NAILED TO OBSCURITY on Rock Overdose:’ “Black Frost” album might create a deeper atmosphere than all our previous works have done’.

Rock Overdose and Pavlos Giannakopoulos had an interesting conversation with the guitarist Volker Dieken and the singer Raimund Ennenga of the German Melodic Death-Doom Metallers NAILED TO OBSCURITY, who told a lot about the band's history, about their new album "Black Frost" but also about their next plans.

 

 

 

 

Rock Overdose: Hello Volker, hello Raimund and welcome to Rock Overdose.

 

Raimund: Hello. Thank you for this interview and your time.

 

 

Rock Overdose: How are things going for Nailed To Obscurity this period?

 

Raimund: Everything’s going really well. 2018 was very special for us, because we signed with Nuclear Blast plus we wrote and recorded our new album “Black Frost”. We invested nearly the whole year writing the new album and now we are finally able to present the new songs to our fans. And 2019 looks quite promising, too. In January, we are playing a tour with Amorphis, Soilwork and Jinjer. Times are exciting.

 

 

Photo: Toni B. Gunner

 

Rock Overdose: When did you start and what made you to play music?

 

Raimund: I started singing in my very first band when I was 16 years old. But it was nothing in comparison to Nailed To Obscurity - especially in these days. I always sang for myself but I never thought I would make it into a band 🙂 When I was around 14 I discovered the more mainstream metal-acts (Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc.) but I really fell in love with the more extreme metal bands when I discovered Sepultura. I was around 15/16 years old. So I was kind of late but the impact this music had on me and still has on me is still undeniable.

 

My first (aforementioned) band was not a metal-band. Like I said, I always sang for myself and so I started out as a clean singer in a more or less rock-oriented band. After I did the first growls in Burial Vault (the band I co-founded in 2006), it felt 100 % right for the very first time. That’s when my will to play and create music really arose. It just felt so natural.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Can you introduce us the members of Nailed To Obscurity?

 

Volker: Ole and I (both guitar) started the band in the around 2004. It took a long time until we found members to complete the band and there had been a lot of changes in the formation during the beginnings. Jann (drums) joined the band in 2006 and Carsten (bass) in 2007, right before we entered the studio to record our first full-length-album Abyss. Raimund (vocals) joined the band in 2012 during the writing/recording process of Opaque. With this formation we´ve found the perfect match and we hope we can continue like this until the end.

 

 

Rock Overdose: How can you describe Nailed To Obscurity music style?

 

Volker:  I would describe it as melodic death metal but with a dark and melancholic touch. Personally i find it difficult to place our music into a specific genre. NtO lives from a variety of different elements. Our main trademark is creating a balance between harsh and mellow music.

 

 

Rock Overdose:  Volker as a founder member can you tell us some words about Nailed To Obscurity story? How did you all meet?

 

Volker: Ole and I know each other since the we were little kids. We became best friends as (around) 10-years-olds. Around that time we´ve already decided that we wanted to found a band one day. That we did after we both started to play guitar together. Lateron, when we started our apprenticeship we met Jann and we asked him to join NtO. After doing some thinking on his behalf he gladly did. From that point on NtO really functioned as a band. Lateron we met Carsten through his band Battue and again we asked if he would like to join NtO.

 

After there had been some conflicts of different nature between our old singer Alex and other members of NtO, we parted ways with him and asked Raimund to join the band. We knew him from his band Burial Vault and fortunately he stepped in as our vocalist.

 

 

 

Rock Overdose: I “met” you the very first time on “Abyss...” album back in 2007.  Which are your memories from those days?

 

Volker: Back then we didn’t really know what we were doing. We just wrote music to play some live shows in the local scene. There was no concept behind it. It was a fun time though, but not very professionell. We partied a lot. It took us some time to realize what we wanted to achieve and it also was around that time when things started to shape in the direction we find ourselves in right now. Looking back i wouldn’t want to miss a single thing from that days.

 

 

Rock Overdose:  Raimund in 2012 Nailed To Obscurity asked you to join them. What’s the story behind it?

 

Raimund: I was in my studies back then and Ole wrote to me via Facebook while I was attending a lecture. Back then, I was really a huge fan of the band. He asked me if I would be interested in joining the band because they had some issues with their former vocalist. Instantly I began to smile and really wanted to do it. But I had my other band in mind and I was not sure if I was able to do double-duty. After only a couple days of thinking it through, I said “Yes”. I had no idea that such a rollercoaster awaited me and I am still happy I agreed. The transition from me being a good friend to the band’s members into a full-on member on my own was very smooth. It felt so natural and was a lot of fun right from the start.

 

 

Rock Overdose:  Raimund how would you say that your vocal style is different than the previous singers that Nailed to Obscurity have had?

