Line Up Final Cry:
Vocals:-Kai
Guitars:Eiko and Burghardt
Bass:Sonja
Drums:Holger
Well, friends of the Aristocracy!We will do the Fifty-second Interview with the German Band Final Cry. We will show, in all their emotions, songs and a chat with Burghardt and Kai for explanations about this sixth way of the band.
Full album!Interview
A1:Talking about the composition work in The Ever-Rest?
Burghardt: All songs were composed and arranged in the years 2019 to 2021, the
process started right after we had our 30-years-jubilee with many gigs and live activities in Germany. I have to say that the COVID-pandemic since 2020 helped well, because we had the possibility to focus on composing and arranging. But it was very difficult to meet for rehearsing und practicing together as a band.
Therefore we worked in a digital way through internet. I recorded the guitar riffs and offered the basic track for each song, sent it to Holger, who played his drum parts on it, after that Kai recorded his vocals, followed by a online "file discussion" by all band members, who, in this way were completely involved in the arrangements.
After that we met - not often - to rehearse the songs in our rehearsal room, where the basslines and lead guitars were fixed and recorded. This Preproduction was sent to Jörg Uken in Soundlodge Studio, where we recorded "The Ever-Rest" in two sessions in November and December 2020 and 2021. The lyrical concept, which works out the history, heroic tales, triumphs and tragedies of High Altitude Mountaineering since the early 20th century came to life in 2018 - most lyrics were written before the composition process started.
A2:Who or what situation made the band say. Do we need to ditch power metal and
join Thrash\Death Melodic?
Kai: If you look at the history of the band, you will notice that there was no fixed point at which anyone "decided" to say goodbye to one or the other musically in order to turn to something new. This process has been a gradual development over the years. All in all, we are the last ones who feel the compulsion to categorise our music. If you ask me, it's still METAL. It was in the early days of the band, it still is. Our classic 80s/90s influences could already be heard on the "Words Unspoken" demo 1994 and still can on "The Ever-Rest" in 2022. The basic framework is still heavy riffs, classic solos, catchy melodies. Also the direct influences of our youth like Iron Maiden, Running Wild etc. are still recognisable in the basic structures of our songs.
One reason why Final Cry anno 2022 are rather classified as Thrash/Death Metal is of course on the one hand that we have always developed our skills further and on the other hand that we have not closed our minds to influences such as the dark Scandinavian styles that first emerged in the nineties. First and foremost, we have always been metal fans who naturally own a wide spectrum of metal in their home record collections.
If you take for example the "Neptune's Relief" album from 2007 (which is also 15 years old), you will discover the same instrumental basics as on "The Ever-Rest". Some songs like "On Glacial Trails" are still part of our live set and during a show you won't notice a break in style, even though, except for the vocals, the song is still played almost identically to the album. Furthermore, Thrash/Death borrowings have basically accompanied us from the very beginning. In the mid-nineties, songs like Evil Dead by DEATH were already part of our live repertoire. If at all, this "change" comes to light mainly in combination with the vocals. When, due to a lack of personnel, our guitarist Eiko temporarily agreed to contribute the vocals on the "Zombique" album, this was probably the most noticeable change for the outside world. Otherwise, the album would have also worked with its predecessor Mario Reese. It would perhaps have a slightly different character stylistically, but it would not be a worse album. But for us, after almost 30 years, it was something like a rejuvenating cure that breathed new life and new facets into us and our music, which is why the band decided to continue on the path of more aggressive vocals, even when looking for a successor.
Burghardt: Well, in the late 80's/early 90's "Power Metal" meant something
different than nowadays - we have to remember, that Pantera named their 1988' album "Power Metal". This help to comprehend, what happened after; in my opinion "Cowboys From Hell" is a Power-Metal-Album, later it was called "Neo-Thrash". There were several bands in these times who didn't fit exactly in the category "Thrash Metal" (because they didn't play fast all the time) or "Speed Metal" (because they didn't have the cheesy melodies and chilling vocals) and invented new forms of machine-gun-riffing build on often slow and groovy drumbeats. Early Metallica, early Iced Earth, Metal Church, Toxik, Sanctuary or Oliver Magnum (who made only one Album) were (not all the time) Power Metal - and that was, what we intended with our first releases. In 2002 we turned from "thrashy" to "Thrash" and found back to Bay-Area-Acts like Exodus and Forbidden as well as to "Classic German Thrash" like Sodom and Destruction - these tunes were always there, but since 2002 it became more obvious. Since the beginning we also were strongly influenced by classic Heavy Metal like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest but also german Bands like Accept and Running Wild. The use of this "material" by Swedish Bands like Naglfar, Unanimated, Gates Of Ishtar or (early)Dark Tranquillity were an important influence also for our Music - which lead to the melodic Death Metal-input in our sound of today - what is not to confused with the Death Metal around 1990 performed by american Bands like Death, Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse or Entombed, Dismember and Unleashed in Europe.
