German thrash metal band ASSASSIN is back ! I have no expectations for the
new coming album, but they recorded in the eighties the killer "The Upcoming
Terror" and "Interstellar Experience" lps... For the moment, read this interview...
Vocalist Robert Gonnella answered my questions...
How did you get into heavy and thrash metal ? Which are in your opinion
the classic metal albums ?
It started with bands such as AC/DC, IRON MAIDEN,
MOTÖRHEAD, SAXON etc. Then I heard band like VENOM, METALLICA and of
course SLAYER. And yeah, that was the sound we would love to play. Classic
albums are IRON MAIDEN Killers, MOTÖRHEAD Live at the Hammersmith, JUDAS
PRIEST British Steel, METALLICA Kill em All, VENOM Black Metal, SLAYER Reing
in Blood…
In the second part of the eighties, Germany had a strong thrash metal
scene with KREATOR, SODOM, DESTRUCTION, ASSASSIN, DEATHROW, NECRONOMICON,
DARKNESS, ANGEL DUST… Have you good memories of these times?
Of course! That were great times back in the
eighties. We hang up with many of the those bands, such as KREATOR, SODOM,
DEATHROW, RUMBLE MILITIA, DARKNESS… The Thrash Scene was very strong then
and there were many cool concerts. Lots of great fanzine like METAL WARRIORS,
ROCK HARD, BLITZKRIEG…
ASSASSIN was born in ’85 with Robert (vocals), Dinko (guitar), Scholli
(guitar), Lulle (bass) and Danger (drums). How did you meet the other members
? Were you friends before forming the band ?
Well, at the time we started, everyone into Metal
who lived in Düsseldorf used to hang up in that big rehearsal place.
Bands like WARLOCK/DORO had their rehearsal room too. It just had to happen
to meet some guys for a band. Dinko and Lulle were friends and they started
ASSASSIN with Scholli and drummer Danger. I met Dinko at a concert and he
invited me to the rehearsal room. As they didn’t have a singer then, they
just handed me the microphone and I was the ASSASSIN vocalist.
This line-up recorded two demos, “Holy Terror” in ’85 and “Saga Of Nemesis”
in ’86. I never had the chance to listen to them, so how did the two demos
sound like ?
The first demo was a noisy rehearsal room recording.
The sound sucked, but the fans seem to like it. For the Saga of Nemesis demo
we went into a small studio for recording. We sounded quite raw that times.
How did you get in touch with Steamhammer / SPV ? Was it a two albums
deal ?
We simply send a demo to them and that was it. It
was much easier getting a record deal at that time than it is today.
The drummer on the first lp is called Psycho. Was he a new drummer or
was it just Danger changing his name ?
He called himself Danger. But he was kind of psycho,
that’s why we named him Psycho. After the recordings of the first album he
imediately left the band. A real psycho J!
“The Upcoming Terror” lp was released in ’87, unleashing killer thrash
metal, with eight very convincing songs. How was the response and what do
you think of this album ?
We received good and bad reviews. Most of the Metal
mags seem to like it. The funny thing is, we get now better critics for that
record than we got back in ’87… The Thrash fans liked it a lot and still
we receive positive feedbacks.
Did you tour opening for a bigger band to promote the album ?
Not really, but we had all this shows here
and there mostly playing with German Thrash bands. Sometimes as opener sometimes
as headliners.
What were the reasons for Sholli and Psycho leaving the band ? How did
you find Michael and Frank ?
Scholli left because of his military service. Psycho
left the band for reasons we still even don’t really know today. He was a…Psycho!
The “Interstellar Experience” lp came out in ’88. The album has a better
production. It is killer thrash metal too, but the songs are more intense
and effective. Only the instrumental “Pipeline” sounds weak in comparison
with the other tracks. What are your feelings about this album ?
Yeah, is was the step forward. The production was
way better, the song writing became better and our techniques improved a
lot. We were very satified with the outcome. It still is a killer album.
I know there is a bonustrack (“Strange World”) on the original cd. Is
this song in the continuation of the other tracks ? Was this bonustrack your
idea or the label asking one more track to help the selling of the cd ?
At that time CDs were something new. Most fans had
only record players at that time. Thus we released Stange World as a bonus
to make that CD special. The song was already recorded with the record.
Did you tour as a headliner or as an opening band for this album ? How
long was the tour ?
