1. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some of our questions. How are you doing?
Thank you for inviting me to this interview. We're doing very well. We are excited and looking forward to the album release show. In general, we're very excited to see what people will say about our album „Miscreation“.
2. Let us start out by learning a little bit more about the members of All Life Ends, perhaps you can tell us a little about insight of you?
We are actually four completely different characters, but we found each other in making music. Claudio, the guitarist, has become a father and is just getting to know family life. He's (along with me) the longest in the band. He joined the band in 2008 and is featured (like me) on all releases of ALL LIFE ENDS. Our drummer Thomas has been with us since 2012. He is a person who is very critical. He has a hard time praising his own music. But he finds the new songs extremely successful. This joy then infects us all as a band. Our youngest member is Ramon, also a guitarist.
Nevertheless, we've been together in this lineup for 7 years now. We know each other very well, our strengths and weaknesses and we can deal with them like adults. It's great fun creating music with the guys. We've been playing without a bassist for 4 years now. Unfortunately we have not found a suitable replacement. But this works quite well without a bassist, as we play with click and let the bass play as a backing track.
3. OK, you have been around almost 17 years already, being into the history of Swiss metal…What is needed to be strong performer and delivering music for such a long time?
Has it been 17 years? Crazy how time flies. When I (David, vocals) started the band in 2006, I just wanted to make Death Metal, which I like. We had a lot of changes in band members. This has always thrown us back as a band. We had to cancel concerts again and again. The new fellow musicians had to learn the old songs. As soon as they could play them, they left the band. So we could hardly write new songs. Since the new people were always learning. What was already frustrating. But I never thought of quitting.
I can't name a recipe that motivates you to just keep going. But I'd say it's that joy of making Death Metal with other people who are also love this kind of extreme music.
4. So as a band that plays death metal, which are the major bands that had an influence on your music? And do you only listen to European death metal bands or….?
There are so many bands that I listen to or that influence me or us. I can only speak for myself which bands I really like. Such as Dissection, Hour Of Penance, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Edge Of Sanity, (old) Entombed or Iron Maiden and Megadeth. But I also love Dream Theater. But there are also newer bands like Beyond Creation, Hideous Divinity, Rivers Of Nihil or Blood Incantation that I listen to regularly. But like I said, there are many more great bands that I can't list them all here.
I make no distinction of their origin. As long as I like it, I'll listen to it.
5. How do you see the death metal scene nowadays? So many subgenres, so many bands… What is different now vs. back then when you started – for the scene and for you as a band?
I just got the Death Metal hype back in 1990. I went to practically every Death Metal concert in Switzerland. The halls were full of fans. That changed when grunge came
along. That's when a lot of the older fans turned to that genre and there was a split. Fewer and fewer people came to the Death Metal concerts.
As Band we experienced a break in 2009, when suddenly fewer and fewer people came to the concerts. Maybe it also has something to do with it, because the iPhone was introduced. People could watch everything online at any time. It was like saturation. People no longer had to be there live to see a band, but could follow it in front of the screen. I cannot prove whether this is true. At least that`s my assessment.
6. The metal genres that have been attached to All Life Ends seem to be melodic extreme metal, death metal, and even black, but what genre would you put on yourself?
I myself grew up with Dissection and I still love the first two albums. For us it was Death Metal with melodies back then. It wasn't even called black metal. That's why I describe ALL LIFE ENDS as a Death Metal band.
7. Your newest album “Miscreation” is coming out soon. What can you tell us about it and how was the response from the underground media and the fans to the single track you already released?
Claudio (guitarist) and I wrote the songs for Miscreation during the Corona lockdown in Switzerland. We wrote the songs with such ease and speed that the other two band members complained that they had to learn so many songs.
We already have some pre-orders for the album. Especially because we will also release a digipack and vinyl version of the album.
The feedback on the single track "Pandemonic" is consistently positive. Some old colleagues and ex-band members were totally surprised and excited about the song. Of course, we're even happier when we hear it from people who have known us for a long time. They don't lie or try to be nice to us.
8. "Miscreation" is the band's first release since the beginning of the Corona Pandemic, How has the band been managing and spending time during COVID-19?
