Interview with Total Hate done by Patrick
1.Hails how are things in Germany these days? Please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hails Patrick! I`m Adrastos, founder, songwriter and vocalist of total hate. Honestly I don't care about things in germany and the rest of the world, but we're looking forward to the release date of our 4th album at the moment.
2.When did you first discover black metal music and who were the first bands you listened to?Are their any current bands that have caught your attention?
I discovered black metal in the mid 90s. I started listening to metal when I was 12 or 13 years old. A local punk gave me a mix tape with some german punk bands and some tracks of priest, maiden, slayer and anthrax. These bands blew me away, so I started tape trading and discovered bands like megadeth, metallica, sepultura, sodom and so on until I heard about death metal. This changed my live and at a time where most of the bands turned into crap and tried something „different“, a guy from a local record store recommended bands like marduk, immortal, emperor and impaled nazarene. I knew that this was the metal I was longing for the whole time. This is the most intense metal genre until today and that will never change. The last band that really blew me away is a band from finland called vargrav. It was like finding a forgotten album from the 90s. Ultra Silvam released a death metal highlight, besides the overproduced wanna-be-death metal bullshit. Murg from sweden and Sühnopfer from france released fantastic albums everybody should check. This is the essence of black metal and a fist in the face of the hipster bullshit bands who started hijacking the black metal scene, piss off !!!
3.Total Hate was started in 2000 when did you first get the idea to start this band? What is the current line up of the band?
My first band was or is Seeds of Hate. I founded the band in 1997 and we had many line up changes. In 1999 everybody left the band and finding black metal musicians at this time was nearly impossible, I bought a guitar and started rehearsing, because I was and still am possessed by this music. While we started the recordings of the third Seeds of Hate demo, Akhenaten from Judas Iscariot joined the band and he was of course a way better guitarist than me. I didn't want to stop playing guitar, so I asked our Seeds of Hate drummer Tondhron, if he wants to join a new project and he agreed. This was the birth of Total Hate. We had also some line up changes, but found a strong line up now which consists of Aer (guitar, songwriting), Erebos (lead guitar), Lykos (bass, lyrics & vocals), Serrator (drums) and me (vocals, lyrics and songwriting).
4.How do you feel Total Hate's music has evolved over the years and who would you say are the bands biggest influences?
Total Hate was really primitive, raw stuff in the beginning, when we were just a two piece and recorded everything with our own equipment. Through the years the songwriting got better and when Aer changed from bass to guitar and songwriting, we reached the „next level“. We're still playing old school black metal the way I always wanted to play and how it has to be performed, but with more variable songs and a more powerful sound than 19 years ago. My biggest influences are the 90s albums of Gorgoroth, Darkthrone, Marduk, Throne of Ahaz, Dodheimsgard, Immortal, Gehenna and Emperor.
5.Throne Behind A Black Veil is the bands fourth full-length how long did it take the band to write the music for the new release?Does the whole band take part in the writing process or does one member write everything?
Hard to say, because we had two song left from the lifecrusher recordings, but changed some riffs. I would say it happened within 6 months. It's Aer and me who write the songs. If a song has been written, Aer adds a drummachine and the others can download and listen to the new songs. Not very old school, but it's way better than sitting hours in a rehearsal room. We are very effectively since Aer joined songwriting and we have already our fifth album written and will hopefully start the recordings in autumn or winter 2019.
6.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some subjects written about on the new release?Which usually comes first the music or the lyrics?
I wrote all the lyrics so far, except on the latest album. There are a couple of lyrics written by Lykos for the first time. We are dealing with the same topics since the beginning: Satanism, misanthropy and blasphemy. My lyrics have a very personal content and that's one of the reasons why we don't print the lyrics. I heard of bands that are writing the lyrics first, but we don't do it this way.
7.Besides the upcoming Throne Behind A Black Veil release are the bands previous releases still available for the readers to purchase?Besides physical releases does the band have any other merchandise currently available for the readers to buy if yes what is available and where can the readers buy it?
Yes, we have still some copies of the first three albums on cd and some vinyl copies of the lifecrusher album left, but I guess the vinyls are gone very soon. All patches are sold out and we have also only a small amount of 2 different shirt designs left. If you want to buy stuff, check our homepage and send us a message or check the eisenwald and the eternity records webstores.
8.Does Total Hate play live very often or do you prefer to work in the studio?What have been some of the bands most memorable shows over the years?Who are some bands you have had the opportunity to share the stage with?
We played two shows in 2017, three in 2018 and we will play four shows until the end of the year and have already confirmed two shows in 2020. I prefer playing live instead of being in the studio, but a band shouldn't play too much live shows, because it should be something special. We played with bands like Urgehal, Inquisition, Elite, Blodsrit, Insignium, Necrophobic, Endezzma, Krater, Angantyr and Lugubre, just to name some. We had great times, but I guess the most memorable shows were during the very chaotic tour with Blodsrit, Elite and Insignium, a show in nuremberg where I pushed the wrong button at a fogmachine and the venue drowned in fog, while we were playing and our first show ever in 2005 at the under the black sun festival.
9.Are their any tours or shows planned in support of the new release?If yes where will the band be playing?
The four confirmed shows will be in Halle, at the Barther Metal Open Air, in our hometown Nuremberg and in Erfurt. We have some ideas and plans for a 20 years show next year and maybe a tour, but let's wait until the new album has been unleashed.
10.What does black metal mean to you and how do you feel it has changed over the years?
It's a serious way of life and nothing changed since I discovered black metal in the mid 90s! My interest in getting in touch with other bands, zines and people is nearly lost, but not what I feel when I listen to the old black metal classics or when I prepare myself for a live show, using corpsepaint, spikes, leather, fire, bullets and all the other stuff that means black metal for me.
11.Total Hate comes out of the German black metal scene what is your opinion of the black metal scene in Germany over the years?
I had many contacts back in the 90s/ early 2000s, but most of the contacts and bands left the black metal scene years ago or changed their music. I really don't know, if there's still a scene in germany like we had in the 90s. Maybe with new people, but to be honest, I don't care, because the glory days are long time gone and won't come back.
12.Who are your all-time favorite German black metal bands and are their any new bands you could recommend to the readers?
The old stuff of bands like Ungod, Desaster, Dark Fortress, Mayhemic Truth, Morrigan, Skalder, Eternity, Empaligon, Lunar Aurora, Secrets of the Moon, Kapein, Nyktalgia, Katharsis, Sterbend,
Nagelfar, Graven was really fantastic black metal from our country. As I said, I don't know much about german black metal nowaydays, but I would recommend the albums „Im Bannkreis der Götter“ and „Secreta Obscura Mysterium“ of Lunatic Affliction, excellent 90s influenced melodic black metal. Besides I would recommend the old and upcoming releases of Mosaic, Krater, Horns of Domination, Aether, Ascension & Gráb.
13.Are their any honest and reliable labels and distro's you feel the readers should check out soon?
Yes, support and check out Apocalyptic Art, Eisenwald, Eternity Records and Ván Records.
14.Besides playing in Total Hate do you or any of the members currently play in any other bands or solo projects? If yes please tell the readers about them?
Well, Seeds of Hate is still on hold, but I have a new soloproject since march, but it's too early to tell more about it. It will be slower, but also traditional black metal. Aer has some other bands and projects, but I don't know which of them still exist. Lykos plays bass in Lunatic Affliction and Serrator is also the drummer of Goath, excellent blackened death metal from our hometown !
15.Thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Thank you for the interview. Nothing more to add, death to peace !
Band Contacts
