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Maybe
is just me but when I think of the hardcore genre, old photos of
heavily tattooed high on testosterone super macho men from New
York pop up in my mind. Not that there's anything wrong with
that, but it is not the metalcore hybrid of the last handful of
year which will carry the genre onto the year 3000 but bands
with an open enough mind to pull a stiff HC number a la vintage
CBGB's Sunday matinee and next hing you know pull a Depeche Mode
curve on our asses. Enter Germany's World Collapse, their EP Deutschland! Deutschland Into
the Night (out on Reaper Records) is sure to make you forget
about that time you got your ass beat by one of those meatheads.
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Please introduce the band.
We
are World Collapse from Düsseldorf, Germany. We met through
mutual friends, going to the same clubs and the same shows.
Frank Olma (guitars) and myself – René Natzel (drums)– have been
together in True Blue before. Erich Scheuss (vocals) and Rean
Lachnicht (bass) used to work together in different bands and
projects. What eventually brought us together in this particular
band was not the love for certain bands but the wish to express
ourselves as young men in the year 2007.
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How much does the actual sound of World Collapse differ from the
one you had in mind when forming the band?
It
does not differ but displays exactly what we had in mind when we
started out. Writing music and evolving as a musician is a
fluent process, so it is of course natural that not every song
sounds alike. Our pretense is to write exciting music and lyrics
that don’t repeat themselves. Just like life is different every
day as well.
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Deutschland, Deutschland! Into The Night,
the title of the EP is rather patriotic. What can you tell us
about it?
The
title was never intended to be patriotic in any way. We have
just observed the state our surroundings and its people and
wished they would just leave the ballast behind. The historical
and economical ballast that keeps large parts of our society
from moving forward. Let's descend into the night and be
ourselves for once.
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You say that this EP is the product of disappointment and hurt,
how so?
Living your life with an open heart and open eyes won’t protect
you from the dark sides. And the dark sides we have been exposed
to more than once in our time. Since our music and lyrics emerge
from reality and not from fiction, that is what comes out in the
end. Be it the loss of a lover, family or friend. The downfall
of your surroundings or the decline of all you have loved. We
live the life and pay the price –that’s it.
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One thing that surprised me about your sound is how it varies
from song to song, I mean one second you are full on Hardcore
while the next it sounds more like a Rock and Roll version of
Depeche Mode. How conscious is this variation? If you have any
new material, what does it sound like?
We
are very confident about having the freedom to do as we please.
Hardcore has always been about self expression and that is
exactly what we do. Our lives have many facettes and so does our
music. The new material is more homogenic and combines the
analogue and digital sounds to a more unique sound instead of
having them featured in different songs. Everything we do is a
conscious decision and therefore you’ll find these diverse
textures on the EP.
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In the US World Collapse are signed to Reaper records, which is
predominantly a hardcore label. How did this signing come about?
It
came about like every record deal I guess. We’ve been in the
Hardcore scene forever and have done many bands like True Blue,
Spawn., Feeding The Fire, put up shows, put out fanzines etc. in
the past. Patrick and DJ of Reaper Records are our brothers and
thus it was out of the question to put out the first release
somewhere else. Hardcore is an attitude and not a sound.
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You guys are from Germany. Is there a good music scene in
your city? Any bands you may recommend us?
We
have (had) a lot of amazing bands from many different genres.
Kraftwerk, Phoneheadz, Die Krupps, DAF, Assassin. Warlock etc.
and of course a ton of underground acts.
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In your opinion what are the best German bands ever?
Kraftwerk, Kreator, Einstürzende Neubauten, Rammstein, DJ Hell,
Can. All genre-defining acts in there own right.
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This is beside the point, but anyway, a few years ago I was
hanging out in some train station in Munich, and I wanted to try
one of those famous German sausages. Anyway, I don’t speak
German and the thing is that I ended up eating this sandwich
which was pretty much two big slices of bread, one huge sausage,
a thick piece of lettuce and a shitload of butter, do you know
what sandwich I am talking about? The stuff was not edible.
That’s too bad...haha. ’Mens sana in corpore sano’ is the
maxim we act on. And that’s why we try to avoid that kind of
stuff. Next time try German Sauerkraut.
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I am always searching for great bands/records. Please recommend
a few that have influenced you or the band as a whole.
As
always there are way too many to mention but I’ll give you a few
that are essential for us: Cro-Mags The Age Of Quarrel,
The Clash London Calling, Kraftwerk Mensch Maschine,
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures, Bad Brains Rock For
Light, Duran Duran Rio, Slayer Reign In Blood,
TSOL Dance With Me, Portishead Dummy, Siouxsie And
The Banshees Kaleidoscope, Van Halen 1984,
Carnivore Retaliation etc. We listen to a lot of
different music and thus there are a lot of artists that to some
extend have an influence on us: Bauhaus, The Icemen, VNV Nation,
DJ Hell, Arcadia, Dillinja, Celtic Frost, Run DMC, The Smiths,
Discharge, Leeway...
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What’s next for the band? Touring, recording….
The
band is getting ready to tour. Right now we are talking to
people to see what exactly we can do. After that we will produce
a new record. As for the time being we are concentrating on
promoting our EP Deutschland, Deutschland! Into The Night
which came out on Reaper Records, playing shows, doing
interviews etc. So, thank you for your interest and your time.
Comrades: stay free!
World Collapse
MySpace
Read our
review of
Deutschland!
Deutschland! Into the Night |
