The story behind Desaster's "Hellfire's Dominion" - an Interview with Markus "Infernal" Kuschke

Hell-o again, Infernal! Let’s start with this great record namely „Hellfire’s Dominion”!

Hi! I have listened to this album for this interview as I have not checked it as a whole for a very long time already. It was cool to listen to all the tracks in a row. Great memories.

Let’s start with the period when it was about to be released. You were already after the “Stormbringer”, so you had strenghten your position on the scene. How it was then with a band, you had you first bigger gigs in Germany. How do you recall that time? 

Yes, I remember it was a very active time. We did a lot of shows, especially in east Germany, and were on the road nearly every weekend. We travelled in our small cars, we didn’t have any van back then. It was very narrow inside, it was like 5 of us sitting there with our guitars and other gear & beer on our knees. We had also my ex girlfriend with us to sell some t-shirts at the shows. We were not that well organised those days, no hotels and so on. We slept on the stage after the gigs or in a shitty backstage room. But it was all a great adventure. 

Hard, but good times. If we are mentioning gigs now, some time ago I have watched the video from the Under the Black Sun festival. It was back in 1998 but just before the release of “Hellfire’s Dominion”. You did not play any song from that album yet. Any memories from that show? 

It was a great one for sure. This festival was organised by a good friend of ours – Jorg from Folter Records. As far as I remember we had also played on the very first festival organised by him, still under the name of Folter Records festival. It was in 1995, I think.  It was one of a few gigs we played with Thorim behind drums. All in all both were a great experience. We already have the Wacken back then but still such festivals were not that common yet. We had such ones in Underground, like the Under Black Sun, not hat professional but it was fun to play there. We were able to reach bigger audience. 

Ok, so let’s move to the album itself. When I listen to “Hellfire’s Dominion” I have an impression that this one is  different than any other with Okkulto on vocals. It’s the most raw-sounding one from the albums you have recorded in the 90. Was it planned or it just came like that? 

The rawest? Really? Well, it just came like that. Back in those days we never knew what will came out after the recording.  We were of course very well prepared when we came to the studio, but we never knew what sound we would achieve. We didn’t have enough experience. We just trusted the producers. That time we were recording at a studio in Velbert. We have arrange it with a help of our friend Atomic Steif who used to play in Violent Force, Sodom or Living Death. Due to this connection we also got in touch with a Velbert Heavy Metal Fanclub. When you take a look at the old pictures of Sodom or Kreator you can find guys wearing t-shirts with this name. “Hellfire’s Dominion” was also the period when Hellbangers came together. We met the guys from Heavy Metal Fanclub to get inspiration and feeling of the old bands once again. During the recording session were were visited by the guys from the fanclub. We also stayed for like 2 weeks at Atomic Steif’s house after the recordings where we drink every night and had fun. It was a great time. 

You have mentioned the Heavy Metal fanclub and now I just have to ask about Hellbangers Moselkranken because that’s the period when it started really. I want to ask what was it, who was behind it? The mark of the Hellbangers appear on quite a lot albums from German underground scene. 

Yes, and not only on Desaster records. On Witchburner ones, Metal Inquisitor and many other bands. Hellbanger’s started back in the 1996. It was a time when we met a lot of maniacs from our region, especially Mosel. There was Costa who is currently running the Iron Pegasus Records and playing with Okkulto in Eurynomos, some other guys who were very active in the scene like King Wolle who was running the Desecration of Vrigin zine (mostly obscure South-American bands there, killer stuff). We gathered with this guys drinking, headbanging, playing music from our cars. Once we thought it would be good to give this whole shit a name, to gather together as a group, a club. That’s why we had an idea to start a heavy metal fanclub. I remember we had two suggestions for the name of the club. My was Hellbangers and Costa suggested Metallians. We were voting, there were like 15 of us back then, and my idea won. 

And who came up with the logo, that Flying V guitar? 

I don’t remember who came up with it but you are probably familiar with that guitar. It’s stolen from Accept “Restless and Wild” cover. The arm with bracer was painted by one of the fanclub members. The logo itself is inspired by Possessed of course. 

And I can see some Hellhammer here as well! 

Yes! So you know where the roots are. 

Ok, let’s return to the album. I must ask about the hit from the release – the “Metalized Blood”. Three guests on vocals there. What is the story behind creating this anthem? Because it is one, to be honest. 