As already explained in the previous question, Claudio and I met regularly in the rehearsal room and wrote the new songs for "Miscreation" in a very short time.
In Switzerland, fortunately, the rules of the COVID-19 measures were not so strict. The lockdown only lasted a month and after that we were able to rehearse normally again.
9. One of the distinguishing qualities of the new album is that it was totally mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö. Did you have some kind of a vision to nail a specific sound when you got to write and record the music?
It already became clear while writing the new songs that we wanted a different sound for the successor to "The Plague Of Man". Since I also had the artwork for the cover in mind and Kumislizer (who designed the artwork) got it exactly how I envisioned it was clear that we had to ask Dan Swanö.
We wanted the instruments to be easy to hear but still have power and punch in the sound. Dan pulled it off incredibly brilliantly. He's just a genius in his job.
10. How did you guys cross paths with Dan, how has the relationship been with this honourable gentleman?
I just emailed Dan. From his first reply I knew he had to mix and master our album.
When he sent the first sample, we were blown away and we gave him the job straight away.
He`s totally uncomplicated, has a sense of humor and is such an incredibly likeable person.
I would very much like to get to know him personally. Maybe this is still the case. Who knows.
11. How do you feel that this more evolved sound and production, versus the rawer sound of the previous album “The Plague Of Man”?
I think the rawer sound suited "The Plague Of Man" well.
It wouldn't fit with "Miscreation". The songs are arranged differently. They create a completely different image of the music in me. That's why it had to be, shall we say, a better produced sound.
12. Can you briefly inform us about the overall lyrical theme of the album?
I'm a big Lovecraft fan. I've always been impressed by the dark and spooky feeling he creates through his stories. I tried to combine this lurking madness from space with religious themes. And I also like apocalyptic scenes and try to deal with issues that concern me. The overarching lyrical theme is a creature so evil and stupid that it self-destructs. No need to search space for a tentacle giant monster. Because it is right here on earth, near you: Mankind, a miscreation.
13. The cover art for ‘Miscreation’ look awesome. How important is the visual aspect of the band for you?
I`m very happy that you like the artwork. I am absolutely in love with the cover. For me it is very important that the artwork and the music harmonize well and fit together. The cover was created by Kumislizer Art. I absolutely love it and watch it over and over again.
14. I'm not terribly familiar with MMD/Black Sunset. How did you become involved with that label?
It's a small but fine label that supports its bands really well. We have requested some labels. The contact with MDD/Black Sunset was very uncomplicated right from the start, so we decided for this label.
15. What is your favorite part of writing and performing music? What are some of the challenges you face as a musician?
There is something magical about the process of creating a new song. It's still very exciting when you do the song together with the band. Live shows are also incredibly fun. If you can play the created song in front of an audience.
Challenges: For example, finding suitable musicians, in our case a bassist, can be difficulty. At live shows, changeovers between bands can be extremely tedious and annoying. In Switzerland, for example, we have trouble finding someone good to create a music video. Either there aren't people doing it for Death Metal bands or it's so expensive you can't afford it.
16. How important is live performance for All Life Ends? Do you play often? If so how does your show looks like?
We are a band that loves to play live. It is not so important to us whether we get a lot of money. We really enjoy playing in front of an audience. Especially if they like our music, too. That motivates us a lot.
Before the Corona Pandemic we played shows regularly. Since many locations did not survive and had to close due to the pandemic, it has become more difficult to play concerts. The venues are missing. We had to cancel a mini-tour for the album release of "The Plague Of Man" and many other concerts in 2020. That was a major setback.
Our live performance is pretty wild. We move a lot. I think you never get bored watching us. Rather dizzy. Haha.
17. What are the basic criteria by which you choose the places where you would like to play live?
Is it about lineup in the case of festivals, the nature of the action, or even approach of the organizers? We don't have big claims. The main thing is that you get something good to eat and drink. We can be satisfied with that. If the organizers are reliable, the necessary equipment is available and the technic works, then we are happy.
18. We have reached the end of our conversation, is there something that you want to say still?
Support the underground. There are so many great bands. Check our Homepage for news: www.alllifeends.com …and never forget: only Death is real
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