DESTRUCTION INTERVIEW
Twinmusix got to speak to Schmier from Destruction about their new album and more.
TM - You have 10 tracks on your new live album, how did you pick these tracks?
S - We recorded them last summer, a friend of ours at a festival recorded our set with his live studio equipment without telling us and after we had finished he came up to us and said "Hey, I have a present for you. I recorded your show" and he said "Give me some Jack and coke and you can have the tapes" and we said ok. That is how everything started.
We didn't know what to do with the tapes, so we said let's wait and see what we can do with the tapes. We put them in our back pockets. Then I was on an island when coronavirus came and I got stuck there and they couldn't come home. Then our tour got cancelled in days and I couldn't go back to Germany. I was like, no one can do live shows, we are all f*****. I spoke to the label and the boys and everyone agreed that It would be a good idea to release this album. Everyone can download it online now. The hard copy version will be out in a couple of months. It has kept me sane because I have been busy with the album and doing promotional work for this new album.
TM - You are doing a limited edition Vinyl and CD for this album what made you wanted to do a limited edition?
S - Everyone is going to stream the album now so it's not going to sell as a normal CD would sell. The label had the idea that we did a limited edition for all the collectors so the collecters will have something most people don't have.
TM - You are doing a live map with the album what was the inspiration behind that?
S - We thought we would do something special because it's a very unique release and a very spontaneous release. We thought it would be fun to do an interactive map with our fans. We created it on our homepage, they put their names in and the date they saw the Destruction for the first time and we are going to put it in the album. We didn't know what we could expect, except the contribution was amazing. We had about 2,000 people contributing and at the end, we had to try and squeeze all the names on to the poster.
TM - You have some upcoming tour dates at the end of the year what can fans expect?
S - We have some tour dates that were postponed to the end of the year, we hope we get to play them. We have some live concerts and some smaller festivals aren't cancelled yet so we will see what happens. The big festivals have moved as many bands as they can to play next year and we were able to get refunds on a mist of our airline tickets which was good that airlines have been good with getting tickets and flights.
TM - I feel you, I can't wait to go back travelling.
S - This live album is a way to connect with the world and allows us to talk to people about our new album.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs what band would it be, what song would it be and in your style or their style?
S - I would have "Judas priest" do "Curse the Gods" in their style that would be very interesting. There are also some high pitched vocals in there so I want to hear Rob Halford do that.
TM - Judas Priest is an awesome band, they are one of my favourites.
S - They got me into heavy metal a long time ago.
TM - What was your favourite memory of watching someone else perform live?
S - The first time I saw Saxon live back in 81 on the " Wheels of Steel" tour. It was my very first concert and I remember everything. I went to the front row and was surprised how well the base punched in my belly. The first one is always the best. I have seen a lot of bands and go to a lot of festivals. I have so many great memories, Judas priest is great as well.
TM - How good is their new album.
S - It is one of the only band from the first generation bands that manage to still make great albums.
TM - What's your favourite memory of playing live?
S - I think the First shows we played was very special. We were so stressed out about going out on stage. My highlights is the first time I played rocking or in front of a huge audience, the adrenaline ran through my body and it was a huge rush.
TM - What was it like playing Dynamo Open Air compared to playing a big festival today?
S - it was 10,000 people and in the middle of the city and it was big events for that time. These days you can play a different festival every weekend in Europe, in the 80s there are two or three festivals maximum in the whole of Europe.
TM - That is crazy, there are hundreds of festivals in summer in Europe now. It has expanded so much.
TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
S - We were meant to come to Australia and Asia in September but it's all been postponed for now. We will come back with a new line up the structure has changed again, now we have a 4 Piece Band. We will have more power life.
TM - Thank You for this interview today, we cannot wait for you to come back to Australia, you always put on a fantastic show.
Link - https://music.apple.com/au/album/born-to-thrash-live-in-germany/1509227313
https://open.spotify.com/album/4mz6g4ZSTm74QdtbbBzZCG?si=-o4EEAv_SziAnP1yVj0x4w
YouTube link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1LCfd_LZ20