Dew-Scented pour l'album "Incinerate"

Hi Leif, I'm Keyser from French webzine Thrashocore, nice to virtually meet you. How are you man?

Hey Keyser! Nice to virtually meet you too, bro! All good here, thanks! Just getting ready for the release of Dew-Scented's “Incinerate” album and a lot of touring to follow it up with. Should be cool…early Monday morning now, I should add as well.


I always wondered why you've called your band with such a kindly name as Dew-Scented instead of Armageddon, Destroyer of Skulls or Hell Patrol, you know, the typical ridiculous thrash band names…

Good question, really, hahaha! I mean, this goes looooong years back and the basic idea when we started out was to have an original and not too typical-heavy-metal-gore-blood-zombie-sounding. Yeah, those names you mentioned probably would have been easier and catchier choices but we wanted to go for something eerie and obscurely different. I liked the vibe, twist and originality in D-S, so I suggested it to the other guys and they liked it too. As easy as that. Throughout the years we have often heard that the name is stylistically confusing and therefore misleading. I can of course see why, but hopefully one day we manage to have our music around well enough that people only refer to D-S as the term and frame for the aggressive metal we are performing and don't really wonder why or question the name too much.


Another matter of life and death: why do all your albums start with the letter “I”? How will the next album be called? “Intolerance”? “Intracranial Butchery”? “I give albums a title that starts with an “I” but I have no idea why the fuck I do that”?

Well, this has simply become a pattern since our debut album's release (the demo tape was still called “Symbolization”. We have wanted to stick to a one-word & starting-with-an-I theme to keep all albums in line with each other. It has been really interesting to see people get used to this formula and then also receive some cool suggestions and inquiries about it. There is not much deep meaning behind this idea, rather than to add catchiness and also take advantage of simple and symbolic one-word titles to walk hand in hand with the album's artwork and also offer some rough reference to the atmosphere of the lyrics on the album. We don't know yet what the next album will be called. We tend to always start the search anew once again to keep it fresh and entertaining. Definitely not “Intracranial Butchery”…that's far too much gore-edge for our taste, plus it's two words anyways, hahaha. I liked your finally suggested “IGAATTSWAIBIHNIWTFIDT” idea, but maybe it's a bit too long to really work?!


So you're about to release a new album called “Incinerate”. How did the writing and recording processes go?

It all went down really smooth and well, really. We had already started to gather the very first ideas for song materials after the “Issue VI” album came out and especially when Flo (guitars) re-joined the band after being out for almost a year, the process of getting more stuff written and rehearsed went faster and more intense as him and Hendrik always know to challenge and compliment each other. Once we had plenty of new songs written and ready, we entered Joerg Uken's Soundlodge Studio in Northern Germany and started tracking “Incinerate”. We stayed in the studio for recordings like a month (which is a bit longer than we were used to do in the past) and then after some weeks of break and after regaining fresh ears again, we transferred the tapes over to Andy Sneap so he could mix and master the album at his Backstage Studio in UK. Pretty easy going…


I spinned it a lot of times, I really dig it. I think it's better than “Issue VI” that disappointed me a bit after such an awesome album like “Impact”. I think it's more brutal, with more blast-beats than usual. I also think it's more diversified. What do you think about the new album compared to the previous ones?

Thanks for the kind words. I would agree: I also think “Incinerate” has a better focus and more direct heaviness than “Issue VI”. We are also a lot happier with the sound and the flow of the songs on this record than on the previous one. I think ultimately we were looking at “Impact” as reference for “Incinerate”. We wanted a full-on heavy record with no lame interceptions. We wanted to start strong and carry on to then end it strong as well. The album was written having in mind that we would like each and every one of the songs to potentially become a good track for our live-set, so obviously we trimmed the fat away from a lot of songs and kept them as straight forward and punchy as possible. I think that adds to the power and aggression of the tunes. We also did make sure to have all other D-S trademarks next to heaviness featured fairly on the album for the sake of diversity: WE wanted melody, catchiness, groove and technical edge all present but without taking away from the fact that the album is meant to be straight forward and easy to swallow. Well, yeah, that was the whole point. I think “Incinerate” does a great job in representing D-S well for the current status of the band in 2007 and we couldn't be happier with the results of the album!



