) the album is a very sinister abomination and full of mysteries that start with the cover and end with the album titles. I had the honor to ask their bass player and vocalist Rob Reijnders some questions about all this to enlighten the listeners a little bit more about Lucifericon.

Michael

Hi Rob, how are you doing?

Very well, thanks a lot. Keeping busy with everything going on in my life , as everybody else I suppose.

With "The Warlock Of Da'ath" you have released your second album last November. I stumbled over your band while reading some playlists in a German magazine so I have to confess that I hadn't heard of you before. Can you introduce the band a little bit closer to me?

Sure thing Michael. Our guitarist Anton and I had been active in a band together called Sun's Blood before Lucifericon. That band certainly had potential, but it wasn't going anywhere so I left first, and later on Anton left as well. Him and I had a great click together and at one point we thought about doing some jam sessions to see what we could conjure up. It worked out well and we found a drummer soon afterwards and started writing the first tracks. We didn't have a name right away but the character of Lucifer always appealed to me so I was looking/hoping I could use that somehow. One day I was playing one of my fave Swedish bands Grotesque, and I heard the screams of 'Ia Lucifericon' by Tompa Lindberg through my speakers and thought…Yes…this is it.  I hesitated at first because the name could cause confusion with a long defunct Swedish band called Luciferion.  But it was too catchy and it fitted so well with where we wanted to go, that we took the gamble and used it anyway. The jam sessions happened in 2008 and by the summer/fall of 2009 we had a 3-piece band. After a year or so, Alex from Pentacle joined as second guitarist to thicken our sound and to increase our possibilities creatively.

The album is studded with many mystical elements. Is it taken from the Kabbalah (when I have a look at the cover) or where do they come from?

That is correct, there is a cabalistic element in the new material. I have always had a fascination for the occult and the esoteric already at a fairly young age. I started reading Eliphas Levi-transcendental magic at the age of 15 for example. Where the previous album dealt with a lot of topics on sorcery and magic, I wanted to have a different approach to this kind of material for the new album, but stay in the same zone more or less. So I started reading up on the cabalistic aspect of the spectrum and the qlipoth, which is the dark side of the cabalistic tree of life. We tried to map out the journey in and between the two worlds (here and beyond , the phenomenal and the noumenal world) with an emphasis on the dark side. This was not an easy task, but I think we succeeded in getting the topics just right for it to work with the vibe of the music.

Maybe you can get a little bit more into detail with some songs?

The opening track 'Obscure And Forbidden' deals with the warning of treading the path of the beyond and the perils that await you if you are not up to the task.

'The Veils Of Negative Existence' describes the zones pre-existence up to the first spark of existence that is born out of the darkness thereof.

The title track of the album describes the journey to the great beyond. Our vision is that we think most of the answers to the worldly existence lie in the darkness. We can only advance if we accept darkness as a reality and not deny its existence and relevance. Therefore one must open the mind and dare to tread the dark inner psyche to be able to travel there. Because this is a journey into the blackest regions, the term warlock seemed more appropriate then a mere magician, so here the warlock is traveling through the gate of Da'ath (the doorway to the other side) to suffer the perils of the beyond to become a higher being. He succeeds in this task and therefore becomes the gate itself (Belial), the highest reachable goal.

The epic track 'Ancient Lineage' describes that these omnipresent beings are there in the all and nothing, the nothing and all, in the past, the present and in the future, all at once. It is that they became a hard to fathom entity that has the mind completely turned upside down.

These are a few examples of the topics we are getting ourselves into. We have not taken the easy road for what we wanted to do. But we wanted our music to be as dark as possible, so the topics should be a match that encompasses the music in the same way.

Is there a certain religious or philosophical agenda you follow with Lucifericon?

Not an agenda, but there is a great interest in certain topics like Cosmology, Science, Philosophy, all sorts of Occult and Left Hand Path writings. We like to be creative with these topics and not stick to just one thing, or simply follow something without questioning. We see it more as a form of traveling, or change, or shapeshifting. Paving a path for oneself is held in high regard here. We do see the advantages of picking the best or the most useful things from certain philosophies or views, and incorporate them into your own personal visions.

