"Black Sun" is out now - we're quite happy with the sales. The band is in a good mood. We're preparing for our first show ever in Russia, have a huge headliner tour in Euope lined up and we're working very hard on a tour through south america, which looks quiet good at the moment, plus some shows in germany again between x-mas and the new years. We're even approached to play a US tour and some shows in Japan, but we will see, how all these plans will fit together!
2.Why power metal??
It's a lifestyle and part of our life - why something else? Funk, Jazz or Acid-Trance?
3.Where did you get the idea for "Black sun" and why a concept album??
All guys in the band are interested in Science Fiction, some more serious, some less and more into entertainment. Our plan was to do something diffent than the last time. metal and Science Fiction fits together - words & music. That's the plan behind the story and we're really happy with the outcome - not only lyricwise, even the cover artwork & booklet fits in the concept!
4.Is"Black sun" all that you expected it to be??
I can't answer this question, should this be a provocation or should this mean, you expected something else - so what? We spend 6 month day and night in this project and we worked so hard, that this question is not a great one - or are you not happy with the lead-guitar in song 6?
5.You also have your own band-SINNER, who is scheduled to release a new album next year.How do you keep Primal Fear and Sinner separated??
Primal Fear is my business, Sinner my vacation with great friends. Primal Fear has 100% priority!
6.What does Primal Fear mean for you??
It's a very important part of my life. I lost everything in the beginning of Primal Fear, but Primal Fear gave me a lot of great things back during the years! I really leanred to enjoy my life a lot. I have a bunch of great and positive guys around me in the band and even our crew is a becomming some of my clostest friends in my private life. Primal Fear is more than a band, it's a family!
7.How do you see Primal Fear after"Black sun"??Is Black sun a logical continuance of "Primal fear", "jaws of death" and" Nuclear Fire"??
No - our intension was to create something different under the banner of Primal Fear and our style of metal. We had a lot of ideas and wrote 25 songs. Then we came up with the differnt atmosphere on the artwork, the concept for the lyrics and a lot of ideas for differnt arrangement (like on Fear or Mind Machine) - our mission of a different album is fullfilled. Now we can go on with the touring and to think about the next album!
8.You have an intense tour planned for Europe and South America this year.Are you planning to release a live album after the tour??
No, the only thing we're thinking at the moment could be a DVD - this is the medium which makes sense - you hear AND see the band! We collected a lot of great materials and concerts and we will definatly shoot some shows on the forthcoming tour! The next official album will be definatly a studio album!
9.You have been an important presence in the German Metal for over 20 years now.A lot of bands and musicians appeared and disappeared , but you are still here. How do you see your career looking back??what were the best and worse moment of your career??
I won't think about the most worse moment - but I will tell you two - first was how the record company treated us after the great Comin'out fighting album and who the treated us to record the Dangerous Charm album and the band broke up, the second was how my band forced me to fire the entire band in 1991 after a band meeting as everybody lied to me! The best thing was the last four years in Primal Fear with all four albums enetring the German charts and even the last two Sinner album entered the charts. That was a huge success and a little satisfaction to get all this positive feedback back from the fans. They are buying the albums and they are buying the tickets for the concerts - they are metal, not the journalists who get everything for free and only criticising and arguing about misstakes and whatever!
10.What do you have to say to the fans of Primal Fear??
The already know ........... they can trust us - when Primal Fear is on the outside - Primal Fear is on the inside! We won't change anything cause some metal experts think we better should play alternative music. We will play the music we and our fans believe in - Heavy Metal!
1. Where is Primal Fear in the year 2002?