1. Hello Cheryl, how is 2023 starting out for you? Please introduce yourself to the readers?
Hi Patrick, so far 2023 has been ok, a bit of the normal life’s “ups and downs” but slowly improving so I can’t complain. Haha. I’m an older, avid Metalhead who grew up in the USA and later relocated to Germany in 2001. I do as much as I can to support the underground with 2 labels and later in the year, organising a festival but more on that further down. :D
2. At what age did you first discover rock and roll and heavy metal music?
I have my Dad to thank for introducing me to the wonderful world of Rock N Roll! Stuff like KISS, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, THE BEATLES, QUEEN, DEEP PURPLE, etc., were always being played in our house since the day I was born. I used to love sitting in my father’s room just looking at all the album covers and being fascinated by the artwork. One night, in 1984, I couldn’t sleep so I switched on my small “boombox” to see what was offered on the radio. As I was surfing the channels I came across a thunderous, most powerful heavy and fast song. I still remember thinking, “wow, this is so much heavier and cooler than my Dad’s music”. Hahaha. As soon as the song ended the DJ announced it was a new track from METALLICA, “Ride The Lightning”. One could say, from that night I was hooked on Heavy Metal, especially Thrash Metal. I was not allowed nor could afford to buy any records or tapes so my main source for Metal was listening to local radio shows.
3. What was it that drew you to the more extreme thrash and heavy metal music scenes? And who were the first bands and artists that you discovered? Who are some of the current bands that have caught your attention?
I think mainly what drew me to the more extreme side of music is the fact that times in the early 80s were not that easy for our family. I often felt angry, I was bullied very badly in school and discovering this aggressive, heavy music gave me a huge outlet and helped keep me sane through some really tough years. From the first band, METALLICA, it went wildly from there with TESTAMENT, IRON MAIDEN, MEGADETH, SLAYER, MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY and many other well known, more mainstream bands. I was at the “mercy” of the college / local radio shows and Headbangers Ball from MTV thus my knowledge base for bands was limited. As soon as I got my first job and a car though, the flood gates opened and every paycheck ended up being converted to a heap of cassettes. Hahaha.
There are tons of current bands I enjoy a lot, definitely all of the ones on my label to start. :D Some others are KORROSIVE, INTRANCED, SMOULDER, CHEMICIDE, WINGS OF STEEL, TAILGUNNER, SEAX, VOID (Lafayette), GARGANTUAN BLADE and so many more, that’s just a speck of dust on the tip of an iceberg. Haha.
4. What were some of the first concerts that you had the opportunity to witness? Who are some of your favorite bands to see live?
I first started going to concerts in 1991/1992. I grew up in a strict and very religious household so going to shows before getting a job and car was not possible. Since so much time has passed and I can’t find my box of ticket stubs to refresh my memory, I’ll just mention some of the bands that I saw in those years. Most people probably remember that GUNS N ROSES and METALLICA tour with FAITH NO MORE opening. Axl Rose changed his outfit every song, it was annoying. Hahaha. SEPULTURA in 1992 were awesome, I’m sure I got some brain damage from that show being kicked in the head so often by doc martins. Haha. I went to see PANTERA with SACRED REICH back then, I was deaf after that and had ringing in my ears for days. A 3 hour set of METALLICA during their self titled album tour had my head spinning by the end of it and a dire need of a chiropractor to fix my whiplashed neck. I recall emptying what was left in my bank account to attend that METALLICA show. It was sold out but eventually they opened more seats. Lucky me! I saw NUCLEAR ASSAULT at a small club called Club Babyhead in Rhode Island and the attendance was really lousy but they gave their all anyway. It was a great show. Around that same time FORBIDDEN had played the same club, that was a killer show! I became a regular there and saw other really cool bands like PRONG, TESTAMENT, SAVATAGE, OBITUARY and MORBID ANGEL. I could ramble on about gigs, because the job and car opened the live concert flood gate that has never closed since.
