Well,Friends Of Aristocracy!
Line Up:
Paul Korte On Vocal
Gabor on Guitar
Patrick On Guitar
Millan On Bass
Henryk Weidl On Drums
We speak again of our newsroom, where in a little while, we will begin in all your emotions, the interview 135 of the Aristocracy.This time, we're talking to a German Death Metal band that has war as its outlet to delight their fans. At the same time, they combine elements of Thrash Metal in their brutal and murderous sound.We are talking about the band Theodicy, they show us their third album entitled Torture of Industry. Before we start this chat, we must thank the band for the interview and also the Polish producer Solid Rock because without her, this interview would never happen.Let's go to one of their songs and the interview from now on.
A1:Talking about the composition work in Torture of Industry?
Theodicy:Torture and Godeater were the first new songs, written around 2017 with the most songs written 2018, a total of 16.The arrangements were put together with standard rhythms on the computer.Following the vocal rythm was designed on top with freestyle or improvised lyrics. At the end of 2019, we selected 12 songs for the upcoming album. Drums, guitar accents, lyrics and effects were then created during the recording sessions. This resulted in various variations, breaks, tempo changes, ambients, flageolets, modified guitar rhythms and multi-track recordings. After the guitar recordings, the drums were reworked. The bass mostly plays the tones of the guitars on the the bass drum rhythm.This was followed by the vocal recording with the now written lyrics. Growls, screams, shouts, choirs etc were recorded in different variations by both vocalists and arranged appropriately. In the meantime Gabor recorded the leads, interlude and outro in his home studio. At the end FX sounds, samples, pads, transitions between songs, interleave and outro were added and arranged.
A2:What industry band want to Torture in this album?
Theodicy:The album title refers to the song "torture of industry". Social media platforms are mutating into huge advertising portals. Commercials, product presentation, influencer, event promotion. All based on a payment system. A total buying platform.You can see families and friends been torn apart be it from politics, COVID, vaccines and more.Social media has not really strengthened the good side of humanity,rather the opposite.Social media makes more people feel bad or get hated than feel positive afterwards. It's torturing them. The reason the album is called a song from the same album is a little tradition since our first album.
A3:What elements of thrash metal can we see in this album?
Theodicy:We are not able to pinpoint specific elements but we like the chug sound of palm mutes on down-tuned guitar strings mixed with canter rhythms and typical cymbal emphasis. The amount of thrash metal influence is way lower on our last two albums then the first one.
A4:What kind of wars influence band,Word wars or War day by day?
Theodicy:All forms of war and the “why”. War has been one of the driving factors of evolution for mankind. Who Benefits and Who Starts.With "resource desire, we are still annoyed that it was written with the eastern conflicts in mind. If we then had known what is going on in Ukraine now, we would have written it much more generic. Without the reference to Islam, the content would fit just as well. Unfortunately, many topics from our first to the third album are still or again relevant.
A5:Some literature or film inspire the band?
Theodicy:Besides the Warhammer 40K universe most lyrics are usually influenced by the current daily topics. Television reports, documentaries and conversations and discussions with friends and acquaintances are also a big influence.
A6:What kind of subject don´t deserve a Theodicy Song?
Theodicy:We have not excluded something. If we feel the need to write about something it will happen. Everything has a light and a dark side. The dark side of the subject can always be processed in a metal song. Any question about why leads to the term theodicy.
A7:What is the last strike the band refers to in the eighth song?
Theodicy:“First strike” is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force.” Last Strike” is a metaphor. The term is fictitious but much more important. It's the question "Who will survive the last bomb."
A8:Explain the concept of truth presented in the third song if such a concept exists?
Theodicy:“The Truth” initially had more concept when composing the lyrics. Originally, news reports were spoken at the beginning and in the intermediate part. Those were original death reports from suicides on the stock market. However, these recordings were left out in the master due to mixing problems at the end. That lost some of the context. The message is that on the way to get rich, more die than get to the point they desire.
A9:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Theodicy:The artwork is a visualization of the songs and lyrics. Smombies (Smartphone-Zombies) that are without attention of their surroundings and slowly grow together with their devices. Tanks, social media, bombs, explosions, destruction, tits, the antichrist and so on. Sounded like a cool mixture to us. The characters were drawn based on the song content and collaged into this artwork at the end by Milan.
A10:Which is stronger for a German band: A war-themed song or massacring the fans?
Theodicy:A war-themed song that massacres the fans' neck muscles. War and massacre are more underground themes. Most themes in german metal are of fictitious origin or historical. Most non-metal germans like to whine and prefer to listen to ballads and understandable lyrics.
A11:This album is conceptual?
Theodicy:It's a concept like “Biker Mice from Mars.” The songs are completely different in content and style. The selection, order, transitions of the title, the sound and sample sound, give the appearance of a concept behind it. But these are mental and musical leaps and not a really clear line. We just choose 12 of 18 written songs that fit together and connected it to our liking.
A12:It's necessary for the band to help each other out, but the way Milan and Patrick did it was impressive.Was it pre-arranged or did things just happen naturally?
Theodicy:This combo already has been active on the predecessor album. If you have an audio technician in the band and a guy who's good with graphics and video editing,why not use it? Nowadays DIY is a big thing and saves money. And thanks to the last years of the zombie apocalyse we've had time and no pressure to finish things. Every band members have their own areas of responsibility in which we trust each other, but can't help each other there. That makes everyone important. Cover, sound, leads, vocals/lyrics are all presented, adapted and voted on several times. If everyone is ok with it, we leave it and move on.
A13:What makes a German death metal band admire a band as intense as Angra?
Theodicy:Who is Angra? We don't know this band. Our musical influences come from a mix of various other bands and genres. Music is a mixture of the skills of all band members. Admiration is the wrong word. it's great to see the results that come out when the right people work together.
A14:Does Chaos make the metal world go round?
Theodicy:It helps creating new stuff. Without gigs during COVID the people had time to discover themselves and recharge.But metal fans are pretty familiar with the bands of their time. So not much has changed. It's enough as a band to change the sound, or the singer and the world comes to an end for some metal maniacs.
A15:I Am War” and Torture of Industry are different in what ways?
Theodicy:I Am War” has been a huge development for us.We've found our style.“Torture Of Industry” is the next logical step. More focussed, more sophisticated and round.With the change of the drummer after I Am War“,our rhythm section got much more variable and progressive. The sound from the mastering also makes "Torture of Industry" warmer and emphasizes the vocals.
A16:What would Theodicy of 2022 say to A Theodicy of 2012?
Theodicy:Buy Tesla stocks. Joke. We make music because we love to make music. Continuous practice and goal-oriented work forms the base for the long cohesion of the band. You can't control how life goes. Everything has been how it should be. We're proud of our history.
A17:Answering with your words! Because of social networks,do we live in the most deceitful time in the history of mankind?
Theodicy:Social networks are a collection of advertising, boasting, hate speech, fake news and delusion. It creates a bubble of reality. But this is no longer a parallel world. It reaches the real life. Thousands of people arrange for demonstrations, mobbing, riots or acts of violence „L‘Africa a Peschiera“ as example. People who would have been put into psychiatry 15 years ago, get with social media a platform today. But the most deceitful time in the history of mankind still starts with the story of a virginborn at the night of December 24th in the year 0.