A3:At The Gates and Running Wild were part of my life at some point. But, how to
show them without the public realizing these beautiful influences?
Burghardt: "Slaughter Of The Soul" is undoubtedly one of the most influential works of the 90's and beatened the path to Melodic Death Metal as we know it today. Together with Naglfar's classic "Vittra" this was also a massive influence for our music. Especially the way, how pure Heavy Metal-Riffs and Melodies were transformed into something dark and morbid with no limits by Swedish Death Metallers was something we adapted and adapt until today. I would say that we don't get the vibes out of the 70's and early 80's but out of the 90's from Scandinavia.
On the other: since the late 80's especially Eiko and me are die-hard-fans from Running Wild's early albums. We saw them nearly every year since 1990 on every tour they drove in Germany. Of course we are very sad, that it doesn't seem that Rock'n'Rolf will ever record an album like "Death Or Glory", or like my favourite "Branded And Exiled" again, but we will never stop believing - and I think, this explains why Running Wild was and is also an important influence for us and for our music.
A4:Even as the band name implies, it's exciting to know that you're in your mid-
30s on the metal path. Any fun situations to share with my Aristocrats?
Burghardt: Most of the gigs we played in all these years were "funny", especially those which took part in strange places like old factory buildings, farming houses or garden-parties. And we met many bands "on the road".
Around 1995 we often travelled to the POPKOMM in Cologne, where all important people from the "big" Metal Business met. And we had stickers and demotapes and a big mouth and told everyone, that our band would be the next big thing. The 90's were full of great Metal Music and events - I don't understand why some people say, that the 90's were an awful decade for Heavy Metal. First we had the Death Metal from Florida and Sweden, then came Black Metal from Norway, in the second half of the decade traditional Metal rose again - and there were brilliant albums from bands like Tiamat, Sentenced, Moonspell or Samael, and of course the Melodic Death Metal from Sweden. Really interesting and inspiring is the fact, that we were witnesses of the digitalization and of the invention of the internet - in the beginning we still wrote letters by hand - this totally changed the Metal Underground, the music and communication and we were a part of it.
A5:It is evident that the goal of a band is the planet earth. But to have gone
from playing Power Metal to Melodic Death Metal was a risky or necessary
decision? depending on the answer, justify!
Burghardt: We started the band in Summer 1989 without any musical skills, two of us did not even own instruments, I don't remember if we had fingers - but we knew, that we would play the loudest and fastest stuff ever heard. Our music was never up to date, it never was modern and we never intended to have sucess changing our style or attitude. First we called it "Power Metal", but, like I described, the meaning of that word changed in the 90's, so we had a problem to describe our music. There was a time when we called it "fast and pure Heavy Metal". With our 2002' album "Wolves Among Sheep" our Classic Thrash Metal roots became more obvious, so we called it "Melodic Thrash Metal", and that fitted until 2008.
When Mario Reese left the band, we reanimated once again for a short time our first singer Jens Albrecht and now we had someone growling, who turned the music more into "Melodic Death Metal" - the problem was, that at that time several Metal Core-bands started to name their style also so. Maybe it was our subconscious reaction on this, that we became more dark, more epic and more "blackened". All in all it was some kind of natural developement and all stylistics we ever had can still be heard in our music.
A6:I don't think the original members are all there for numerous reasons. But,
where did the interest in Melodic Death Metal, the style that consecrated Final
Cry, come from?
