VENDETTA (Mario Vogel & Klaus “Heiner” Ullrich) INTERVIEW

Thrash Metal may have been quite a poplar genre in the mid-80s but there were quite a few impressive bands, like the Bavarian quartet Vendetta, whose prospects of making a career in the music industry were bleak, leading to their demise following the release of the 1988 album “Brain Damage”. Following the resurgence of the genre, and with a re-vamped line up, Vendetta are back in action and currently promoting their latest studio album entitled “Feed The Extermination”. Being fairly impressed by the ten new compositions on offer, I decided to compile a set of questions – questions that were e-mailed to the band and which were kindly ‘tackled’ by bassist Klaus “Heiner” Ullrich and vocalist Mario Vogel.

By Yiannis (John) Stefanis.

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

• Hi Guys! Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. It is a great pleasure for me to provide a promotional platform for veterans of the German Thrash Metal scene of the 80s such as yourselves. How are you guys doing?

Mario/Heiner: Good – very good -Thank you very much

• It’s been five whole years since the release of your third studio album “Hate”, an album that signalled your return from a nineteen year hiatus, and that thankfully short gap made quite a few people, myself included, believe that we might never see the release of another Vendetta album. Luckily enough “Feed The Extermination” was released at the right time to ease our minds. What took you guys so long?

Mario: We cut about 15 minutes from the”Hate “Album because we wanted to make it not so complicated. We cancelled a lot of breaks and parts and that was the reason for the lenghth – we wanted to make it straight. During the recordings of “Feed the Extermination” Heiner had a hearing defect. So he was sick for more than a year and we could not finish the recordings and we could not even play live.

• “Hate” is unfortunately an album that I have yet to listen to. How similar or different would you say the material on that album is to the ten compositions that are featured on “Feed The Extermination”? Is the latter what you would describe as the ‘next logical step’ in terms of musical evolution?

Mario/Heiner: I think on every album you recognize the Vendetta-sound. “Feed the Extermination” has more songs and it is longer in terms of duration, but both of them are easier in arrangement.

• When did you first begin working on these ten new sons that are on offer here? Was there a specific concept in mind and how close did you come to achieving it?

Mario: I think it was about 3 years ago – The first two songs were recorded before Heiner was out of order …hahaha. Then Dan Swanö did the mix and we signed by
Massacre-Records. The rest was recorde,d mixed and released last year.

• Even though there is a certain level of variety in “Feed The Extermination” you seem to be happy enough to indulge predominantly in rhythmical mid-tempo tunes rather than in fast shredding riffs. Is there any specific reason behind that decision?

Mario/Heiner: No I don`t think so. We only play what we want and we hope the fans like it too. We tried a lot of versions – from every song – and we hope the decisions were right.

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

• Even though I find the whole album to be fairly enjoyable, there are certain songs that do stand out for me – songs like the Slayer-influenced “Feed The Extermination”, my personal favourite “Ovulation Bitch”, “De-organ-izer” and the more classic Heavy Metal orientated “Trust In God”. Can you please tell us a few things with regards the general idea behind these songs and how they came to life?

Mario: Thank you – Everybody had ideas, especially Heiner who has written most of the songs. They were completed by Frank and Lubber – no special concept – only feeling – then we found the riffing, the speed and the groove.

• I understand that this is quite a difficult question to ask but is there a song(s) on the album that do stand out for you? If the answer to that question is yes, please explain why that is.

Mario/Heiner: No. But there are some specific themes that we feel very close towards.

• I have not yet read the lyrics of the new album but the song titles alone paint some truly bleak and strong virtual images in my mind. What was the main source of inspiration behind them? Are they the product of one man or a collective effort?

Heiner: The Lyrics are written by Mario and they are always “from Life” – things that could happen to everyone or everybody has to do with: aggression, general problems, cancer, child abuse and the good-old church.

• What has been the feedback that you have been getting from magazines, websites and fans with regards “Feed The Extermination” so far? Being veterans of the scene and with Thrash currently enjoying a renewed popularity, you should be in a privileged position right? Do you get many young Thrashers showing interest in the band?

Mario/Heiner: The feedback was good and in some countries perfect, but in Germany for example, they expect us to come up with a Thrash-jewel like those written by old Metallica…hahaha. No, we are not in a privileged position, definitely not, and yes, Thrash is going forward as younger people are getting into it. Metal in general is going forward!

