The newfound fire – An interview with Volk-Man of DIE APOKALYPTISCHE REITER

Zur deutschen Version geht es hier.

I believe that it is important how you start things and that this has an influence on their course and outcome. With this in mind, I’m very happy to be able to present this great interview with Volk-Man from APOKALYPTISCHE REITERN. It feels like we could have gone on talking for hours! Read below to find out how Titus and Rohgarr joined the band, why the new EP is so strictly limited and what fans can look forward to in the future.

Huge thanks to lightinmirror.de for the amazing pictures!

Shieldmaiden’s Voice: If you had to describe your musical style in three words, which would you choose?

Volk-Man: Wild, dangerous and passionate!

SV: What inspires your sound the most? What is a constant in your music?

Volk-Man: Life itself is the biggest inspiration. We never had fantasy themes or were part of a genre that thrives on building dream worlds. It’s always been events that have happened in our lives that are ultimately processed and embraced through the music. These stories are both happy and sad and the music is both an outlet and a catalyst. As a result, the music has changed over the years. In your early 20s, you deal with completely different topics than we do now.

SV: In what way does the new EP fit into this?

Volk-Man: It fits in insofar as it is now simply brand new. It’s what inspired us right now. The last record was made during the COVID-19 period and was also recorded under different circumstances. We used to all go into the studio together and then suddenly that didn’t work anymore. Then we had to find new ways to compose and, of course, the topics that were relevant at the time had a big influence. It felt a bit like we were sitting under a dome and going out, being on the road and the normalities of life in general no longer took place. There was no more face-to-face interaction, you were only in contact with other people via digital devices. That has fundamentally changed things. I therefore think that in the future, this period will also be seen as something that has significantly shaped the years that followed. People are already talking about „before Covid“. That sounds a bit like „in GDR times“.

We recently discussed the issue with our technicians that everyone was on a hamster wheel in the years before COVID-19. Everything was working somehow and everyone took it for granted, but this also led to a high level of stress. In hindsight, many people realized how burnt out they actually were. The dates were always fixed for the whole year and at some point you just fell into a routine. Now that it’s gone and back again, you realize what a treasure it is. Culture really is a luxury!

We thought a lot during this time and Adler Fliegen is a song that reflects what many people don’t accomplish. They are in such a grinder, they are maybe not as aware of their strength and remain in a humble attitude, which of course also leads to great dissatisfaction. As an artist, you can only ever try to push people a little or get them to think about certain things. At least that’s our aim!

SV: The EP will be released in very small numbers on CD and vinyl before it is released digitally on January 19th. Why did you decide to make such a small edition?

Volk-Man: In the end, the number of copies isn’t that low because people have really gotten out of the habit of buying things. I always see the figures on how much is streamed digitally and how much is bought physically. It has completely changed. Listening habits, especially those of young people, are so fundamentally different to what we used to know. Even if we still have enough of them and you can certainly still get them, the record should also have a certain collector’s value. The label also made it very clear to us that they would only release the EP digitally and didn’t want to offer a physical version. We were very surprised by this and didn’t have a good feeling about not having a physical product for a release. The label then gave us the option of doing it ourselves. The label is simply saying goodbye to physical warehousing and keeping a stock of CDs for a year or more is simply dead capital. We could have gotten the returns from big stores, but that’s just unrealistic. As a band, we can’t take 500 copies of an older album if we only sell 20 CDs per evening when 1000 people come to the concert. I couldn’t have imagined such a dramatic development a few years ago. It makes you feel a bit old, to be honest.

SV: But it’s nice that you decided to have print regardless!

Volk-Man: I’m a fan myself! I would principally buy it myself, even if you might not unpack it and still listen to it digitally. But at least it’s there! [we laugh]

SV: It’s also an exciting time in the band right now because you’ve taken on new members. In the accompanying statement, you and Fuchs said that you can’t really imagine ending DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER. Is the addition of the new members and the tour another kind of departure for you to say „Now more than ever!“?

Volk-Man: Totally! It’s like a rebirth, at least that’s how it feels. It’s so much fun and that’s actually the best thing for me. The guys have brought such a fire into the band and they’re burning for the band. It’s like a dream for them too. They’re two brothers and Titus is so young, he could be my son!

