Endzeit Interview

1.For these that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

There is really not that much to tell. Endzeit was incepted in the end of 2012 as a project by me (Polaris) together with Jarkko who was to take over vocals and participate in the whole concept of the band. Unfortunately due to personal reasons Jarkko could not make it, but luckily he is not out completely: he did the whole artwork. And here two people need to be thanked as well: Susa Dosa for the band photos, and Stefan Johnson for the Detroit photos.

But be that as it may, Schwarz joined Endzeit in early 2014 during the recordings of ‘Years of Hunger’ to take over vocals and second guitars. Luckily, Lahti is a pretty music-filled town and Profane Omen’s Samuli joined Endzeit on drums while Pyry of Mörbid Vomit has taken over bass duties.

2.You have an ep coming out in September, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I guess, that’s a pretty obvious one: black metal. We added 'raw apocalyptic' to the black metal label as it is a raw sound with apocalyptic content.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Endzeit'?

I think question 3 and 4 can be answered together. ‘Endzeit’ is the German word for apocalypse or literally translated into end-time. Since I’m German I connect a very mythical and somewhat religious connotation to that word. The name, music and lyrics are inspired by the decay I saw when I visited Detroit in early 2013. It deeply moved me to see how capitalism has failed, how people live in the rubble of burnt down buildings, how anarchic structures – no, that’s not a contradiction – have found their way into the lives of people. And the government does too little to help them. It is a very disturbing sight to drive through the ‘food deserts’, the places where there are no supermarkets anymore within several miles, and to see empty and decaying buildings where once was laughter and joy. And in the middle of that “haggard human shadows, pallid and hollow” – as our song ‘Godless’ describes.
All this is combined with an atheistic worldview –at least for myself. The lyrics I wrote together with Schwarz, so I can’t answer for him if he’d subscribe to that statement. We also included the abandonment of any good god, if you will. Instead, the people that live in this apocalyptic world do not see their god protect or help them anymore and a child which is born is indeed born into the land of Satan. The child, which is described in “Life?”, is motherless. Some kind of Jesus-like figure. It could be the son of god or the son of Satan. Who knows…

5.Has the band done any live shows or has this been a studio project so far?

No, not yet. But we are planning to play our first gig in Detroit at next year’s Foul Winter Festival. A little black metal festival for underground bands. Above mentioned Stefan is one of the organizers and a good friend of mine, so if we manage to get the money arranged, we’ll head over there and give the energy Detroit has given to us back to the city.

6.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Yes, we are unsigned and don’t have any money for physical copies or promotion, so a label that would make tape or vinyl copies would be awesome. Of course, CDs are also more than welcome, to say the least! We have sent the record to two labels only and not heard back yet, but let’s see what happens.

7.On the ep you had a Dark Funeral cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

Yes, Dark Funeral’s “Secrets of the black arts” is one of my favourite black metal albums and “The dawn no more rises” one of the best black metal songs of all time for me. Since it also touches upon the Endzeit narrative of a post-apocalyptic world in its lyrics, playing our own version of the song was an obvious choice.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal that have heard it so far?

That’s too early to say. Your review is the first and for now only one and that has been very positive!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
New songs are written and they are in the same vein as the songs on “Years of Hunger”. So expect more black metal.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

For now I’ve been the only songwriter and my musical spectrum is very wide. But for Endzeit I used the black metal influences of the time when I grew up – the 1990s. I would consider myself a black metaller anyways. What do I listen to nowadays… everything that is hard, dark and creative. I, together with some friends, run a little zine called Vendetta Metal Magazine, so we get a lot of different metal from all over the world. I’m not interested in any bigger bands really. The global underground metal scenes are amazingly diverse and extremely interesting, so I personally tend to ignore the mainstream and focus on the tiny bands. And that’s what I listen to in everyday life.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Educating myself. Through books, through life, through people. The world is a complex entity and everybody who comes up with generalizing and simplifying statements about people, regions or contexts should really ask him/herself: is the world really that simple?

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words o thoughts?

Thoughts I have plenty but I’m not able to or don’t want to share them with you. ;-) My final words are: thank you very much for your support! Very much appreciated!

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