|
THE ARCHIVES
|
Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
|
|
|
|
|
MACHINEMADE GOD
|
Flo Velten
February 2006
http://www.machinemadegod.com
The German "Ruhrpott" thrashers Machinemade God play technical and innovative (Sweden-style) thrash with some hardcore influences and have just released their debut CD "The Infinity Complex" on Metal Blade. The great riffs, mosh/headbang parts, awesome drums and groove will blow you right out of your seat, the hooks will make you want to hear this over and over again and the songs still have lots of surprises in them. Besides that there are acoustic and other instrumental segments that prove that the band is capable of so much more than just make noise and go full speed ahead;) Singer Flo Velten gives me some insights in the way Machinemade God work.
Machinemade God was founded in 2003, but you don't exactly sound like newcomers. What are your musical backgrounds, previous bands etc.?
We all have been in bands before and have been active in the scene. Holger was in Copykill and Drift and several other small projects. Sven was in an emo/rock band called Music Is My Girlfriend (now Chelsea), Sky has been in Suidakra, a metalband on Century Media and I have been in several small projects, some punk rock stuff and some metal. We all knew what sound we wanted to play when we started Machinemade God. The band was, and still is, the priority for all of us and we wanted to push the band as far as possible. All the experience that we had from former bands and from touring helped us to work quite professional from the beginning on. I guess that explains the (at least we heard it often) pretty mature songwriting.
It's not so usual that Metal Blade signs a band after only one demo. What do you think made them have so much trust in you already?
First of all they were really into the music, because the album was recorded before Metal Blade hit us up. Then the fact that we take the band serious and that we work as hard as necessary to reach our goals.
I'm guessing you've been influenced by Swedish thrash/death and some hardcore/metalcore bands, but there is so much more in your music. Who or what else influenced you? Do you listen to music we wouldn't expect of you?
We all listen to a lot of different music and genres. I think that everything you listen to is influencing you in some way in what you do.
I think people wouldn't expect me to listen to bands like Bloc Party or Morrissey or The Smiths. There's so much more that we like, from old punk rock bands to some electronic stuff. The main territory is of course metal and hardcore, but we're really open-minded.
How does the songwriting process go in the Machinemade God camp?
Sky and Holger come up with the riffs. Sometimes it's just one riff and we keep on jamming around, sometimes they come up with a whole songstructure. We work out the finetuning and arrangements together in the rehearsel room. If we like a song we take it. I'm responsible for the lyrics and I check which of my lyrics fits to the sound and then I try to arrange it to the music.
But there's not really a concept behind our songwriting.
What are your lyrics about and is their a concept on this album?
The lyrics are about personal experiences I made in my life, from relationships over friendships to family. But they are never about one special person. I tried to sum things up and write one text about it. So it's not that personal and people can identify with it easier.
How was it to work with Jakob Brendal?
It was just amazing! We all had a good time while working with him. He's a really funny and good dude, but also really picky. He knows when something sounds right and sometimes we had to play parts over and over again. He pushed us to our limits, really got the best out of us. It was a good experience for us and we are more than happy that we chose him.
The artwork is absolutely beautiful! Who made that and what can you tell me about him/her?
Martin Sanheim is responsible for the artwork. He's a good friend of us and I've always been into his art and his designs. He's also running a clothing company called Amokkoma - The Hell Company. We chose him because we knew that when he starts something he gives 100% and he really thinks about it and comes up with good ideas. Every single spot in is art is there for a reason. We gave him the album title and he came up with the idea.
The booklet starts with eggs on a leaf, then the caterpillar, then the whole metamorphosis process towards the moth. The last picture (and the back of the CD) is a lightbulb which is a symbol for the death of the moth. This whole story is a picture for the human life. We're born, then we grow up, go through different phases and when we are fullfilled we just die in the end. This has always been like this and will always be… the infinity complex.
You caught the MySpace thing pretty early (2004), how has it been treating you?
Yeah, I was on Friendster before, because I have friends in the States and they all were on it. So they made me join this thing because that was the easiest way to stay in touch with each other. Then MySpace appeared and everybody left Friendster, because it was so slow, and went on MySpace. Besides my private profile I set up a bandaccount. It was a regular profile without music, cause at this time they didn't have the bandprofile thing. So we were one of the first European bands on there. MySpace is a real easy way to promote a band or whatever else. It's for free and it works almost alone. Also you get a lot of feedback from fans. But yeah, according to MySpace, an unsigned band could do a worldtour and play sold-out shows every night because of the gazillion fans and friends. We use this as a promotional tool and we talk to the people that write us on there, when we have the time for it.
You already played with some interesting bands. With which bands would you love to tour one day?
I would love to tour with As I Lay Dying, Unearth, Bleeding Through and Lamb Of God. I think it would fit to play with one or all of these bands. The next thing is that we all know these bands from tours or shows and we all come along really good. I think it's important if you share a bus for 3 weeks or more that you come along in a good way with each other. That's why I would love to tour with these bands.
Can we see you guys on a tour this year or maybe some big festivals?
Def! We are going on a European tour in September/October with some other great bands. I don't have exact names and dates up to now, but as soon as things are confirmed, we announce it on our website. Till then we try to play as many shows as possible on weekends and maybe some mini-tours. There's no festival confirmed yet, but I hope that we get the chance to play some of them.
Thanks for your time! Do you have any last message for our readers?
Thanks for the interview and everyone out there: Never lose the fun in what you're doing and we hope to see you at one of our shows!
submitted by Mariles 22.02.2006
|
|
|
|
|
