Rote Mare-Interview

Interview with Rote Mare

1. Hello Phil! I am very happy that we meet again, doing an interview together. First of all, let me ask you how you decided to form a doom metal band and how was Rote Mare formed?

- Thank you for getting in touch and for giving me the opportunity to answer your questions. Getting the Rote Mare project together has been a long process which I had wanted to do for a long time but I never had the recording equipment to make it happen. Previous to Rote Mare I had been in many different types of bands all of which were unsatisfying to me for both musical and personal reasons. The old style of Doom (Sabbath, Trouble etc) has always been my favourite type of music along with 70’s rock and 80’s metal so I wanted to do something in this style. Also working with others and the compromises involved was another big reason to start this project. Rote Mare was formed a couple of months before I recorded American Terrorist in 2005

2. We all know that Rote Mare is one man’s band. Do you play all the instruments alone and the drums as well, or do you use any computer programs?

- I play all the instruments, drums included and record and produce the finished product myself. I used a drum program for American Terrorist and for the original Funeral Songs but was not very happy with the end result so I bought drums and re-recorded the drums on Funeral Songs and then re-released it as Funeral Songs II. Since then I have used real drums for all recordings.


3. It is very uncommon for a doom metal band to be one man’s band. I can name a lot of one man’s black metal bands, but I can’t think any in the doom scene. Why are Rote Mare an one man’s band? Did you face any difficulties in finding musicians who were into doom metal?

- The basic reason for Rote Mare being a one man band is that I was sick of working with other people and having to write my songs a certain way to fit in with whatever band I was in at the time. To be honest I have never really looked for like minded musicians or tried to form my own band before I decided to start Rote Mare. I am not sure that I even want to expand Rote Mare into a band.

4. While reading the booklet of “American Terrorist” demo, I saw that you were inspired by the classic doom metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble, Cathedral and Witchfinder General but also by few stoner and sludge bands. Which are your main influences and what kinds of music do you like most?

- I think the main influences for Rote Mare are Black Sabbath, Trouble and Celtic Frost. I love bands like Cirith Ungol, Warlord and early Manowar. Sleep, Church Of Misery and Reverend Bizarre I would include in my favourites. 70’s rock (Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Rainbow and Led Zeppelin) is a big influence along with some Stoner rock and Sludge. I would say classic doom and 70’s rock are my favourite types of music but I enjoy listening to a wide variety of styles. I think because of this a lot of different influences creep into my music and I do not think that I would define Rote Mare itself as classic doom although that is the base.

5. Back to your demos again. Four demos, under the titles “American Terrorist”, “Funeral Songs I and II” and “Red Sea” were released. Where did you get your lyrical inspiration and what each one of these demos represents to you?

- Much of my lyrical inspiration comes from imagining myself in a situation. Much of it is about self isolation and removal of emotions. There are a number of Political songs which are mostly about greed and the destruction of the planet. The evils of organised religion and my lack of belief in gods or the supernatural is another subject that I often write about. I write the music before the lyrics. The lyrics are written to fit the music and in general I don’t really think they are very good.
American Terrorist is my first effort and it is mostly influenced by doom and 70’s rock. I didn’t think much about it. I just recorded whatever came out. With Funeral Songs it was a deliberate effort on my part to record a slow heavy record in a much doomier vein.
With Funeral Songs II i redid the drums, axed a song and shortened Altar Of Greed.
With the Red Sea I wanted to record something that sat somewhere between the first two releases. Still doomy but a bit more up-tempo. I also recorded a bonus disc for the Red Sea with two new songs and two songs re-recorded from American Terrorist (Nothing & Crossroads)

6. I am not sure, but I think you don’t belong to any labels. Is that right? What are your plans for the future? Do you aim to sign a contract with a label? I can also remember that Mark of Psychedoomelic records was at your thanklist.Tell us please a few things about that.

- No I don’t have a label and I can’t really be bothered to look for one anymore. If a label is interested of course I would look at it though. Mark was one of the few people who showed any interest when I sent out my first batch of demos. He has kept regular contact and I keep him informed of any new developments


7. As far as I am concerned, there are a few great doom metal bands in Australia just like Raven Black Night, Paranoid, Wizar’d, Paramaecium, Solemn Assembly etc.Are you familiar with these bands and how popular is doom metal in Australia?

- I haven’t heard Solemn Assembly but the others I am familiar with although not in great detail. I like Raven Black Nights old style 80’s metal. As far as I know i don’t think doom metal is very popular in Australia. I don’t really know what the sales are like for the bigger doom acts. You can buy the bigger bands cds so I guess there is some market for it.

8. One of my favorite Rote Mare’s songs, Nothing…, you say that it is a tribute to the great Trouble ballads (Run to the light, The skull and The wish). Can you please tell us a few things about this song? Is it maybe a way to express your love and influences by Trouble?

- Well I absolutely love the Trouble ballads especially The Skull. The song Nothing is definitely an expression of my love of Trouble although the lyrics are kind of opposite. The lyrics are like The Wish but without the hope of redemption through finding or believing in god. The song is basically a combination of verses from The Skull and the chorus of Run To The Light. The Skull is one of my favourite songs of all time. Of course I could never hope to write a song in that style as good as those three ballads so a tribute will have to do.



9. Well, Phil, we have reached the end of this interview. I would like to thank you for your patience and for answering my questions. I am really happy for communicating with you again and I wish the best for you and Rote Mare. Please feel free to end this interview as you wish…

- I will end with saying that I will be releasing my new double cd early in 2008. It is called In Ruins and initially I will be giving it away to anyone who is interested. Thanks again for the opportunity to talk about Rote Mare in this interview and I wish you good luck with the fanzine.

http://www.rotemaredoom.com