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Don’t forget to check out the Day Reports of Rockharz 2024: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4!
Sometimes I really wish I had a separate podcast or video format, because I could listen to some bands talk for hours. THE NIGHT ETERNAL was just such a case! But unfortunately, life is not a playground and so we all have to make do with this written format. Instead, you can now read what “ Heavy Metal” actually means to THE NIGHT ETERNAL, what they have to say about their latest album Fatale and why a pair of rubber boots ruined a special moment for guitarist Rob!
Huge thanks to lightinmirror.de for the stunning photo action!
Shieldmaiden’s Voice: If you had to describe your musical style in three words, what would they be?
Henry: Just great times! [all laugh]
SV: Are there any songs, albums or artists that you would say have influenced your style significantly?
Rob: There are actually quite a few! Where we all agree for sure is JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH, but beyond that we all have our own influences. For Ricardo it’s more like KANSAS and for me it’s more like DIRE STRAITS and classic 80s rock in general. But newer stuff like TRIBULATION also plays a role!
SV: Is there anything that you feel is the main source of inspiration for the music you make?
Ricardo: That’s really difficult… I have the feeling that we want to make music that we want to listen to ourselves. That’s a big driving force. It just kind of happened that we make exactly this music.
Rob: The main reason for forming this band was that we felt that there was no good, dark Heavy Metal anymore. There are a lot of Heavy Metal bands, but many of them, especially the American and South American ones, are very cheerful. The origin of Heavy Metal is actually rather dark. We are often referred to as “dark Heavy Metal”, even though from our point of view we just make normal Heavy Metal. It was our intention to bring the darkness back into Heavy Metal.
SV: Is your latest album Fatale then a kind of statement about this “back to the roots” that you just mentioned?
Rob: You can see it that way, but more than that we just thought it was a nice name for the album. We just wanted to reflect a certain mood.
SV: How does Fatale differ from your previous album?
Ricardo: It’s definitely much more mature and it’s also more professional! We put a lot more effort into it than we did with the first album.
Aleister: If you look at the development from the first EP to the first album to Fatale, then we really found our style with Fatale and consolidated it.
Rob: With the second album, we just put a lot more focus on the songwriting instead of getting lost in the details because we thought a riff was cool or a line was good. The overall product was important to us and with every song we asked ourselves whether we would also like to hear it from other bands. The most important thing anyway is to make music that you like yourself.
Ricardo: You shouldn’t rest on what you’ve already done. You have to keep going and you can only get further if you keep pushing yourself.
Henry: It was a huge leap forward for us, both in terms of songwriting and production.
SV: Which songs from the album do you particularly like to play live and why?
Rob: We always play Between the Worlds as the opener. It’s the last song on Fatale, but we realized at some point that it’s also a pretty good opener. Of course we also like to play the singles In Tartarus and Prince of Darkness. When we play longer, we also play Running with the Wolves and we usually play Stars Guide my Way. The mid-term plan is to master all the songs from Fatale so that we can play everything at some point, but those five are an integral part of our repertoire.
SV: You’re going on tour (again) with LUCIFER at the end of the year. What will be your highlights?
Ricardo: We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone again! We were already on tour together in February and that was amazing! It was great to get to know them, they are really lovely people and wonderful touring partners.
Aleister: It’s also worth a lot when you’re on the road together for a whole month. We also had a WhatsApp group and after every gig we got together again and had a drink. Of course, we were also very happy that we could open for them again!
Rob: The biggest advantage this time will be that we all have a nightliner together. Last time we traveled behind in a camper van. That wasn’t the smartest idea overall and in the end it was more expensive than we would have wished. On top of that, someone always had to drive.
Aleister: But it was all an experience that you have to have had as a band. You never know what it’s like when you’re really stuck together for a month, what the dynamic is like, how you might get into each other’s hair.
Ricardo: It was a baptism of fire for the band and a good start for Jannik, because he joined us at exactly this point. It really showed that we work in the long term!
SV: What are the goals you want to achieve with the band in the future?
Rob: I believe that everything goes its way if you keep performing well. Of course, it has to be said that the goal is to release a very good third album, which is even better! Our booker is also doing an excellent job and keeps booking us new, better and bigger shows and nice tours. The goal is just for the band to go its natural way.
SV: What is the best way to support you on this path?
Rob: Yes, that’s quite obvious: buy the records, go to the concert and that’s it!
Jannik: But recommending us to friends also helps us!
SV: What is something you’ve always wanted to say in an interview but never had the chance to?
Ricardo: Perhaps to praise my bandmates, I would like to say that I really enjoy being on the road like this, playing these concerts. Of course, there are always minor points of friction, but all in all we have the time of our lives. It’s incredible fun. The fact that you can rely on everything always working out like this is just great and I’ve always wanted to tell you that!
Aleister: I think it’s nice to see how everything has developed, especially considering where we started. Everything is much more professional and everything runs more smoothly on stage. It’s just a great feeling and it’s a lot of fun! We’ve also learned a lot in all this time.
Jannik: The number of shows also contributes to that, of course! You’ve played a lot of shows before, but for me the tour with 19 shows in a row was an exception! If you’re not well-rehearsed afterwards, then you can’t do it!
Rob: I’d like to get something off my chest that I’ve never gotten off my chest in an interview before! When we played Wacken last year, I had to wear rain boots. I usually never wear rain boots! But on the day that Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH were there and I’m taking a picture with Dave Mustaine, of course I’m wearing rain boots! That’s some fucked up shit!
SV: But the picture is unique in two respects! But perhaps to come to the end: If you could send a message to your fans, what would it be?
Ricardo: Stay tuned, because there’s still a lot to come and I think we still have a lot in the pipeline that we’re up for. If you’ve supported us this far and are up for more, then it’s worth sticking with it!
Aleister: We also want to say thank you that so many people have supported us over the last years!
Rob: To maybe find a real closing word, you can say that there will be a new album in 2025, there are eight songs on it and they are eight absolute bangers!
That wasn’t a final word, that was a declaration of war! So we all remain curious to see what THE NIGHT ETERNAL will do in the future.
But speaking of “declaration of war”: the next band in the Rockharz interview series also knows a thing or two about that! So be curious to see what awaits you!
Shieldmaiden's Voice 