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BIO | INTERVIEW 1 | INTERVIEW 2
2006 - Stefan Keller about 'Let The Tempest Come'
Hey! You just released your second album “Let The Tempest Come” not even one year after your critically acclaimed debut album “The Rising Tide Of Oblivion”. Can you tell me how you experienced the last twelve months?
The last twelve months were pretty much busy. We played our first European tour with Heaven Shall Burn and As I Lay Dying, played loads of weekend shows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and even one in Estonia and wrote the new album. As we were mostly playing at weekends, we had time to write new songs during the week. As The Rising Tide was our debut, we also made the experience of giving loads of interviews and reading tons of reviews about our record. This was a very nice experience, although I am sure it sounds normal to most musicians. Oh, we also recorded the new record, shot a video and did a European tour with Caliban. Yes, I guess that was the entire year…
Please tell us about “Let The Tempest Come”, your inspirations and the way you approached songwriting this time?
With the second record we have changed a few things. Our drummer Sebastian, our other guitarist Tobias and myself wrote the record on our own this time and I was solely responsible for the lyrics. We found this way of working more effective, intimate and relaxing. Our aim was to write a record which should be a little faster and darker, which should have more growls and no clean vocals. It should also sound a little more mature, with better song structures and compositions.
If someone had told you in December 2004 that you will tour alongside bands such as AS I LAY DYING, HEAVEN SHALL BURN or CALIBAN, what would have been your answer to him?
It would have shaked probably. But I know that I would have liked it and that I would have been very euphoric about it. But, of course, I would have had some problems believing it.
Do you have any funny tour stories to tell?
Hmm…I remember how we forgot our bass player in Erfurt during the Hell on Earth tour. That was quite funny. Oh, I remember how Stewart from the Agony Scene put German Abc heat creme on his balls in the bus. He just knew the American version of that creme, which is ten times lighter than this terrible German stuff, and said that it is a nice feeling. Nice and warm. At first, he was laughing and screaming in a funny way. But then it started to show its real intensity and it began to hurt and make him really nervous. He was screaming and scared to death. But it was so funny that we all had to laugh about him. Then we stopped at a petrol station. Stewart jumped out of the bus, pulled down his pants in the middle of the petrol station and poured milk over his ass and balls. The woman who was working at the petrol station couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was hilarious. One of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. But don’t try that at home!!!
Your debut album was praised all over the place. Did it put some kind of pressure on you while writing and recording “Let The Tempest Come”?
Not at all actually. I guess that was because we already had three or songs finished for the new album when the first one came out. We had a better feeling witrh the new songs and liked them more than the “old” stuff. I think we just felt a pleasant and useful kind of pressure. We had a good start with the first album and felt a good portion of energy, motivation and euphoria. But to be honest, I feel a kind of pressure now because we are really, really proud of the new record!!
Where are the differences between “Let The Tempest Come” and “The Rising Tide Of Oblivion”?
One very big difference is the change of the producer. It was great fun to work with Jacob Hansen and he created the exact right sound for the new songs. All in all, the sound is dirtier and rawer than on the predecessor. Apart from that, the songs are longer, contain more black metal and melancholic parts and it’s all a little fiercer, but more courageous, too, concerning nice melodies to sing along to.
For a lot of people you are the biggest German (and maybe European) hopefuls when it comes to Extreme Metal. What do you think about that?
That is, of course, very nice to hear and it really honours us. Yet, there are so many different voices about who’s good and who’s better and who’s not so good that I wouldn’t really take that too seriously myself, to be honest. I also think that this is not what counts. What counts is having the opportunity to express oneself and to present this product to people who find that enriching and somehow useful for their own lives.
What are your alltime and your current favourite albums and bands?
My alltime faves are Dark Tranquillity’s “The Gallery”, Nevermore’s “The Politics of Ecstasy”, Tool’s “Lateralus”, Rammstein’s “Reise, Reise” and Rush’s “Different Stages (live)”. My current faves are Sigur Ros’ “Takk”, Coldplay’s “X and Y”, Tool’s “10,000 days” and Katatonia’s “The Great Cold Distance”.
What can we expect from NEAERA in the rest of 2006?
We will play a few festivals and more weekend shows. Apart from that, there will be either another European tour or, perhaps, a first little US tour. Don’t know yet. And, of course, there is a new record to write. No time to lose…
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