STORMHUNTER Interview

 

Genre: Power Metal

Country: Germany

Questions by: Nick Parastatidis

Answers by: Stefan Müller (Guitars)

Site: Facebook

1. Hello! How are you? How do you deal with the whole corona virus situation?

Stefan: Hello. Considering the current situation, I am fine. Since I cannot go to festivals and concerts, I use the “free” time to work on new songs and the release of our new EP “Ready For Boarding”.

  

I miss the festivals and concerts, be it as visitor or as an artist. It’s much more than just music. You come together with people who share your passion for Heavy Metal and music. We made a lot of friends over the years and it was always a pleasure to meet them there.

 

2. If I remember well your last album entitled “An Eye for an I” was released back in 2014. A lot of time has passed since then and the band went quiet. Which were the reasons?

Stefan: Stormhunter is not the main band of all the members since I reactivated it with some friends back in 2007. Some band members have children and the priorities changed. We never stopped rehearsing and writing new songs, but there was no time to enter a studio. There is not much more to say…

3. I think there is new activity within the band. Can you tell us a few things about it? Which are your immediate plans?

Stefan: As I stated in my previous answer, we did not really stop. We felt it was time to record the new stuff even if we did not really have the time for it. We decided to  record 4 songs for an EP and then continue to work on all the other new songs we already have.

4) I know that you are preparing the release of an EP. I would like you to tell us how it will sound, which the new elements you introduce to your sound are and when it will be ready to be released.

Stefan: The EP will sound like Stormhunter. We have a new Song called “Two Beers (Or Not Two Beers)” which basically had more of a Rock / Punk Rock feeling, but in the end, it turned out that it actually sounds like a Stormhunter song.

One of the songs (“Crown Of Creation”) has some Blind Guardian influences, but this is not really new for Stormhunter. We already had such songs on our previous album “An Eye For An I”.

We recorded a French cover song for the EP. I am doing the vocals on it. It was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to see how our fans will react.

The EP will be released on December 18^th, 2020 and we made a video for “Two Beers (Or Not Two Beers)” that we plan to release in October.

5. Are there any line – up changes in the band? If yes, can you introduce us the new members?

Stefan: No, it is still the same line-up as for “An Eye For An I”

6. You are a band that doesn’t hesitate to write about political themes and I really appreciate that. However, we see nowadays metal bands trying to be politically correct in order not to lose fans. Do you think that this attitude of not being provocative somehow alternates the spirit of heavy metal music?

Stefan: We write songs about what we feel, see, read and what happens around us.

I don’t think that Heavy Metal has to be provocative. For me, music has to be authentic, regardless of the style.

 

To be honest, I rarely read lyrics of new albums. I used to do this when I was younger. Back then, I spent hours to discover all the details of a new LP. Now I mainly listen to music in my car. I never thought about this topic in the way you describe it.

 

7. Do you think that the coronavirus pandemia will affect the financial survival of metal bands and labels?

Stefan: It already affects the financial survival of a lot of people, not only musicians and labels. But since the focus lies on helping “big companies”, the normal people suffer much more from the current situation, especially the cultural sector. There is a chance that some bands whose members are living from their music may have to stop and take regular jobs. The same applies to labels.

8. By the way did you receive any messages from fans to motivate you to reactivate the band?

Stefan: We did not receive such messages. As I already mentioned, we were always active and playing some gigs. The motivation was there, but sometimes, other things are more important. Life’s a bitch...

9. Are there any guest musicians that will participate in your new release? Can you name them?

Stefan: No, we don’t have any guest musicians on the record.

10. Will you release your upcoming EP on your own or from a label?

Stefan: The EP “Ready For Boarding” will be released by G.U.C. At first, we planned to release only a 10” vinyl version with a CD in a Card Sleeve. The label decided to produce some extra Card Sleeve CDs to sell them without the vinyl version.

11. Thanks for answering my questions. Hope sometime soon to see you for a live show here in Greece. Please close this interview in any way you like….

Stefan: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to promote our band and music. We would love to play in Greece, but for now, this seems more unlikely than ever. But who knows, things never come like we expect it. We are very excited to see the reactions to our new stuff!