• The production of the album was handled by Dan Swano – a man whose contribution to the Death Metal scene of the early 90s as a member of Edge Of Sanity and as an overall producer has given him legendary status. What made him the right choice for Vendetta?

Mario/Heiner: He mixed the first two songs and he did a great job so we decided that he has the right sound for the album.

• How much time did you guys spend at the legendary Unisound Studios and how would you describe the overall experience? Are you one of those bands who enter a studio well rehearsed and totally prepared to record or do you like to use this environment as an inspiration for new ideas?

Mario/Heiner: No, we`ve recorded in Germany. The recordings were made by Domi Bertelt and Max Dufner at Mud – Creek Studio. Dan Swanö did the Mix and the Mastering. Eight Songs were definitely ready beforehand so we changed a few things on only two songs, but I think that, generally speaking, we went in well prepared.

• The album cover for “Feed The Extermination” is clearly the product of a modern era and it is much different to those that adorn your first two releases “Go And Live…Stay And Die” and “Brain Damage”. Who is the artist responsible for it? Was he given access to your music in order to create an image that would be fitting to the nature of the album?

Mario/Heiner: No, he only did the cover artwork. It was made by Pablo (Patrick Klose from Extasy-Design.). You have to look to the LP…unbelievable! He was also the guy responsible for the cover of “Hate”, by the way.

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

• We live in an era of fast and easy access to information, something that was lacking in the music industry back in the 80s and which provides many opportunities for any band to promote itself. Apart from the interviews organised by your label what other ways/platforms are you using for that purpose?

Mario/Heiner: Oh…hahaha…we are very bad in promoting ourselves; we are not on Facebook and all that stuff and even our homepage is not up to date most of the times. We know that it is our fault and that we have to do such things, being part of that new media-world so we are working on it.

• Sadly I have yet to see Vendetta on stage, something that I hope will change in the near future! Are there any concrete plans for you guys to hit the road and, if yes, would that be in your own terms or as part of a greater package?

Mario/Heiner: Sure! We hope to play live this year. Our Manager, Michael from Allegro Talent Music Management, is working on it. We hope to play in Summer/autumn this year and we have already booked a slot for the Vaques Fest which takes place in Spain on the 25th of August.

• Being German ought to be a massive bonus when trying to book a slot in any of the prestigious summer festivals that take place in your beautiful country every year. Are you aiming at participating in any of them during 2012?

Mario/Heiner: Perhaps, but everybody has a job and his family, so it´s not easy to get every gig in the same schedule…we`ll see.

• Both “Go And Live…Stay And Die” and “Brain Damage” are not easy- to- get cult classics, even though they were re-issued a few years ago and when you do get to find them, the price is high. Are there any plans of re-releasing these albums through your now label Massacre Records?

Mario/Heiner: Not right now. We have an older contract signed with “Twilight” and it takes some time before that expires.

• Nowadays there are many young musicians who grew up listening to Slayer, Kreator, Exodus and Sodom who are more than keen on trying to recreate the sound and image of the 80s. Do you find this to be a good or a bad thing? Are there any such bands that you believe have anything interesting to offer to the scene?

Mario/Heiner: Every Band is interesting! Look to all that new guys and bands, diffent types and styles of music – it is fantastic! Everybody is growing up with older bands- and after a while they create a new way to spit their work out!

• What are your goals and hopes for “Feed The Extermination” and for the future of Vendetta? Are you the kind of band that works with a ‘five year plan’ in mind or do you take things as they go?

Mario/Heiner: First we hope the fans like it. We don`t have a plan for 5 or 6 years but we always have a few month/a year in our plan. We hope to play live and do some recordings again in the future.

• If you were given the opportunity to go back in time would you have done anything differently with regards decisions relating to the band’s career or are you generally happy with the way the life of the band has taken its natural course?

Mario/Heiner: Hahaha, we don`t know; we think it is Life! In the 80`s we were young, everybody had his own problems and the split was too fast and too soon. Right now we are a community, friends – we play the music that we want to play and this is the most important thing.

• Guys, I want to thank you once again for your time and wish you all the best for the future. The last words are yours!

Mario/Heiner: Thank you very much – Keep Thrashing!

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