Features

PRT: Congratulations with the album… it sounds huge! Now that you’ve already been living with it for a while, are you still happy with the way it turned out?
Stefan: Thank you very much indeed! We are still very happy with the record. In hindsight, I think that a short breather in between would have contributed to the record and also the effectiveness of its brutality. In fact, I didn't know that the songs are that brutal and fast. Zeuss must have pushed the FAST button or something...I don't know. But yeah, we're quite proud.

PRT: Can you tell me a bit more about the idea behind the album title, “Omnicide – Creation Unleashed”?
Stefan: The theory is that the destruction of everything alive – the omnicide – is a logical consequence of a fully technically developed mankind – an unleashed creation. Only a technically highly developed race has the ability to destroy itself – by means of atom bombs. The title and the record deal with the tendency of man to destroy itself – despite its equal tendency to create, link and live.

PRT: You switched producers for the new album. Is a fresh perspective from someone else necessary to keep things from stagnating?
Stefan: I wouldn't say that stagnation (or the fear of it) was an issue at play here. We like to try out new people, places and procedures. In fact, it's the songs that choose producers. Every record needed a different sound because of the songs – not because of us.
But in way you are also right: A new sound surely adds to the impression that the band sounds different and has developed!

PRT: The lyrics are always filled with social commentary. Does it ever bother you that a lot of people probably come to your shows only because they like the music without taking anything else from it?
Stefan: A while ago we have decided that we are not a political band. Simply because not everybody in the band feels equally ambitious about the political issues we touch. Personally, as the main writer of the lyrics, I always appreciate it (more) if people make an effort to get into the lyrics and get something out of them. It's a great feeling!
But as a metal band, we play metal. If people only want that – great enough!

PRT: You’re pretty punctual when it comes to releasing new albums. What keeps you guys going?
Stefan: I believe it's a relatively healthy mixture of ambition, anxiety and restlessness. We need the creative output to channel the input – be it musical, personal or input from the larger world. On a simpler level: we are simply musicians that need to play their instruments and take their time to do it.

PRT: Is money a big motivation when it comes to the frequency of touring and recording or can you take a breather from time to time without having to resort to a dayjob?
Stefan: In fact, we all have some kind of dayjobs. Which I think is good! First, you don't depend on the band only, and second, you don't lose touch with the (other) real world.
Honestly speaking, surely money has become a certain motivating factor. It is simply nice to earn money for work. But we are not playing shows or tours or record albums because of money. (It's not that much anyway...)

PRT: With Caliban, Maroon and HeavenShallBurn there’s a couple of other German bands that are doing something similar. Is there a sense of competition involved or are you all one big happy family?
Stefan: You really wanna know it, eh? Alright, alright. The truth is that there has never been any competition between Heaven Shall Burn or Caliban and us. They have always been more successful than us. Maroon and us are indeed sometimes fighting over playing times and these things because we are on a fairly similar level (although they often are a better live band.....god dammit). But we are all friends.

PRT: What’s the worst hype you’ve ever been a part of?
Stefan: Actually, we don't feel to ever have been part of a hype. Surely, we took some benefit from the metalcore thing when we started. If that was a hype, it is surely to be seen as critical as every „hype“. If it really can be called so, I guess there can be worse hypes than that. A few great bands evolved out of it like Killswitch or As I Lay Dying. Who knows who else? It also connected parts that belonged together originally.

PRT: What’s up next for Neaera?
Stefan: In September we will bring HELL ON EARTH in Europe with Sworn Enemy, Earth Crisis and War from a Harlot's Mouth. It will be a long tour throughout Europe. Then there will be another short tour in December in Germany.

PRT: Are there any things you’d still like to achieve with Neaera other than world domination?
Stefan: World domination? God Forbid! I would wish the world something better than us.
My personal dream is a long Japan, South America and Asia tour with Rammstein. But we would also do it without them...if they're too busy...

PRT: Any last words for our readers?
Stefan: Thanks for reading and it would be great to meet you guys on a show sometime. Stay tuned and all the best to everyone!