SOUL DEMISE one of Germany's rising brutal death metal bands. They have created a brutal, atmospheric, attack of the senses with their latest album Blind. Ax-slinger Alex has taken the time from the busy life of being a metal rocker to chat with me about the album, the local scene, tours, and everything in between!

Ashley: How are you all today? I was very pleased with your new album! It was great!!
Alex: Thanks al lot, we are fine! Everything’s working very well with the new album!

Ashley: How did all of you come together as a band?
Alex: Well, SOUL DEMISE was found in 1993, but our guitar player Andy is the only one who is still in the band since the early days. We had many line-up changes during the years. Roland (drums) came into the band in 1997, Roman (vocals) and I (guitar) joined SOUL DEMISE in 2001 and Tom (bass) is a member for one year now.

Ashley: You are from Germany, with Power Metal being so popular over there, is it hard to get any attention as a Death Metal band? I mean this by; with so many Power Metal fans, how has this affected your fanbase?
Alex: Yes, it is hard indeed! We play Death Metal which is a very extreme and special kind of music and we are from Germany, and German fans prefer bands from foreign countries, which maybe seem to be more interesting. But we don’t care and keep on playing fuckin’ Death Metal, ‘cause that’s the music we love!

Ashley: How was it going into the recording studio to record your new album, Blind? Where there any major problems/set-backs affecting the recording? How long did it take? Where did you record it?
Alex: The main problem was that we had not much time. We recorded and mixed the whole album in 15 days! We often worked from 9am till 3am to get finished in time. Hansen Studio is in Denmark, about 800km away from our home. So we had to get ready in those two weeks ‘cause it wouldn’t have been possible to get up to Denmark again.

Ashley: Are there any side projects with any of your members?
Alex: No. Four of us have jobs, one is studying. So all our free time is necessary for SOUL DEMISE. You could call it a “full-freetime-job”.

Ashley: Any plans for a tour? If so, where and when?
Alex: We’re planning a tour for this year, but I can’t give you any concrete information at the moment, sorry.

Ashley: What/Who are some of your influences?
Alex: Of course all the old Swedish bands like Dismember, At The Gates or Edge Of Sanity. But we like all kinds of Death Metal and most of us also like other kinds of Metal, too.

Ashley: What are other non-musical related activities that you do for fun?
Alex: I just can speak for myself. I like diving! It’s perfect to glide around in absolute silence, just watching animals and forget the world above the water.

Ashley: Who in your opinion are some good bands around right now?
Alex: There are very good bands in Germany like Necrophagist, Disbelief, Dew Scented, Death Reality or Lay down rotten. As an international band I’d like to mention Anata from Sweden and Psycroptic from Australia. We’ve been on tour with both of them and they are brilliant.

Ashley: Of all the shows that you have played, which is the best one you have played? And who was it with and where?
Alex: The best show I ever played was in Rennes/France in 2001! We played a tour with Immolation, Deranged, Decapitated and Destroyer 666. The French people went absolutely crazy, it was amazing. Metal crowds should be like that all over the world!

Ashley: In 5 words of less, describe the SOUL DEMISE sound.
Alex: Fuckin’ brutal melodic Death Metal!

Ashley: Thank you for this interview and this great album! And, is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
Alex: Thanx a lot for your support! And visit our homepage!

Alex & Soul Demise