Speedwhore Interview

Answers by Tim (Kuntze) (singer and guitarist)

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Speedwhore was formed back in 2006 after Joker and I had the idea to start a metal band after we had a few too many drinks. It was clear from day one that our band wouldn’t be too technical as we had no experience at all and also that it would be “old-school” as we both are music-wise stuck in the 80s. Our sound was defined when we found our first drummer in Karlo Kuna who was a lot into late 80s / early 90s Black Metal. So we have those 2 metal worlds that collided. It worked out pretty good and led to the sound of Speedwhore.


2. Recently you have released your first full length album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It’s clearly Thrash, but we have focused a lot on atmosphere too, so you’ll find some other elements from Black- to Doom-Metal and also Synthesizers to have this sci-fi-feel to it (I’m also a lot into 80s New Wave, so probably that’s a reason, too). But when you want to describe the music on The Future Is Now with one word, it’s Thrash.


3. While the band has been around since 2006 and has also released a few demo's and singles, this is the first full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the wait?

Our problem was that we had no plan how to record our music in a proper way. It was clear for us that we won’t go into a studio or anything as we wanted to do it on our own. Unfortunately it took us some time to gather the needed know-how, but in the end we managed to record an album, which is better than I ever expected. I’m very happy with the final result! All the throwbacks from damaged equipment and lost recordings to changing line-ups don’t matter in the end.


4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

The overall theme on The Future Is Now is science fiction, but within that frame we deal with some other topics like war (hear “Grand War” or “War Bastards” for that), lovecraftish technology (“Secret Science” / “The Machine”), doomsday prophecies (“The Call”) or world weariness (“Too Late to Pray”). The Future surely will bring other topics, too. Maybe even without the sci-fi base-frame.


5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Speedwhore'?

It’s a whore on speed, isn’t that enough?! But joke aside: we stole it from Rigor Mortis (it’s a song from their 1991 Rigor Mortis vs. the Earth album).


6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

The farther away the gigs are, so much the better! Our gigs in foreign countries (Greece and Italy so far) were the best! Regarding our stage performance: we just go on stage and play our songs without any gimmicks or acting. Some people told us that we’re a bit distanced on stage or asked us why we don’t have any stage acting at all, but to be honest I prefer that over bands who try to act like the Scorpions, although they’re a playing in front of 10 people or bands who just act like assholes to be “tough”.


7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the album?

We don’t tour. We just do some gigs here and there and I guess that’s enough for a small band like Speedwhore, at least at the moment, but if anybody wants us to play anywhere in the world, we will be there for beer and travel costs!


8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?

So far very good! It’s nice to see that metal fans from the US, Brazil or Japan actually listen to our album AND LIKE IT. That’s awesome!


9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

In my opinion The Future is Now is a very good album, but it’s already past. Our goal is to surpass our old songs with the new ones and I’m really excited about that because I don’t know what the new songs will sound like, yet. We write our songs very intuitively, so I can’t give a clear answer to that one.


10. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We have a lot of different influences. I can’t say one particular band that influenced us the most, but I guess somehow every band we like influenced us in some way. Since I’m a teenager Hard Rock and classic Heavy Metal were my favorite genres. It may sound a little bit stupid for a member of an extreme metal band, but I don’t listen too much to extreme Metal genres, but there are some bands that definitely count to my all-time favorites, Overkill, Voivod, Death or Bathory for example. At the moment I’m a lot into King Diamond once again. Another album that’s spinning a lot lately is Architecture & Morality from O.M.D. - no metal, but simply great.


11. What are some of your non musical interests?

I read books (mostly science-fiction and American classics), I eat out a lot and I like traveling (especially to the US). That’s it more or less.


12. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thank you very much for the interview and also thanks to the readers of the interview. Check out our album “The Future Is Now” (the whole album can be streamed via Bandcamp) and feel free to contact us via speedwhore@gmx.de! Cheers, Tim!