Germany’s Lower Hell are one of the new melodic death metal bands on the block. Recently signed to Bastardized Records, they’ve had excellent success with their first full length, Hellevator. The album is full of great riffs and groove along with plenty of brutality to keep the metal fans happy. Vocalist Sven was kind enough to answer a few questions about the band and the latest album.
How does the reception of the latest album feel with you guys? Do you think fans (old and new) are enjoying it?
We already got loads of positive feedback from our fans (old and new) so I’m sure they’ve a good one while listening to Lower Hell. We are quite happy how things are going at the moment so we are enjoying it as well.
How did the band get it's name and why did you decide you wanted to perform melodic death metal?
Well, the band is called Lower Hell cos this name reveals everything what you expect from a metal act. By the way, there are also positive marketing aspects. No seriously, we always had problems to design an appropriate shirt or cover with our old name Lies Behind The Smile. It was way too long. We prefer to take a lot of influences from different kind of music to create our own sound thus we don’t really see pure Melodic Death Metal in Lower Hell. We just had to come up with a word which describes our music best.
Any inspirations you would like to share that have made Lower Hell's style the way it is?
On one side we like the face of brutal outburst and on the other side the calmly and heardbreaking beats. We see a lot of inspirations and influences in our everyday life there are also “ups and downs”.
I assume in the few years you've existed you've done a few shows, local or otherwise. Care to share some brutal moments?
Hehe… sure!!! After a gig in Munich we had an excessive after show party. We laughed so much till my brother Steffen (guitarist) shitted in his underware. No joke, now we have a “brown flag” on our tour van.
If you had an ultimate dream tour lineup, who would you want to share the stage with?
Fear My Thoughts, Iron Maiden and Kastelruder Spatzen…
What got you, as a metal vocalist, into the genre? What happened in that one moment when you knew that this was what you wanted to do?
Actually it was an act from necessity. In my old band I played the bass guitar and somebody had to sing so that was me. Now I’m “just” the singer without any string instrument but I take it quite seriously cos without an exercised voice you can cause a lot of damage to your throat.
Do you have any vocal lessons for the aspiring growlers and screamers amongst the BRUTALISM.com horde?
Yes, Melissa Cross’s “Zen of screaming” DVD version 1 and 2. Melissa Cross is a well-known teacher who understands to explain everything which has to do with metal screaming it is really helpful.
Yeah, she’s a genius! So, when you aren't working with the band or dealing with crazy fans or interviews (like this one haha), what do you enjoy doing on your 'downtime?'
In my spare time I’m a passionate skateboarder, snowboarder and I know that my girlfriend has a drinking problem… ME.
Hellevator is an interesting title, especially since many of the songs on the album feel so random. Care to share your thoughts on this?
In these days there are so many bad things going on in this world so our goal was to create a kind of a superman who takes the bad guys by the scruff of the neck and drag them down to hell. You can see this “super-samurai” on our cover art work.
Yeah, it is very badass. Much credit to your artist. Are there any particular songs that have a meaning you want to express to the fans?
Each song has its own deep meaning. The lyrics are about situations and problems we have to deal with in everyday live. Besides jealousy, heartache and mafia stories we also address the good time we are running through.
Compared to your EP, do you think Hellevator is a huge step up in sound and skill, or do you think the band was pretty comfortable where they were 2 years ago?
I still like our EP “Asphyxia” but I also see a huge step forward with our current album “Hellevator”. Besides the increased technical skills our focus was more on song writing and the “atmosphere” of the song itself.
What's the best thing for you personally about the latest album so far?
The best thing is that there are 12 tracks on it which are quite different to each other. Despite of that a golden thread is clearly recognisable. Usually you find a lot of things to modify afterwards especially the sound quality but not in this record. We recorded our album at the Iguana Studios in Freiburg (GER) (Negrophagist, Deadborn) so Chris created such a perfect sound. It’s not a conventional metal-production which blows you uncontrolled in the face but rather with more dynamics and transparent aspects.
Do you see the metal world in general as getting more diverse or more 'sounding all the same.' How do you want to see Lower Hell strive to being one of the best?
This is a really difficult subject. I see thousands of bands out there and everybody wants to be a super star and this point makes it worse. The attitude changed extremely in the last few years. Additionally most of the bands have a impressive internet performance but live on stage they are tied as crap and they are not able to hold their guitars right. The affect is that promoters, booking agencies and labels are not able to see the differences in a “good” or a “kiddy” band. The effort not to sound like the majority is getting harder and harder. Lower Hell didn’t reach its top-level yet so be prepared we do our best to avoid the phrase“sounding all the same”.
Do you think your melodic death metal style rubs off on those around you, even when you're not in 'character,' so to speak? What do friends and family think of your work?
Our family and friends are getting used to what we are doing. More than that, they see a huge potential in this band. We have every kind of support and we are really happy about that.
Obviously the fans are a huge fuel to this engine? What do you like best about them?
HeHe… the killing expression within the moshpit. I love you guys…
Strangest gift a fan has ever presented to you or the band as a whole?
Once we forgot to pay the bill at the patrol station so we see that as a gift of a fan who don’t know that he is one yet.
Craziest fan encounter?
A girl from London showed her tits unrequested after the Lower Hell show!!! Nice view!!!
Again, thank you for all the backstory to let our readers know a bit more about your band, Lower Hell. Anything you'd like to say before we sign off here?
Ya, many thanks to you and BRUTALISM.com for this great interview.
I hope to see you guys soon at one of our shows. Keep yourself clean and enjoy life as much as you can. Cheers.