Yes, it’s our smash hit. It’s a cool song. I remember that Okkulto came up with an idea of writing some sort of a hymn dedicated to heavy metal and our passion towards this music. We invited some great singers, not only from extreme metal but also from other styles. We got Lemmy from Violent Force and Wannes from Pentacle – our good friend. It was hard to get Toto from Living Death. That’s the singer you love or hate, we totally loved him. We asked Atomic Steif to help us reach him as we really wanted to have him on this song. Toto was no longer doing anything connected with music but it turned out that he was really eager to cooperate with us. There is a funny story about him coming to the studio to join us. Okkulto was opening the door with a cigarette in his mouth and when he saw Toto standing there he was just left with his cigarette on the floor and mouth wide open. Toto told us that he was rehearsing “Metalized Blood” while driving his car to the studio. He had the window opened and other drivers were looking at him as he was some sort of a weirdo, you know, singing “Metalized Blooood!” with his specific high pitched scream. 

Cool story! Now I want to move to two other songs I have picked up for discussion. First will be my favourite from the album – “In the Ban of Satan’s Sorcery”. It perfectly mixes the black metal vibe from the debut album with an oldschool Teutonic thrash. 

Thank you. It was my idea as I wanted to mix all our influences in just one song. There is some black metal blasting with melancholic melodies at the beginning and then comes that even speed/heavy metal riff. A bit in a Running Wild style. We were wondering if it fits together but we didn’t  take much time for us to get into it totally. This song was later an inspiration to write “Necropolis Karthago” which is done in the same style. That’s our trademark at some point. 

Now it’s time for “Teutonic Steel” – another anthem of yours. Another composition with this incredible medieval feeling. It’s the same atmosphere that “A Touch of Medieval Darkness” and “In a Winter Battle” has, it’s cream of the crop. Could you tell me more about it, that’s the song you play on every gig. 

Yes, we have to play it on every gig together with “Metalized Blood”. If we wouldn’t the fans would have killed us. There was a funny thing when we were rehearsing “Teutonic Steel” during album recordings. We had that little casette recorder for recording ne wsongs and ideas and the quality of it was not that good. The other guys thought that “Teutonic Steel” sound was rather terrible but I was convincing them that it will grow with a proper production and equipment and will become a hit. It’s sometimes a bit boring to play these songs on and on, but the reaction of fans is just priceless. They not only sing the chorus but also the intro melody of my guitar! 

Do you remember any memorable moments connected with the studio recording of “Hellfire’s Dominion”? Just like the ones you have shared with me last time when we were talking about “A Touch of Medieval Darkness”.

You know, it’s always different when there a new producer. The one we worked with that time told Tormentor to put bricks, gig stones into his bass drums. The reaction on this idea was like “what the hell is that?”! He told us that it will improve the bass drums sound, that we had to do it. We were also visited by members of the Heavy Metal Fanclub almost each day at the studio. 

Now let’s move to the visual aspects of “Hellfire’s Dominion. There was another cool photo session but a bit different, without all that gear, I mean swords, candles etc. Could you recall how it went?

This time it was more in a thrash metal style. I remember we had two locations then. One at the ruined castle at the river Mosel and one at the old monastery. At the castle we were frequently looking at our backs as there was a danger that some stone may fall on our heads. 

T-shirts you are wearing on that photos give a clear sign about the feeling and influences on the album. 

Yes, you are right. “Stormbringer” was a turning point for us, that was the moment when we started to play in a more oldschool thrash way. On the debut it we were still looking to the North and Norwegian scene. Later we decided to focus more on our roots. We wanted to underline our own style, not to become Immortal clones or so. “Hellfire’s Dominion” was the album that strenghten the chosen path. At the beginning of the 90s everyone wanted to be evil, traditional heavy metal was not evil enough. We rediscovered this music getting into for example Manowar or Iron Maiden again.

The cover art – it corresponds of old fantasy stuff from like Morcock or Howard. Why you have decided to move this way in case of graphics? 

I don’t know what is the story behind it. We probably stole it from somewhere, from a book probably. I remember that on the flag there was originally some different sign. We asked our layouter if there is a possiblity to exchange it and he managed to do it. I hope the artist of this paint will never find out that we used his art, otherwise he will demand a lot from money from us for the sold album copies haha. 

I know that around the “Hellfire’s Dominion” you got to know the guys from Sabbat. You played shared some gigs, released two splits so far. How you got to know each other? 

I remember it very well. It was around 1997. They were on tour in Germany, there was Behemoth as well. Our tours met together in Schweinfurt. We met those Japanese guys and it was so fucking great. Gezol – the singer nad bassist of Sabbat – is a total maniac, so crazy. We couldn’t speak any English, our was shitty as well but we still had a great time. It was a beginning of a long friendship. Tormentor joined Metalucifer back then, the other project of the Sabbat guys. 

I know recall Gezol running with that leather pants of his on stage, damn, haha. 

Hahaha, I remember when he was staying at Koblenz to record some Metalucifer stuff. He was staying at Blumi’s house, the guitarist of both Metalucifer and Metal Inquisitor. Blumi once told us that he loves the bratwurst – the German sausage. That loved it that much that already in the morning he was at the kitchen cooking bratwurst. Fucking great!

