1. YUGGOT is a german two-piece project. Growing up and beginning to listen to heavy metal, what were the bands and albums that really influenced you the most?
Caro: When I started to listen to Metal music, I fell in love with death metal immediately. My favorite bands back then were Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Macabre, Gorguts, Malevolent Creation etc. I was introduced to Black Metal by my then-boyfriend, who was a huge fan of Norwegian black metal, so we mostly listened to Satyricon, Dark Throne, Immortal, Isengard, Bathory, Gorgoroth, Mayhem… you know, the classical Norwegian stuff. Though I wouldn’t say that these bands influenced me or better our music very much, I still listen to them and I thought about them a lot when we recorded the EP. It was an awesome time back then!
Arne: I grew up somewhere between the music of the late 80s, grunge, new metal, eurodance, pop punk, metalcore and the inevitable big 90s metal acts like Metallica. It was a weird mix. In the late 2000s I started playing in a band called “Wall”, which gained some local prominence. We played a lot of shows and that has really broadened my horizons. I got to know many local metal, hardcore and punk scenes and listened to more and more (extreme) subgenres, like drone metal, sludge or crust punk. So I was less invested in one genre or band, but soaked up everything I kind of liked. No matter if it was synth-pop or brutal death metal. I think you can hear these influences a little in YUGGOT - on the one hand the 80s synths and on the other hand riffs that are somewhere between black, death and doom.
2. The band has been around for two years! How are the younger generations in your area in general? Are they still keeping metal flames alive or fading away?
Caro: Absolutely keeping metal alive! I love to see this. In Germany as well as in Spain. A wise man called Jack Black once sang: “You can’t kill the Metal”, I totally agree. I am sure Metal will always be around!
Arne: They are absolutely vital for the scene and the music. COVID fucked up a lot, whether it was venues or bands that couldn't fund themselves anymore. I would prefer a gig in a squat to an open air show in a stadium any day, because that's the real breeding ground for music that isn't just out for sales.
3. What's driving force behind Yuggot and your most important influence while creating music?
Caro: Since Arne & I met in a band, I wanted to record some heavier stuff with him. And as soon as I had finished reading “Fungi from Yuggoth”, the idea of YUGGOT was born! Arne writes all the drafts of the songs, so I would say he is definitely the driving force behind YUGGOT. I am more the “quality control” part, haha!
Arne: The first drafts for YUGGOT were created in the first german COVID Lockdown. We couldn't go out, we weren't allowed to meet with friends and bandmates, so I just sat down at my computer and recorded the first riffs. If I can't make music I quickly become miserable, so it was also a bit of an outlet. And since Caro and I are a couple and live together and have already made music together it was clear to me from the beginning who would be the ideal project partner.
(Caro: Aren’t you a little charmer…hehe.)
4. You have a very demonstrative sense of attraction for lovecraft. What are your main thoughts on the subject?
Caro: When I read “Fungi from Yuggoth '' from Lovecraft, I fell in love with his strange but beautiful poetry. All this fantastic outer space gods & dimension stuff is so fascinating (yes, I also love science fiction)! I am also thrilled by the worlds, entities and cultures Lovecraft imagined. We are also members of the German Lovecraftian Society (nerdish, huh?).
Arne: The first song drafts already had the most important YUGGOT elements, but there was still no real theme or overarching concept that connected the song ideas. When Caro told me about basing the lyrics on the Lovecraft mythos and quoting elements from cosmic horror, I could connect with it directly. Through that, the songs got a certain timbre and atmosphere that will probably be even clearer in our next release.
5. The background of your songs with the orchestral parts could be used as the soundtrack of a movie. Can you tell us the typical approach you take when composing a song?
Arne: Usually in contemporary songwriting you are taught to start with the hook, the chorus, and derive everything from there. This style is also more and more present in modern metal. I don't like that approach and usually start with the intro of a song - which can sometimes become the chorus or verse, but doesn't have to. It's more important to me that this first part transports a strong atmosphere and sets the mood of a song. I can be guided by this much better and derive the other parts of the song than if I revert to music theory, for example. The instrument doesn't matter, sometimes I start with the guitar, sometimes with a synth and sometimes just with a rhythm idea. I find inspiration either in the music of other bands and artists or in movies and video games. Especially old action, sci-fi or horror flicks inspire my ideas, probably that's where the soundtrack aspect in our music comes from. If the riffs and melodies I come up with create a picture in my head, I’m probably gonna keep ‘em.
Caro: Well, I listen to the drafts, we discuss them and I write the texts, but this happens in a later stage. But I want to get used to DAW’s much more so I can record some melody ideas and introduce them to Arne.
6. Are there any particular elements of your material you’re interested in pushing even further as you move forward?
Arne: First and foremost, the production. Since I also completely mix and master our songs, there is still a lot for me to learn in this area - especially since our music has many layers, which can get complicated in a mix. I also like to get better at the keyboard and even the guitar, but you can’t have everything, eh?
Caro: Definitely my singing technique. I think it is quite important to have a solid technique to improve the screaming but also to protect the vocal cords. I am curious to find out more on this topic!
7. Given the beauty of the instrumentation, I suppose that there are some pretty disturbing lyrics. What purpose do these lyrics serve for you?
Caro: Actually, only one songtext is entirely written by me (Mariphana), the other texts are from Mr. Lovecraft himself (all from “Fungi from Yuggoth”), so you can read them and find out for yourself if you find these poems disturbing … or just beautiful in a very dark & weird way! I think it’s gorgeous and aesthetic poetry which I can read over and over again.
