Interview with EDENKAISER
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine.
The last time we talked was almost 2 and a half years ago. It was when you released your album "Fleshdozer Dimension". Now you have released your new full length studio album "Armageddon Overlord". Tell us a few things about this project.
First of all, greetings to the fans of FILTY DOGS OF METAL. It's a pleasure to be here. After releasing ‘Fleshdozer Dimension’ and touring with it, we got to work on ‘Edenkaiser vs Demolator’, a split with Colombian Thrash Metal band Demolator which was released in 2022. After this, a change was made on bass (Schizo Von Basstardson joined the band). Together with him we worked on ‘Armageddon Overlord’ and in June 2023 we started recording the album together with Pablo Fernández (who has produced the album) in Madrid. From the first moment the connection was fantastic and we decided to follow the sonic path of the previous work but giving it more energy and power, a much more fierce and wild production.
The cover artwork has a great atmosphere! Tell us a few things about it.
The album cover is the work of José Antonio Vives, a renowned illustrator who has worked with countless Metal bands and whose work has always caught our attention. The truth is that we are delighted with his work and we are sure it won't be the last time we count on him. The illustration refers to our creature, which has already appeared in our previous works, and with a background containing our logo and all framed in a kind of crimson or bloody dimension. Red is a colour that has always been linked to Edenkaiser. In it we want to make it clear what you can find in ‘Armageddon Overlord’: death, epic, violence, rage... and a lot of Extreme Metal. A tribute to the old way of proceeding in the genre. We strongly believe in a powerful cover that defines the sound of the band at first sight... and we think we have achieved it. We couldn't be happier with it.
What about the lyrics of the new album?
Hamramr, our vocalist, is in charge of creating all our lyrics (we have always thought that the vocalist should compose everything he sings) just after we have decided together the general theme of the album or the song to be created. Edenkaiser has always dealt with themes ranging from literature adaptation (Michael Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, Lovecraft...), metaphors, cinema, magic, historical facts, conspiracy, religion, wars, post-nuclear future... and for our work we have followed that line but focusing more on sensations. Whatever the theme, it is always accompanied by anger, pain, negativity and at the same time energy, stoicism and resistance. The yin and the yang. Tracks from the new work like ‘Hi-Tech Warlord’ are about high technology and how unfair war is sometimes, ‘Symphony of Agony’ or ‘A Hidden Torment’ are about mental pain on various levels, ‘The Slaughter Empire’ or ‘Unnatural Unknown Force’ are about guilt or ‘With Iron Hand’ is our direct homage to the world of Warhammer 40k. A perfect breeding ground for us. We can't deal with happiness or write a song about how good strawberry ice cream is or how sexy your neighbour is. That's what everyone else is for.
Recently you have released on your YouTube Channel your new official music video "The Slaughter Empire". Tell us about this experience of making a video clip.
‘Armageddon Overlord' now has three official clips: “A Hidden Torment”, “The Slaughter Empire” and “With Iron Hand”. The first clip, ‘A Hidden Torment’, was shot as a creative clip, showing the band as the theme of the song, suicide, envelops everything. The one for ‘Slaughter Empire’ was used to show us in the studio and the last clip, ‘With Iron Hand’, was filmed on the ‘Fleshdozer Dimension’ tour, taking advantage of the fact that we performed the song during that tour as an appetizer for what was to come. The three clips have been used to show us in three different places: in our oniric world, in our studio and where we like to be the most, live. We think it's a perfect representation of who we are and what we do.
How did your cooperation with WP and RO Productions occur?
It happened in the most natural way possible. They already knew our work for years and when we were looking for a label to release ‘Armageddon Overlord’, they were one of the first to offer us the option. And it was a good choice. WP and RO Productions (Netherlands/Brazil) is a label that cares about their artists, there is continuous contact and they support them to death. It's a small label but true to their ideals and they help the underground like few others. Mega-professionals and, at the same time, friends. A perfect deal. As well as on CD, the work comes out on LP. And in a few months we will also have it on Cassette through another label interested from UK.
Is there any funny or weird story from the recordings or from your live shows that you would like to share with us?
There are always stories on the road. Some funny, some extreme, some very peculiar... but there are always things to remember that happen to you while you're on tour. On our last tour, playing in the south of Spain, we slept in a hostel worthy of a horror movie, with crazy junkies who wouldn't stop talking in their sleep, farting and screaming... a real madness that we took as fun. Or for example playing in France (on two different tours), we had a crazy fan who went around with bottles full of blood and gave it to us while cutting himself. A peculiar guy, no doubt. And those are the ones that can be told. The others are secrets of steel.
The last 4 years we have faced many dark, strange & new situations with our everyday life (covid, lock-down etc.) worldwide. Did this situation affect you, positively or negatively?
It affected us both ways. At first we were very annoyed not being able to play live for a while (and we didn't know how long it would be), being locked up at home without being able to rehearse or see each other... but soon we realised that we could rehearse at home, through the internet we could pass each other the material we were generating and we ended up writing the previous album, ‘Flesdozer Dimension’, in the middle of the pandemic. When we could all be together, it was just a matter of rehearsing and we had a new album. Like thousands and thousands of bands all over the world did. The wait was tense and horrible... but it was worth it.
What shall we expect from EDENKAISER in the near future?
The live representation of our ‘Armageddon Overlord’, a lot of electricity, a lot of violence and a lot of love for Black, Thrash and all Extreme Metal. And we will keep on releasing sonic war. We hope to see you all!
Thank you very much for your time & keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Well, just to say thank you very much to FILTHY DOGS OF METAL for their support and diffusion. Your work is eternally appreciated. It is a real honour to be here. Keep going strong! A big hug!
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
EDENKAISER CONTACT:
https://www.facebook.com/edenkaiserband
https://www.instagram.com/edenkaiser_band/
https://edenkaiserband.bandcamp.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/31zQxzWRADYi7FkdaOJ0Qw