 

Raimund: To be honest, I met Frank Busker when I was already a member and I never heard his vocals. So I can’t say anything about me in comparison to him when it comes to vocals. But I know Alexander Dirks very well, as a person and as a vocalist. I got into the band with him being the singer and I always liked what he came up with. But in direct comparison I would say that I brought a lot more variety into the vocals. While Alexander was doing full-on growls, I am trying to also use other vocal-styles to enrich the musical spectrum. Also my growls are a little lower than his were. And in the end, we are both different characters on and off stage but have a similar taste of lyrical content.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Volker which are your main influences as a band?

 

Volker: It would be difficult to mention specific names, since there is a bunch of bands which had an impact on our music. We all admire the heroes of dark, melodic and melancholic metal. But I think the big advantage about our sound is, that it develops from all the different and personal influences from each band member aside that basis. There are those who listen to the classic metal styles, others have a faible for black or death metal. Again others like more progressive styles of music. We also listen to lots of music outside of the metal genre as well. Everything which sounds good to our ears can be considered a suitable influence.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Who is the main composer and who writes the lyrics for the band?

 

Volker: On the instrumental part Ole and I do the main composing. We both write the foundation (so to speak) together which we then take to the practicing room where we work on the elaboration of the songs all together. Even though Ole and I bring in the main ideas in the beginning, the actual writing process of the songs is 100 % teamwork. And that is very important for our sound, since everyone has his special part in adding his ideas. Also, lots of stuff we write results from jam sessions, which appear out of nowhere during practice.

 

Raimund: I write the lyrics but I also present my ideas to the rest of the band. It’s good to have their input, too. Especially when it comes to the final phrasing and “placing of the words”, Carsten and Ole are involved to make sure the rhythm of the lines fit well enough with the music. The rest of the band, especially Ole and Volker are also involved in the writing of clean-sung melodies. It’s not that we write the lyrics itself all together but there are always some adjustments that happen through that process and that is really important for us.

 

 

Rock Overdose: What was the response for your last album “Opaque”? Were you satisfied with the result?

 

Raimund: The results for “Opaque” were very well. Back then, I had no idea what would happen because I was the new guy and this album was our label-debut (the album was released on Apostasy Records). The press-results were very positive and the songs were so well-received during our live-shows. “King Delusion” (the album prior to “Black Frost”) was even better when it comes to press-results and reactions from the audiences we played for. This changed our expectations towards an album-release because while we have our own gut-feeling when it comes to this new album we also can’t await to hear what the fans and the press might say about it.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Nailed To Obscurity’s new album “Black Frost” will be out January 11, 2019. Can you tell us some words about this release?

 

Volker: Aside from the typical attributes Nailed to Obscurity stands for, meaning the mixture between harsh and mellow parts or the contrasts between dark and beauty, “Black Frost” might create a deeper atmosphere than all our previous works have done. Judging with some distance to our latest work I would say Black Frost is a consequent development after King Delusion. However it is important to mention that Black Frost is in no way a second part of King Delusion nor does it intend to imitate it. I can honestly say it is a work of its own. I think you might also find this to be true once you´ve listened to it.

 

Raimund: The title refers to the term “Black Frost” in shipping. When an undercooled ship moves through fog or rain, black frost is caused on the ship’s superstructures. The resulting ice is able to cause the ship to capsize. These days, people are suppressing their darkest emotions and don’t channel them or accept them as a part of themselves. Through this, they are creating a burden that is able to cause their minds to capsize. This is the main-metaphor behind the title-track. But all lyrics are stories about people struggling with themselves and problems that are caused by their subliminal emotions.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Where did you get your inspiration for “Black Frost”?

 

Raimund: The main source of inspiration for the lyrics and music is life in general. All lyrics are based on my experiences as a human being and also stories friends and family-members experienced and told me. The lyrics are again very personal, but the metaphors make them accessible for the listeners. They are able to use their own key to the lyrics.

 

 

Rock Overdose: Which are the best moments in the history of Nailed To Obscurity?

 

Volker: Oh, there are so many great moments. Actually it is the entirety of different little ones as well as big milestones in our history. But to name a few, I would say our DIY Tour in Mexico during 2012 was the most crazy and beautiful ride we had. Also our shows on the big Festivals, such as Wacken, Summer Breeze, Partysan or Bloodstock as well as our Tour with Dark Tranquillity in 2017 are all memorable and great moments.

 

 

Rock Overdose: So what the future holds for you?

 

Raimund: You never know. We try to give our best and really want to play music as long as we can. The future will bring new albums, more tours and a lot of exciting adventures. That’s for sure!

 

 

Rock Overdose: Greece has been always a warm-hearted place for heavy metal. Did you plan to visit us someday?

 

Raimund: Definitely. We would love to play Greece one day and we hope that it won’t be too long until it finally happens. Besides all the interesting sights Greece has to offer, we are keen on meeting our fans over there!

 

 

Rock Overdose: If you want just send a message to your Greek fans.

 

Raimund: To all our Greek fans: Please check out “Black Frost” in January. We are really looking forward to your opinions on our new songs! Keep on checking our live-dates: We hope that we will be able to present our music on stage for you as soon as possible!

 

 

 

For Rock Overdose

 

Interview: Pavlos Giannakopoulos

 

 

 

 

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