I was a METALLICA fangirl back then, so they were my favourite live band, so much energy and entertaining too. 1994 ended that because the show was so lousy! My absolute favourite live band is OVERKILL. I first saw them in the early 90s and have since seen them about 12 or 13 times and every single show, regardless of how many people are in attendance, they put on a great performance. Seeing SKYCLAD live is always very entertaining. Thanks to Oliver from the Keep It True Festival I got to finally see MANILLA ROAD which were always top notch!
5. Did you read a lot of fanzines back in the 80's and 90's? If yes what were some of your favorite fanzines to read?
I mostly read Metal Nightmare, Lamentations Of The Flame Princess, Metal Mania, Canadian Assault, Sounds Of Death and occasionally Metal Maniacs, mainly for amusement since that magazine covered many non Metal bands, despite their mag name. Haha.
6. What do you feel made a good fanzine? Are their any current fanzines or web-zines that you try to keep up with?
A good fanzine for me is one that is honest and passionate, covering bands of all different Metal styles. If I were to send one of my releases for review I would want either a review that is completely positive or very critical. I don’t like reviewers who just give a lukewarm kind of review to be assured of staying on the “promo list”. Of course, an enthusiastic review of one of my releases then I’m happy. Haha. If I am going to take the time, which these days I don’t have much of, I want to feel the passion for Metal throughout the zine. One of my favourite zines these days is Metal Horde from Portugal. An excellent, well written zine! As far as online zines go, I read this one, of course, sometimes Crossfire zine, Powermetal.de and several others when I have some time.
7. Cheryl you started Witches Brew Rec. back in 2002 what gave you the idea to start this label?
Back then I was helping my husband with his label, Barbarian Wrath, which mostly focused on Black Metal and learned a lot while doing so. My husband was a huge inspiration. I had an online zine that I started in 1998 called The Metal Gospel, through that I got a lot of really cool and fantastic demos for review from many underground bands.As I have always been a huge fan of Thrash Metal and Death Metal, I thought, it’d be a good time to start my own label to release stuff that captured my ideas of Metal and at the same time, help underground bands get more recognition. So, in early 2002, Hart and I were sitting listening to “Open The Gates” from MANILLA ROAD and trying to come up with a name for my label. As soon as “Witches Brew” played, we both looked at each other and simultaneously said “WITCHES BREW”! Hahaha.
8. Are you satisfied with how things have gone with the label over the years? What do you feel is the hardest and easiest thing about running a label?
Sure, it’s been a wild ride since then. I’ve worked with some fantastic bands from the start to the present. I really enjoyed getting band submissions from around the world. An amusing story about the early days, both Hart and I got a submission from a one man band called TOXIC HOLOCAUST, the “Critical Mass” demo. We were listening to it and deciding which label should get to release the upcoming “Evil Never Dies” full length. I said, “well, definitely has to be on my label”. He said, “yeah, but I want to release it on mine”. Then I just said “not happening”. He laughed and said, “sure, ok”. Haha. Things for the label have definitely gotten a lot better over the years. I went from releasing 1 or 2 CDs per year and no vinyl to releasing about 8 to 10 CDs a year plus can do some LP versions too. I think 2023 will contain the most number of releases in my history.
The hardest thing about running a label for me is definitely the business side of it, I hate all the paperwork and dealing with taxes and stuff. Hahaha. It’s also not that easy nowadays to get people interested to purchase physical items. My first runs were 1000 copies, then I eventually changed that to 700. Now, I’m down to 500 copies and that’s even too much for the percentage of people still buying physical. The easiest thing about running the label is discovering so many fantastic, unknown bands to give a chance to be heard by a wider audience. I absolutely love that part of doing the label. I have made some really great friends with bands I have worked with too.
9. Do you run the label by yourself or do you have some friends that help you out? How many hours a day would you say you work on label business?