Kai: On the contrary, the original members are all still on board. Burghardt, Sonja and Eiko have been the core of Final Cry since 1989. Even Holger has basically been on board from the beginning, sometimes as a technician and in between now and then as a drummer. These four have known each other since their childhood and early youth and have remained loyal to the band until today. So basically you can say that I'm the only new band member since the founding phase - and the development towards the rather dark styles was already complete when I joined at the beginning of last year. So maybe I have a small part in the special sound of "The Ever-Rest", because I had the opportunity to put my personal touch on the work during the songwriting, but stylistically the album would certainly sound very similar without me.
A7:Some literature inspire the band?
Burghardt: "The Ever-Rest" is highly influenced by the book "Into Thin Air" from
Jon Krakauer, who tells the history of the "conquering" of the highest mountain in the world - and of course the dramatic events taking part in the 1996's storm which devasted several commercial expeditions. After that there were other books like from Heinrich Harrer, Hermann Buhl, Reinhold Messner and David Breashears important for the concept around the album and his lyrics. In former times many lyrics and also the "Wavecrest"-Trilogy were inspired by romantic poets like Byron, Shelley, Novalis or E.T.A. Hoffmann and the later victorian gothic fiction and the works of Stevenson, Le Fanu, Wilde and E.F. Benson - and of course, Bram Stoker. The most influential inspiration on all works is E.A. Poe who truly is the master of all and was the first poet who saw and described the trauma and the tragedy of the "modern" world and the struggle of man finding again his inner self, exploring the hidden and dark sides of himself and finding forms to exist in an the Age of Prometheus unchained.
A8:What´s the idea behind artwork´s album?
Kai: Since the album (like all our albums so far, by the way) represents a thematic concept, it was of course also important to us to visualise the theme accordingly. Furthermore, it should of course capture and reflect the atmosphere of the album. In the foreground of many of the stories is the "Brotherhood Og The Rope", the felloship who go out to climb the peaks and either find fame and fortune there, or death. So what could be more obvious than to incorporate these three components into the artwork? The icy summit, the fellowship and the threat of misfortune. It is obvious that a cold, frosty character is appropriate for the album theme, which is why we also decided to design the artwork in light, cold colours.
A9:Respect for any band is important and necessary. But, is there a band that you
listen to and think: I respect them, but will that ever be my approach to
Melodic Death?
Burghardt: There is one band in Melodic Death Metal-History who was on one hand very important for the genesis of this genre - on the other hand it is an example for the so-called "commercial" virus - which in most times kills all real innovation and strength in musical efforts - and for "whimping out". But yes, we listened to and we loved the first two releases from In Flames and I have to admit, that also the later works are brilliant. But if someone would ask me, if there are any links between Final Cry and In Flames I would bow my head in shame and say silently "no", because saying "yes" would mean, that we worship Death Metal Millionaires, who brought this music into the mainstream.
A10:How band arrive to MDD Records?
Kai: In short, the classic way. The band already recorded 4 songs from the album in November 2020 and applied to some labels with them in january 2021. Since MDD has an excellent reputation in the scene, the songs naturally ended up on the table there as well. Markus (MDD) was enthusiastic right from the start, also because he had known the band since the mid-nineties - and so the deal for the release of "The Ever-Rest" was made.
A11:This album is conceptual? yes or no and why?
Burghardt: The concept of "The Ever-Rest" is about the history of High Altitude Mountaineering since the early 20th century. It is also about the confrontation between man and nature and also the struggle of nations being the first and the best and sending their best men, who often didn't return. It is also about the deep yearning in man for the wilderness and for walking on a rope being stretched across the abyss. At last it is about heroic deeds and dramatic events, the cohesion and camaraderie of the mountaineers and about the drive to seek such dangerous adventures today. These tales of triumph and defeat, decline and resurrection, rise and fall, horror, love and friendship have to been told - to give an example and to illuminate the inner core of man and society, the motivations and mechanics of becoming a hero or a villain. But "The Ever-Rest" is not a continous narrative, it is more like a circle of people sitting around a campfire and listening to exciting stories: how G. L. Mallory got lost in the mists trying to reach the summit of the Everest in 1924, the end of Toni Kurz, freezing to death hanging on a rope in the northface od the Eiger in 1936, how Hermann Buhl was the first to climb the peak of Nanag Parbat in 1953 or how Reinhold Messner lost his brother there in 1970.
A12:We know that names thrown in the trash will stay there. But is there a
pleasurable feeling with witchcraft in Final Cry?
