Groove, Grit, and liminal Spaces: Avralize Step Into Their Next Chapter

Photo Credit: Jacob Hilsenbeck

Groove, Grit, and liminal Spaces: Avralize Step Into Their Next Chapter

Southern Germany’s Avralize are carving out their own lane in modern metalcore, blending heavy riffs with unexpected grooves, emotional honesty, and even the occasional banjo. With their new album liminal arriving on Arising Empire, vocalist Severin Sailer and drummer Bastian Gölz sat down to talk about transitional spaces, danceable breakdowns, and the thrill of their first headline tour. From muddy chaos at Wacken to unforgettable energy at Summer Breeze, the band is building momentum that stretches far beyond their hometown of Rottweil — and yes, they’ve got their eyes set firmly on the U.S.

We’re here with two of the guys from Avralize. Introduce yourselves and tell me what you do in the band.
Bastian: What’s up? My name is Bastian and I’m the drummer.
Severin: My name is Severin and I’m the singer and screamer. Yeah!

Where are you guys based, and what’s your local music scene like?
Bastian: We’re based in southern Germany, in a small town called Rottweil. The music scene here is actually pretty solid — lots of small metal and hardcore bands around.
Severin: Yeah, and with the youth center and stuff like that, there are always bands playing shows. It’s a smaller local scene, but it’s fun, and we’re happy to be part of it.

liminal cover

Is there an overall story or concept behind the album title liminal and the songs?
Bastian: The whole album liminal is about creating this weird yet familiar, nostalgic horror vibe — not just in the music but also in the visuals. I think we managed to capture that pretty well all the way through.
Severin: It’s inspired by liminal spaces and backroom vibes — those transitional spaces. We really connected with that idea because we’re also in a transitional space right now, both as musicians and individuals. It reflects our own experience perfectly.

Let’s talk about a few of the songs. The album kicks off with “medicine.” Tell me about that one.
Bastian: That song started out totally different — much heavier, with a different chorus. Then Philipp, our guitarist, came up with this main riff that had a country vibe. We even added a banjo. Part by part, the song got funkier, and then Severin and I wrote the chorus. It ended up becoming a really poppy track, and we’re insanely happy with how it turned out.
Severin: Yeah, “medicine” is one of the most special songs on the album. Writing it was so much fun — we just created something we wanted to hear, something that cheered us up. It’s funky, danceable, and full of energy.

One of the most intriguing songs to me is “close to you.” Tell me about the inspiration behind it, maybe even the lyrics.
Severin: With “close to you,” we wanted to try a more mellow song that pushed the emotional weight of the record. We’re at a point in our lives where we’re figuring things out, and the lyrics reflect that — about the transition we’re going through to become the people we want to be. It’s one of the most honest songs we’ve written. The process felt like therapy: writing the lyrics, recording them, and just having a good time in the studio. It’s emotional, heavy, and very real.

Let’s jump to the end of the album with “fading faster.” Tell me about that one.
Bastian: That’s my personal favorite.
Severin: Mine too.
Bastian: After tour, I woke up one morning with a vision for a song. “fading faster” was written in about a day, maybe a little more. Everything came together so naturally. It’s a slower, danceable track, and pretty short, but it just felt right from the start.
Severin: Yeah, it came together instantly, at least feeling-wise. It’s super danceable, and that’s one of the main points of liminal — we wanted everything to be as groovy as possible. “fading faster” really captures that uplifting, rhythmic vibe.

Avralize Tour!

What are you looking forward to most about the upcoming liminal tour — and will you be taking the banjo with you?
Severin: (laughs) That would be a great idea, man!
Bastian: We might actually do that now! I’m really looking forward to finally playing all the songs we’ve been working on. It hasn’t been that long — just a few months — but it feels like forever. Bringing them to the stage is going to be so exciting. Most of the venues are already sold out, which makes us incredibly happy. And since it’s our first headline tour, we’ve put together a full show concept with drum solos, guitar solos, and cool interludes. I’m just excited to finally do everything we’ve always wanted to do, because now we can.
Severin: Exactly. Playing our first headline shows is going to be such a unique experience. Being the main act, having a longer set, and knowing the crowd is there specifically for us — that’s huge. I think it’s going to be amazing, and I can’t wait.
Bastian: Plus, we’ve got the best bands joining us — Vianova and Accused. It’s sick having them on board. They’re really good friends of ours, so hanging out with them on tour is going to be insane.

