A Sickness Unto Death is a doom metal project by Tim Ziegeler and Michael Maas from Northern Germany. Their debut album ‘Despair’ was released on May 3rd through TWS Records. Below an interview with Tim (TZ) & Michael (MM):
TMR: Hello to you from´The Metal Resource’ Holland, how are things going there in Germany ?
MM: Splendid! After the darkest winter in 51 years, spring has finally arrived!
TMR: Will you Introduce yourself and the band please [name and instrument]
MM: I am Michael. I play the guitar and run a small studio called Refuge Studio.
TZ: I am Tim, singing in A SICKNESS UNTO DEATH and doing the artwork and promo stuff.
TMR: Tell us the brief history of ‘A Sickness Unto Death’.
MM: It is brief, indeed! I met Tim through a mutual friend. We started around Christmas 2011 and worked on the album for the whole of 2012.
TMR: Are you guys full time musicians ? If not what kind of job or school do you do beside the band ?
MM: I am actually a scientist and work at a university. I squeeze in some music- time whenever possible.
TZ: I am a fulltime creative, however, I work as a media designer and do marketing stuff. So I too have not as much time for music as I would prefer.
TMR: What is your musical background ? [for everyone personal]
MM: I started taking guitar lessons when I was 11. After high school, I took a one year class at the MGI in cologne, which has a similar concept to the MI in LA. After that, I studied chemistry and started a band.
TZ: I remember singing since I was a kid, however I grew up very rural and there were no bands or a metal scene here. The first time I sung in a band was back in 2004.
TMR: Why the name ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ ? Is there a story behind it ?
MM: The concept of the album is loosely based on Kierkegaard’s book.
TMR: Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ ? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?
MM: I usually start with writing the basic arrangements, guitar riffs etc. I send this to Tim and he comments on it and records scratch vocals. With Tim’s feedback, I refine the arrangement, add layers of guitars, subtle orchestral stuff, etc. Tim records his vocals in my studio and sometimes adds samples to the songs. Tim writes his vocal lines and lyrics. Mood-wise there is also enough dark stuff that comes to the surface when I am in a creative flow. Life has lots of good stuff in it, but the music is like a vent for the bad stuff.
TZ: The mood for me is always different. We are playing doom metal, you know? So it is a sound of decay and loss yet my life is fortunately not! So besides my daily life I try to get some inspiration, maybe from a book or a topic I am dealing with and try to express it with vocals and lyrics.
TMR: How do you describe the music of ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ the best ?
MM: It’s slow, it’s sad, so it’s some kind of doom metal. No need to define it any further, just listen to it.
TZ: That’s it! But it also has powerful moments and I maybe also some moments of comfort and calming.
TMR: How does ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?
MM: When I write music, it’s more influenced by what I feel at the time. I don’t feel very strongly about politics or things like that.
TZ: For the lyrics: Politics and religion surely affect my lyrics, but more in an inspirational way. So it is rather an input, not an output! So in the end you might not take any notice. I try to keep the lyrics kind of universal so they are interesting for everyone. “Goddess in dust” for example is a song about the downfall of a goddess that is abandoned by her disciples. So this is obviously a religious issue, but it also describes a usual way we live today: We lift things or persons holy that cannot satisfy our expectations and then we lose faith.
TMR: For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ ?
MM: That’s for Tim to answer!
TZ: I know that lyrics are often neglected. I think this is related to the way we consume music. We don’t have the time anymore to just sit down and enjoy a full album of music without doing other stuff. And so the lyrics often fall short. But on the other hand we are doing doom metal stuff and doom metal always stood for strong and pathetic lyrics! For me a song with random or weak lyrics is a weak song! I think my lyrics are indeed a way of communication, at least with myself. But I prefer raising questions than giving answers. Truth can always be found without answers, but not without questions!
TMR: Is there already a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ ?
MM: Not a particular highlight, but I am very happy about the collaboration with Tim and the productivity and creativity that followed that!
TZ: Me too! And surely a highlight was the release of “despair”. The album was finished for some months but we had to wait until May for the release. It is always exciting how people like it! Also, working in a studio continously is very challenging and productive. But I think more highlights will come when we make it unto the stage!