How important is this esoteric aspect for you in metal music?

Very important. Coz the music we tend to create also conjures a certain vibe. When the lyrics and the music are melting together fluidly it can cause a great trance state and great sensations.  It is more than just music to us. The words compliment the music and vice versa. When we are able to create such synergy that is also esoteric as far as we are concerned.So yes, esoteric concepts enhance the esoteric synergy we are looking for.

As I already wrote in the introduction and in my review, I think that old Lord Belial is a very huge inspiration for your kind of music. Am I right with that and which other inspirations do you have?

Well, to be honest, some of us know Lord Belial, and I have seen them live once or twice in the past, but none of us have anything in the collection by them haha. So we are most definitely not influenced by them at all.  But maybe some of their influences might be the same as ours, who knows. They did make a bunch of cool albums, so perhaps I should pick up some of their stuff. We are mostly influenced by 80's and early 90's death, black and thrash metal stuff. Everyone in the band is now over 40 , with me being 46 right now. So to give you an idea…we really like old Death, old Morbid Angel, Dissection, Infernal Majesty is a favorite of everyone in the band. Bathory of course, and not to forget Slayer and Celtic Frost. Also the old black metal scene appealed to us. Old Samael is a fave, old Rotting Christ and more of the old Greek bm scene. The list goes on and on. We do try to not sound like them but create something that is our very own. There are reviews out there that say we are influenced or sound like Behemoth or Watain. Maybe people hear something similar in our music, but we are definitely not influenced by such bands. Most of us were already listening to the bands I mentioned before a band like Watain even existed for example. But that's all fine you know. If that is what people hear, then who am I to say that is not the case. We do think it is cool that our music and lyrics can open to anyone's own interpretation of things. That is a rand freedom of the mind to have, and we also hold that in high regard. So it's all fine what people can hear, see, and find in our music.

You don't have any keyboards or other wimpy stuff – do you consider these musical elements as unnecessary in death or black metal?

There are keyboards on the album actually, and also several acoustic guitar parts and a whole lot of other weird shit. We use it to enhance the music in some parts. But we are not trying to make things overly symphonic, because we are not into that. If you wanna call that wimpy stuff, then yes..we are not aiming for wimpy stuff indeed hahaha. So I wouldn't call these elements unnecessary, because they can be useful.

Do you consider the band as a full-time job or more as a time-to-time project because most of the other members are also involved in some other bands?

We all have steady daytime jobs, so the band is a hobby. But a serious one at that of course. Guitarist  Alex is active in Pentacle besides us, and our drummer Tim sometimes helps out other bands with their projects, but other than that the focus lies on Lucifericon. We have been active in other bands before Lucifericon. Anton had a band called Malicious Dream, and I played bass for Destroyer666 and our drummer Tim had numerous bands in the past.

Do you have any plans to go on tour or play outside the Netherlands in 23?

Yes we do. We are playing on Anthems Of Steel Festival in France on May the 20th. There is Hole In The Sun festival in Espenau, Germany on June 17th that we are playing. And another one in Germany called Ghosts Of Dinmin Festival on September 1st.  We have been busy trying to get a tour going, but it has shown to be rather difficult getting something off the ground. But we are not giving up that easy, so hopefully more shows are coming up.

Would you like to spread some final words to our readers?

Keep an eye out on our webpage for updates on shows, releases and other things; www.facebook.com/lucifericon, Band contact email is: lucifericon@gmail.com  People can contact us there for ordering stuff. We have shirts, cds , a 7" and a patch available, and vinyl for the new album is coming up soon. People can also order through our Bandcamp page lucifericon.bandcamp.com Thanks a lot for the interest in Lucifericon, and may we all wander into the great beyond. Blessed be !!! Hartelijk dank voor het interview!