You’ve also played some legendary festivals. Let’s start with Wacken Fest — what was that experience like?
Bastian: It was really interesting, but also pretty challenging. Wacken is massive, and the infrastructure is insane. The weather was terrible — insanely muddy, which is kind of normal for Wacken. But the show itself was awesome. We had fire on stage, which was sick, and the performance went really well. Everything around it was tough, but the actual show was unforgettable.
Severin: Yeah, the sheer size of Wacken is the biggest challenge. The crowd is massive, and just walking from backstage to the stage can take half an hour. It’s crazy. But it was still a great experience. Hanging out in the huge backstage area with bands like Papa Roach was surreal, and the food was awesome too. Overall, it was incredible.

And then there’s Summer Breeze. What was that like?
Bastian: That might be my favorite show of the year.
Severin: Mine too — it’s also my favorite festival of all time.
Bastian: The festival itself is insane.
Severin: It doesn’t get better than Summer Breeze. The infrastructure, the organization — everything about it is top-notch.
Bastian: The show was incredible. We’ve got two live videos from that set, and you can see how packed it was. A lot of people already knew us and our songs, so the energy was insane. We couldn’t have asked for a better show. I’m glad it was captured on video, because sometimes it’s hard to take in what’s happening in the moment when you’re focused on playing well. Watching it back is really special.

Avralize via Zoom!

Has Avralize ever played in the States, or would you like to tour here now for this new record?
Bastian: We’d love to, but right now it’s just too expensive for us. We can’t afford it at the moment, but we want to come to the United States so badly — and we definitely will. It’s just a matter of time and money. We don’t have concrete plans yet, but we’ll get in touch with some U.S. bookers and hopefully join a tour. Fingers crossed it works out in the future.

Let’s talk about some of the other songs. “Canvas” has over 2 million streams on Spotify, and “Lotus” is closing in on 1 million. What do numbers like that mean to you?
Severin: Yeah, that’s definitely insane. We try not to focus too much on numbers because it can get toxic, but we’re grateful for every stream and every listen. It’s crazy to see songs connect so quickly and rack up that many plays. We love those tracks and will definitely play them live on tour. Personally, I like “Lotus” a little more than “Canvas” because it’s packed with ideas. With “Canvas,” the saxophone solo really blew up on social media, which was wild to see.

Looking back on your previous album FREAKS, what do you think of it now in retrospect?
Bastian: I think it really shows our development in songwriting. The first few tracks are solid metalcore songs, but as the album progressed, we started to get a better feel for what we wanted to sound like and experiment more. FREAKS is a solid metalcore record, but more conventional compared to liminal. With liminal, we knew exactly what we wanted to do and just went for it. FREAKS was a great learning phase for us.
Severin: Yeah, we found our sound with FREAKS, and now we’ve refined it even more with liminal. Absolutely.

FREAKS by Avralize

You’ve got a new album about to drop and a tour coming up. What’s next for you after the tour in the new year? Anything you can announce?
Bastian: We’d love to play more shows outside of Germany and hit more festivals. There’s not much we can officially announce yet, but we’ll be at Modern Era Festival in London. Beyond that, we’ll keep developing our sound and songwriting. That’s a big part of our friendship — writing music together, messing around, and having fun.
Severin: Exactly. We’ll keep pushing the limits, wr

iting new material, and hitting the road.

Do you have any messages for Avralize fans in the States who are reading this now?
Severin: We see you…
Bastian: Hopefully soon.
Severin: We hear you, and we want to come to the U.S. so badly. It’s only a matter of time until we’re there, dancing and rocking out with you.
Bastian: And I want to say thank you already — it looks like we have a lot of dedicated fans in the U.S. It’s actually one of our strongest countries, so we have to get over there!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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