Interview with Voidhaven done by Patrick
1.Hello how are things going in Germany this week? Please introduce yourself to the readers? Simon: Hi, things are quite well, thanks for asking and doing this interview with us. We are Voidhaven from Hamburg in northern Germany. We play Doom Metal and just released our first EP.
2.When did you first meet the other members of the band? And was it long before you all started Voidhaven?
Martin: I met the other guys first in 2007, when we were all playing in other bands and shared the stage for a few times. In 2012 I joined Crimson Swan. After the head of the band called it quits, the rest decided to continue with the material we had left. All we needed was a new guitarist, and so we contacted Phil, whom I know since 2004.
Simon: I can't exactly say when I met all the other guys, but as Martin said we all used to play together in other bands and constellations before Voidhaven. And partly we were friends even before that. I think I know Marcos the longest. Hell, I'm just realizing I've been playing in various bands with him for almost 14 years now!
3.What is the current line up of the band? Who would you say are Voidhaven's biggest influences and for the readers who have never heard the band how would you best describe the music?
Simon: Our line-up consists of Martin on drums, Jakob on Bass, Marcos on keys, Phil on guitar and myself on vocals and guitar. Our style can be described as Doom Metal with some Death Metal elements, complemented by calmer parts. Our own influences reach beyond that but I think if you care for bands like Saturnus, Swallow The Sun, Hamferd, Officium Triste, Evadne or our former band Crimson Swan, there's a good chance that you will like us too.
4.The debut self-titled EP is being released through Solitude Productions when did you and the band first come in contact with the label?
Martin: Solitude is a name in the international Doom scene, so of course we knew about their work. Ophis released their Withered Shades album on Solitude and we also had talks about a Crimson Swan release, so it was a natural decision to ask them.
Simon: Yep, if you listen to Doom you should come across Solitude at some point. Moreover some of us had good experiences working with them in the past, so we were glad when they were interested in teaming up again.
5.How long did it take the band to write to write the music for the debut EP? Does the whole band take part in the writing process or does one member write everything?
Martin: That’s actually not easy to say. The EP has two tracks of a larger repertoire which we started writing in 2015. After Phil joined, the material got changed a lot, for the better, and we actually spent some time to refine and polish the older ideas. The songwriting process is quite simple, usually we find some nice riffs in the rehearsal room, then Simon or Phil continue finding a simple song structure at home, the rest is added and expanded upon by the band together.
Simon: Martin summed it up pretty good, although the process does not always feel that easy. It often takes a good amount of time, discussing and rewriting until everyone is happy with the final result. But in the end it's mostly worth it.
6.Who usually handles writing the lyrics for the music and what are some subjects written about on the debut?
Phil: Usually Simon writes the majority of the lyrics. I only wrote lyrics for two songs so far, but by pure coincidence these two songs are the ones we picked for the EP. Simon added some lines, though. The topics differ widely. “Beyond the Bounds of Sleep” is about suicidal thoughts, while “The Floating Grave” is about a strange incident that happened here in Germany. A young woman disappeared. Later, it was found out, that she was seemingly abducted by a man. They were seen walking through the town and even though they met many people on the way, not once she tried to flee or cried for help. The last time she was seen, she stood beside him in a river. Presumably he drowned her, but it remains uncertain.
7.Has Voidhaven played very many live shows yet or do you prefer to work in the studio? Who are some bands you have shared the stage with?
Phil: Voidhaven did not play much live yet, we are just starting to make a stand in the livecircuit. But that does not mean we’re newbies, as most band-members have played quite a few shows with other bands before. Me for example, I played about 200 shows before I even joined this band and fortunately I had the honor to share the stage with most of the bands I always loved, from Skepticism to My Dying Bride to Samael etc. But since Voidhaven is just starting live-work, all that was with different bands of course. I prefer live work over studio work.
Martin: I love playing live and we had some great experiences together on tour. Studio work is important too, because that is what stays with the audience.