Burghardt: I must admit that I was never really happy with the name of our band - since 1992, when we chose to name us after the Agent Steel-song "Guilty As Charged" - "Final Age" - I wonder and did not remember, when and why we changed from "Age" to "Cry". But in my opinion "Age" would have been nicer. But after our 94' demotape "Words Unspoken" we decided to go on with "Final Cry". I noticed that there is an Indie-band named Primal Scream - so there are also other bands who found words like these. The meaning of the name is the decline of the outer and inner world of man, the end of times, the apocalypse - but also the resurrection after; it's not the destruction and end of the whole world, but also the little ends and new beginnings in us all. All things must end, we know, but it is the question, how man could and how man would deal with it.
A13:Can we say that this band is a wedding?
Burghardt: I won't say that it is a wedding, but it is a brother-and-sisterhood, something that came out of a common spring, some sort of family. I think "The Brotherhood Of The Rope", the mountaineers climbing the summit being connected by the rope - they would reach the top or would fall together to death, both is possible - is a good symbol for our band. There is love and friendship, but there is also subordination and respect to that untamed monster named "Final Cry" we unleash together, the art we create and the musical goals we want to reach with the band.
A14:The band feel differences between Zombique and now in The Ever-Rest?
Burghardt: The most obvious difference is, that on "The Ever-rest" we have a different vocalist. Kai is a more aggressive Singer and reminds me more of Swedish Melodic Death Metal from the mid-90's. Musically we continued the path we took with "Zombique". On "The Ever-Rest" we have a little more "catchy" melodies, more classic Heavy Metal elements and, of course, we have monk choirs and epic refrains - but it had to fit to the Mountaineering-concept and the majesty of the highest mountains. I don't think that there are other strong musical differences between "Zombique" and "The Ever-Rest". Concerning the production I think we have a more powerful sound, that fits better to our style of music.
Kai: Even though both albums seem to be very different at first sight, they have the same musical and stylistic similarities. The biggest difference might indeed be Eiko's deep, growling vocals on "Zombique", while I am more of a nasty screamer. On the other hand, both vocal styles fit the concept behind the album almost perfectly and it is in the nature of things that an album about voodoo cults and zombies also differs atmospherically from an album about ice, rock, cold and death. I think both albums differ exactly in the point that also reflects their differences in content. And that is also something that distinguishes Final Cry: Over all these years, you have never heard the same album twice.
A15:Based on your words and songs, is the man an experiment gone wrong?
Burghardt: This is a good and very clever question and it leads to the inner
sense of "The Ever-Rest". I think - and this is, what the concept is also about - that modern man and modern society as it was formed out since the age of conquering and discovering in the 16th century and came to life in the age of industrialization lost their roots and of course their myths and gods. Mankind has lost the connection to nature, the balance between taking and giving is no more. With the rise of modern capitalism and industrialization we received "The Wealth Of Nations", but that didn't mean a golden age for all people in the world, but only for colonialism, imperialism, racism and genocide. Most bad things in the modern world have their roots in these ideologies. Rousseau said that the first crime in the world was, that a man drove a stake into the ground and said: "This land is mine." The earth belongs to everyone and we must learn again to share and to live as brothers and sisters in peace and freedom, in trust and friendship with one another. So, as long as we don't suceed to live and act in this way, I would say, yes, the "experiment went wrong". But I worry about the word "experiment", because that would mean, that there is someone who pulls the strings or built the world as we know it. But the world we live in is made by man - and changes have to be done by man. I always believe that it is possible to return, to change and to create a better world. The Mountaineers leaving human society and longing for the wilderness are in search for the things and values which got lost in the modern times, they are the real knights of today gaining the holy grail.
A16:Based on your words and songs,is it better to think of the human being as
agony than an animal for health?
Burghardt: We have to think and to care about the whole creation and this means that animal and man are one. Man is an animal among others with a little bit more brain and going on two legs, him are given the skills to do good or evil, to decide and to take responsibility. He is able to feel love, hate and pity and that is the reason, why the history of man is full of sadness and melancholy and more fascinating and more dramatic than that of the apes or that of the roaches. The pain of men have to touch us more than the suffering of the animals. But believing in evolution and seeing the parallels between human and animal societies, I think we need to have more respect for animal species.
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