TMR: And the worst thing were ? [if there is one]
MM: I just love making music, even if it is grueling hours of vocal editing ; -)
TZ: I hit a deer last summer when I drove to the studio. So we already have the first victim of a sickness unto death. So let’s take a minute’s silence in memorium!
TMR: What is your favorite album top 5 of all times ? [for everyone personal]
MM:
Type-O-Negative: October Rust
Paradise Lost: Draconian Times
Tiamat: A Deeper Kind of Slumber
Saviour Machine: Legend II
Metallica: Black Album
TZ:
Anathema: Eternity
Saviour Machine: II
Antestor: Martyrium
Candlemass: Nightfall
Warlord: Deliver us
TMR: What makes you laugh? [for everyone personal]
MM: My own sarcastic witticisms that only I get.
TZ: I love play on words! And often trivial things are much more funny to me than comedy stuff!
TMR: How do you promote your band and shows ?
MM: Mainly Facebook, YouTube, reviews and interviews.
TMR: How do you prepare for a show? [for everyone personal]
MM: No shows, yet. We are now working on recruiting a live band. We haven’t found a drummer, yet… The plan is to be able to play shows by the end of 2013.
TMR: Name some of your favorite bands to play with live [past and future] and tell us why ?
MM: We’ll see when we get there.
TMR: What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked? [for everyone personal]
MM: What does your t-shirt mean? (when wearing some band shirt with just a band name on it)
TZ: “What is GRIND?” I`ve been asked by a teacher when reading a metal magazine in school. Actually, “Grind” in german means crusted blood and he just did not get it!
TMR: Do you have a life philosophy / favorite quote ? [for everyone personal]
TZ: Less is more. It’s the philosophy of design and also a good advice in most things in life.
MM: I kind of don’t.
TMR: Are you visiting many gigs and what do you listen to these days? [for everyone personal]
MM: Just bought tickets for Steven Wilson. Last year, I saw Anathema, Paradise Lost and Swallow the Sun. I am having a Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson phase right now.
TZ: I don´t visit much concerts, maybe 5 concerts a year plus one festival or so. Last concert I visited was Spiritual Beggars in Hamburg which was a great show! My current playlist contains a lot of Progressive Rock like Barclay James Harvest, Pink Floyd and Marillion. Their last album is a masterpiece of beautiful music! Also an album with heavy rotation comes from the Netherlands! It’s ATLANTIC by THE WOUNDED.
TMR: Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?
MM: I think it’s kind of far and in between here in Bremen. At least compared to the Dortmund area where I used to live. The scene there was much more active!
TZ: I live about 50 kilometers from Bremen and there actually is no metal scene here. We used to have a metal scene in the end of the 90ies with one or two popular bands but during the last ten years or so the only hard music played here is hardcore and metal core.
TMR: What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
MM: We are happy to have found a label that helps us distributing our music. Besides that, there are tremendous opportunities for musicians to produce their own music independently, like we did.
TZ: Yes the independent thing is a big chance for young bands! And the record industry… It is just as any other industry: Maximum profit with minimum input. No place for romantic feelings here and as a band you should consider this from the start. But there are also a lot of smaller labels with a sound philosophy. As Michael said, we are thankful for the support of TWS!
TMR: What can you tell us about your recently released debut album ‘Despair’ [such as the recording process, the songs, who did the artwork, label etc ?]
TZ: The album took about a year to record. We first wanted to release it independently but then we had the opportunity to work with TWS records. It contains 8 songs and a short intro. You can listen to some of the songs on our website. Also you may notice that it comes as a white digipak. This is meant as a help for our fans so they can find the album very quickly in their local record store. Just kidding: The artwork was done by me and as I said earlier I love to keep things simple!
TMR: What are your plans for the near future ?
MM: As mentioned before, we are putting together a life band. We are also doing pre production for the next album.
TMR: What advice would you give to fellow bands?
MM: Believe in what you create.
TZ: Amen!
TMR: Guys thanks for your time and the interview, we wish ‘A Sickness Unto Death’ all the best … Is there anything you wanna say at last? [any final statement ?]
MM: Thanks for the interview, your support is much appreciated! Or in the words of a great prophet of doom: “Please buy our product!”
Video below “Behind the Scenes: Recording ‘Despair'”
Video below “Goddess In Dust”