It’s pretty much a one woman show 99 percent of the time. My partner helps me out sometimes with doing post runs or if an audio master has some sound issues, he can remedy those in our mini home studio. Due to health reasons, I had to quit my regular day job and am now doing the label full time. On one hand, it’s nice to make my own hours but on the other hand, since it’s not a stable income, I often have financial issues. I generally do label work daily for at least 3 to 5 hours. It’s enough to do some promotion, work on layouts, prepare audio masters for pressing and pack orders.
10. What are some of your current releases that the readers should look for? I know 2023 is just getting started so what can the readers and fans look for this year from Witches Brew?
Since I’ve taken an eternity to answer these questions, thank you for your patience, haha, there’s been a lot of action in the Brewery. It’s now April and I’ve already got 6 CDs and 3 LP versions released. The year has started out with NIGHTWÖLFF from the US and their debut full length, “Riding The Night”. Totally captures the magic of early 80s Heavy Metal! Next up is from the fierce Thrashers MORPHETIK from Sweden with their second full length, “Proclamation Of War”. Their first album, “Omens Of War”, is sold out and will be reissued on the Brew later this year. I’ve not worked much with Black Metal bands but when I got a submission from US band A.I.D.S. the music hit me with passion and power, so I ventured away from my normal Thrash zone and released their newest work, “Maleficus Sabbatum”. Pure old school Black Death Metal brilliance! I met several guys from BLACK DENIM RAGE while attending Keep It True Rising last year and picked up a demo from them, that blew me away so of course, their album, “State Of Emergency” had to come out on the Brew! For anyone reading this who worships CELTIC FROST / HELLHAMMER then ZLÓRTCHT from Australia is of high interest to check out! Totally well executed frosty Metal on their “Welcome To The Zlórtchterhaus” CD. The last one that’s currently out is IRON STEEL with “Crystalized” that is for those who like a mixture of Punk, Speed Rockin’ Heavy Metal with a dash of Thrash. On the vinyl front we’ve got ZABBETH “Zabbeth”, SPITFIRE “Nightmares” and INSULTER “…To The Last!” all of which were out on CD last year.
There’s a lot of great stuff coming up on the label, in print now is “The Curse Of Ferrius” MCD from BÜDDAH that combines classic Death Metal with Blackened Thrash and HAXPROCESS “The Caverns Of Duat” CD, brilliant Progressive Death Metal from the US. Coming up in the not so distant future is the Spanish version of BLACK DENIM RAGE “State Of Emergency”, brand new PYÖVELI full length, an EP of new material from ACERO LETAL and a European edition of MASSIVE POWER’s “Defeated By Ignorance”. I’ve also partnered up with some new bands such as BESTIAL REVILER, VAULDERIE and a few others that’ll be announced soon.
11. Are you currently looking for new bands to work with or is the roster full right now? What do you look for when signing and releasing a new band?
I probably should not be looking for new bands since the roster has grown considerably since restarting the label in 2021 and all that I am currently working with fill up my time but I usually can’t resist when I get a killer submission from a band somewhere in the world. Then it has to be on the Brew! Hahaha. I mainly look for and work with bands who are similar in mindset as I. The music should be passionate, make my head bang and I have to feel something from the music on an emotional level. It can be roughly produced or polished but in the end, if I get a submission and I don’t feel a connection with the music then it’s a no go to work with such a band, even if the music is decent. I prefer to concentrate on the less known bands and help them out as much as I can.
12. If any labels or bands are reading this what styles of metal music do you carry in your distro? And if any labels or bands are reading this do you do a lot of trades or do you prefer to buy wholesale? How can they contact you about possible trades?
I actually haven’t had a distro since the “rebirth” and have just been selling Witches Brew and Barbarian Wrath titles through Bandcamp or via email, however, I am currently putting a shop together (which is no easy task for my old brain haha). I have already started to do some trading with labels to build up stock and want to specialise in importing stuff that’s not easily found in every European distro. I prefer to trade when possible but often wholesale some stuff from bands I discover while surfing the net. If any bands or labels want to have their stuff distributed in the EU then just send an email to witchesbrewthrashes AT hotmail.com.