There are an intro and an outro on “Incinerate”. It's the first time for Dew-Scented…

Yeah, right! Well, actually we had some “intro-type” of instrumental bits on our debut album “Immortelle” back in 1996 but apart from that we always decided to simply have a powerful song kick off a new record. This time around we had this cool riff that sounded like a ceremonial gathering anthem or something and we simply thought it could work well to start and close the album with it to sort of give it a frame. You know, a grand opening and a finale. I think with all the violence and raging speed that this album contains, the intro / outro piece actually gives you some room to breathe, for a change, hahaha!


The covert art for the new album is more sober, less brutal than the other ones. Why? What does it represent exactly?

Hmmm, not sure about “sober”, hahaha! But yes, in general you might be right. We wanted something simple, symbolic and catchy for the cover artwork, so this suggestion by Bjoern from www.killustrations.com (who also already designed “Impact” and “Issue VI”) was absolutely in line with what we wanted. I think we wanted something that strikes well at very first sight and that has some morbid twist to it, but at the same time also works well with the album title and the stylistic tradition that the band has had with previous artwork selections. The cover represents a burnt out heart that is decaying to ashes. We thought this would make a nice bridge to the album's title and also open up a lot of cool graphic options for the layouts of the booklet and the rest of the packaging.


Dew-Scented wasn't very famous until “Impact” came out in 2003. You're now considered as one of the best European thrash bands. How do you explain the rise of your popularity?

I think we got very lucky but at the same time also worked really hard. I think a relevant break-through came with our 2002 album “Inwards” and the fact that Nuclear Blast Records started promoting and distributing D-S well on a worldwide level. I think that album (as well as “Impact” a year later) surprised a lot of people that might have heard about D-S before, but never really paid too much attention. I think we finally had a good sounding production at last too with “Inwards” and “Impact”, so that made a difference too. I think people were starting to understand how serious we were as a band and also we put loads of touring into the rise of the band. I mean, this is music that has to be presented live and in your face, so we always took every bit of an opportunity that we had to play shows and spread the musical word. I think it paid off after plenty of years. It was a long but very gratifying way so far. We have had a great run and loads of amazing experiences in all these years. 7 albums and several of hundreds shows later, we are still around and kicking ass, enjoyed what we are doing. What more can I ask for?



I heard your drummer Uwe Werning left. Can you explain his reasons to us? Have you already found a replacement?

Well, this was an easy and logical decision that had to be taken. I mean, Uwe changed his every-day life situation a bit lately, re-locating to a different city, starting a very intense and demanding job (after being a student for long years), etc. It seemed that his focus and main priority couldn't stay with the band, so we had to move on parting ways. We are still friends and will definitely miss him, but we understand the decision. We had written and rehearsed the “Incinerate” material with Uwe so we had decided to also have him record the album and only afterwards we would start searching for a new guy. Yes, we have found a new drummer by now after some weeks of auditions and we are really happy with him. We will announce him officially in the next days. He will first appear with D-S by the end of this month for the CD release show of “Incinerate” and the following “No Mercy” tour with Napalm Death, Moonspell and Behemoth.


Dew-Scented is a thrash metal band, I guess you agree with me. So I'd like to have your definition of what thrash metal should be for you.

Agreed! We are an extreme thrash band with elements from death metal and some HC as well, but the roots of the band definitely would rather suit a thrash metal tag. What is thrash metal? Wow, difficult one. I think in its essence, thrash metal is a riff-based, rhythm-driven violent speed outburst. It's a combination of effective and straight forward playing with decent groove and catchiness that makes you wanna play it as loud as you ever can. I have always wanted to think that the guitar-work is what defines an actual thrash metal band and not really the style of vocals. In fact, if it was about the vocals, we probably would end up with more of a death tag, as it's not at all melodic shouting here. Thrash metal also oftens deals with topics and contents that are taken from “reality” rather than from fiction, as compared to death or black / gothic metal. But there are plenty of exceptions for that rule.


