Interviews: Mindreaper

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Melodic Death Metal band Mindreaper from Germany. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, did you plan it or come out just like that? 

Sebastian: The band name goes back from me in terms of imagination as a symbolic figure that comes to you when your sanity is in boundary areas. This can be some kind of Intoxication, near-death experience, insanity and all kinds of strong emotions for example. You can consider it as the everyday mental illness that we encounter in our own personal lives, what naturally depends on the respective point of view.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Marcel: The genre is nothing what was planned for a purpose. It comes out very naturally from the sum of our musical influences. We have a slight development from a raw Thrash-/Death Metal to a more Melodic Death Metal style mixed with some orchestral elements, in case of the matter of fact that this is the first LP that was 100% done with the actual Line-Up.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

Marcel: No, we met because of our shared passion for this kind of music. The only one we knew before he joined the Band was our Drummer Marcel Schneider, because of his activities in some other projects like Perception Confused. We became aware of him through his incredibly good drumming and on the recommendation of our old drummer Manuel Nozulak.

4. Each band member favorite band? 

Sebastian: I like a lot of the old death metal bands, both the Swedish and the more technical US versions. But I also appreciate good thrash metal and sometimes more melodic stuff. These are mostly bands from the late 80s and 90s that I grew up with.

Marcel: I think the amount is impossible to list here. Each of us has a high variability of band and music styles that he likes. But we all share a common passion for the old school Melodic Death Metal like In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Children of Bodom, At the Gates, Soilwork and Gates of Ishtar for example.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Sebastian: Ironically, the things that inspire me the most are things that aren't going well. Be it difficult personal fates or social developments that I perceive as negative. And since there are a lot of both, I never run out of material! There are also the topics of freedom and personal development. I think these two are very important and I always write some lyrics about them on every album.

Marcel: If it comes for the writing of the instrumental section, new ideas are flowing in a vast number of different situations, where I don’t have really a control about it sometimes. They can come during practicing guitar or warm ups before a show, or get a melody in my head which is coming out of nowhere If I’m on my 7 to 5 Job, while jogging, driving car or just reading a book in totally silence. Of course, hearing the bands, I like is another obvious point, if it comes to write some new stuff. But most of the time it comes deepening urge in myself to express my mood in a specific situation which is characterized by a kind of very deep unrest. What the songs on this album connect in that case during the writing is a sadness and angry feeling at the same time in terms of the inevitability of death especially to close relatives’ people.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Marcel: The last gig while we are answering this question was on the Blood Moon Symphonies event on the 26.10.24 in Bischofsheim near Frankfurt am Main. We have played there with Lycania, Conspiria and Lost Dawning.

7. Where would you like to act? 

Marcel: It doesn’t depend where we act as long as we have a blasting & passionate crowd, we have the honor to play for.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Marcel: Most of the bands we like doesn’t exist anymore or have envolve in a direction I am not sure it would fit to perform together with the actual style. For me as a guitar player it would be very exhausting to share the same stage with some with my idols. Unfortunately, it isn`t possible with Children of Bodom anymore, so I would love to feature Arch Enemy someday, but I don’t think that will be the case someday. At last, we love the feature with band from the underground circle of acquaintances like One Last Legacy, Destince, Orcus Patera, Purify, Verderbnis, Conspiria for example.

9. Whom not? 

Marcel: Every racist & discriminatory fucker or/and obvious bunch of self-absorbed narcissists. Eat shit, if you read this, you all know who you are.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that? 

Sebastian: In fact, even after almost a quarter of a century on stage, I still have stage fright and think I might totally blow the show. What always helps me is to say or do something that I don't have to think about. As something quite trivial like just saying my name again during a speech and what I'm doing, even if I've already been introduced. Or simply starting on stage with an announcement and headbanging. That way, I've made the start and can reel off my show.

Marcel: Yes, all the time. Most of it I’m playing guitar to warm up one hour or a half before the show. At last, some stage fright gives me the necessary adrenaline rush to transform my usual introvert in an extrovert mood. But I can only talk for my individual case. A general tip from my side is to avoid a high amount of alcohol or mind-altering substances before the show. Usually some think that kind of behavior suits rock/metal very well, but I am not able to play the guitar stuff accurately for Mindreaper as necessary even with just one beer. It steels the focus in lack of quality for me, especially if you are just the only guitar player on stage. I think as a high performing musician you own your paying crowd a great show in everything you can do on your own. In most of that case that will work in a sober mood from my experience Maybe for some “fun bands” it works the opposite, but never for us. I have never witnessed a great show by apparently intoxicated people anyway.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

Marcel: Besides the bands we have all a shared passion, I can say for myself that guitar players like Alexi Laiho, Randy Rhoads, Michael Amott, Zakk Wylde, James Hetfield, Ritchie Blackmore and Gary Moore have the deepest impact on me, when it comes to the style of my songwriting and guitar playing.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

Sebastian: Oh, shit. There were some very wild things in there. I thought autographs on men's asses were kind of weird, but there were also things that I don't want to talk about here. It's the kind of thing that ends up in the memoirs when you're already close to the end. Metal is really wild sometimes!

Marcel: We were asked to smuggle a woman to Germany during our Russia Tour in 2017 for example, which we have of course politely denied. Weird, but sad at the same time.

13. What do you think of your fans? 

Marcel: In a time of a lot of bands than ever before, we are feeling extraordinary blessed by every person who is following and supporting us. Building a fan base is not a matter of course. We are eternally thankful for every one out there who is appreciating our music.

14. What do you think of our site?

Marcel: It is very well structured. It gives the underground bands the necessary promotion they deserve. What I really like is the compilation of songs by a lot of bands to listen in a row on the main site, so you can listen immediately to the stuff than just read about it and forget about it of course the high number of bands. Today you can lose an overview really quickly even for new bands you have found and like. Hopefully this will hopefully be better remedied by providing an instant playlist.

15. Something to add?

Marcel: Many thanks to all of you out there who are listening to our music and supporting us. Also thank you to everyone who is truly supporting every part of the underground scene. Be it through building a webzine, visiting the concerts, buying the merch and music or making any kind of promotion. You are who are keeping the pillar of fresh new music alive, besides the gutted commercial stuff. But be aware for any kind of A.I. generated music. Fuck this shit and ignore it the best you can. It is the death of real evolving musicians who have dedicated their lives to music.