24.03.2005

DOOMSHINE :  interview with Timmy

www.doomshine.de 


 

questions by Haavard Holm ___    

interview shared with Metal Norge

 


 

NO STERILE PERFECTION , CAUSE THE SONGS MUST LIVE

Speaking  about the  album, label,  Progressive, recording process, vinyl, Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus, vocals and growls, proud moments, Doom Shall Rise Festival, song-writing, Doom genre, Germany, projects for 2005

 

 

One of last years greatest surprises were German Doomshine's debut "Thy Kingdoom Come", a album that is quite special within the melodic Doom genre. The band obviously has found their sound, so I could not help myself but to send over some questions to the band, and vocalist Timmy was the one to answer...

 

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Haavard: First of all I should of course give you my regards for a fabulous debut album in "Thy Kingdoom Come"! It was close to a perfect album in fact!

Timmy: Close to a perfect album...wow, these are heavy words. I am really at a loss of words. Thank you very much indeed!

 

To take the latest news from the band first, your debut was out via Iron Glory Records that threw in the towel last year, but you've now just signed with Massacre Records. It seems like the band has been able to get quite some recognition already from one album ? How do you react to now having a major label behind you ?

I don´t think you can call Massacre Records a major label but Massacre is an established and very well-versed label. And one of the most well known labels in Germany. We are more than happy about the signing with them. Jörg from Iron Glory Records wants to have us there after Iron Glory broke apart and he made the contact with Massacre. I think that Doomshine fits in next to great and interesting bands like Sacred Steel, Beyond Twilight, Manticora or Ivanhoe. And hey, which metalhead wouldn´t sign a deal with a label where King Diamond has signed?

 

Doomshine has existed since 2000, but before then the members seem to have quite a varied musical background, also ranging very much within the more progressive genre ? Why did Doomshine turn out as a Doom band, a very melodic one too ?

Oh yes, everyone in Doomshine has a soft spot for progressive metal music. Personally I prefer bands with a darker touch like Evergrey or Pain of Salvation. Also there always was the presence of enthusiasm listening to doom metal. There was no masterplan how our songs have to sound, we just checked out where our strength lies and we found that power in our song ´Shine On Sad Angel´. From that point we tried to follow that path and...yes, it works somehow.

 

I suppose that on "Thy Kingdoom Come" you probably did not have the greatest budget to record it with, still the sound is crystal clear and with a good punch in it too. Can you tell me a bit about the recording process of the album ?

It´s still unbelievable for us but the magician we have to thank therefore is our bass player Carsten! He is owner of a small non-commercial studio and he was responsible for the whole recordings. He was always on location, he spent countless hours, he did the mix and along the way he created the album artwork. By the way he has to cope with his daily job, wife, children, dog, house... I think our bass player is a fucking alien, haha...

Cause of the fact that Carsten has his own studio we recorded on weekends mostly. But we paid attention not to spend too much time for the recordings just to keep the spirit of the songs. We used a lot of first takes and we didn´t push every note to sterile perfection. The songs must live!

 

You also did a small vinyl EP release just ahead of the CD release, and have now also done the "Thy Kingdoom Come" as a 2LP set, even with a extra track! What is this extra track (how come it's not on the CD ?), and I suppose this means the band consists of total vinyl junkies ?

Yeah, we love our vinyl releases and if it´s just cause of the knowledge to hold vinyl of our own band in our hands. I don´t know if everybody in Doomshine owns a working record player, haha... I do, by the way...and I still listen to my old vinyls constantly. There´s a request for vinyl releases definitely and we´ve got a lot of great feedback and reviews for the vinyl stuff. The extra track of the double vinyl version of ´Thy Kingdoom Come´ is called ´Trouble Fire´ and is one of the first ever written Doomshine songs. We´ve recorded that track especially for the LP and you won´t find it anywhere else. If someone is interested to own one of these limited to 500 pieces 2LP please contact Holger Welsch, R.-Markmann-Str. 58, 19258 Boizenburg / Germany, E-Mail: ImmortalVinyl@aol.com ! For the vinyl single please visit ´Metal Supremacy´ on http://www.ancient-arts.de

 

You are promoted as a mixture of Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus by pretty much everyone in the media, as well as your label... I can not disagree here, even the vocal style reminds me very much of Messiah of Candlemass, yet in a lighter version. Do you think the bands typical sound suits this description, both now and also for how the future looks ?

Yes, here they are again, the comparisons with Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass. What can we say? There are worse bands to get compared with, haha. Seriously, it´s a huge honour to hear the name of these legendary bands in connection with Doomshine. We are influenced by them definitely, although I think there´s an unaffected difference. And by the way, I really hope and I pray to the gods of metal that I am the lighter version of Messiah. Not only relating to my vocals, haha. I really feel honoured when people compare my style of singing with Messiah or Rob Lowe but I´m down-to-earth to know that these guys sing in a much higher league than I do.

