Transcript of an interview I recorded with MAT SINNER of PRIMAL FEAR - 20200603. Full article here. MAL-
Talking to Mat from PRIMAL FEAR, Matt, thanks for calling. MAT- Hello guys. Happy to be with you. MAL- The last six albums on Frontier Records and then back with Nuclear Blast on this one. How did that come about? MAT- Headquarters of PRIMAL FEAR is in Stuttgart, Germany. Nuclear Blast is very close to Stuttgart, Germany. And the owner of Nuclear Blast and me We are friends. And even we were in Frontier Records. We talked a lot about that he want have the band back on the record company. Yeah. And we talked about 4 years and then as 'Apocalypse' the last album in 2018 was was done and the contract with Frontiers was fulfilled ee talked to each other and thought it right time to be back. We're very, very happy about this movement. MAL- Yeah. You mentioned the last album 'Apocalypse'. How did that one go for you? MAT- I think from the charts worldwide, it was the most successful album of PRIMAL FEAR. You don't you don't sell the physical copies anymore like in 1998 when we started, but from the charts succccess and the chart notations all over the world it was our most successful album. MAL- How long did you tour for that? MAT- A long, long time and we were used to tour so now it's, it's really, we came even to Australia. We were in Japan, we were in South America, we were everywhere and it was a long, long tour and we were really, really motivated then to go into the recording studio and start with a new album and I think It would be a really great thing to promote the album also on the next big tour so at the moment we were supposed to play in San Francisco tonight. MAL- You won't be doing that. MAT- ..with the 28 show tour in America, Canada, but not only Coronavirus is now the problem they have a lot of problems I don't want to be involved so I better stay in Germany and be safe. MAL- Tell us about the upcoming album 'Metal Commando". When did you decide to go into the studio to do that? was it written beforehand? Are you one of those bands that write together in the studio and record it straight away? Tell us about your process. MAT- No, no no we we write all over the year. I have two writing partners on right Music it's Magnus Carlsen and Tom Naumann. We were writing songs all over the year and collect and collect riffs, melodies, whatever. So it was last summer, we had around 30 ideas, we try to record something do a little pre production. And in October 2019, we skip down to 20 tracks, made a really good pre production and decided which 16 songs we want to go into the recording studio. So 16 songs is a lot but we couldn't decide what we will leave out anymore. So, so much good material, it was really really nice. And also, let me say it was for us it was was a very good sign that for the first album again for Nuclear Blast with so many creative ideas and then good songs. And then in November I was going with a new drummer, Michael Ehré. We were going into the recording studio to Denmark to Jagerpanzer (?) studios and he has a wonderful drum room and a good basement for real rockin record. We were recording the tracks together and it was a great time. I had a very, very creative time with Michael who is not only a great drummer, he's also a very nice guy and very friendly and a good musician. So he's not only a drummer, he plays a lot of instruments so it was easy for me to talk to him. And then we recorded the basic guitars in Sweden. We coming back to Germany, I played my bass tracks in my own studio. Then I was going with Tom and Alex into the studio of our tour manager, it was in the meantime, January, in Germany, we recorded lead guitars. Ralf was always recording in his own studio when he has a feeling that his voice was cool. So at the end of January, we have everything together and we will go on back to Denmark to Jacob and mix the album together. MAL- Now you mentioned 16 songs. I mean, not only that, one song, "Infinity' is as long as four songs put together anyway, tell us about that one. MAT- Well, we have always the ambition to to write a more exclusive song on every of the last albums. Some of them were longer, some of them were shorter, but there are some tracks like 'One Night In December' for example, or 'Supernova' and then and all that tracks that were a little bit special. So we have the ambition to have one track on an album which is different from the length, from the different atmosphere, the speeds everything. And with 'Infinity we started to ride it was the beginning was four and a half minutes. And then Magnus and me, we were going totally crazy and and edit parts and change the arrangement and coming back. And so it's a real big challenge for us to write this kind of music too because it's different than the other songs. So in the end, we had an arrangement we liked, and then we came up with an orchestral ending, and said, okay, might be a cool idea to put it at the end of the album, and make the end of the album real drama. And so when we compose the ending for the album and Well, in the end we were very happy. MAL- I think it wraps up, rounds out the album quite well. MAT- Yes, I think it's it's a good idea to put it at the end of the album. And even if we are in a very hectic time at the moment so I hope that people have the guts to sit down 13 and a half minutes PRIMAL FEAR music, only one song with all parts and all the stuff and all the different atmosphere and enjoy it and can concentrate it and not doing three things at the same time. Because this songs needs needs attention. MAL- This is the sort of song actually that you wait til everyone else is in bed, you turn the lights off, you put on a good set of headphones and you listen to it that way. MAT- You got it. It's exactly, exactly how you should do it. MAL- With the vast experience that you have recording music over such a long time you would have seen recording processes change quite dramatically. Now this is a two part question here. What is one of the new methods you are glad to see arrive? And what is one of the more old school methods which you feel is going by the wayside that you wish wouldn't? MAT- I'm the wrong guy for that. MAL- I would have thought you'd be the perfect guy for that. MAT- No, no, no, I have a very, very clear look why a band is called a band. A band should be working together. A band should enjoy that time together. If you are doing an album like we don't have any budget, we need to make it cheap and programme drums and and doing all in the box or better said the computer. It's not the way I want to work. And it's not the way I want a PRIMAL FEAR album to sound in the end. So I've spent a lot of time in creating this album. And we all put a lot of money into this. We really record old school, we record a drum in a huge room with a lot of time. Everybody in the band has an impact on this album, and everybody works together in a great way. So this is, for me, why a band should be a band