Teutonic thrash metal legend Assassin is about to return with a fabulous EP, so it was time to ask Ingo, Scholli and Björn about the new material and their plans for the near future. Now enjoy our conversation and get ready for "Skullblast"!!!
Greetings to you! "Skullblast", the new Assassin EP, will be released on November 8, 2024 via Massacre Records. What should fans know about this 5-track EP ahead of its official release? I mean, where did you record it, who mixed it and in what direction are you going musically?
Ingo: "Skullblast" was recorded at Lucky Bob Studios by Jean Bormann (among others also known as guitar-player for Rage), who also did the mixing and it was mastered by Manu Cohnen at Parabol Audio.
On these 5 tracks we tried to keep the focus on more compact songs with drive, power and on the other hand with an approach to find a hook line to each song, something the fans can relate to and maybe scream along with us!
The special thing here is that every band member was involved and contributed to let the songs grow!
What was the recording lineup for the EP? Is it different than what fans get to see live these days?
Ingo: The partaking line-up on "Skullblast" is: Björn Sondermann (drums), Joachim Kremer (bass), Jürgen Scholz (guitars), Stefano Smura (guitars), Ingo Bajonczak (vocals).
Additional backing vocals on 2 tracks by Patrick Pagliaro.
A lyric video for the EP's title track was recently unveiled. It's a very cool and powerful song and the visuals are awesome. Are you possibly doing a full band video for another track?
Björn "Burn": Thank you so much! We're thrilled that you enjoyed the lyric video and the power of the title track. We had a lot of fun experimenting with different formats to bring the themes of each song to life in a unique way. Beyond the lyric video for the title track, we're actually releasing a lyric video for each song on the 5-song EP, each with its own story and visuals that reflect the song's message. We also created some special videos using Unreal Engine to add another layer of depth to the storytelling.
On top of that, we've got a VR documentary coming out on November 11 on our YouTube channel, which gives a closer look at our journey and the inspiration behind the music. Make sure to check our Instagram and YouTube regularly to catch all these releases. And who knows – maybe a full band video is something we'll bring to life in the future. We'd love to do it!
The EP cover is fantastic. Who made it and how does it relate to the lyrical content? Can you share more about the lyrics? What inspired you to write this time?
Ingo: The cover-artwork was made by Plamen and edited by Karim König and yes, they did hell of a job! We wanted to make a connection to the iconic cover of our classic-album "The Upcoming Terror" for it is kind of a trademark-visual for the band Assassin – and bring it to 2024! Also it visualizes the content of the title track illustrating the devastation of a battle-scenario in war!
The lyrics are about:
The lyrics of "Blood for Blood" deal with the transience of values in human life, partly from a personal point of view, partly in relation to music and its healing effect in a colorful/turbulent life!!!!
The song "Skullblast" is about a dystopian war scene – the 2nd verse line stands for itself: "...rolling terror strikes at midnight, machine gun fire sound...!". This also fits the cover of the EP perfectly.
The lyrics to "In and Out by the Tide" deal with the topic of using violence in general as a means of attracting attention, both in a figurative sense, e.g. in media representations, religions (fundamentalism!) and art, and unfortunately also in real life through war. The title ironically alludes to the "fast pace/superficiality" of our zeitgeist!
The lyrics of "Cut Your (Own) Throat" are to be understood as a clear verbal reckoning of the band...!!!! With increasing age one unfortunately learns that it is important to show certain people from time to time where the "hammer hangs"...
I see a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" on there. Whose idea was it to cover this particular song? I mean, Judas Priest has covered this song pretty flawlessly before. So the question arises, what can we expect from your interpretation?
Björn "Burn": The idea to transform this song from blues rock into a thrash metal track didn't come out of nowhere. I've been playing this song with Bernhard Groll (RocknGroll, a 60's blues rock band) for almost two decades, and he has a special connection to Greeny, the legendary Gibson Les Paul. For years, I felt the itch to turn Peter Green's work into something completely new, and when I presented the idea to our Assassin guitarist Steve, he was immediately on board, almost as if he had been waiting for it. I consciously avoided the Judas Priest version to preserve my own vision. The end of the track is the complete opposite of the original and symbolizes total destruction – a dramatic twist I was able to realize with the support of Pearl Drums and Jean from Rage. Pearl provided us with a ton of gear, and I think Jean really enjoyed the drum recordings as well.
