Autumnblaze Interview

More than 20 years have passed since I first heard “DämmerElbenTragödie” (1999) by the Germans Autumnblaze, and I remember that on that occasion one of my brother's best friends gave me many things on tape that included this first album by the Germans, because he no longer listened to metal and decided to give me his entire collection and within that collection there were jewels that to this day I keep in my collection, and I remember that I lent that tape to a friend from those years and She returned it to me scared because she didn't understand what was happening with that band. So, every time Autumnblaze releases a new album, I remember all the anecdotes that happened with that first album by the Germans, and that's why I now have “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” in my ears, the band's ninth album that I change over the years. years and flirts like many styles of rock and metal.    

Para leer la entrevista en español: Entrevista a Autumnblaze  

Metallerium: ¡Welcome to Metallerium website! It is a pleasure to talk with you about Autumnblaze and its last album First of all, how are you? How is the band?  

Autumnblaze: Hi, first of all thanks for giving us a platform to introduce our new album. Well, we are fine and really looking forward of how “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” will be reviewed by the media and our fans.  

Metallerium: "Auf zerfetzten Schwingen" delves into themes of love, loneliness, death, impermanence, and loss. ¿Can you elaborate on how these themes influenced the creative process for this album?  

Autumnblaze: I think this is a bit of a misunderstanding, maybe caused by the promo text. The themes you mention are the themes we were dealing with in our past records.   With “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” it's a bit different. Lyrically it's our most direct album. Our themes on this new album are especially the cruelty of wars, but also the dangers of religion. Apart from that also some thoughts about growing older and the depressive feelings resulting from that.  

Metallerium: The decision to use only German lyrics for "Auf zerfetzten Schwingen" is quite significant. What prompted this decision, and how do you feel it enhances the album's message?  

Autumnblaze: Well, this is a good question. Already on most of our previous albums, we had some German lyrics here and there. For this new album, we wanted to speak about these really difficult themes. You know war is maybe the most difficult topic you can talk about nowadays. But we wanted to clad in our typical Autumnblaze poetry. And as I started writing the first songs, I talked to Arisjel, our drummer, that we had to write this completely in German. It felt right and the lyrics and the language totally fit the music and I think everyone can hear it, even if you don't understand the German language.  

Metallerium: ¿Could you discuss the musical direction of “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” compared to your previous works, especially considering the impact of recent global events?  

Autumnblaze: Definitely the global events like pandemic and war in the Ukraine had an impact on our music and the lyrics. We felt we couldn’t write another album about the personal topics we wrote about on our past albums. Especially the last one “Welkin Shores Burning” was very dreamy and mellow. “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” is much more aggressive, with lots of darkest metal vibes we always carry inside us.  

Metallerium: The album's title translates to "On Tattered Wings." What is the significance of this title, and how does it reflect the album's overall concept?  

Autumnblaze: It’s simply the perfect title to explain the album. Of course it's a metaphor and it somehow shows how broken and desolated the world nowadays seems. On the one side we wanted a very direct title, on the other side clad in the poetry which is so typical for Autumnblaze.  

Metallerium: ¿How was the recording and production process for “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen,” especially working with Markus Stock at Klangschmiede Studio E?  

Autumnblaze: With Markus Stock we already worked several times and we knew what we could expect from him. Over the last years, we have had our little home studios, so the basic recording process took place at home. I recorded all guitars, bass, and vocals in my studio and Arisjel recorded his drum parts at his home studio.   Then we sent the files to Markus Stock and he mixed and mastered the album. We are super satisfied with the final sound.  

Metallerium: The album cover for "Auf zerfetzten Schwingen" is visually striking and complements the music and lyrics. ¿Can you tell us about the artistic concept behind the cover artwork?  

Autumnblaze: Well, I have to say that this is the best cover artwork we ever had. It's such an iconic work of art. It was painted by the extremely talented Friederieke Myschik who already painted the cover for “Welkin Shores Burning”. Actually we just made a draft writing down our visual ideas and she transformed them perfectly. I think the artwork tells so much about our music and lyrics and far beyond that. Friederieke painted with oil on a canvas. A really complex work. Absolutely love it.  

Metallerium: ¿What challenges did you face during the creation of “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen,” and how did you overcome them?  

Autumnblaze: Actually the writing process and the recordings of this album were like a flow. It felt like it had to be written and composed the way we did. And of course it's always a challenge to create such an intense record. You know we all have daily jobs and have family, so there is a challenge to find the time for that kind of important artistic work. But in the end, we managed it.  

Metallerium: Lastly, how do you hope listeners will interpret and connect with “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen”, ¿both musically and thematically?  

Autumnblaze: Of course we hope that many people will like the album and think about the themes we come up with on “On zerfetzten Schwingen”. It’s not easy listening and it’s a very dark album. So in these fast times, we can only recommend everyone take time for this record. It’s worth it.

Metallerium: Thanks for this interview. Is there anything you want to say to your fans in Latin America and Metallerium readers?

Autumnblaze: Thank you very much for the interview. Listen to “Auf zerfetzten Schwingen” even if you don't understand German. But you will feel the themes and atmosphere. Music is tearing down all borders.