working together on an album, being together in a studio as much as you can. So I said in the old days, it was just a difference that you spend even more money on a recording because everybody was hanging in the studio, even you don't need him. So it was not so wise to spend money on things you don't need. I remember we were flying in 2006 to Vancouver with four guys of the band just having a mix of the 'Seven Seals' album and making a nice holiday which costs an immense amount of money. So totally stupid. But in these days I think the good thing is if you are using the new technology, the digital technology in a cool way that your music is not digital. It's just a help to create the things a little bit more faster and easier. It could help but do it in the right way though, don't do it in the wrong way. Don't let technical take over your music. Music should be music, music should represent your creativity and the band. And this is the most important thing. For me, I have to say with all the PRIMAL FEAR albums, or the album I've produced in the past, I'm very, very proud of the of the production and the sound of the new album. And this is for me a clear point where I have to say, this is my technical approach, and this is what I want to prove that we can do really, really good sounding albums. And if you go with only digital, you can't do it. But because it's human are playing here, yeah. And my job is to get the humans 10% more out of their performance to make it better than the last album. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, this time it works. Ee have a phenomenal singer. We have great guitarists. We have a super drummer. And we have a super team in the studio. And this time, everything worked out great. So at the end, I'm a very happy person. MAL- Now, you said you weren't the right person to ask that question, but you have just shown that you were the right person. And you gave me exactly the right answers I was wanting and expecting. So well done. MAT- It was a lazy start and it's getting enthusiastic. MAL- Right, so we've got this album, 'Metal Commando' coming out July 24. How much has this virus thing put it back? Or were you sort of wound up the recording and all that before the virus and it's just coming along nicely do you think? How did it affect PRIMAL FEAR? MAT- Oh, I think we were finished as I Told you with a mix in. We started in the beginning of February. And we have to be finished in mid February because I have a yearly tour called 'Rock Meets Classic' with a symphonic orchestra and with with legendary singers of the classic rock. I don't know if you know that have you ever heard of that because I had only in Germany and this started at the end of February. So we needed to be finished with the PRIMAL FEAR album in mid February. And all other activities was planned after that 'Rock Meets Classic' tour. So the problem was after five shows of the 'Rock Meets Classic' tour, the tour has to be stopped because of the virus and the regular registrations from the government. So after five shows we stopped so everybody was super pissed that we can't go on. But anyway, on the other side it was necessary. And all the activities for the PRIMAL FEAR album was was not possible anymore. We should have done videos in Sweden. Not possible to go to Sweden. We should have done a promo tour through every capital in Europe. Not possible anymore. No flights anymore. Even a photo session was a problem because at that time, it was not possible for everybody to come to one place and meet and do a photo session. So everything was kind of very, very strange. And we have to find solutions to release the album because in my view, I don't want to postpone the album to a different kind of time, because the album is ready. The fans are waiting. It has nothing to do with a virus. If you can release new music fans will be happy. They are waiting for that. So For me, postponing the album was no solution. So we have to find other solutions. And this was a very critical time to get this all set up, we could release the album. It was not easy. MAL- Well, it's coming out very soon. And you should be very happy with that. MAT- I'm super happy. I'm super happy with our decisions. Also, you know, if everybody is around, you're going crazy. You're sitting down there and talking to the record company or you to the, to your publisher and talking to your people you trust. And then you have to make decisions. And the decision was clear. Everybody in the band said yeah, we want to release the album in July and to not postpone it to November or next year or whatever. The music is ready, and so let's do it. And the decision was now, three months later, the decision was right. MAL- I think it's a good time to get albums out because I tell you in the last couple of months I've never listened to as much music as I have in the last couple of months, I don't think. MAT- Yeah, that's a good argument. And as I said, I think the PRIMAL FEAR fans know that an album will be released. And it's no problem to get this album so Why should we postpone what we've done in February, finishing every track and mixing and mastering everything. Why should we release it a year later? For me makes no sense. It's new music we're all proud of so it has to be released. MAL- With having as many albums as PRIMAL FEAR have it must be a continuing challenge organising a setlist for each new tour. But what is one track that you think you won't be able to ever take off the setlist. MAT- 'Metal Is Forever'. It's very easy. It's our hymn. Everybody wants to hear it. We like to play it it's a lot of energy. It is a statement and it's it's so so combined to PRIMAL FEAR. If we wouldn't play that song in a setlist the fans would be not happy. MAL- One more question. What's the funniest band story you can tell me? It might have happened on tour in the rehearsal room on the tour bus. What have you got for me? MAT- Funny story is always not nice for one of the guysor more So we're very careful with what I'm telling you here. So what I can remember the funniest story which which was not so funny for Ralf was that we are in the middle of a tour and parking at a Walmart in America, and everybody takes a piss and we're driving to the next city and half an hour we found out that we forgot Ralf at the Walmart. He was going crazy with a pineapple in his hand and we're going crazy for Ralf and but anyway, we'll find a way to pick him up and this goes on but it was really... But I tell you all these stories and the funny things it's mostly that one of the guys in the band has the problem and the others were laughing their asses off. MAL- Hey, Mat from PRIMAL FEAR. Absolutely great chatting to you. Good luck with your new album 'Metal Commando' out on July 24. And good luck to you, all the band and everyone in Germany. Thanks for talking to me. MAT- Thank you very much. Okay, bye bye. Ciao. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMetalhead who hates bad parking. |