The story is also totally crazy. A year ago we had a Schrei!Nachten show in Jena with the old line-up and I said to Fuchs that we wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told us back then what would happen this year. Fortunately, everything turned out well, but there were also several weeks in which we both weren’t sure how and whether things would continue. When you lose a drummer and a guitarist, you lose your musical foundation. This summer season was the first chance to play at big festivals again, where you can reach people again. Canceling that would have felt stupid.

Rohgarr, our new drummer, was on tour with us as Drum-Tech in 2013 or 2014, so we knew each other personally. Sir G.’s departure was planned, he had told us that he would play the shows with us in the summer, then leave and help us find someone new. We then had Rohgarr come to Weimar. He already knew us and we knew what he was like and that worked out well. We then rehearsed with Adi and him. After that, Adi and Fuchs had a falling out that I wasn’t present for. I was a bit caught between a rock and a hard place and I don’t want to go into details, but it was clear that there would be no basis for further collaboration. I then called Rohgarr and had to explain to him that he didn’t have to come anymore because Adi had dropped out and we couldn’t play because of that.

SV: And he went „Well, I do have a brother!“?

Volk-Man: Exactly! He said that he had a younger brother who was a total APOKALYPTISCHE REITER fan and was able to play everything anyway. I thought he was kidding! But he was totally serious!

SV: That is a sign though that it was always meant to be!

Volk-Man: Absolutely. It was also an awkward situation for me because I was about to go on a trip to the USA. Fuchs then gave them a list of 10 songs to rehearse and after my vacation the plan was for us to rehearse together. The trip to Dresden was also full of tension because we were on our way to meet two guys who had learned our songs and who wanted to go on stage with us and somehow make it work.

SV: So, it was a drive into the unknown.

Volk-Man: It was also clear to us that we would rather cancel the shows than be a bad copy of ourselves. But Rohgarr and Titus were so hard-working that they were able to play the songs almost perfectly. I was so pleased that I almost had to wipe away a tear or two. It took so much pressure off me. We realized that it could work. The first gig for Titus was at Rockharz, which is no small festival. So there was a lot of pressure on him because we also had a reputation to lose and if anything was a true test of character, it was that!

SV: One can certainly feel your relief and joy! In that context, what do you hope for in the band’s future and in 2024 in particular?

Volk-Man: We’re busy writing new songs and there’s already a lot of new material. It’s all going well at the moment, energetically it’s just fantastic. We’re currently putting the songs together and then we’ll record them at some point. 2024 is certainly not the year in which it will be released, because 2025 will also be our 30th anniversary as a band. 

I’ve always said beforehand that we should first see how the tour goes, how many people come and how everything goes in general. As a band, you never know where you stand until you actually go out there as a headliner and find out. It’s always crowded at festivals, but as a band you know where you stand when you play somewhere on your own. We’re also competing with thousands of bands and even if you’re very interested in music, you never have an overview. Of the 20 or so people who come together on the bus, there are always new bands presented that you don’t even know yet. Even if you listen to music all day, you always discover something new.

SV: I know the problem, I feel the same way!

Volk-Man: Just because you’ve had a good run as a band doesn’t mean it has to go on forever. There are also times when it’s not so good and I think we’ve left that time behind us now. On this tour it just feels like a new fire has been lit.

SV: What is something you always wanted to say in an interview but never had the chance to?

Volk-Man: I don’t know… I can tell you the funniest question I ever got in an interview though.

SV: I’ll take it!

Volk-Man: I remember this very well: it was a Greek journalist from Athens who asked me who I would most like to eat from the band! [we laugh]. I didn’t answer that either, but it was such an obscure question. He didn’t speak English that well, but after asking several times it was clear that he hadn’t misspoken.

SV: There so many thought levels in that!

Volk-Man: I never wanted to seriously think about it…

SV: If you had a final message for your fans, what would it be?

Volk-Man: Thank you to the REITER community for your loyalty over the years and for supporting us by coming to our concerts and buying our records. It’s always great to play live and feel that energy coming back. We put everything we have into this band – it’s a heart project – and we’re happy and grateful that this is possible. 

And that, dear people, was the first interview in this year 2024. I’m already very excited to see what musical delights DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER will present to us in the future. Here’s to an exciting, eventful metal year 2024!