Concerning the future I can´t tell too much where the musical journey of Doomshine will go. We´re in the middle of creating new songs and the first impression I can tell you that they are more heavy and more melodic at the same time. Our aim is to hold the level of ´Thy Kingdoom Come´ without copying ourselves. Time will tell if the people will say ”yes, they did it!”.

 

Most new Doom bands of today have the use of growling vocals, how do you Doomshine would fit to this, and have you ever considered actually using them ?

No. Definitely not. I´m no adversary of death metal vocals but I´m tired of growls if they are present over the whole album. It would reduce ourselves and push the melodies in the background. Nothing to be said against some screams or evil voices in the songs of Doomshine but we use them just in several suitable moments. And so we´ll probably do that in the future.

 

Being a quite young band, I suppose you've still not gone totally into being a rock-star yet. What has been your proudest moment with Doomshine ? When do you feel that you had all reason to be proud of the band ?

Quite young band...that sounds great. The band is young, that´s right,  but not the old guys playing there, haha. You´re right, we´ve been in no rock star situation till now and I hope we never will. Personally I feel a little queasy when people admire myself. I guess I am too shy to become a typical rock star at any time. But there were many moments in the past that made us proud being the guys of Doomshine. For example the knowledge that we are one of the few European melodic doom metal bands whose music is reaching that spectrum of different metal fans. Next to these facts there were some special moments which suprised us more than making us just proud. The high position in Germany´s best metal magazine Rock Hard and also that the Rock Hard readers voted us on the eleventh position in the category ´Newcomer 2004´ !

 

You played the now rather famous Doom Shall Rise festival as well, how was that experience ? Do you feel to be a comfortable liveband ?

Yes, that was a very special day for us. We were highly nervous. It was the second Doomshine gig, the first was one year before! So we knew nothing that day! Almost noone ever heard about Doomshine, so it was a big surprise for us that the people liked it that much although, or maybe because of, some of them said that it´s no usual doom metal what we are playing. So that was one of the ”being proud”-situations concerning your last question.

I don´t want to judge what kind of live band we are, I just try to make a rough estimate. Definitely we are no well experienced live band cause of our few gigs we played. But when we play we do that with intense feeling. To me it´s not the most important point to show a boring live perfection but to make the songs coming alive  somehow.

 

Your next album is slated for a 2006 release, would you say that you're a band that like to spend time writing new material instead of being more productive ? How do the  band write your songs, is there usually one genius who comes up with all, or is it more a band thing ?

To my opinion there are a lot of bands with too many releases. Sometimes I think ”wow, another XY-album again!” and when I listen to it I think ”wow, sounds like the last XY-album exactly”, haha. I mean if you´re making music with commercial intentions you have to stay in the minds of the people. It´s a fast moving period! Fortunately Doomshine is a band that will release an album when we are sure that it is worth to be released.

Mostly it´s kind of a bandthing as you noticed when we are writing songs. I think that Sven, our guitar player, is the one who brings the most ”starters” and ideas. He´s kind of a navigator but no captain. There´s a natural responsibility assignment in Doomshine and leading our songs is the specialty of Sven. But never without the help of the others.

 

In general the Doom genre has become a lot more fruitful these latest years with a massive line of new bands coming along. Do you follow what happens in the genre ? Anyone you'd say has been remarkably good recently ?

Yes, there´s something going on since a couple of years. I try to follow what´s up in the doom scene but I´m no permanent underground digger if you know what I mean. I´m too interested in any kind of metal. I´m glad to have the Doom Shall Rise festival in reachable nearness to see once in a year what I have missed in the year before. I prefer the more melodic bands like Forsaken, Mirror of Deception, Thunderstorm and While Heaven Wept. And I hope that we´ll get the doom highlights this year from Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus!

 

What's the first three things you think about when I say "Germany" and "metal" ???

Uuuuh, difficult question! Okay, honestly...the first three things..........drinking beer................Kai Hansen..............and...............Rock Hard magazine! Hm, hope that´s an acceptable answer...

 

So what is now in line for Doomshine for the remaining 2005 ?

We concentrate on creating new songs at the time and we want to start the recordings for our second album in autumn. There will be just a few gigs. We´ll play on the Belgian Doom Night ( http://www.belgiandoomnight.tk ) in Gent/Belgium together with Count Raven, Officium Triste, Mirror of Deception, Well of Souls, Esoteric and more. We are also guests on the Ragers Elite Festival (http://www.ragerselite-festival.de ) where a German thrash metal band called Delirious will celebrate their 15th anniversary on November 26th in Hamm/Germany. Maybe there will be some more gigs but the next album has top priority.

 

Allright, thanks alot for your time and not to forget a thanks as well for doing a album I won't likely forget as most others! So please conclude as you wish :)

Thanks again! Not to be buried in oblivion is one of the greatest awards for a band. So these are the perfect closing words. Norway, we salute you!!!!!!!

 
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