Interview to BLUTSÄGE des TODES (Germany)

1. Hello dear friends, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

Andi drums: saludo, so good that we are part to your page, it is a pleasure for us. I am sitting here after a good night in front of the questions and hope that our guitarist tell any words too.

Torsten Guitars: Hello friends, pleasure to be here on Rotten Pages zine. I am doing fine and I’ll start right away. You can find us on the internet under the adress: https://blutsaege.de, you can find us on Spotify, Bandcamp and youtube. We rehearse in Wiesbaden, Germany.

2. The band was formed in 1998 and you decided to resurrect in 2003. When you think back to your beginnings today, what has changed since then? And what happened during these years of hiatus? During our time of seperation each one of us had several other projects. I for instance play the guitar in a Slayer Cover Band and I enhanced my guitar playing abilities.

Andi drums: ohh no, we had much longer break, we started in 2023 again after long seperate ways with a lot of other projects. 1998 to 2001, we were to young and adicted for anything. Blutsäge music was a lot too intensife for us, watch out for the first (and same last) recording in 2001. bandcamp for example.

Torsten Guitars: In the beginning, we were rather preoccupied with drinking and partying, music was our thing and we liked music and partying. Nowadays it is more about the music, I am grown up, got a steady job and I take the music more seriously.

3. As a band from west-central part of Germany, how has your local music scene influenced your development and growth as musicians?

Torsten Guitars: We rehearse in a big building with many other bands, hence we are in close contact with other musicians. Therefore, we get gigs from other bands, we are connected with other bands and we are a big community. In addition, the local music scene influenced us because our fans always supported us. After twenty years they still visit our concerts and like us. They give us confidence because our music is received so well and I know I keep on writing songs the style I do because it works that way. Our new songs are received even better.

4. “Satan's Rock 'n' Roll” is the way you define your music. Care to explain to the unknowing precisely the way you play?

Torsten Guitars: The name developed later when the band already existed. We wanted to create an image of satan and evil so we thought of an appropriate style we can call our style of music. We play a mix of thrash metal, death metal and grind core. As we keep an image of satan, blood and gore, we came up with our genredefining name Satan’s Rock ‚n‘ Roll to describe our style of music.

5. Can you name some of the bands who you first really admired and helped shape your future in music?

Torsten Guitars: That is rather easy, the bands that most influenced me were Carcass, Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Morbid Angel, Slayer, Anthrax and Exodus.

Andi drums: for me the most is the German band Trio from the 80s, haha.

6. Your debut EP “Back from Hell” delivers a powerful, weird and prominent sound. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album and how it felt to release your music to the world?

Torsten Guitars: We got back together in summer 2023 and I had lots of new ideas for riffs and songs. So I started to write new songs immediately and presented them to my drummer Andi. We did the new songs together and they were cool. Then we needed a bass player and had several ones that did not fit. Then we found Chris and it was a perfect match. We did new songs together, rehearsed them and did the recording. We got a mixing engineer and when the songs were finished, we wanted to release them of course and they were received well and brought us several gigs.

7. Can you give us a glimpse into the creative process behind your music? How do you typically approach songwriting and arranging?

Andi drums:Torsten starts with the ideas and then we go on together during rehearsel.

Torsten Guitars: Normally, I play at home, I play riffs and good ones I record on my cell. If I got some good riffs I put together a song, record it and see if it works. Normally I present the finished songs during rehearsal and they are subject to little changes and improvements by my band mates.

8. When you sit down together and rehearse, does it go smooth or and you do full songs or do you really have to insist on certain parts all the time?

Andi drums: First we start with a list of fixt songs and after this most time work on new ideas.

Torsten Guitars: Our rehearsels are rather smoothly, we first do our set and practise specific parts of songs that don’t work that well more in detail. After that, we do new songs, discuss them together and sometimes make small or bigger changes or develop new parts and include them.

9. As always, our interest in bands and music goes beyond the music itself and into its contents. Your lyrical theme and concept. Tell us about what inspires you both as musicians and lyricists?

Torsten Guitars: For me, the most inspiring and influencing albums were ‚Reek of Putrifation‘ by Carcass and ‚Reign in Blood‘ by Slayer. Our lyrical theme and concept is closely related to these two album, both in the lyrics and the style of our music. I like to address the darker side of human nature and sing about the evil in human nature. As a musician, I like hard riffs, fast music with little melody and highly distorted guitars.

10. How has the reception been for your music so far? Have there been any standout moments or memorable experiences you'd like to share?

Torsten Guitars: Our music has always been well received, formerly by a more restricted audience but nowadays by a broader fanbase and new people due to the fact that our music has changed. In the beginning we played Grindcore mostly, now it is a mix of Thrashmetal, Grindcore and Deathmetal. Our new style is received even better and more people like that kind of music. A standout moment was during a gig, where we played and a 50-year-old lady from Brazil danced happily to our music. After the gig I talked to her and she gave big compliments even though she did not seem to be into Metal at all and she wasn’t but our music she liked very much.

11. Which things do you think a band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future for your band?

Torsten Guitars: I think a band shouldn’t sacrifice their style and attitude in order to be successful. We kept our style and I wouldn’t change it for any money. The music is who I am and it expresses my feelings. I wouldn’t sell my soul.

Andi drums: our soul and half of life.

12. As a band, how do you navigate the challenges and demands of the music industry? What advice would you give to aspiring musicians based on your own experiences?

Torsten Guitars: As a musician I have released some albums. In the beginning it was self recorded tapes, then we released records and CDs, nowadays it is Bandcamp Spotify and Youtube. To have a release on Spotify or Bandcamp is much more easy and cheaper than a record release and you reach a much greater audience. It is very easy to share your music with anybody than back in the 90s. My advice to young musicians is to publish your music on an internet platform, it is the easiest way to success.

13. When not making music, what are some interests you like to do on your spare time when not being in the studio or perform live music that fans of you may not know about?

Torsten Guitars: I like standuppaddeling very much and I like to travel, spend time with my girlfriend and cooking is a favourite hobby of mine. I like to get to know new cultures and their habits.

14. Do you have a special “dream” to achieve in music? Like playing a special show, doing a special recording or playing with a special musician?

Torsten Guitars: My dream would be a recording in the Abbey Roads Studios. Another dream is to be the opener for Carcass or Napalm Death.

15. How do you feel the metal scene has evolved in Germany over recent years, particularly in your own genre?

Torsten Guitars: In recent years, the metal scene has evolved well an widened. We made a lot of new acquaintances and spread our circle of fans. Last summer we were booked by a guy who saw us 25 years ago, we played on a metal festival and got many other gigs. The metal scene we got into is very kind and they love our music. It is a fairly big community now and we were allowed to join in. So for us and me in particular, the metal scene has grown and I am better connected nowadays.

16. I want to thank you, sincerely, for your time. Before we end our conversation, is there anything else in particular you’d like to share?

Torsten Guitars: My advice to young musician colleages is, be who you are and make the music you live for, don’t sell out.

https://www.facebook.com/andiesaege