8. Could you explain the meaning and significance behind the EP artwork, and tell us how the conceptualization of the artwork come about?
Arne: I simply derived the basic idea from the band's name, which in turn refers to "Yuggoth" - Lovecraft's name for the planet Pluto, which serves various creatures as a gateway to other worlds and dimensions. So what you see on the cover is a modified real image of Pluto. I wanted the cover to be quite attention-grabbing and draw the viewer in a bit, which is how I came up with the actual image constellation.
9. How do you work as a duo? What’s the process you follow when composing an album? Do you work individually or as a team spending hours all together in a studio until a good idea pops up?
Arne: Basically, all the music is created at home, so we don't go to a studio or a rehearsal room or anything. I create rough song ideas on the computer and then present them to Caro. If the rough idea passes quality control, I work on the drafts until the song is about 80% complete. If we still like it, Caro starts writing the lyrics and we record the vocals afterwards. This is the moment when we work most intensively together on the songs, because sometimes we change parts, adjust lyrics or change melodies during the recordings. After that I start refining, mixing and mastering the song. The whole process can take a few months depending on the song, but in the end we are usually really happy with the result.
10. I don’t imagine this record without the background arrangements and effects that create a robust wall of sound. Do you think it’s one important piece in the songs?
Caro: Absolutely! In my opinion, it takes the additional elements to make the song really whole.
Arne: As already mentioned, the atmosphere of music is very important to me and I like it when songs can create images in my head and there is a lot to discover on the acoustic plane. Of course I try to achieve this goal with YUGGOT as well.
11. Have you ever considered enlisting members to handle the various instruments in order to perform live, and if not, why not?
Caro: Of course, and I don’t think that it wouldn’t be a big problem to play live - also, Arne has some stage experience. It is more me who has to get used to the idea of playing in front of a crowd :). Last time I did was years ago and a totally different kind of music.
Arne: We definitely want to try to get YUGGOT out of the living room and onto the streets. Since we just moved to Spain, we are still getting familiar with the local music scene, but especially a "real" drummer would enrich the project a lot. So if you live in Spain and are reading this, get in touch, ha.
12. If you were to choose one album that had a huge impact in you, which album would that be and why?
Arne: To be honest, there is not one major album for me that has had a significant impact on me. There are rather many small parts, single songs or passages, and many of them don't even come from the metal genre. I think as a musician I'm most influenced by seeing other bands live, regardless of whether I like their music or not.
Caro: Tough question. So many awesome metal albums … I cannot decide…
13. Everyone has their own ideas on what black metal means so I was interested in your opinion what does black metal stand for?
Caro: I always liked the rough, inhuman yet atmospheric sound of Black Metal, which perfectly transports the (mostly) nihilistic texts. It is quite sad that one has to bring politics into this, but BM does definitely not stand for racism and nazism (just a sad bunch of little guys with small dicks hiding behind aggressive music to feel more powerful. Pathetic!).
Arne: The shocking truth is I was never heavily invested into Black Metal. But I always liked the DIY attitude with which especially the early works of many BM bands were created. It always reminded me a bit of the punk movement, just do it, no matter if you can play your instrument well. And yes, I reinforce what Caro says, fuck nazis.
14. In general: What fascinates you about metal music? Is it the possibility to express aggression? Is it the energy which is usually conveyed in this music? Or is it something entirely different?
Arne: I think when I first started getting into rock and metal music I was just attracted to seeing real people play real instruments. The concept of guitar heroes was still a thing. Later I opened up to the likes of techno or rap or hyper pop and so on, but in my youth I wanted to see people on a stage, playing their asses off. I was just fascinated by the raw energy. I also like how obscure, niche and diverse the genre can get when you really dive in. And I was fascinated by the darker metal music videos of the 80s and 90s and the mood they could convey. So the atmosphere, again, was a strong selling point, especially because of the stark contrast to the music played on your local radio show.
Caro: I remember when a girl from school gave me a tape- at this time, I was listening to Grunge & stuff like this- on the A-side Cannibal Corpse “Butchered at birth”, on the B-side Deicide “Legion”- at this very day I was sold to metal music. I was like “whoa, that’s me as music!”. To me, it is the energy, the sound, the power– this is what still fascinates me until today. And the therapeutic approach- everyone who likes metal knows what an awesome feeling it is when you've had a shitty day, you come home and fire up the stereo with some good loud metal- you feel better immediately!
15. Could you give us a little insight into the metal-scene in North Rhine-Westphalia? Are there many bands that play metal, and especially black metal? And how are gig-possibilities et cetera?
Arne: Since we moved to Spain last year I’m a little bit out of touch with the German metal scene. It definitely took a hit during COVID but I think it’s slowly coming back. But don’t be mistaken, a lot of venues and bands didn’t survive the lockdowns. I am very happy that we found a very active alternative music scene here in Murcia, Spain.
Caro: As far as I heard, the metal scene in NRW is still big. Of course, there are many next generations, but when we went to concerts in Cologne, we still met a lot of “old” metalheads and it is so nice to still meet old friends at a concert after more than 20 years. The Spanish metal scene is also alive! We have been to a couple of concerts here in Murcia, there are also Metal Pubs/Bars and some quite big metal bands do come to play in Murcia, so I’d say lucky us!
16. Thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Do you have any final words, or anything you would like to add?
Arne: Thank you for letting us be part of the sampler and for letting us do this interview with you! As a small unknown band we are always dependent on people who share their passion for music, in whatever way, and thus give us a platform. So thanks again!
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