Interview with Schmier (Part1)

This Interview (part 1) with DESTRUCTION´S vocalist/bassist SCHMIER was taken right after the return of the band from Australia.

It includes a lot of hot news and interesting views that the frontman shares with the fans:

Schmier, welcome back! Everybody wants to know - how was your Australia-trip?

S:Terrific! One of the best experiences ever! You have to know that the Metal scene ´down under´ is pretty small, but the people have so much heart and dedication. It´s the attitude of the people that makes it so special: the Australians are really hospitable & friendly, well oranized but laid -back. They know how to party with class, I like that!

We were treated very well down there. Thanx again to Steve and the Metal Warriors for the chance to play on theother side of the world!

Did you have time to see anything of the country, like strange animals etc?

S:We saw a lot of dead kangaroos on the freeway! (OOPPS!!!) It´s always difficult to see everything you want, 'cause there is never enough time. The bushfire was very close when we played in Canberra, so we had to pass by. Some of our crew got stuck there for six hours or so, that was strange. They closed the freeway so nobody could pass anymore, it was too dangerous! (laughs) Next time we will stay in OZ longer and add some holidays, it´s just so fuckin´ beautiful and different than anywhere else!

Did you see any of your opening bands and how is the underground?

S: The quality was very good in general. "Dungeon" was a real professional Powermetal band. "Dark Order", a high gain thrash band from Sidney, was cool too and "Atomizer" had a charming old school attribute like "Venom". The high technical level and the variety of different styles made it quite interesting for me to watch many of our opening acts on the tour. I like that - chill with a drink, watch some bands and meet some nice girls…uuhhh - people! (AHA!!!)

Let´s change the subject. Everybody wants to know: what did really happen to your hand? We all know that you broke it in The States but how?

S:(laughs out loud) Oh shit - what a desaster! It was a long, rough tour and a lot of bad things happened. The busdriver was a schizo and though people were following him (makes a strange face). He never slept and he took always the wrong way. He was also stupid as fuck and a redneck with a big mouth - what an idiot! He left me behind in L.A. 'cause I was a little late for the bus. So I was stuck there and had to somehow travel on my own to the next gig. But it was him that was always late! So we couldn´t do any sound - checks and as I said before he lost his way almost every fuckin´day. After my bass got stolen in San Diego, my temper was about to blow off. And then some days later he tried to play games with us, so I was ready to kill him!

No, I didn´t (laughs)! But I had a bad outburst and broke my right hand.

Did you cancel any shows in The States, cause of your hand?

S: No way! We played the rest of the tour. When we came back to Europe I had to get acast, that´s why the UK dates got canceled. (makes a sad face) I felt really bad - but that's rock´n roll…

Any chance to re- schedule the UK tour?

S: We will try our best. It was my own fuckin´fault so I know I owe our UK fans something. Hey - we will come over promise! I will try my best, it´s is very complicated to find a good Metal promoter in the UK though…a tour with SODOM would be cool!

This was the longest tour in DESTRUCTION´S history, right?

S:Fuck yeah! And we still didn´t play in all the countries we wanted to thrash!

Any Examples?

S:The Japan shows will follow in April - finally! After the next album we have to play in France, Spain and Russia! The problem is that we are not trendy enough for some of the promoters in those countries. We are just an old thrash band…(laughs)

But you have a lot of loyal fans all over the world!

S: Right! Our next album will blow those idiots away. There will be the day when they have to book us, cause our fans are demanding it!!! It was like this in many other countries too, like South-America!

Tell us something about the next album!

S:It will sound like a mix between "Halloween" and "Manowar" with a little pinch of "Nighwith" and "Korn" ! (almost falls from his chair while holding his stomach - screaming and laughing)
Haha, we are writin´ new uncompromising shit right now. Which direction for real? Bluesrock!?! What do you expect? Exactly!
Our new drummer MARC got fast feet. I´m lookin´forward to write the best album ever, 'cause the band was never in better shape than it is now! We will give the fans and ourselves a big present with the new album! Oldschool will be Newschool!!!

Sounds good to me. When will you hit the studio?

S: Arround March/April 2003. The release date should be September 2003. We will produce ourselfes this time. No more compromises! Peter Tägtgren did a great job on "the Antichrist", but we have to move on, look for a new challenge! I love Peter and we surely will work together again one day. Maybe we can have a baby together when medicine has progessed enough…(laughs again…)

What about the DVD?

S: It should be ready at the end of next year. We wanna take our time with that. We already have a lot of bits and pieces from all over the world.

What about the WACKEN material?

S:What a crazy show! We had a lot of technical problems: the wireless didn´t do it and at the end of the set the power on stage was cut off, because of the heavy rain the other day…what a embarrassing chaos concert!
BUT- we will use it, cause the atmosphere and the fans were unique. Real fuckin´ special, it gave me the creeps.
What a support! Maybe the best show of my life - 'cause the 40.000 crazy Metalheads showed a lot of sympathy and appreciation besides their energy! That was magic!!!

How was the American tour?

S: South America is maybe the hottest continent for metal. Big crazy crowds. They adore the oldschool way: They have the most beautyful girls in the world, great food & drinks and the people don´t care so much about the newest fuckin´ trends. Also the countries and the people are always worth a trip down there - I whish we'd had more time…

…and the north?

S: It was a lot better than we thought! Both coasts and parts of Canada are really back in METAL! It´s such a big country, so it´s normal that some conservative parts really suck big time. But in general this tour with "KREATOR" was very successful. It´s difficult to tour The States 'cause you can´t make any money at all really. The costs are to high and the REAL Metal is still underground. But we saw a lot of happy faces and these people did appreciate that we came over for this long and nasty trip…hehehe!

MILLE from "KREATOR" had some problems with the press, when he said Bush is an idiot. What do you think about this whole affair?

S:Mille just said what he thinks, it is maybe a little rude, but it´s honest! The North Americans don´t like to be criticized, especially after Sep.11th, which is understandable. But you have to see that their government in doin´a lot of strange things in the name of justice. All they really want is more money and more power. All governments are like that, not only the one in the states. I think the german government is full of shit, it´s time for a revolution, but our citizens are so brainwashed, they don´t wanna see the truth!!!

That´s why I hate politics, but we have to face this!
That was the reason for me to play metal, live metal and shit metal!
The politicians and the creedy, ruthless industry behind everything brought up my misanthropy when I was a little kid - and not much has changed until now…This world will never live in peace. Sad but true!

This is the end of interview part one. The second part will follow soon…

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