Phantom
Winter risen from the ashes of Omega Massif and have released a
stunning debut album with Cvlt. A bleak, heavy and despairing affair
that's winning praise within the Doom/Sludge Metal community for it's
sheer brutality.
I
was given the chance to interview Andreas (Guitar/Bewitched Screams)
from Phantom Winter and ex-Omega Massif to see what inspired him to
create such a heavy, brutal and poetic album.
So
lets get started....
Hi
Andreas. Thanks for doing this interview, how are things with you
today.
Hi,
even if no one would expect this from guys of a band called “Phantom
Winter“, we are very happy that it is springtime in Germany and it
is getting warmer.
Before
we talk about your new album. Can you tell our readers a brief
history on how the band came together.
About
one week before Omega Massif ended, I started PW as a sideproject to
write my own music. Christof liked, what he heard and he joined me.
Then we recorded the song "Wintercvlt“ with Christian
joining me on vocals, as I was sure, I could not sing everything
live. After that recording I wrote more songs and we could win Martin
for the band. We recorded the album as a 4-piece and David, our other
guitarist, joined us afterwards.
Why
did you choose the name Phantom Winter for your band. Though it
perfectly matches the cold atmospheric feeling of your music.
I
always wanted to make anything with"Phantom“, I like the
spooky aspect of it. Suspense. Winter fits perfectly to give the band
it's final touch, the Winterphantom everyone carries inside and wants
to get rid of. Or that he or she loves.
Most
people may of heard of Phantom Winter being the spin-off band or the
new band featuring members from Omega Massif. Does that bother you
all being compared to Omega Massif even though you are two very
different bands.
No,
well I am actually guilty of that aspect, because I posted every
single news on the Omega Massif-facebook-page. It is ok, that the
Omega Massif-fans know, this is not the end. This is the beginning.
Everyone in the band walks on a new path and gives birth to something
special, as Omega was.
Did
you all know each other very well before Phantom Winter came together
as a band. Did you know right away that this was going to be a good
thing to do.
I
know Christian and Martin very long. Christian is a good friend,
Martin is a good friend and an old schoolmate. Christof did not know
them, but it worked out very well. We all did not know David, but he,
even if he is ten to fifteen years younger than the others are, seems
to fit in very well. Well I think I knew, that this is a good thing,
yes.
Obviously
you're sound is very different to Omega Massif. Your sound is
heavier, darker and very more depressing. Did you know that you all
wanted a different sound from what came before it.
We
have vocals, samples, yes, the music might be a little bit more
brutal, more in your face, more middlefinger. This might be the
result of the change in songwriting. The Omega-songs were a
collaboration, in PW I write the songs. So I can follow a very
special path with every single song and I can connect the lyrics with
the music as good as possible. And as we sing about everything that
bothers me, the music has a darker, more depressing touch. Omega was
a soundtrack to mountains, I like to call Phantom Winter a nightmare.
Let's
talk about your new album - Cvlt. What can people expect from this
album.
It
has five songs with very different sounds."“Corpses Collide“
for example is kind of a wake up call at the beginning, it hammers
it's way through your ears and has this piano and whispers –
middle-part that sounds like Poltergeist meets weird
fairytale."Finster Wald“ is nearly instrumental but has an
highspeed-outbreak ending."Avalanche Cities“ has kind of a
real song-structure with refrain and bridge and stuff and it is the
only song with some more positive melodies to give it a big contrast
within it's parts. If you are into heavy music, you might find
something, you like.
Was
it an easy or hard album to write and record for.
It
was easy. I had so much energy inside my whole body and mind, because
the death of Omega Massif struck me very hard. I used this force to
unleash the winterphantom. It gave me peace with the loss of the
other band which was a very central issue in my life.
Why
did you choose the name Cvlt for the album and that particular
spelling for it.
Because
of the song"Wintercvlt“. Music can be kind of a"cult“
this song is describing. And even if we do not like cults, it seems
that no one can stay away from every cult. TV, music, internet, work,
this new way of nutrition, yoga, whatever. So this has an ironic
touch. And the Vs instead of the Us are our middlefingers to the
whole NSBM-scene, which often uses runes or old german mystic symbols
to be evil or whatever (song "Finster Wald“). In our eyes this
is nothing but kindergarden.
What influences you when writing and recording your music. As the
album has a depressing vibe to it.
I
use the music as kind of a reminder for myself that says: Don't
become an asshole! Keep your integrity. The lyrics, the music sound
very depressing, yes, but actually this is very positive music. I
know, this world will stay an ugly place and PW will change nothing
about that. But Phantom Winter is kind of a mirror or a symbol for
the audience. No acceptance. No surrender. Grab your own
winterphantom and throw it from the top of a skyscraper.
The
album has started to receive some fantastic reviews so far. Has this
surprised you in anyway. Did you expect the album to make this good
of an impression.
This
is fantastic, yes. I do not know, what I expected. I hoped, that
anyone would understand Phantom Winter. And it seems, that it struck
a nerve. We appreciate every single response to our work, this helps
us to keep going our way.
Will
you be doing an extensive tour in support of the album. If so will
which areas will you be visiting in the future.
We
will play some festivals like the awesome VOID and the STATELESS
SOCIETY and there will be a lot of clubshows (Berlin, Cologne, Munich
etc.) all over germany. It will be about 20 shows this year, that's a
lot for us.
How
important are physical products to a band like yourselves. Which
musical format do you like releasing your music in. DD, CD, Cassette
or Vinyl.
Some
of us are into CDs, the others in LPs, Cassette is more like a
gimmick, but a nice one. I prefer LPs with downloadcodes, something
nice at home and the bits and bytes for the road.
What
is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it down to a group
collective or individual.
I
write the songs and the others join me in the finishing process. This
is a really good way to work straight, effectively and to follow one
big vision for every song.
Apart
from the new album release what other plans do you have in store for
the next 12 months or so.
We
will play our shows and write new songs, we think it would be nice to
have new material very soon.
How
would you class your music as. Sludge, Post-Metal, Blackened Sludge,
Doom Metal, As your music has been called a lot of things. Do you
take notice of musical terms such as those mentioned above.
We
call it "Winterdoom“. We think this gives someone who does not
know any song of PW an idea of what we might sound like. But anyone
can call it as he or she wants. We don't care about such
classifications much.
Well
guys thanks for doing this. Best of luck with the album. It's a great
album. Do you have any words of wisdom for your fans out there.
Thanks
for supporting us, come to our shows, if possible, it will be very
frosty.
Words
by Steve Howe and Andreas from Phantom Winter.
Thanks
to Magnus at Creative Eclipse PR for arranging this interview. Thanks
to Andreas for taking the time out to talk to us here at Sludgelord
HQ.
CVLT
is now available to buy on Golden Antenna Records on CD/DD/Vinyl.
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