Interview with FREAKINGS
!!!SWISS THRASH METAL!!!
We has a conversation with Toby Straumann (Bass). Enjoy!
Welcome to the FILTHY DOGS OF METAL Webzine
1. Tell us a few things about FREAKINGS (Members, Starting Year etc).
Freakings was created in Switzerland near Basel. Jonathan, our guitar player and screamer, my brother Simon as a drum player and I (Toby) have been playing together since our teenage years. We met again in 2008 to start a music project. As we were jamming it was clear very rapidly that it would become more than just a project. We ... instantly like in our teenage years and decided to start this journey into a musical adventure together: We founded Freakings. Our direction had been Thrash Metal from the start. This decision was strengthened with our second album “Gladiator”.
2. In 2019 you have released your album ''Rise Of Violence''. What was the Feedback from your audience as well as from the Press?
The feedback from fans and press was very interesting. Admirers of “Old School Thrash Metal were excited. To fans of this genre our passion we have for music seems to be noticeable. The beat, the riffs, Jonathan’s massive voice and the growling bass are appreciated. But there are also reviews that call as monotonous. Sure, we haven’t invented trash anew and some sequences are similar. But those elements are exactly what we love and can’t get enough of J.
3. Label or DIY and why?
We have checked some labels. It’s easily explainable: Either a label’s deal wasn’t suitable for us or we weren’t suitable for it. We’ll wait to see what the future brings...
4. Do you prefer Vinyl, Tape, CD or Digital Format and why is that?
We’re convinced that a huge part of the metal-lovers prefers CD or vinyl. Most of them like to have something physical in their hand, with a booklet, or even better, with a signature. But digital music is also increasingly important these days. My children for example have all the music on their smartphones, nice and tidy, and there aren’t any empty jewel cases laying around... Therefore, we are also available in the whole world (if there is internet access), wherever you are. And really it is all about our created music being heard.
5. Your music style is Thrash Metal. Which are your main influences (Favourite Artists / Bands etc.)
There are a few that I could name here... I think we definitely were inspired by bands such as Violator, Vengeance Rising, Exodus, Municipal Waste and Slayer.
6. Which things, do you think, a Band should sacrifice in order to succeed? Have you ever sacrificed anything in your life for a better future of your Band?
TIME... It takes the eagerness of each of the band’s members to sacrifice a lot of time for the music. Be it the time for concerts, tours, rehearsals (or interviews J). On the one hand those are moments that I could spend with the family or on the other hand time I could spend to invest in friendships apart from our band. I personally had many leisurely activities that I sacrificed for the sake of the music. Currently that works out quite well.
7. Describe your ideal live show as a performance Band. Have you already experienced that?
The ideal is that we can persuade the audience within the first few minutes. It is difficult to describe, there are concerts when we have the feeling the spark reaches the audience, the people are moving and in the last row, where the people aren’t moving so much, you see satisfied faces. Sometimes there are fans in the first row that now the words by heart, scream with you and you are astonished. Sometimes the applause just doesn’t stop, and the audience desires a bonus song. Such experiences are very motivating to us and help us to deliver a good performance.
8. Which attributes, do you think, that a new Thrash Metal Band should have in order to gain identity and be unique?
Be yourself...
9. Do you believe that Bandcamp and other Digital Platforms help the new Thrash Metal Bands? Which, do you
think, is the ideal way for a Band to promote its work?
We personally profite from Bandcamo. Each metalhead with an access to the internet has the opportunity to get the music and the merch, which is helpful for us. I think social media such as Facebook or currently rather Instagram help new bands to be networked. I have discovered many bands from the underground in such a way because some Facebook friend postet a song or something like that. Thus, the interest is aroused instantly,and one wants to know more about the band. Of course, that can also reach organizers and hosts and have a positive effect on the future of the band.
10. Tell us a few things about the New Underground Thrash Metal Scene in Switzerland (Bands, Fanzines, Webzines, Metal Clubs etc.)
Ooh, there is a lot to say about that! Even though we are a very small country and the thrash scene belongs to the smaller ones, I am astonished again and again about the good thrash metal bands and fans there are. For example: We have organized a small festival three times now. The “Freakout” festival takes place in our region in the beginning of the year. I can tell you, the shack was very much “on fire”. There were extraordinary bands that mostly played thrash. What I want to say is that fans from all over the country appear there. That shows us each time anew that thrash is living in Switzerland.
11. Do you know anything about the Hellenic Metal Scene?
I am sorry to say that I don’t know a lot about the Hellenic Metal Scene. But bands such as Suicidal Angels and Rotting Christ come to my mind. Furthermore, we played with a Greek band in Oslo called Innerwish. They played the Power Metal in a way that has reached me, too, even though I am a trash lover. Brilliant band, nice people...
12. What are your future plans?
What I can definitely reveal is that there will be concerts in 2020 in Switzerland and Germany. For miid-year, we’re thinking about a small East Europe Tour. Everything else isn’t ripe for the puplic yet J.
13. Thank you very much for your time & Keep up the good work! The closure is yours.
Thank you, too, for the possibility to talk about Freakings. Perhaps we will be able to come to your region some time. Until then you can visit us on our homepage, on Bandcamp or on our Facebook/Instagram profiles.
Thanks, and "Thrash will never die..."
By Steve the Filthy Dog.
FREAKINGS CONTACT:
https://freakings.bandcamp.com/