האסון הגרמני – ראיון עם סולן להקת Desaster

It seems that the small Black Metal subgenre of Blackened Thrash is going through some sort of renaissance lately. The old guard containing such quality powerhouses as Sodom, Desaster, Deströyer 666, Aura Noir and Nifelheim play along side smaller diamonds-in-the-rough acts such as Midnight, Impiety, and Witchmaster. But as aforementioned, one of the strongest of said acts is the German giant, Desaster. Since their first full-length debut, A Touch of Medieval Darkness, they have constantly delivered relentless riffery in all things Black and Thrash Metal, killer live shows and interesting, non-repetitive material (and we all know how unique that is.) I had the pleasure of interviewing the vocalist, the ever menacing Guido “Sataniac” Wissman

M- Metalist (Ben Astrachan)
S- Guido “Sataniac” Wissman

M- Hello Sataniac, how are you doing?

S – I doing fine, I just arrived from my holidays in Spain. Really relaxed right now!

M- So, The Arts of Destruction was released just recently to wide appraise, how do you feel about this record?

S – I feel fine, and satisfied. The songs were written from 2007 to 2011 and in this time we have to solve some personal problems and other shit. And the record reflects the last years. It was time for a new record and I’m happy that we delivered some quality shit (in my opinion!) again.

M- This is your 4th full length album since joining the band, (Note- Sataniac is the second vocalist of the band, the band released three albums, A Touch of Medieval Darkness, Hellfire’s Dominion and Tyrants of the Netherworld with previous vocalist, Okkulto,) how do you feel things have changed since Divine Blasphemies? How do you feel you have evolved as both a front man and a vocalist?

S – We have become older and more fat. We are not musicians at all. We record an album if there are enough songs we like. We only write if there is something to say. I don’t know if I evolved, maybe a bit, but the main thing is, that I’m still happy to go on stage and let the demons speak.

M- Desaster is a band that is known for its consistency. Not necessarily in the Motörhead fashion of never changing, but for being constantly interesting and never making a superfluous album, how do you feel The Arts of Destruction innovates?

S – Maybe we go a little bit back to the roots. The Arts… is more black, less thrash. But don’t mistake the lack of talent with innovation.

M- what are some of the lyrical topics covered in The Arts of Destruction ?

S – Death, Destruction, Religion, Desasters, …everything that fits the banner THE ARTS OF DESTRCUTION…hahahahaha

M- furthermore, along what line do you feel the band evolves? What is your working process?
S – There is no masterplan to write a song. Infernal starts the writing and comes along with the riff first. If we like the riff we build the song together. After that I try to catch the atmosphere of the song an try to find a theme for the lyrics.

M- how do you come up with lyrics? What inspires you to write? Probably the atrocities committed by the Church, Rabbinical authorities and their Muslim equivalent is quite enough to get the engines going

S – Sometimes it’s hard to find some words, and sometimes the ideas came up naturally and fast. Mostly it’s normal life and the stories I worry about that delivers some themes for the lyrics. And I need to say that I hate all religions. A believe is ok, but there is no need to build a religion from that.

M- Also, could you tell us a bit about the early origins of the band? I know you joined in 2001, so perhaps since then- how have things changed for Desaster ?

S – Like I told before, we got older and fatter. Ok, we just established as a force in Black/Thrash circus right now, and we choose where and how we play. But the main thing is the music itself. We are still able to deliver the energies of extreme metal. Of course some things changed in 11 years, but that’s needful and good. But for me it’s not possible to see everything that changes.

M- also, what happened with Okkulto? How did that transition occur?

S – He leaves the band by his own will after the Wacken-Open-Air in 2001. That’s all!

M- What are some of your achievements with the band you’re must proud of? Any bands you toured with you’re especial proud of?

S – Personally I reached my achievements with the last album Satan’s Soldiers Syndicate (which is still my favorite!) and it makes me proud that we are able to play many places at this rotten planet with our piss band Desaster. Personally I’m very proud that Chris Reiffert (Autopsy) shared the vocals with me on the “Zombie Ritual” shape. Our homage to Mr. Chuck Schuldiner with one of the best voices in metal.

M- Also, I noticed a steep increase in the popularity of the Blackened Thrash genre in recent years, bands like Desaster, Deströyer 666, and Nifelheim are getting more traction (I’d mention Sodom but they’ve always been really big) as well as an expanding number of bands joining the genre. Who are some of your favorite peers?

S – Maybe you are right. Cause these bands you mentioned are really authentic and they deserve to get more attention. I stopped listening to SODOM after AGENT ORANGE, but I still love DESTRÖYER 666, GOSPEL OF THE HORNS, NIFELHEIM, NOCTURNAL, or even “newcomers” like KETZER and CRUEL FORCE.

M- and in general, what are some up and coming Metal bands you’re excited about? Any bands you’d like to give a shout to, which you feel deserve more attention?

S – THE RUINS OF BEVERAST, GRAVE MIASMA, NECROS CHRISTOS, VENENUM…a lot of good real dark bands which crawl out of the crypts the last years. But I love music and I’m not only interested in metal music. When it comes to metal I prefer extreme metal. Don’t come along with Running Wild or shit like that…hahahaha
But I also like bands like ANIMALS AS LEADERS, DEAD CAN DANCE, PINK FLOYD, …
There is no TV in my house, so I had to listen to music all the day! Hahahaha…

M- and now in reverse, who has inspired you? Both bands and outside of bands, what inspires you in your art?

The music of DESASTER is influences by: VENOM, SLAYER, KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION…
Personally I prefer bands like DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, SLAYER, DEICIDE…and I like some works from Nietzsche and Lovecraft…but mostly I read books and magazines handling science and normal music magazines…

M- so what does the future hold for Desaster? What’s are your short term plans?

S – We are preparing for world downfall at the 21.12.12…hahaha…We just keep things going…normal band stuff…doing shows (concerts at the weekend, without taking holidays from our jobs) Writing new songs…and trying to have a good time. In January we will play the first time in Istanbul and it would be great if we could play Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv or Haifa one day.

M- any last words for the Israeli crowd?

S – Thank you for listen to my stupid opinions and to the noise called Desaster. Maybe, sometime there is a chance to play a show in Israel. If you read this please invite us. We are big and ugly but very friendly!

M- dankeschön bruder! Viel glück und Ich hoffe dich in einen Konzert sehen!
(thank you very much brother, good luck and I hope to see you in a show in Israel)

S – Dankeschön für Euer und Dein Interesse an Desaster. Und vielleicht haben wir tatsächlich mal die Möglichkeit in Israel aufzutreten.
„Ohne Musik wäre das Leben ein Irrsinn!“ (thank you very much for you interest. And maybe we can really come to Israel one day. „without music, life would be madness“