1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Z: Hellschwadron is a project that was formed a few years ago spontaneously with the intent to create aggressive and catchy music. In the beginning it was just a collection of riffs and the whole thing was put aside for a while. One day we thought that we should take all the stuff and release it on CD, i.e. to finalize it with vocals, layout, lyrics, mastering etc. The debut album was released in summer 2016 on Mercenary Musik / Symbolic Art Productions – we are very happy with the outcome.
2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Z: It is very difficult to describe the music I would say. It contains elements of Thrash Metal, Death Metal and Black Metal. Also the vocals are quite varying. The overall feeling is catchy and has the “straight-in-your-face”-feeling, I would say. Most of the songs are straight forward and quite aggressive.
3.Your lyrics cover both World Wars, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these topics?
B: When we thought about putting a “theme” to this music, it seemed that War and especially these wars would fit us perfectly. Because these wars still connect to us in direct and indirect ways. Although they are modern wars they are now very nostalgic in our psyche. War is a function of the Human condition.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Hellschwadron'?
Z: As Hellschwadron is German/American project we thought that a word-play would fit best for the project’s name - and the name “Hellschwadron” fits in my opinion. It expresses the overall feeling of the music / the album quite nicely. Like a troop of bombers directly attacking you from above.
5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?
Z: There are no plans to enhance the band with further members. We are quite happy with the current line-up. Less people also means less compromises and less influence from others. We can do what we want, when we want and are not dependent on others.
6. Both members live in different parts of the world, how does this work when it comes to the recording process.
Z: In the modern world it is not so difficult I would say. We both have our studios and it is easy to exchange files/ tracks and send them forth and back until the things fit. It is also easy to share demos / rough songs and then refine the things as we go along.
7.The album was released as a joint effort between 'Mercenary Musik' and 'Symbolic Art', can you tell us a little bit more about both of these labels?
B: Mercenary Musik is my label since 2001, it’s not really an active label anymore. But recently I hooked up with “Symbolic Art Productions” a new distribution entity and we decided to release the album in a jewelcase CD format. Nothing fancy and purposely simple.
The CD has a booklet with the lyrics and a great layout that was done by Z. I think nowadays all the new “Millennial” labels want to trot out their overally fancy releases, it’s all trickery.
There is too much emphasis on fancy packaging like Vinyl, cassette and digipack formats. Years ago it was something subversive and cool, but now it is mainstream and super trendy shit! Fuck all that, Hellschwadron is about the music
9. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black, death and thrash metal?
Z: As the album was only released recently, we did not get many reviews so far. However, what we received was quite positive. People who heard the album quite liked it. In the end we do not care too much anyway, because we make the music for ourselves. The most important thing is that we like it. However, we are honored if others like the sound too.
10.What is going on with your other band 'Battle Dagorath' these days?
B: We have 2 albums being released soon by Avantgarde Music. The albums are “I – Dark Dragons of the Cosmos” & “II – Frozen Light of Eternal Darkness”. The first will be released right after summer, then the 2nd will come some months later. Check them out please.
11.Where do you see this project heading into musically during the future?
Z: At the moment there are no concrete plans for a 2nd album but I am sure that we will have another one, one day. The style won’t change. It will be in the same direction: Aggressive, catchy and straight forward.
12. 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?
Z: I personally think that one gets influenced by anything around. We both grew up with the Black/Thrash/Death genre since many years – especially in the teenager years. These days I am listening to all and everything – if Metal-related, then more the old stuff. Old BM and old Death/Thrash Metal, then it is from the early days. I am not following all the newer bands/projects to be honest.
B: Nothing in this project was a result of any current music or current trends etc, we don’t really listen to any new “thrash” or “blackend thrash” bands. Hellschwadron is a very genuine and direct project. Nothing has been forced or over-analyzed. The result is a pure reflection of our past experiences growing up with Metal.
13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Z: Photography/Art/Video
14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Z: Enjoy “Storming Obliteration”!
Best regards,
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