1. Hello "Bettler", how's everything going out there in Germany? You enjoying the summer time?
Thanks for asking. Yes in itself I enjoy of course very much that it is a little warmer. However, I'm more the type for the winter and look forward to when everything is covered in snow again.
2. You call your project as an amateur black metal band. Explain me, please the evolution process that made you become as a musician.
Amateur describes the complete approach of the project, so to speak. I had a guitar in my hands for the first time in November 2022 and started recording my first EP in February 2023. Without any idea of great tabs, notes and musical theory. I play purely by ear and feeling. Of course, through practice my knowledge will expand, but since I do not plan to expand it in theory, it will always remain very simple music. Since it has become the slogan or motto of the project, it is also because "Verhinderer" is the first time that I dare to go public with my own ideas. Thus, it also gave me a certain protection from the Internet in the beginning. This protection is no longer necessary, but the motto remains.
3. When you first began creating music, where did you see yourself going and was there ever any plan to bring anyone else in to work on the music with your or was it always envisioned as a solo project?
“Verhinderer” will always stay a solo project. I don't even pass it around for mixing and mastering. It's my creative workshop. I've been listening to heavy metal since I was little. Thus, it was only a matter of time until I reach for an instrument myself at some point. Nobody really gave me the idea to do this, but I learned a lot from my best friend, who still helps me with questions. In general, the project also serves to leave something in the world, should you no longer be there. Many travel through the world to enrich themselves. Such a thing is not of interest to me. I want to leave something in the world, even if it is nothing big. That is the biggest drive behind this project.
4. Listening to your music, I can’t help but hear a connection between black, noise and poetry, how did you develop this unique style of music?
That is the most beautiful side effect of the fact that I have little experience. It's almost inevitable that something new will come out, since my inability means I can't just replay something that's been done before. The noise part also comes from my lack of understanding of proper mastering. However, I like a noisy sound myself. I'll try to get a less noisy sound soon though. The lyrics and the poem part comes from the fact that I think I have quite interesting images in my head, which I want to reflect in the music with my simple possibilities.
5. Let's talk a bit about the first demo, "Ruhepol". It deals with the most beautiful and mystical place in Germany: the Black Forest. An area that you was allowed to call home for a few years. Could you tell us a bit more about your stay in that place?
The bottom line is that I moved to the Black Forest because I accepted a training position as an event manager. My job was to organize weddings and seminars. Since nature still has the upper hand in this part of Germany, there are also fewer people. Logically, I spent a lot of time alone.
Through this lonely time, I found my enthusiasm in Black Metal. It became almost like a good friend, where the performers were in a way as lonely as I was. Thus, a strong bond built up. All my friends from my home Saxony went partying and built your networks of new acquaintances. That was not possible for me. I spent my time immersing myself in this genre and learning a lot about its history and origins. So there is a strong connection between Black Forest, Black Metal and me.
6. Where are you living now? Are you used to live as a hermit? No family?
After a few years I moved to Leipzig, because the loneliness and the work were getting me down. I also wanted to have a social environment again and meet new people. Also to get new influences and opinions of people again. In my opinion, this is important in order not to be bitter and to learn new things. Leipzig is a city that is known for dealing with alternative opinions. Whether I agree with all opinions may be another matter but it helped me to question myself and my views. Inside, I still prefer to be alone, educate myself, be creative, and do sports. A strong order in everyday life is very important to me. However, on weekends I always meet with important friends who have a positive influence on me and whom I often ask for advice on everything and whose opinion I value very much.
7. “Besinnung” is my favorite song on this demo. Can you talk a little bit about incorporating those beautiful moods and atmospheres?
The song “Besinnung” represents the final song for the restoration of the inner order. It is the most important song on the EP and was the second song I recorded. It was meant to be a bit more calming. It didn't take much to create this song, as I just had to think of the nostalgic feeling I got when I went back home from the cabin, the said "resting place". Thoughts and feelings can be such a strong inspiration that almost everything writes itself. There is no right or wrong in my opinion. As long as it is honest, it has a reason to be heard. This is something that should be more immersed in the black metal underground.
8. What is the theme of “Angstwelt / Wunschwelt” you would say? What is your favorite song off the demo and why?
With this demo I wanted to take another step towards Ambient/Dark Ambient and a bit further away from classic Atmospheric Black Metal. To be honest, I don't really like any of the songs anymore, but it is an important part of the discography, because I try to do my own thing and be a bit more courageous in songwriting. If you listen closely, you'll find some good interesting ideas that I didn't put together very well. In general, it's about the fear of losing one's independence. That's my biggest fear, but at a certain age I can't avoid it anymore.
9. "Groschenroman" is a short musical novel written by yourself, where a court jester is telling a history, what do he have to say us?
The EP tells a revenge story of a court jester who has been treated like dirt all his life and is at the bottom of the food chain. But at some point he has enough of it, and takes revenge on the king and queen, who treated him so badly. I think it's important to be humble in your dealings with others and to cut back on your arrogance. This view is atypical of black metal, but I definitely won't pretend to be anti-humanist, racist or incredibly anti-religious on my works just to make myself seem more evil and fit into the image of the genre. That's not the way I was raised, and that's not the opinion I'm going to spread. I stand by my values. So it was important for me to clarify these values with this story. The people you treat badly will eventually kick your ass and laugh at you, you can be sure of that.
10. This time, no synthesizer elements were used to make the music a little more honest and raw, as you say. Why the change?
Of course, I want to keep trying new things. On this EP I tried not to let any melodies flow in through keyboards or the like. I wanted to make the music sound a bit more aggressive in line with
the concept. Also a step more towards Blackened Punk go. Also, I didn't want to get too lost in difficult song constructs. “Die Königin”, my favorite song so far, was written and recorded one day. That was insanely fun.
