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Six Reasons To Kill already have a fan base, but with Architects Of Perfection (released via Massacre Records) more metalheads will learn about them and so it's just a question of time til SRTK will be widely known. To learn a bit more I ask them to answer some questions - don't take everything too seriously - and I'm glad that drummer Flo fond time to answer them.
You are around for more then a decade and recorded 4 full-length albums. But let's talk about the bands name first... Six Reasons To Kill... What are your 6 reasons to kill? And which is your favorite reason?
I hope you aren't disappointed now, but I do not have any reason to kill someone. We are just some peaceful guys playing some metal. And we don't kill anyone. So there is no need to see a relation between the bands name and their members. To answer your question: I do not have a favorite reason to kill someone. And we refuse against death penalty. We chose this name because we thought it sounds good. The name has a few good sounding vowels, attracts attention and – most important – everybody knows that this band plays metal, not love songs. So it's quite a good name for a metal band, but no attitude.
Does coming from Koblenz is part of the story of Six Reasons To Kill? Coz in the early 80's Koblenz was the town in Germany with the highest suicide rate....
I do not know, because I do not live there. I am there for our rehearsals and to meet the others. I do not know where this story originates, but every time I am in Koblenz I think it's a beautiful city on the place where Rhine and Moselle flow together. It's a beautiful landscape and more sunny days than in the mountains. At least outwardly I do not see a reason why someone should commit suicide there. But it is also in the middle of a major whine-region in Germany. Maybe alcohol pioneered the way to suicide back in those days...
Another album, another singer... You have a new shouter.... What happened? Was it difficult to find a new singer? It seems it's a job for a limited time... ;)
Thorsten, our old singer left the band last year because of a lack of time and a great distance to the rest of the band. We regretted this situation but he didn't have another choice than leaving the band. So Lars joined the band. This was a good decision because he represents some fresh blood in this old boy's club, hehe. He has an awesome voice that fits very well to our new material. His voice is responsible for the fact that Architects Of Perfection has a strong death metal appeal.
The new album is called Architects Of Perfection... How long did it take to perfectionize the songs? And why did you choose Kristian 'Kohle' Kohlmannslehner again?
Kristian is always our first choice. I think the production bears witness why we are working with him. He is not only a good producer but also a good friend of us and something like the sixth member in SRTK. Working with him is fun and he has the ability to get out 120 % of us. We love to record with him.
Why this title? Are you perfectionists?
Yes! But I think this kind of perfection is normal. The title refers to the matter of fact that everybody is an architect of his own perfection. Societies have some ideas of what is perfection. We have to deal with cultural ideals that are today shaped predominantly by the media. It's also an ironic fact that everybody has its own ideals. So who says what is perfection? And why? Capitalizing and cultivating perfection is also a kind of decadence. This is what the artwork symbolizes. Everybody is caught in this vicious circle and everybody has to be an architect of perfection in today's society. But to be honest: Perfection is a superlative. So the artwork is a critical hint to the whole callomania that surrounds us.
I think you got a good mix of good and bad reviews... No music to please everyone.... Was there a review - or a comment - where you considered stalking the person? Had some killing fantasies?
Haha, as I mentioned above I do not have killing fantasies. But I remember a review in a German online mag which was really good. But there were some really angry comments about our music. It looks like that some of their readers do not like what we are doing. So they wrote some angry and even personal comments turned against our new vocalist. And this was the moment I became very angry – because this was really bullshit. Fortunately the editorial team of the mag got attention of it and gave us the possibility to answer those comments in an interview. If things run this way, everything is okay.
What's you favorite killer tune off Architects Of Perfection?
I think False Absolution is a real 'killer'. It's probably the fastest song we ever recorded. For me as the drummer playing this song is hell. And lyric-wise it is a 'killer tune' as well. The songs lyrics deal with the insanity in some facilities of the catholic church here in Germany. In some of their children's homes the so called child care workers violated and raped the inhabitants – innocent children to who they're parents. It was a great affair in the last year in Germany. This story is so cruel and far beyond believe: In hard times people go to the church and try to get help there. But they receive nothing but violence.
You choose My Bitterness for a video. Why this tune? And where in Koblenz did you shoot it? The town changed too much since I was there... Can't identify it.
My Bitterness is just a catchy and good song. As we all liked that song we choose it for a video. We recorded the performance-scenes in a club called Jamclub in the city. The rest got released in an industrial area in the periphery. Nothing normal people are going to visit when they are in Koblenz, I think.
You have a ballad called My Poison on your new album, something you wanted to do for awhile? And why a guest singer? Does it mean you'll never ever play it live?
Yes, My Poison was is a special and outstanding song for us. We just wanted to do something different and new for us. Something no one expected. We attempted to get a high amount of variation on each album. This time the result turned out a bit more rich in variety than ever before. My Poison is one of these songs that contributes this variety. And last but not least Kurt Ebelhäuser of Blackmail and Scumbucket did a great vocal-performance on My Poison. I don't know: Maybe we will play this one live someday. Nothing is impossible.
Who was responsible for the artwork? And why a zombie girl posing?
The artwork was set by Anthony 'Tony Tone' Neal and Steffen Winkler. We talked to them and told them that we are working on our next album and they offered to assume responsibly for the artwork relations. I also love this artwork. But for us it's something new. It's the first time we worked with these guys. The last albums famous German graphic-designer was responsible for that. No it's something different - but I think it is very cool. The 'girl' is a zombie-super model. It refers to the title and it's critic on callomania and perfection.
You moved on from Bastardized Recordings to Massacre Records and so you'll get 'exposed' to a larger audience. Happy you moved one?
We all know Massacre Records since the days of our youth. I am a great fan of bands like Atrocity or King Diamond. So it's a great feeling to sign a deal with such an established and relevant label. Leif Jensen, a good friend of us, singer in Germanys Dew-Scented and Artist Relation for Century Media Records told Massacre about our album and they became interested in what we are doing. So we sent them a copy of our latest recordings. Everything else is history...
What does vinyl means to you? How important is it for you to release your albums on vinyl?
We love it! And we are very happy to have the chance to release a vinyl version of the album. I really appreciate that. It was a great moment to hold it in your hands. I don't know if it is important, but we always meet some fans on our shows that are asking for vinyl. And we are happy to have our new one on vinyl now!
Are you looking forward to go back on the road? And will you do a vlog?
Sure, we are waiting for the next shows. And we are working on some tours at the moment. Maybe you should have a look on our YouTube channel or Facebook to receive some stories from the road.
Some bands focus on serial killers in their lyrics which would match your band name... Who is your favorite serial killer? And why?
Maybe Ricewinds luggage in Terry Pratchett's Disk World Novels. This luggage has the ability to eat people and also to clean up underwear in a blink of an eye.
Have you ever considered to write a concept album? About a killer? Someone running amok?
Parted in six songs, hehe... I think this is a bit too ambitious for us. But maybe one day... I don't know. We love writing songs. But a concept album needs more than this, some homogeneity. I don't think that it would be a concept about a serial killer. But maybe about mass murder. By the way: Good idea!
Btw, what are your 6 favorite ways to kill?
Play Station to kill tediousness, books to kill the time, a cigarette to kill a creative trough, sandwiches to kill hunger, beer to kill the thirst and a maybe getting ugly with a box cutter to kill bad music CDs.
What's next on your schedule?
We are talking to some agencies now concerning touring for our new album. So the next step is playing live as much as possible. To everyone: come out and have a beer with us if we are in your neighborhood. And within the days a couple of new songs surely will come over so that we can record a new album. Maybe next year, this would be awesome.
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