PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
First of all, many thanks for taking time out to talk to us here at Planetmosh. I’d like to ask you first how you came together as a band, had you known each other for a while before The Prophecy23?
There have been several line-up changes during the history of The Prophecy
23. but we’ve always known each other for a while and this was pretty
important to us. The Prophecy 23 is more than music – we are also five
friends who want to have a great time before and especially after every
show. You can’t play beer-pong on your own…
Who were your musical influences in the early years?
My band mates started The Prophecy 23 when they were teenagers and they
played Slayer, Maiden, Metallica and Black Sabbath cover songs. It’s
really hard to name just a few bands. because we were and we are still
influenced by many kinds of music.
You played a lot of gigs, and worked really hard before you eventually signed to Massacre Records, did you ever think it might never happen?
You always hope that you will get a deal someday but you never know.
You’re right, we played a lot of gigs before we signed to Massacre
Records – and that exactly was our way to get the deal! The guys from
Massacre saw us playing a live show and out of the blue they offered us
a deal after the gig. Mind-blowing!
Your first release back in 2010 titled ’..To The Pit’ got you noticed back home, how do you feel about the album now, anything you would have done differently?
No, we are still very proud of this record. ‘…To The Pit’ is like a
‘Best of’ of the early years of the band. Some songs on this album were
written in the very beginning of The Prophecy 23. This record showed
both where we came from and the development of the band.
On the back of the debut, you secured a slot at last years Wacken festival, one of , if not the biggest festival in the world, how did that go?
This was just awesome. We were playing in front of a huge and crazy
crowd from all over the world. Many of them had never heard of us but we
managed to get this pit that just went wild. That’s the biggest compliment
you can get from the audience – especially at such a festival like
Wacken Open Air.
The latest release ’Green Machine Laser Beam’ saw the light of day a few weeks ago, an album which I really enjoyed reviewing here on Planetmosh. Was it as much fun to record as it sounds?
Oh, it really was a hard piece of work but we never forget to party. According to the motto “Work hard ,play hard” we always tried to get the right balance in the studio. Our producer Kristian Kohlmannslehner made sure there was also relaxation time, especially during our vodka – sauna sessions!
How long did the album take to record, are you usually straight in and out of the studio, or do you take things really slow?
It took exactly 13 days to record this album. I think we were quite fast this time because of our pre-production work and hard work during the song writing process. Studio time is always fun but during our gang vocal recordings I realised that all band members in one small recording cabin after one week in the studio isn’t the best thing in the world. Maybe that’s what they call the smell of success! But we were pretty happy to play live again after time in the studio.
The album has a great mix of old school Thrash and Hardcore but with a bang up to date sound, and loads of humour. Do you feel that that is now your trademark sound?
Yes, I think you could describe The Prophecy 23 in that way. We are
all very happy about the new record and it feels like this is our sound
right now. But The Prophecy 23 always also was about different
influences. What I am trying to say is that this is our trademark sound
but we always have an open mind about new ideas – you never know.
The artwork has a real comic book vibe to it, was that something you always had in mind for the album?
We already had this comic style artwork on our debut “ …To The Pit”. Both covers were drawn by Marvin Clifford who already worked for the German Mad magazine. We just love these old Metal comic covers, and that’s why we also always wanted to have one. Furthermore everyone wants to be a comic book action hero. Marvin drew a cartoon character for every band member, and just got lost in details. He took a 360 degree photo of me just to be able to count all my muscles!
Where there any tracks that didn’t make it onto the album?
No, every track made it onto the album. During the song writing process
we got into that certain flow where we had tons of ideas but only a
small CD to put it on. So we decided to shorten some songs in order to
get more tracks on the record. That’s why you only can find the Radio
Edit of “No Beer – What a mess” on the album. But now you can listen to
16 tracks made of mosh, thrash, action and beer-soaked steel on ‘Green
Machine Laser Beam’!
What promotional stuff have you got lined up, can we expect to see you out on the road?
Currently we are checking some offers for a tour through Europe. Apart
from that we will release a video to the title track ‘Green Machine
Laser Beam’, soon. Get yourself some safety glasses, because this video
is full of green laser!
When do you start thinking about writing new material, are there any ideas floating about yet?
At the moment we are playing lots of live shows in Germany and its
neighbour countries, so we don’t really think about writing new
material, yet. Our experiences on tour are the biggest influences
for our songs! “Wake me up for lunch” is pretty much the feeling you’ve
got during your hangover after a tour-weekend full of partying.
Finally, for those people who may not have come across the band as of yet, how would you describe yourselves and the music to them?
The Prophecy 23 plays Thrash Death Party Metal. Our music is
action-loaded, sometimes fast, sometimes groovy, party-proven and always
combined with a good sense of humour. You will find a sound somewhere
between Bay Area Thrash with skater attitude and a little bit of old
school Hardcore and Death. Mixed with modern influences and a neon green
spirit. That’s it.
Many thanks.
The bands latest album “Green Machine Laser Beam” is out now via Massacre Records.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaeY4gKxNf0&w=420&h=315]
