Metalium Interviews

On their fifth studio album, Metalium display a riveting combination of power and melody that is topped off by the commanding vocal prowess of Henning Basse. Running the gamut from straightforward thrashing to intensely progressive, epic song parts, Metalium provides the metal listener with everything that one could hope for, their latest, "Demons Of Insanity", being a showcase of the band's immense talent that you'll surely not want to miss. Michael Ehre, the group's hard-hitting drummer provides us with some insight as to what is going on in the profoundly thundering world of Metalium.

The Gauntlet: How difficult was it for the band to top "Chapter Four" in terms of songwriting and production?

Michael Ehre: We wanted to write an album that should have more dynamic and more songs that are "back to basic". In my opinion "As One" is a bit to monotonous and sometimes a bit too overloaded, so we thought it would be good to change in another direction, without losing our band-trademarks.

The Gauntlet: Can you explain the reasoning behind naming your records with the suffix of chapters? How many chapters do you intend to produce?

Michael Ehre: This chapter-thing is because we wrote a continuing story. But to be honest, on our new record "Demons of Insantiy", we don't have that kind of concept-story behind the lyrics. But the songs are all about problems we have in our society, like the air pollution or the unstoppable increase of the computer progress.

The Gauntlet: What was different in the studio this time around? Are you to the point in your recording career that you feel comfortable in any recording studio?

Michael Ehre: If you feel comfortable depends on different things: although it's absolutely important that you feel good in the studio, there are some things that are also very important, for example, that you are well prepared and in good condition. And you have to love what you do, because I'm of the opinion that the fan can hear whether a musician likes the songs or not!

The Gauntlet: Do you feel pressure to compete with other German power metal bands when you go in to make a record?

Michael Ehre: No, absolutely not. Every band has its own trademarks and its own musical direction, so we don't have to feel any kind of pressure while we're writing or recording an album.

The Gauntlet: Are you completely satisfied with the way that "Demons Of Insanity" turned out? Do you feel that you achieved the type of record that you had set out to make when you began writing for this album?

Michael Ehre: As I said before, we wanted to make an album that is more dynamic and has also very strong riffs and melodies. I think we reached what we wanted to achieve. It's also the first time for me that I'm satisfied with the drum sound and the sound of the album.

The Gauntlet: This record sees a change in labels for the group. What is the reasoning behind the move from Century Media to Armageddon/Crash? What is it that those labels can do for you that Century Media could not?

Michael Ehre: That's very simple: Armageddon is the label of Lars Ratz, our bass player. So this wasn't a decision against any other label because we weren't satisfied with their work or something, no. Lars Ratz is Armageddon and who else than Lars knows better what's good for Metalium?

The Gauntlet: Lyrically, Metalium is more socially aware than many other bands that play your style of music. Why do you choose to highlight issues such as human cloning? Are you seeking to inspire listeners intellectually as well as being entertaining?

Michael Ehre: It's just because we as a band take care of all those things. It's a kind of therapy to write about these themes. Besides that, we thought it would be the right moment to go in that direction.

The Gauntlet: How is it that keyboardist Don Airey became involved with the band?

Michael Ehre: Don is a friend of Lars, so Lars asked him if he would like to help us. "Demons..." is the third record with him on the keys. He isn't a band member, because he is a very busy musician. But that's okay - we don't have that many keyboard parts in our music that it would be necessary to take a keyboard player with us on tour.

The Gauntlet: Please tell us about the touring that the band has undertaken in support of the new record. Where have you visited thus far and where are you heading in the months ahead?

Michael Ehre: We will go on tour in November/December this year. We already played some festivals. Last weekend we played in Wacken - that was great!!! In September we will play the "Bloodstock"-festival in England. And after that we will record a live DVD in my hometown here in Nordenham, in the north of Germany. So you see, we are very busy at the moment!

The Gauntlet: The band is additionally planning on releasing a sequel to the 2001 live album "Metalian Attack." How is this project coming along and when can fans hope to see this release?

Michael Ehre: As I said before, we will record a complete show for this DVD. Besides that there will be much more material on the DVD, like for example, "Making-ofs" from the studio and interviews with each band member. The DVD will be released in spring 2006.

The Gauntlet: What songs can fans expect to hear on the new live record?

Michael Ehre: I think we will play a kind of "Best of" program. That means that we will play songs from every album, new stuff, for example, "Pain Crawls In The Night" or "Demons Of Insanity" and our old material like "Fight" or "Steel Avenger".

The Gauntlet: Over the course of your career, the band has maintained a steady amount of creative output. To what do you attribute the solid work ethic of the group?

Michael Ehre: I'm writing songs the whole year, which means that I've collected many songs when we start to work on a new record. So we have the chance to pick out the best songs for the album. If we would start to write songs just a short time before the recordings than we'd have to take the material that we wrote in that short time. But that wouldn't be good for the quality of the record.

The Gauntlet: Do you feel that metal is more alive than ever in 2005?

Michael Ehre: In my opinion since the beginning of that music style, metal was always there and will survive every other trend! It survived the grunge era and it will survive the so called nu-metal era, because metal has the most loyal fans in the world!

The Gauntlet: What can fans expect from Metalium in the year to come?

Michael Ehre: We will work on our DVD and tour in Europe! So I guess that will take much time, so there won't be much time to do other things! But we hope to tour in some countries we haven't been before, like Brazil or in the U.S.A., we'll see......

The Gauntlet: Is there anything that you wish to say to long time followers of the group?

Michael Ehre: I want to say "THANK YOU ALL" in the name of the whole band for your support during the last years! I hope to see you on tour!!!!! Stay metal!