We played a German tour supporting DEATH ANGEL and
later we did a co-headliner tour with RUMBLE MILITIA. Those tours were about
5 – 7 days each. Plus we played some cool shows on the week ends all across
the country plus Belgium and Holland.
When exactly did ASSASSIN disband ? Why this split ?
After the 2nd album we bought new equipment and
almost practised every day. We wrote new songs and everythin seems to be
ready for a 3rd album. But then all our stuff got stolen from our rehearsal
room. This was shock! We didn’t have any insurance. With one moment we were
kind of bankrupt. We got really frustrated about that. Then Michael became
an offer to play for SODOM. We had no more instuments and stuff, it just
happened that ASSASSIN stopped. I then went to Japan, the other guys were
busy with there studiums or apprentinceships. Frank went to Brasil… Officially
we never said ASSASSIN has splitted up. There was always a change for a new
beginning.
What have you done until 2003 ? Same questions for the other members…
Did you stay in touch with the guys during the years?
We always stayed in contact with all the members
except for drummer Psycho. We all hang up the same places, you know. And
internet makes it so easy to stay in touch. Scholli played in a well-known
German band called SECRET DISCOVERY for a while and two other bands. Frank
and Michael went to Brasil for a few years (both are back in Germany). Dinko
and Lulle played in a Sixties-style Garage band and other projects of the
kind of music. Me (Robert) went to Japan and since 1993 I live in China and
organize an international friendship football league, the IFFC. There were
always plans for a new start with ASSASSIN but it took until 2001 it really
happened.
In ’98, the french label Axe Killer / FGL re-released on cd “The Upcoming
Terror” and “Interstellar Experience” (but without the bonustrack). Were
you asked for this ? Did these re-releases contribute to the idea of the
ASSASSIN comeback ?
No, we got no informations about that at all. We
were very surprised about it. But hey, our band seemed to be not forgotten
yet. Those re-releases didn’t have an influence on the re-union though.
The current line-up is Robert (vocals), Dinko (guitar), Scholli (guitar),
plus Joachim (bass) and Atomic Steif (drums). Do you feel it is a solid line-up
?
Yes it is. Steif is a well-known drummer to the
Metal scene and he is excellent. Joachim is a cool bass-man who is always
motivated to play. Scholli and Dino fit just perfectly together. Well, and
me…I’am the fuckin’ vocalist. What can I say?
You are currently working on new songs. Can you give us an idea about
these songs ? Are they in the pure ASSASSIN style ?
Every song sounds like ASSASSIN when I start to
sing…HaHaHa. But honestly, it’s pure ASSASSIN style with a modern touch.
We have that killer song called PRICE OF POWER which is in the Assassin-song
style, but with modern wavey-touch. Also new songs are the LIFE FOR TODAY
(sung in Chinese language!), I SWEAR, NOT WITH US and REAL FRIENDS. We also
have some more tunes wich are untitled yet.
Are you in touch with some labels interested to release a new ASSASSIN
album ?
Well, we have some contacts but nothing is really
certain yet. We just have to do some more talkings and stuff. We really hope
to release our 3rd album in 2004 – but I can not say, where and when exactly
that will happen. Time’s not easy right now. Copy kills Music is the name
of the game. Many labels are afraid of signing new bands… We shall see!
You played this year in Dusseldorf and in Wacken. How was it to be back
on stage and to play the old songs ? Was the reaction of the metalheads good
?
It was fantastic to play live again after all those
years. The reactions of the fans were very positive and most of them seems
to like it. Our first gig in Düsseldorf was special, all our friends
and mates were there. It was a cool Thrash party. WACKEN was great also.
It’s the best Metal festival in Europe and maybe world-wide. It was a great
honour to perform there. We plan more gigs in the near future. Hopefully
we will have the chance to play some more festivals in the summer time.
Do you think ASSASSIN will return at the top of the german thrash metal
scene like KREATOR, SODOM and DESTRUCTION are trying to do ?
That’s very difficult to say. Those bands are established
and I wouldn’t compare ASSASSIN to those bands. Let's put it this way: We
want to make another album and play some cool shows. We want to have some
fun.
Well, I wish you good luck for the future… The last words are yours…
Thank you for the interview. We wish all of your
readers a great 2004. Keep on Thrash wild. PEACE!
Interview by Patrick Lefevre
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