Simon: I like playing live and working in the studio equally, but for different reasons. Live is about the fun of playing your songs for and interacting with the audience. In the studio you can polish the results of your creativity and fix them permanently, which (at least for me) is very satisfying.
8.Are their any upcoming shows or tours in support of the debut? If yes where will the band be playing?
Phil: No full tour, that’s for sure at the moment. For single shows, we will see what comes our way. Simon: Our personal environments do not leave room for real touring at the moment, but we hope to play some gigs in the not too distant future.
9.Has Voidhaven ever thought of making a video for any of the songs? If you had the opportunity to make a video which song would you like to seen made into a video?
Martin: I’d like to make videos in the future, we’ll see if that’s possible.
Simon: I agree, it would be nice, but it's not that high on our priority list so we did not put much thought into it yet. We have some songs though whose lyrics would make a pretty cool storyboard for something visual.
10.Has Voidhaven started working on new music for the next release or are you just working on promoting the debut? Have you all decided if the next release will be a full length or EP?
Phil: “Decided” is a too strong word, but it would not make that much sense to us to release a second EP right away. A full-length is very likely to come next.
Martin: The EP was a “Hello, here we are.” Now we want to show the world what we’re really up to. Simon: We already have some promising song-fragments and even two finished songs in the bank and will continue to write material for a full-length album. But there's no set date in our minds, when we want to finalize it. It's done when it's done, depending on how content we are with the material.
11.Voidhaven comes out of the German death,doom metal scene what is your opinion of Germany's death doom scene?
Phil: There is not much of a Death Doom scene here. Ahab, Ophis, Decembrance, Doomed… that’s about it. Sure, there are some more, and some of them are even pretty good, such as Gorleben, Opium Divan or Calliophis, but those bands are very underground and only rarely play live, especially when it comes to different countries. So even though there are some great Death Doom bands in Germany, you can not really talk of a scene going on. There is a bit more when it comes to traditional Doom.
12.Who are your all-time favorite German bands and are their any new bands you feel the readers should check out soon?
Simon: For all-time faves, I'm going with two total German-Metal classics and say Blind Guardian and Running Wild (only their respective mid-era releases though). As for newer bands, you should totally check out Cryptic Brood (rotten Death Metal with some doomy parts) and B.S.T. (a mix of Traditional Doom and Crowbar)
. Phil: Totenmond. One of the most brutal bands on earth! Like a tank storming your anus. Other german faves of mine: Sodom, Bethlehem, Forced To Decay, Dawn of Obliteration, Morbus, and the almost completely unknown but ultra-awesome L.Mynigwal
Martin: New bands? Check out 777.
13.Besides working in Voidhaven do you or any of the members currently play in any other bands or solo projects? If yes could you please tell the readers a little about them?
Martin: I play drums in a gothic rock band called Inmost Silence.
Phil: I am still working full-time in Ophis. There is also a rumor that I am involved in a devious rotten little band called Fvneral Fvkk, but I am not further commenting on this, haha… I try to treat all bands I play in equally, but of course it is hard sometimes
Simon: As far as I'm concerned: “Yeah, what Phil said.”
14.When you need to take a break from working on new music or band business what do you like to do in your free time?
Simon: I'm trying to spend as much of my free time as I can with my family and friends. While doing that, we often indulge in various sorts of gaming (online, board and card games, role-playing etc.). Moreover, I like to read, watch movies and series.
Phil: My free time still goes into music, listening to records or going to concerts. I also love to spend time shooting friends in Nerf blaster battles. And my girlfriend needs a banging now and then, too. Martin: I like demonstrating Phil why drummers have the bigger guns. And I love dwelling in the more mystical realms of philosophy and spirituality.
15.Thank you for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final comments for the readers?
Simon: An obvious tip: Check out or EP, haha! And we are looking forward to hopefully meeting some of you readers on the road soon. Take care!
Band Contact
https://www.facebook.com/voidhaven/
https://voidhaven.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_TcF5Z0aq1FwacA46NaAaw
Label Contacts
https://solitude-prod.com/
https://solitudeproductions.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/solitude_bmm
https://www.facebook.com/solitudeprod
