RABENWOLF interview regarding their debut album

I interviewed Váli from RABENWOLF about their first album, upcoming gigs & next plans of the band. Here we go:

01. Last year, you released your first album so called "Aus alten Zeiten", was the sale good ?

Exactly, it's been a year now and we even almost went for gold - just kidding... The sale was actually very good, although we sold our record almost exclusively through our online shop at our website or at our concerts. Taken as a whole, there is a great demand!

02. Can you describe that artwork ?

The artwork describes the Rabenwolf or what the Rabenwolf is. The Lone Wolf on his journey in company with ravens. The artwork shows what is described in our song "Rabenwolf". For those who understand German.

03. Ten tracks complete the album but the seventh track entitled "Fält av Stenar" is particular. First of all, that is the only song of the album with Swedish lyrics while the others are in German and the second particularity of the song is that is sung by Patrik Rimmerfors, the lead singer from the great band FEJD. So, how did you meet together? Tell us everything! :D

That's actually a funny story. We met FEJD for the first time on their first concert in Germany at the Ragnarök Festival 2009 and immediately came along well together. From then on, we were in regular contact and met on some festivals/concerts again. At some point, Patrik invited Hati (keys) and Wolle who is a very good friend and our photographer ( www.fotowolle.eu ) to their home in Sweden. Hati played “Feld der Steine” on a little keyboard for kids. That was the birth of the idea to work together on a song. Of course not the crappy keyboard part but putting Patrik’s vocals on our original backing track!

04. What is the song about exactly ?

The name "Fält av Stenar" means "field of stones." Some time ago we played in Salisbury near Stonehenge in England and there we came across the idea to write a song about this amazing monument of our ancestors.

05. ...And the other tracks of the album ?

The other tracks on our album tell a bunch of stories. Mainly they are connected with the myths and legends of the Norse mythology. However, the Rabenwolf is not necessarily in connection with the Norse mythology. The Rabenwolf is simply a lone wolf who goes with the ravens.

06. Do you plan to write English lyrics for the band, later ?

Probably not. We have made up our minds about writing a few lyrics in English. However, we came to the conclusion that we mainly want to write in German for the next time. But even for people who do not understand German it may sound interesting (thinking about RAMMSTEIN’s success)!

07. Was 2012 one good year for RABENWOLF ?

The year started with a nice club gig with HERBSTSCHATTEN, a great black metal band from Hamburg. After playing at the end of 2011 in the Markthalle, one of Hamburg’s hottest venues for metal, we had kind of big expectations for 2012. We worked hard on our show and new songs for the upcoming album and the year was already half over. So, suffering badly from stage-horniness, we decided to plan a little tour on our own around Hamburg with our friends from HERBSTSCHATTEN and HEXADAR. The resonance in the press was great about the so called Sturmzeit-Tour, due to the fact that we took all the risk just to be there for our fans. The year ended then fantastically: because of a great demand we came to Austria again, accompanied by our friends from HEXADAR.

08. What is the best thing happened to RABENWOLF during 2012 ?

Whew, in 2012… I think the best thing was as mentioned above the Sturmzeit-Tour and our trip to Austria with HEXADAR. We think about a continuation of the tour because it was just freaking great. I think this was definitely one of the best things happened to us in 2012! Also, we have got a new homepage design, check it out: www.rabenwolf.eu !

09. ...And the worst thing happened to the band while that same year ?

The worst thing was probably that we had a hard time to get gigs. Anyway we concentrated on working on new songs, merchandise and the homepage. But what the heck, what is a band that doesn’t play live?

10. RABENWOLF and FEJD will share the stage together in 2013 for at least the Heathen Rock Fest and the Heidenwahn Winterfest. Do you plan to play in live "Fält av Stenar" together with Patrik during those festivals and for the upcoming dates ?

Yes, we have planned a special show on the Heathen Rock Festival together with FEJD. There we'll perform our song "Fält av stenar" live for the first time. Whether this show on the Heidenwahn Winterfest in Austria will be repeated is still unclear. Therefore, you better get your ticket for our exclusive special show on the Heathen Rock Festival!

11. Any special live version of songs, yours or theirs, played by both bands together scheduled ?

Not yet so far. Because of the distance between Sweden and our place it is impossible to work on extra stuff that short before the gig. But we look forward to what will happen in the future! First, we are sure that our show together with FEJD on the Heathen Rock Festival is going to kick ass! We will perform our song “Fält av stenar” for the first time live, it will be a special show! But all of our other songs we'll play the normal way.

12. What are your other plans for 2013 ?

First, we hope that there will be more concerts for 2013. The first concerts for 2013 are already confirmed, just look us up on our homepage or facebook and stay tuned. We are also working on the songs for a second album! The new stuff is much more asskicking blackmetal with folk influences and lyrically deeper about the spirit of our own. You have to be excited. This year is got to be great!

13. Are you looking for a label for your next material ?

Which band doesn’t? We actually do a lot of work in the background and pulling some strings, details are top secret!

14. Tell us about your next album. What is it about ? When do you think to release it ? Any special guest ? We are very interested to know all details! :-)

Ha-ha, understandable! However, we cannot say when we will release the second album. As mentioned, we are currently working on new songs and hope we will be able to present a second album pretty soon! Some new songs such as Sturmzeit, Stethu or Gezeiten are already watchable on youtube.com as live recordings. About special guests we cannot say anything, not yet!

But we're definitely going to create a very versatile album: Being thematically tied to the Edda on our first album, we now have much more confidence in ourselves to tell our own stories. You may be excited!

15. Some words to say to the people reading that page ?

Yes of course! Many thanks to all who support us! You know, without you great people out there who come to our concerts, have a few beers and bang your heads off, and of course buy our records and stuff from all over the planet, we'd be nothing! We hope to see you soon at our concerts!

Thank you for your time!

Thanks for the interview!