Simon Rushworth
German death metal crew Dawns Of Disease release their new record Legends Of Brutality later this month.
And our man Calum Robson caught up with guitarist Lukas to get the lowdown on one of the most brutal bands on the European scene.
rushonrock: Calling the band Dawn Of Disease, did you want a brutal name to go with the music you play or is there a wider meaning?
Lukas: To be honest there is no wider meaning in the name. Dawn Of Disease is an expression that should evoke individual dark connotations that differ from person to person. And of course it fits exactly the music we play.
rushonrock: For a German band there is an unmistakeable Swedish Death Metal influence. What is it about that scene that intrigues you?
L: The Swedish Death Metal scene is very active and has a familiar atmophere. It seems like the scene itself is a huge band with a big number of members. Every single Swedish Death Metal band creates this unique Swedish sound which brings you that special dark and apocalyptic feeling. When listening to the music you can feel this dark Swedish spirit. I think this is most impressive and fascinating.
rushonrock: Which bands have really impressed you from Sweden?
L: Bloodbath, Vomitory and of course Dismember, Entombed and Grave. Besides these The Duskfall, At The Gates and Hypocrisy. There are more bands I could mention but musical elements that are similar to the music of these bands can be found in our songs.
rushonrock: Are there any American death metal acts that you consider to be an influence?
L: Of course there are also American death metal acts influencing us. For example Malevolent Creation or Cannibal Corpse. Especially Malevolent Creation with their characteristic sound.
rushonrock: After everything was seemingly going so well, Dawn Of Disease broke up in 2007. What happened? What was going through your head at the time?
L: Back in 2007 Dawn Of Disease already had suffered from many line-up changes which made live activity nearly impossible. In 2006 even important festivals like Metal Camp or Up From The Ground had to be cancelled. So finally there had to be a solution which was dissolving the band.
rushonrock: What made you get things back on track?
L: The idea of bringing Dawn Of Disease back into being came in the beginning of 2009. Our singer Tomasz was already planning it for a longer time and he reactivated the band with a nearly completely new line-up. So we entered the rehearsal room and started to work on new songs.
rushonrock: There’s no doubt Legends Of Brutality lives up to its ferocious name, but underneath the raw energy there seems to be this menacing melodic layer of guitar. What else do you think distinguishes you from other death metal bands?
L: Dawn Of Disease of course does not want to reinvent Death Metal. We are just playing the music we like. We try to combine several styles of Death Metal and also some other influences. Our songs are what comes out. And we are trying to give every song something special so that every single song is unique. But still there is a central theme which makes the number of songs a unit, centralised as an album.
rushonrock: What do you want to give people with the new album?
L: First of all we want to give people an insight into our music. Listening to music is always an emotional thing and it helps us to stimulate our imagination. So in fact we are trying to create a certain distinctive image in people’s mind.
rushonrock: I noticed the beginning of the album features a passage from Perfume. Is that a favourite book/film of yours?
L: I would not say that the film is our favourite but it is quite a good one. The spoken words at the beginning of our album are extracted from a scene where the the main character is tortured. There is a very dark and frightening atmosphere. We thougt that these spoken words are a good way to transport this atmosphere. The darkness and fear can also be found in our music.
rushonrock: What do you like about it? Obviously there’ll be a some people from the death metal community just recently discovering your music with this debut.
L: What I like most about the album is that we have such a huge variety of Death Metal elements in our songs but still try to create our own style. We have brutal, blastbeat loaded, straight into the face parts but also slower and more melodic passages.
rushonrock: What kind of reception do you think Legends Of Brutality will get?
L: Hopefully a positive one. We are really looking forward to the release date of Legends Of Brutality. We hope that we can reach as many people as possible and that they like our kind of music.
rushonrock: You’re confirmed for several Metalfest appearances and I suppose it’s a good chance to really impress. Are you looking forward to it? What should people expect from your performance?
L: Actually we can not wait to play the Metalfests in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Our live performance is full of energy and very dynamic. People that come to our concerts can expect a brutal kick-ass show without mercy.
rushonrock: Are there any other bands that Dawn Of Disease are good friends with on the death metal circuit?
L: As Olli and Tomasz are working for companies within the music-business they know a lot of bands for many years, so its hard to mention some special ones, but Tombthroat, December Flower, Fleshworks, Sudden Death (Ger), Embedded are some friends from the near area for example. In general concerts and festivals offer a great opportunity to meet other bands and get to know them.
rushonrock: Will you be coming to the UK sometime down the line?
L: That always depends on how we are booked. But it would be a great honour for us to play some gigs in the UK. And when we come, you better be prepared for a huge portion of Death Metal! See you there!