Neaera – The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews

Neaera – The Highwire Daze Legacy Interviews

Orginally Published 06/03/13 as A Thunderous Decade of Neaera

Germany’s most crushing extreme metal act NEAERA released their new album Ours Is The Storm through Metal Blade Records in 2013!  Here is an interview we did with Stefan Keller around that time…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Neaera, and how long the band has been together.
Hi there, this is Stefan Keller, guitar player and lyric writer of the German melodic death metal group Neaera. We have just put out our sixth album and we will also be celebrating our tenth anniversary this summer. Thanks for having us!

Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
The band is based in a city named Muenster, in north-west Germany. It is known for three things: 1) bicycles 2) students 3) Catholicism. There are two very successful indierock bands: The Donuts and the H-Blocks. Other than that our post rock friends of LONG DISTANCE CALLING and our pagan black metal friends of HELRUNAR are internationally active and successful bands.

Is there any story or concept behind the Ours Is The Storm title?
The title and the artwork are dedicated to the members of the metal scene who do not hide and confront themselves with bitter truths and facts – about the world we live in and about oneself. This is pretty much what the lyrics deal with, too. When the storm is coming up, who will be able to stand it ? In contrast to the pop scene, the heavy metal scene is known for its courage and will to think about unpleasant truths and deal with it. This is pretty much the idea behind the title and cover artwork.

Select two songs from Ours Is The Storm and what inspired the lyrics.
Ascend to Chaos is our homage to everyone in North Africa who was part of the Arab Spring Revolution and dared to sacrifice their security for the dream of freedom, justice and democracy. Black Tomb is a song which deals with the ongoing disastrous destruction of the Niger-Delta by international oil companies. It’s a globally neglected disaster beyond belief. Yet, half of our songs deal with personal issues: how to use your fears and darker feelings for something good for example (“Decolonize the Mind”).

Who produced Ours Is The Storm and what was it like working with them?
The record was produced by Alexander Dietz, guitarist in German metalcore heroes HEAVEN SHALL BURN. He already recorded our last two records. This time he also was responsible for the mixing. He puts a lot of himself and identification into the process and takes it all more seriously than we do, haha.

Why did it take nearly three years to record a new album and how does Ours Is The Storm compare to the previous Neaera releases?
The answer is simple: business negotiations, endless business negotiations. It never seemed to end. We trusted our management and refused to interfere. We recorded and paid for everything ourselves. Everything (!) was finished in March 2012 – one year prior to the actual release.

The album is the most focused and mature combination of the band’s strengths: brutality, melody, catchiness, darkness and versatility. We are quite proud of it and the reviews.

What could one expect from a live Neaera show?
Luckily, our singer is a crazy Idiot who turns completely insane on stage. So apart from walls of death and circle pits he is always turning the shows into intense and memorable experiences for our fans.

How did the tour with Hatebreed and Agnostic Front go and what were some of the highlights?
Well, unfortunately, I wasn’t part of the tour because I did a very time-consuming and difficult High school teacher degree at that time. (I am an English and Educational Science teacher). So I had (again) to be replaced by our replacement guitarist Tristan. But I visited the guys in Oberhausen, which is close to where I live. It was a good promotion tour for us because the majority, of course, came to see the institutions Hatebreed and Agnostic Front. Yet, we had loaded shows!

Has Neaera ever played here in the States or plan to do so in the future?
Yes, there were plans, but the problem with the States simply is: you guys have (more than) enough bands already yourself. To come to the States as a European band you have to be highly interesting for US promoters. We have to face the sorry fact: we are not.

Any strange or unusual happenings while out on the road or at a live show?
Well, in Paris we once played a show in a club where you could take a shit and a shower at the same time! I thought that was remarkable!

Germany is famous for their BEER! What is your favorite German beer of choice and why?
Well, let me just go through the thousand German beers there are here… I think I go for a Meissels-Weiße or Paulaner wheat bear. Yet, I have to admit: I am a great fan of Belgian strong beer. It has up to 9% alcohol and gives you a hangover you will find quite easy to remember…

What was it like playing at Summer Breeze and what do you look forward to the most about the festival this year?
Man, we love the festival season. This year we play Wacken and Summer Breeze again. We think Summer Breeze is the greatest German metal festival. Apart from the shows it’s mainly signing sessions and hanging out with friends that make it special.

What’s up next for Neaera?
We will play some cool festivals and also a short headliner tour later this year. That’s all I know at the moment (but that doesn’t count for a lot, haha).

Any messages for your fans here in the States?
Well guys, we know how many bands are around these days. We are very grateful that amidst these myriads of bands you give us a fair chance as well and support us! It would be awesome to meet you guys in person one day!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Hope to see your band out here in the States soon.
Hell yeah!! You’re welcome!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Neaera on Facebook