Which one is better: Bay Area thrash metal or German thrash metal? What are your favorite thrash bands, the ones that have the most influence on Dew-Scented music?

I think both scenes and approaches to the style are so good and influential for the evolution of the metal scene, that it would be difficult to compare and decide what's best. I personally always seemed to dig more the American side of things due to the bigger amount of melody and also some more technical playing. I mean, I love Forbidden, Testament, Slayer, Violence, Nasty Savage, etc. The Canadian bands like Sacrifice, Voivod, DBC, etc also did mean a lot to me. Then again I also dig Destruction or Kreator as well as early Death Metal both in the US-style but also the Swedish way of things, so in the end of the day really the mix of things and styles does it for me. I think each and every one of the D-S members will have a bit of a different answer for this question, but we seem to agree on the main ingredients for a really good and extreme thrash metal recipe after all ;-)


What are you listening to these days? Any bands to recommend? I found out Abandoned last year, it's a German thrash band, do you know them? If you want my opinion, there are awesome!

Tons of stuff, really. I still play all my classics but at the same time I am very open and available for current releases and even bands that are not exclusively connected to Thrash Metal. I have been playing some Believer lately. I love everything by Tori Amos and I also adore Trouble, so I am looking forward to both their new albums right now. At The Gates is always good to me and I have been playing some Acid Bath lately as well. I also dig the latest The Tea Party album as well as the new Stone Sour or “December Underground” by AFI. For heavier music, I think the last albums by The Haunted, Lamb Of God, Misery Index and Celtic Frost have been really special. Yes, I am aware of Abandoned. Good band indeed. There is plenty of cool German thrash and death metal acts out there right now – it's a pretty happening scene these days!



“Nihil” from Impaled Nazarene has been officially banned from Germany. It's not the first time that a metal album is banned in your country, just remember Cannibal Corpse. What do you think about censorship in Germany? Is it really strong?

Germany is weird for that shit but it needs to be said that the “judge” system how someone (an individual) can officially go legally against art in general and make it fail age-rating or “moral frontiers” is pretty wicked and complicated here. In general I am anti-censorship: This is art and freedom of speech is one of our highest values. But well, maybe it does help some of those bands to get more publicity, etc. I mean, we have open borders within Europe and if someone really wants that IN album, I am sure he will know his ways how to find it…


You appear as a guest vocal on Benighted latest album. How have you met those French guys? Do you know other French bands?

Yeah, we have met the Benighted guys some times and have played shows with them. Really cool people and I also think their last album came out really good! I had a nice day visiting them in the studio to lay down those vocals. Yes, I know some other French bands like Gojira, Scarve, No Return, Eyeless, Destinity, etc. I used to dig Loudblast, Massacra or Mutilated some years back. There seems to be an interesting new generation of metal coming up right now in France…


Since we're talking about the French metal scene, I know you will perform at Hellfest festival next June. It's gonna be sick, the bill is absolutely fantastic. I'll be there so see you there maybe haha!

Yeah man, make sure to come out. This year's Hellfest line-up is phenomenal and I really look forward to that. I think if I would creatively book my own festival billing, it would be very, very similar and close to Hellfest! We did play Fury Fest some years ago and that was awesome for us, so I am sure this one will rule too. We have planned to play several times in France in 2007, so let's get the campaign started!!!


End of the interview. Thanks for your time Leif and keep thrashing! I let you conclude (in German please).

Ja, vielen, vielen Dank für deine Zeit und für deine Unterstützung! Es war mir eine Freude, diese Fragen zu beantworten! Check out www.dew-scented.net and www.mspace.com/dewscented for news on D-S and also make sure to give „Incinerate“ a try – you might dig it! Look out for D-S returning to France (Paris and Lyon) with the “No Mercy” tour in some weeks. Cheers + Beers!!!