11. How about recording? Was everything recorded digitally or analog? Are you self-taught or do you have a friend that helps out with the mixes etc?
As already mentioned, I do everything alone. Everything was recorded digitally, except for the vocals, which are sung over a simple microphone. I play only guitar myself on this. The drums are programmed by me. As I mentioned, only my best friend really helps me here with useful tips but in the end I also do mixing and mastering alone. So the sound will never be perfect, but will always be the way I want it. The aspect that I do everything alone is very important to me.
12. In terms of artwork, your records has a very visual representation. Are all they made by you? Explain a little about how you develop them.
The artwork is not created by me. These are created by a gentleman from Croatia with the name "Juricatomic". How he does it, however, I do not know. I always have great confidence in him, because he implements my wishes appropriately and I also always leave him a lot of free space, so that he can bring his own ideas. This is how a constant great cooperation has developed.
13. Do you cope with your own emotions through your music and if so: how? Through the writing or performance?
I don't think I have to fight an inner demon with music directly, but I so often have ideas and moods that help transform them into music that I just take the chance. I feel a strong inner power when I record and release music. It has improved my self-confidence tremendously and helped me to deal with opinions from the internet, so I can also handle criticism a bit better. So it has also become a life changing hobby.
14. As a musician, how mandatory is the process of coming up with new ideas or incorporating new influences as opposed to staying within the style you are known for or that you are most familiar with?
When you are convinced of the basic construct and mood of black metal, it is inherent that you always include it. I think that's a good thing, too, because the mood and power in black metal is unique and no other genre can match it. However, by now every riff has been played before. I find it important as a musician to make use of other genres and new ideas. But as a listener I also appreciate that there are many bands that only use traditional elements.
15. Just how important is artistic appeal for you? Does aesthetics play a big role in your music? If Black doesn’t classify as art, then what is it?
That is difficult to answer. I think that everyone who uses his own mind and creates images, sounds or the like with his own ideas is an artist. Whether it looks or sounds particularly aesthetically is secondary, because here tastes are different. In my personal opinion, Black Metal is of course the most aesthetic art form in music, because for me it conveys the most emotional information.
16. Most bands from Scandinavia are influenced by the climate. How do the winter months affect you on a personal level. Does it make you more or less creative?
I wouldn't necessarily become more creative, but I could tell for me that I feel a much deeper connection to the music. As a listener, I can better understand the story the artist is trying to tell me while it's cold outside, raining or snowing. As an artist, I also have a greater need to tell more and more intense stories in my songs. There really is a considerable magic that comes from the cold seasons. I'm already looking forward to it again.
17. Although your releases are self-produced, are you fishing around for any major label support?
I've actually been trying to get on a label for the last few days. It has also worked out. The formalities are still being taken care of and there will be news about this soon. I am very happy to work with a label soon and to see what possibilities there are for my further work.
18. What sorts of things do you gentlemen enjoy outside of the musical realm? What are some things about you that we would never guess otherwise?
Music in general plays an important role in my whole life. I used to work for a black metal webzine for a while, but that's not the case anymore. I also collect records and cassettes. I also do a lot of sports and watch my diet. Since I live alone, I have to find my own discipline every day. I also try to walk a bit in nature every day. Thus, the weekdays are well filled and I spend the rest of the time meeting with my friends or visiting my brother or mother. Everything in general nothing special but I love it the way it is.
19. In your opinion, black metal went through evolution or revolution since its origins back in the early 90’s?
I think there were some important moments that can be called a kind of revolution, but I think that if you look at the history of the genre as a whole, it's more like an almost natural evolution. The moments that I would see as a kind of revolution are the sound image and image, theme, lyrics and appearance of Venom in the 80's and the strikingly raw sound image of "A Blaze in the Northern Sky" in 1992. For me, those are the moments where something was actually completely overturned in a revolutionary way. Of course, there were other important albums, which were released mainly by Burzum, but I would not attribute them to this great overturning role. Since then, the genre has been reinventing itself over and over again. I also find it honestly very strange how this can always be criticized. Some people are so set in their views that they call everything junk that doesn't follow the basic idea from the old days. Here, however, you often miss real insider tips. But in the end, everyone can decide for themselves. I also find it an important factor that I was born in 1997 and thus in the early days was not in front of the stage with the pioneers. So I don't have to think nostalgically of the old days and can be more open to new things.
20. Do you find anything valuable in human society? What about individual humans?
As I mentioned before, I am not a person who goes through life particularly hateful. I see so much every day that is worth living for. Whether it's for people, art or myself. Everywhere in these things you find value. This whole nihilistic rumble of some who do not mean it seriously anyway is actually just ridiculous. I like the typical Black Metal themes as a listener very much, however, I could never write such lyrics myself, simply because I like my environment very much. Of course, I do include some angry passages in songs, but those are more part of the main story of the record. I think a lot of people should change the way they look at things and finally start to see themselves as responsible for everything they do. If you don't like a situation, see what you can change yourself and maybe even improve it. Don't always blame it on others and say this one and that one is to blame. No! You are in the responsibility to influence your environment positively and not to
point lazy and stinking fingers at others. If everyone would follow this philosophy, we could create a more peaceful coexistence.
21. And now we have finally come to the end of this interview, do you have some important words for our readers?
I would like to start by thanking you very much for the interview, it was a lot of fun working through the questions. Also, I thank all readers for the interest and hope that the exchange of words has given a little insight into my views and work. Feel free to check out my channels and have a good time. Greetings from Leipzig!
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