13. I believe you are doing a festival later this year called MetalHart Fest, is this the first festival you have ever done?What are the dates of the festival?
Yes, that’s right, it’ll actually be my first festival of this caliber and will take place on the 2nd of September this year. The idea behind this one day festival is that, in early September 2017 my husband went in for lung surgery to remove a hardened infection that could no longer be drained. After the surgery he suffered massive blood loss which stopped his heart and subsequently led to severe brain damage which left him in a vegetative state. It was horrible. Eventually I convinced our regular doctor and an additional one (I needed 2 doctors “approval” to shut off life support) to transfer him to hospice to let him die in September 2019. This festival is to honour his memory and help raise funds for the German coma patient association so that others who experience this horrendous situation can maybe get the help they need be it financially or emotionally.
14. Where will the festival take place and how can the fans get tickets for the upcoming festival? Who are some bands that will be performing at this festival?
The festival will take place at the Veranstaltungszentrum Pfarrheim in Burglengenfeld, a town not too far from where I live in Southern Bavaria. Hard tickets are available directly by emailing Metalhart AT gmx.de and cost 35 Euro plus registered postage. So far we’ve got visitors worldwide, some folks from the USA are flying in too which is really cool. Print out at home tickets can be ordered directly from the venue at www.pfarrheim-burglengenfeld.de. On their homepage there are several links to where tickets can be bought as well. The line up for the festival is nearly complete with just one slot left to fill. All bands booked for the festival have had a special connection with Hart and so far we have: MASTER (CZ), ARKHAM WITCH (UK), COUNTESS (NL), ERUPTION (SI), TULSADOOM (AT), SITHLORD (AU), SPITFIRE (DE) and REDIMONI (ES). A good mixture of Heavy, Black, Thrash and Death Metal.
15. What does Underground Metal mean to you? And how do you feel it has changed over the years? Do you feel it has gotten better or worse or just changing with the times?
Underground Metal means to be genuine and not compromise one’s ideals for the pursuit of fame or money. It means, as a fan, to like and support the bands you want, whether they are “accepted” by the so called “metal mafia”. It is very important to me that bands I work with have a “down to earth” kind of attitude and as much of a passion for the music as I have. The perception for many may be that it has changed over the years, especially, with the internet but I think it has remained the same. There’s always the idiots and false metallers in the underground scene but eventually they fade away. The true underground supporter does so whether they have gotten older, married, had children or have a career. They support because it’s their passion and lifestyle. I guess the main change is the advent of this whole streaming and digital movement. Personally, I have to hold a release in my hand so it’s physical only for me. Underground Metal should support the physical release. I only make exceptions when a band is truly amazing but only offer their music digitally through Bandcamp. In the end, the underground will continue to flourish and if we, the older generations, can influence the younger generations to appreciate this great music then even these modern times won’t change the underground.
16. When you need to take a break from working on the label what do you like to do to relax?
Relax? What’s that? Hahaha. If I am not doing label work then, as a house owner, there’s always something to be done either inside or outside. Seriously though, I like to play solitaire, sit in the sun or swim in the pool. Working in the yard is my main form of relaxation though. And, of course, I’m addicted to Netflix and tv series in general. Hahaha.
17. Thank you Cheryl for taking the time to fill this interview out do you have any final words for the readers?
First of all, I want to apologise for taking so long to complete this and second of all, I want to thank you for giving me a chance to blab about myself, label, Metal and the festival. Thanks to all who have showed wonderful support for my small endeavour to spread some underground Metal! Mostly, please help spread the word about the festival, so far ticket sales have been not as good as I had hoped but the costs to organise it are high. Thrash ’til Death!!! And if you want to get in contact or whatever, check here: https://witchesbrewthrashes.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/witchesbrewthrashes/ https://www.facebook.com/witchesbrewthrashes/ https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.laaber