SOURCE WEBZINE | We don’t have readers – we have believers.

SOURCEWEBZINE – “Devil Reveals” has been out for a while now. As you look back on it, do you think the reaction to it was more polarizing that most of your previous albums?
Bass-T (B) – That’s hard to say. The “Freak Inside” was first self-published and by the time it was re-released many people already had it. So we can’t really compare to that, but at the moment it’s going pretty well. Since we’re playing some of the bigger festivals this summer a lot people see us and buy our merch and CDs, that really rocks!

Last weekend we played at the Rock Harz Festival and after I was done packing I went to the merch and Britta was like: ‘look at our CD-Case’ I looked and it was nearly empty. First I thought that that she was playing with me and put them somewhere else, but she wasn’t kidding I was completely blown away!

Britta (V) – “The Devil Reveals” album may be more polarizing than the “Freak Inside” album, yeah. Regarding the songwriting we showed some more balls and shaped each song with a certain character and put more self-esteem to each song. So that makes a rocker song more rocking but also a hard-to-reveal an even harder-to-reveal one. “Kids Killing Kids” may be a good example. You either love it or you think it’s the low point of the whole album.

SOURCEWEBZINE – What’s the response been to “Devil Reveals” so far?
Bass-T (B) – Very good. Most of the reviewers liked it, some didn’t, but as long as our fans tell us they love it everything is cool.

Britta (V) – Yeah, so far the majority of the reviews on “Devil Reveals” are very positive. People seem to hear and honor our development.

SOURCEWEBZINE – Who produced the album “Devil Reveals”? How involved are you in the mixing process?
Bass-T (B) – We produced it ourselves. We did the pre production and recorded it in Hanover at Waveland Studios. The two engineers Stefan and Carsten had some cool ideas and helped us on some parts, but most of it was done by ourselves. Britta recorded alone in our rehearsal room, that way she could take all the time she needed and try out as much as possible.

As soon as we were done recording one track it was already send to Kohlekeller Studios to get mixed and reamped. Kai did an awsome job, the first rough mix already sounded very brutal, but we weren’t that satisfied with the guitar tone so Jonathan and I headed down there and together with Kai, we worked something out. Now the sound kicks ass exactly the way we wanted.

Britta (V) – We are kinda control freaks. So we are always the chiefs in any kind of band matter. That can be exhausting sometimes, but especially when it comes to an album production it is very important for us to watch over everything. I mean, we will be promoting and touring with the album quite a while and we’d be very unsatisfied if the album wouldn’t sound exactly the way we wanted it.

SOURCEWEBZINE – Most of the reviews I’ve seen of this album have been very positive. Do you read or pay attention to any of this?
Bass-T (B) – At the beginning I thought, don’t listen to them, do your own thing, you like the record, you present the record, don’t let anyone tell you it’s bad. So I didn’t want to pay much attention, but then you read one and another and see that lots of reviews are positive and that’s really good feeling. On the otherside there are some reviews, where you think:’Did that guy listen to the right record?’ Even if you don’t want it to get to you, it still is a bad feeling, but as long as our fanbase grows and people tell us the like the new record, you’ll forget the bad reviews pretty fast.

Britta (V) – Yeah, I agree with Bass-T. When people write something negative about your baby that you worked so hard for it sometimes hits you. But then again you think: ok, that guy didn’t like it so who cares. The worst thing about negative reviews in our case is, that we don’t have money for adverts or anything like that, so the reviews and interviews we do are the only promotion we have. So each negative review spoils that a little bit.

SOURCEWEBZINE – How has the band progressed musically on “Devil Reveals”?
Bass-T (B) – We got better in every way. We got faster, harder and more complex. We payed more attention to the songs itself than the record as a whole. Instead of starting with a riff, we firstly started with concepts. That’s how the title track “Devil Reveals” got together. Britta already had some lyrics and wanted to do a song that was really slow and doomy with a lot of groove… I think we kinda got that.

Britta (V) – And we all increased our technical skills. That allowed us to experiment a lot more than on the “Freak Inside” album.

SOURCEWEBZINE – Where do you think you fit in today’s metal scene or are you consciously trying to create your own niche?
Bass-T (B) – Maybe by Starbucks around the corner where the metal bar is. Inside probably nearest to the Whiskey.

Britta (V) – Hmm. To be honest I don’t think about stuff like that. Thrash Metal in general is our musical overlap, so under this banner we’re trying to create music that we love.  That’s all, we’re not trying to fit in somewhere or to create a new niche.

SOURCEWEBZINE – Do you have any other passions or hobbies besides music?
Bass-T (B) – I used to do rockclimbing and canoeing, but at the moment there isn’t much time for that. In fact climbing was bad for my bass playing, my hands became stronger alright, but also slower, so I stopped. But since I am in this band I developed a new hobby: Festivals! Drinking beer, giving High Five, watching cool bands, meet cool people… did I mention the drinking?

Britta (V) – There is not much time left for other hobbies beside the band these days. Whenever there is time left I’m visiting friends or hang out with them somewhere in a club.

SOURCEWEBZINE – You use the internet to communicate with fans and others and your writings have drawn some controversy. Have you found that instant accessibility and ability to post your thoughts a positive or negative?
Bass-T (B) – I do our myspace site and try to answer every fan request, if I have the time. I don’t post the same shit every time, I look at the fans page or check out the music from some of the bands and leave a personal comment. I love it when we get a response, it just feels good to have contact with our fans. On one of the last festivals there we’re even some fans you came around to our bus and drank some beer with us, later on they interduced me to a new drink called “Schicht-Getränk”. That’s when you put some cola in a glas and then pour some beer on top of it through a coffee filter, after that comes some hard liquor, that too through a coffee filter. In the end you got different layers of drinks and you drink it at once tasting only the cola. Man it really made the day. That’s what it’s all about, learning about different cultures.

SOURCEWEBZINE – A lot of bands are more respected in other countries than their homeland. How is Cripper received in Germany?
Bass-T (B) – We haven’t played that much outside yet and are still building our fanbase, but in Franken, that’s North of Bavaria, we have lot’s of fans, probably more than in Hanover itself.

Britta (V) – We have played only 4 shows abroad so far, but we’re hoping to play many more countries and shows abroad next year.

SOURCEWEBZINE – What are the best and worst things about being in a band?
Britta (V) – Playing live is the best about being in a band. The worst things are the ’surroundings’ like paper work, invoices, contracts… everything that needs to be done but keeps you away from writing new songs.

SOURCEWEBZINE – What’s currently in heavy rotation in your MP3/CD player?
Bass-T (B) – Right now I’m really into complex music, like Mastodon and Meshuggah. Once your in one groove something unexpected happens, it gives me tones of Insperado. And then of course there’s the new Lamb of God record, which really kicks ass and a little Jimi Hendrix for the chill and lots of ZZ Top for the coolness.

Britta (V) – Volbeat, Faith No More (as usual), Bloodbath.

SOURCEWEBZINE – Anything else you’d like to mention?
Britta (V) – Ever tried reading short stories of Stephen King when you’re on dope? Fit of  laughter guaranteed. Try “Gramma”. Congrats if you make it over page 1!
Bass-T (B) – Drugs are bad, mmmmkay!

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