Dutch death metal band Hail Of Bullets recently released their third World War 2 inspired album III The Rommel Chronicles, which got reviewed by Andrew Rawlinson. Drummer Ed Warby gave us some insights into the band and their WWII inspiration.
(((o))): Thank you for ding this interview for Ech(((o)))es and Dust. We’re based in the UK where the majority of our readers are based. Can you give us a brief background about who is in the band and the history of the band?
Ed: The band was formed in 2006 by Thanatos main man Stephan Gebédi and his plan was to hand-pick the best man for each spot from people he'd worked with and/or admired. He ended up selecting Paul Baayens (also in Thanatos) on guitar, Theo van Eekelen (ex-Houwitser) on bass, Martin van Drunen (ex-Pestilence, Asphyx) on vocals and yours truly Ed Warby (ex-Gorefest) on drums. Some of us had never played together or even met each other, so instead of the usual tentative rehearsal one might plan we decided to go out on the town instead, figuring if we liked each other the rest would follow. We did, and it did, and so here we are 7 years, scores of shows and 3 full length albums later.
(((o))): What is it about World War 2 that appeals to you so much to form a band based on it?
Ed: Well, the band wasn't really based on WWII or even war in general when we started, only when I presented the first instrumental demos did Martin come up with his Eastern Front concept which we all liked immediately. We didn't have a name yet and although we wanted something "violent" sounding we didn't want to pin ourselves down on something too war-like, which is why we chose Hail Of Bullets, which definitely suits the war concept but not exclusively.
But by now we've definitely become a WWII band, it's simply a subject that suits our music and it's extensive enough to provide inspiration for many more years and albums to come. If we live that long of course.
(((o))): What processes go into choosing the theme of each album and how deep do you research it?
Ed: That process happens largely in Martin's head, he's our master lyricist and chief historian. The Eastern Front on our debut album was something he'd been wanting to do for a long time, so that was easy. Then for the second album we didn't want to repeat ourselves too much so Martin came up with the Pacific and what led up to the Japanese involvement. And this time he felt it would be good to try a slightly different approach and focus on a specific historical figure which became Erwin Rommel. The research he does is incredible, he literally disappears off the map with as many books he can get his hands on and doesn't come up for air until he's devoured them, and only then does he begin writing the actual lyrics which may take another few months.
(((o))): On a similar note was it considered a gamble to base album 3 [The Rommel Chronicles] purely on a German general and have you received any negative feedback for this?
Ed: Back when we did Of Frost And War there was already some risk of being mistaken for Nazi's, but especially in Germany Martin's left-wing political convictions are well-known so we had no trouble whatsoever. Besides, one only needs to read the lyrics for a few minutes to realize what we're about. And it was the same with this album, we're signed to a German label (Metal Blade Europe) so they made sure we didn't do anything commercially stupid, but they trust our judgment. We did have some minor discussions about the artwork and what we could or could not do, so in the end we chose a rather abstract image for it that still manages to convey the theme of the album without actually portraying Rommel.
(((o))): What’s your favourite Tank and why?
Ed: Ahh, that would have to be the Tiger I. I like to compare the band to one of those unstoppable war-machines, crushing everything in its way... it's near-indestructible, heavy as fuck, just a brutal machine!
(((o))): What is the most surprising/interesting fact that you have discovered during your research into an album?
Ed: I can't really name one thing but usually when he's doing his research Martin comes up with all kinds of titbits, and he recounts them with much gusto in the dressing room or on the road. Cool stories about the secret route that Rommel devised which made his division appear almost like ghosts in their swiftness (‘DG-7’ is about that), or the specific details of his forced suicide. I'm not nearly the history-buff Martin is, so for me it's usually very interesting to hear these things.
(((o))): Are there any topics you won’t cover for any reason (E.G. Holocaust)
Ed: That for me would be one, we want to maintain a certain level of "fun" and although we touch on many horrific subjects (whenever we do ‘Tokyo Napalm Holocaust’ the mood gets a little grimmer) I don't think the Holocaust would make a very tasteful subject.
(((o))): Do you plan to stick to World War 2 material or do you have any desire/plans to approach a different subject?
Ed: That's really up to Martin but I think that for now we'll stick to WWII, it suits our music well and there are still tons of topics left to explore.
(((o))): Do you keep track off and enjoy other World War 2 themed bands such as Sabaton or Eastern Front and have you ever thought about putting on a ‘war-torn’ themed gig or festival with bands such as these?
Ed: I don't get Sabaton at all, to be honest. Happy-sounding power metal with war-themed lyrics doesn't make much sense to me. We wanted to name one song on the new album "Ghost Division" but then we found out that Sabaton had already written a cheerful ditty by that name so we had to work our way around it. To each his own, but I don't think we'd belong on the same bill, haha
(((o))): Has being seen as a ‘supergroup’ been a help or a hindrance to your career?
Ed: When we started out it helped in getting our promo heard, but even then we all felt it was a major misnomer. I mean, it's not like we were in Slayer or Metallica before and we all see Hail Of Bullets as just a band (yep, band, not project). To me a supergroup is a bunch of rich and successful guys getting together to record one uninspired album and then dissolve again, not at all how I view this band. But I'm sure we sold some albums thanks to the "featuring so and so" tags, although I like to think those people would have found us anyway. So apart from the first few months neither help nor hindrance, I'd say.
(((o))): You have a long running partnership with Dan Swano with all your albums, how did you get involved with him and is he the only man you consider for the job?
Ed: When we got around to unleashing our first promo we all agreed it had to sound great, we were doing old school death metal but we wanted a "modern" production. It didn't take long for Dan's name to come up, and as luck would have it I'd just befriended Rogga Johansson who was in a band with Dan (Demiurg). I asked him to check with Dan if he'd mix our promo, and he said he would if I'd agree to join Demiurg on drums, which I did of course! Needless to say he did a killer job and even delivered some devastating growls, knowing full well we'd go back to him as soon as we had a record deal (which, partly thanks to Dan's mix, didn't take very long). And 3 albums down the line we're still extremely happy to be working together, it's a stupid cliché but he really feels like a 6th band member.
(((o))): You’re planning to tour again in 2014, will this include the UK?
Ed: Hopefully, yes. The UK has been difficult to break so far but we'll give it another shot if we get the chance. For now we're booking mostly festival appearances and one-offs, actual touring has never really been an option for us due to our regular jobs and other bands, but we'll try to visit as many countries as possible again.