In this context, tracks like "Blood for Blood" and "Cut Your (Own) Throat" on the EP are particularly important to me, because they tell deeply personal stories. While "The Green Manalishi" remains a masterpiece, we've wrapped it in a completely new form that highlights our unique interpretation.
Are you planning any special shows or tours to support the new EP? What setlist can fans expect live? Could you list the titles of the songs here?
Scholli: Yes of course! Did you get any information about our upcoming Skullblast Tour with Nuclear in the beginning of November? (Oh, I see now – Ed.)
The fans can expect a really good choice of songs of all our albums, expect "The Club", with special appointment on the first 2 albums and of course our new EP.
Sorry, but as usual, we do not get out the titles of the songs we will play.
We want to have surprising evenings and unexpected moments with our fans.
High Roller Records recently did justice by reissuing Assassin's first two classics, "The Upcoming Terror" and "Interstellar Experience" on LP, CD and MC formats. What do you think of these re-releases, which format do you personally like best and why?
Scholli: High Roller have made really, really good rereleases with the exquisite additional old materials that I still had from that time. The vinyl variations in the great colors is an absolute highlight for me!
The MCs are also a more than successful old-school bonus point.
I love that kind of thing!
I still have several high-end tape decks, mostly with Dolby S (this Dolby version was used more in cinemas) and still listen to my MCs on all devices from 1974 to the present day.
My car radio also only has cassette players... because the car is now 32 years old!
Some fans probably also buy MCs, because of their rarity value, even though they no longer have a device for them. But I don't think it matters, because it's the thing itself and the recognition and appreciation that counts!
CDs, on the other hand, no longer have any value for me.
I don't even want to talk about streams and other online services... A complete dismantling of the value of music in the end, but only for the producing musicians, because for the consumers it is probably a nice thing to be able to consume music so easily and cheaply. For the musicians themselves, especially which got only a small audience, that's another step towards bankruptcy for the small bands.
You have been working with Massacre Records since the release of "Bestia Immundis". How do they treat you compared to Steamhammer and have you signed a long term contract with them?
Scholli: The work and relationship with SPV was ok in the 80s. But the included contract with the music publisher Wintrup Musik was a big fucking shit. They never did a single thing for us, but they are taking 40% of the royalties still today!
And in the end of the 90s the release of the first Assassin album by Axe Killers from Belgium was also not funny. We noticed that by coincidence in 2001, although they sold 3.000 copies... under license by SPV, but we never got any penny. In the 2010s we worked again with SPV and it was also ok like in the 80s.
Do you keep in touch with former band members? I mean, for example Markus "Lulle" Ludwig, Andreas "Psycho Danger" Süther, Dinko Vekic, Robert Gonnella, Frank Nellen or Michael Hoffmann? What are they doing these days?
Scholli: Yes of course, since the beginning I always stay in good contact to our first drummer Psycho Danger. We both were still good friends, and whenever we meet up where there are instruments, we always like to play some old song for fun after we've warmed up a bit with "Fight (to Stop the Tyranny)" we did a special version of full speed "Bullets" for ourselves like in the beginning.
I had contact with Robert until the beginning of this year, as well as with Dinko. I had invited both of them to the upcoming 40th Assassin Special Anniversary Show in Düsseldorf next year.
Unfortunately, especially Robert suddenly behaved completely out of line in the course of the rereleases, and out of frustration that he is no longer with Assassin, due to his self-chosen exit in 2013. As his last resort he is now shooting in the media against the current band Assassin and has even entered into a collaboration with our ex-manager, whose only goal is to fight against the band Assassin and with all possible bad words and means, try to make down. A total disgrace!
But...... they haven't managed that so far and they won't manage it in the future either!!!
So... Go fight kill.
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questionnaire. Please end the interview by sending your wishes to Ukrainian Assassin fans.
Best wishes, stay strong & keep on believing, you are in our hearts, dear Ukrainian metalheads!!! Thank you for all your support and your love for thrash metal! It's fans like you that keep the fire of Assassin burning strong. So keep thrashing – we can't wait to see you all soon. Together, we'll keep the metal spirit alive! Yours, Assassin band! ...
