Line Up:
Michael Goldsmith-Guitar\Vocal
Dominik Schweizer-Bass
Christoph Brandes-Drums
Well,Friends of Aristocracy!
We will start in all your emotions, the sixty-fifth interview with the German band Goldsmith.
First of all, we must say that yes it is the last name of the Guitarist and Vocalist. But, yes, they know that there was an English band with the same name. But, no, they have nothing to do. The reasons are two:1- They are from Germany and 2: They practice a wonderful mix of Thrash Metal and classic rock.
Michael, before this band, was for twenty years in the historic band Blackend. On June 24th, his new band's third album is released, entitled Of Sound And Fury. Clear blues influences and recordings made at the historic Iguana Studios.
Before this work, the debut album titled Shut Up & Rock and in 2013, the second album Fire were released in 2016.Let´s go to the interview!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16hFMhUfBy7YuRPn2M3JoGDfUTXyU7TrU/view?usp=sharing
A1:Hi Guys, Awesome to talk to the bad and Good Afternoon! First question: let’s talk about the composition work in “Of sound and fury”?
Band Goldsmith:Hi, good afternoon. On this Album I tried to combine the influences of my youth with all the influences that I had the last 20 years while I was on Tour with blues guitarist Bernard Allison and my time studying Jazz-Music. I grew up in the 80's and 90's and I always liked albums that has intros like Maiden's “Somewhere in Time”, “Seventh's Son” or Metallica's “Master Of Puppets”, to name a few. So I just decided to give it a try and came up with the little spaghetti-western tune at the very beginning of the new Album. I´m very picky when it comes to songwriting. When I got a new Riff or something I play around with it for quite a time. Like transpose it to different keys and see how it feels or change the speed or the rhythmic feeling of it. A solid strong structure is very important for me. Nowadays you can arrange the songs on your DAW at home and move parts around. That's what I did. When I had all the songs in their final arrangement I made a pre-production of the album at home with a drum machine and a midi-bass. That's what we worked with. We rehearsed and then began with the recording process.
A2:Besides Blues, what classic rock influences are in the band and in this album?
Goldsmith:I've never dug too deep into real “classic rock”. I don't' know exactly why but I guess there's a lot of songs that's just too nice. Sometimes there's no weird chord in between or the vocals are too lovely. I like when there is a little weird situation from time to time in the song and also I like the aggression that comes from thrash-metal. But when it comes to the word “classic” I would name Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Zeppelin....
A3:Despite your surname being this, has your band ever been compared to British Goldsmith?
Goldsmith:No, never. I've seen a release from that other “Goldsmith” online but as far as I remember that was from 1980 or so.
A4:The band feel differences between Fire and now in Of Sound and Fury?
Goldsmith:Yes, definitively. “Fire!” was recorded 2016 at a different studio with different band members. The years prior to “Fire!” I spend about 6 Month every year on the road with Bernard Allison. So my musical influences and surroundings where a lot different than it was the last couple years. When I started the songwriting for the new album in 2017 I quickly realized that it's gonna be a lot heavier than what I did before. I felt that it's time to change things up. I looked for members that have the same musical roots as I have.
A5:How did the meeting and hiring of Christoph Brandes happen?
Goldsmith:Christoph's studio is located about 20 min from where I live. We're both living close to Freiburg / Germany. In that Region, there's not a lot to choose from when it comes to recording-studios for heavy music. I found him online and listened to what he did before and really liked it. In December 2019 we met at his Studio and I showed him my songs. He said he could be the Producer but also want's to play the drums.
A6:What´s the differences between Blackend and Goldsmith?
Goldsmith:Hmmm,i guess the alcohol levels. Blackend was formed back in, let's say, 1995 or so. We were 4 kids living in a small town in Germany. We started as a punk band cause we didn't know how to play our instruments in a proper way. I just knew a bunch of powerchords. We slowly grew as a band and released our first Demo-Tape in 1997. I'd say that 90% of the songs were written together in our rehearsal studio. We had a great time, a lot of parties, a lot of memorable shows...today I make sure the music comes first. As I said i'm very picky and every single note is double-checked. That's definitively a big difference between the two bands. I guess i'm also more open-minded when it comes to different music-stiles than I was 20 years ago and I put a lot more time into the vocals.
A7:Is getting an opportunity to rehearse on the iguana an almost impossible task?
Goldsmith:The Iguana-Studio is well booked. There's a lot of Bands from all over Europe coming to record their stuff there.I would't say it is impossible. When you plan ahead it's doable.
A8:Hero is a cover ban?
Goldsmith:You mean a cover-song ? No, it's written by me although it has a bit of a Megadeth-vibe.
A9:How did the band arrive to MDD Records?
Goldsmith:I know Markus from MDD since 1995. He was the one who released the first Blackend Record in 1997 and booked our first shows. I haven't really heard from him for a couple years, but we were connected through social media and I knew that he is still in the music business and his company is growing. When I had finished the recordings in December 2021 I called him and told him that I've done a record that could be interesting for him.
A10:This album is conceptual?
Goldsmith:No, not really. When it comes to the music I would say “almost” but in not the lyrics.
As I said, I like Intros and Instrumentals. In “The Reprise”,the instrumental song on the album. I picked up several riffs and melodies that's been used in other songs of the album. That's what probably makes it feel “conceptual” On the lyric-side, it's all pretty dark but it's not a coherent story.
A11:Some literature or films influence the band?
Goldsmith:I'd say George Orwell's “1984”. It's a shame but I don't watch a lot of movies. I get my inspiration from traveling or being together with other musicians for this album, we choose that “western-look” but it's not coming from any specific movie or book.
A12:How the band stylistically combines classic rock with thrash?
Goldsmith:Hmmm...i guess you take the classic rock riffs and speed them up a little, take the thrash-riffs and slow them down a little and try to squeeze them together, ha ha. To be honest, I haven't really thought about that. When one part fits to another, why not put them together even if it's reggae and death-metal ? I just listen to my ears and as soon as they say “that'll work” i'll do it.
A13:Does your job somehow influence your lyrics and sound?
Goldsmith:I guess so. Being a guitar teacher i'm surrounded by a lot of other musicians. There's a lot of exchange and talks about new gear like amps or pedals, new records or whatever. Playing through a new amp or a new pedal can be very inspiring. That's were I got a lot of ideas from also from new music that someone shows me.
A14:Because of technocracy, do you believe that today we lie more than in the time of our parents?
Goldsmith:Maybe yes. Nowadays,when everybody is connected to each other via social media there's a lot more interaction and surveillance between people. I guess surveillance is the key word here. 40 years ago no one could really track you and you could whatever you want all day long. Today you leave leave a digital trail behind what maybe makes the people lie more often. That's just my five cents.....
A15:What was the best song made by Blackend and what was the best song made by Goldsmith and why?
Goldsmith:One of my favorite Songs of Blackend was “The Eye Of The Observer” from the Album “Mental.Game.Messiah.”
I just like the riffs and the heaviness of it. The production is also very good even it's almost 25 years old. It was the first time we recorded on hard disc instead on tape.Right now I can't tell you what's my favorite song of the new album. I kind of love them all but also hate them all , haha. I spend too much time listening to the new material and working on it that I maybe need a little more distance from it. I guess I can give you a answer in about 1 or 2 years.
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