Thrashing In The Thorns with Godsnake

Thrashing In The Thorns with Godsnake

Godsnake is a modern rock and metal collective from Germany ready to thrash all across this great big world. And with a debut as compelling as their Poison Thorn magnum opus on Massacre Records, fully expect Godsnake to slither into the hearts and minds of all types of music fanatics.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with two of the Godsnake brigade to find out a whole lot more about this amazing band on the rise.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Godsnake, and how long the band has been together.
Stevo: This is Stevo and I play guitar in Godsnake. The band has been in existence for a while, but it was only in 2017 that we really had the right line-up in place and decided to take things to the next level. Prior to that some band members had to take a time-out due to work related reasons or on one occasion someone had to relocate permanently and couldn’t continue with the band. From 2017 onwards it’s been a steady line-up with a great vibe within the band and we are excited to see where things are going to take us with this album.

Torger: I am Torger and I am the singer. I am also responsible for the lyrics

Where is the band based out of and what is the local music scene like there?
Stevo: We are based in Hamburg and have our rehearsal room in a facility that rents out jam rooms to many local bands. There is a decent music scene in & around Hamburg, giving plenty of opportunities for bands to play live shows. In particular Metal is quite popular with many clubs & promoters supporting this type of music.

How did you wind up signing with Massacre Records?
Stevo: Once we had the record finalized, we started sending applications to various labels of our choice. Luckily we received quite positive feedback, with Massacre Records being one of the labels that were interested in us. We ended up signing with them and the whole process has been very cooperative right from the start. We are very happy to be a part of the Massacre Records Family.

Is there any overall story or concept behind Poison Thorn title?
Torger: The song Poison Thorn is a perfect representative for us. For the band, the music and the lyrical part. But it is no concept album and there is no full story behind it.

Select two songs from Poison Thorn and what inspired the lyrics.
Torger: I like to write lyrics which are not too obvious and direct. There has to be room for personal interpretations. POISON THORN deals with the excessive level of recklessness and disrespect people are treating each other nowadays. Watch the news, look around…..it is not getting better. As a conclusion you could name YOU GOTTA PAY. You are responsible for what you do. So there might come in a punch. At least I hope in many cases 😊

Who produced Poison Thorn and what was it like working with them?
Stevo: The album was recorded, mixed & mastered by Lasse Lammert in his LSD Studio. He was the obvious choice for us, having already produced our EP back in 2014. He is very well known in the industry for his excellent work, in particular his ability to create a great & suitable sound tailor-made to the needs of the band he is producing. I’d say his trademark is his guitar work, and as our music relies on heavy sounding guitars this was one of the selling arguments of wanting to work with him. He is a down-to-earth all-around nice guy creating a good vibe in the studio. He is very dedicated to get the best result for the band. We had a great chemistry and wouldn’t hesitate to work with him again in the future.

Who did the cover art for Poison Thorn and how much input did you have on it?
Stevo: The cover was done by Björn Gooßes from Killustrations. Our singer Torger & our drummer Sidney had some input and shared their ideas with Björn directly. He then combined those ideas with his own (after having read the lyrics) and came up with this artwork which is absolutely killer. We love it, and the responses to this cover have been downright postive.

What has it been like to release a new album right in the middle of a pandemic? Have you had any shows or tours cancelled because of it?
Stevo: Like for any other band too, releasing an album during these times feels a bit unfortunate. Obviously we would love to go out and promote the Album by playing live and presenting ourselves to a growing audience. We had a couple of shows lined up already which got cancelled. The challenge will be to find new ways via social media to promote the album properly.

What could one expect from a live Godsnake show?
Stevo: We want everyone to have a good time at a Godsnake show, whether you are in the pit or up on stage. We have very high expectations towards ourselves and try to always perform to the best of our abilities, no matter if it’s in front of 100 people or even only 10 people. We are very fortunate to have a front man who is very charismatic and manages to get the audience fired up within a short time.

If Godsnake could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Stevo: That’s a very good question. There are certainly a couple that come to mind. If we could one day open for a band like Machine Head or Testament, that’s all I’d ever ask for 😊.

When you look back on your Hellbound Ride EP from 2014, what do you think of it now in retrospect?
Stevo: We are still very happy with it. The sound is great, and the majority of songs even made it onto our Debut Album.

Torger: It is a great EP and was the reason for me that I joined the band about 5 years ago. The only thing was that I did not sing the songs, so we decided to put 3 of them also on the album, just recorded again with the correct line up and some little changes.

Germany is famous for their BEER!!!! What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
Stevo: Germany has a lot of private breweries that make way better beer than the well known big ones. I love drinking Brauberger Zwickelbeer, which I am sure you have never heard of. If I had to nominate one of the big breweries I’d probably go for the traditional Oktoberfest Beer from Paulaner. It’s strong, but has a smooth taste to it. If you happen to come over here anytime soon, I recommend you try it.

What do you hope 2021 brings for Godsnake?
Stevo: We really hope to be able to play live again. At the same time we will start writing new music and hopefully enter the studio sometime later in the year to record our follow-up album. Of course we hope that Poison Thorn will be successful even though the pandemic is in full swing again.

Any final words of wisdom?
Torger: Keep thrashin’. Thorns up!

Line-up:
Torger – Vocals
Stevo – Guitars
Malt – Guitars
Walt – Bass
Sidney – Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Godsnake on Facebook