Let’s sum up this chat of ours with some information considering the reissue of the “Hellfire’s Dominion” on CD this year. Could you uncover some details about it? How it will loook like, will there will be anything special added? 

Want to do something special as it is a classic Desaster album. So it will not be a simple jewelcase edition. It will be a kind of black box with a CD and booklet in it plus something more. When re-releasing stuff we always remember about the people who have the first edition, so the second must be something new. I think it will look great and hope everything will go according to our plans. I think the layout will be similar to the vinyl reissue.

Interview by: Przemysław Bukowski

25th Anniversary of "A Touch of Medieval Darkness" - an interview with Infernal from Desaster

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Desaster's debut album "A Touch of Medieval Darkness". Instead of talking about band's upcoming release I decided to use the occasion to get back in time and talk to Infernal about the album that started it all.

1. Hi there, Infernal! This year you celebrate 25th anniversary of „A Touch of Medieval Darkness” release. How to you recall this album after all these years?

Hello! I think that for the time it was released – mid 90s – it was quite a good album. When I listen to it I still like the songs. But I think we still didn’t found our own sound and style back then. The scene was not that original. Our vocalist was still looking at Norway. He wanted to sound in a black metal way, like the bands we liked at that time, Darkthorne and Emperor. The vocals were very high pitched. On the records issued after the debut Okkulto found his own singing style which was a mixture of typical black metal one and more oldschool . Well, as a whole I’m still proud of “A Touch of Medieval Darkness”. I like to listen to it from time to time. It was cool to re-released now on vinyl, to work on it again. I did some changes, cut out parts of the intros and outros because. At the time of the release we didn’t use computer for the recording and it was very difficult to cut something. Especially, because the guy responsible for the keyboard parts played everything live and not fitting in time.  Already back then I thought that those parts were to long. That is why I made them shorter for this reissue, to better fit the entire album.

2. When we talk about inspirations, you were going against the tide back in 1995/96. Traditional black and death metal ruled the scene. What was the response for your debut record?

The response was huge. We somehow managed to fir into the black metal scene but with our own sound, elements and style. Apart from typical blasting stuff we have also added thrash metal influences. There are songs like “Devil’s Sword”, which we still play live. It’s more in an oldschool black metal style, thrashy, speed metal-like. There is also “Portal of Hellgate” that was not in a typical black metal style performed by such bands like Marduk or Immortal. We paid a lot of attention to variety and wanted to show our roots. Not only Norwegian black metal stuff but also thrash metal from such bands like Slayer, Kreator, Destruction, Sodom. I think it wall all already on the debut and we kept that trademark expanding it on the later releases. There were also some epic tunes which is also our trademark, just listen to the title track which captures that medieval atmosphere, feeling.

3. When it comes to this medieval atmosphere, what was the root of making it this way, to add that specyfic touch to this record and others after it?

That is a really good question. I still wonder why I’m so much into this kind of stuff. I think it’s because of my father. When I was a little Inferno he brought me to some medieval castles. You know, we have a region, the Rheinland, where we have a lot of old castles. I liked the atmosphere among those walls. I thing everything started at that particular time. When I was older and already had driving license I visited a lot of castles myself, not only in Germany but also in France for example. I still like the atomspehere there but in fact I don’t like the so-called medieval music. We had those medieval markets here in Germany where you can drink honey, buy clothes from that time and so on. It’s too romantic for me. Medieval times were also marked by plagues, wars, people were suppressed not only by lords and kings but also the church. That times were not that romantic like they are being shown nowadays.  When I play all these tunes from Desaster albums it’s my version of medieval music, my imagination. When I’m among the castle ruins these melodies just appear in my head, I have to play them on guitar. That’s where it all comes from.

4. There was a very atmospheric photo session for the album. Could you tell me where it was made, maybe you can share some memories connected with it. Who came up with the idea of part-corpse paint. Odin and Okkulto were wearing it but you and Thorim not.

This was about showing our two sides. It was a black metal side with Okkulto and Odin weraing the war-paint on their faces. Me and Thorim represented that more oldschool vibe, style from the thrash and speed metal aestetics and we also liked a lot. Desaster was not a typical black metal band and we wanted to distinguish ourselves a bit. The session was taken at a local castle ruins, it was Sunday I think. We had to make it in a day light so there were many people there and they were like “What the hell are these guys doing here. We carried some swords with us, some torches, candles and stuff like that. Luckily no one called the police because of our bullet belts. It was a very cool session with a high quality photos. They were taken by Odin’s uncle who was a professional photographer. He did a great job. 

5. Want to ask about Thorim now. As far as I remember there was no photo of him in the old issues of the material and now he appears on the back cover of the vinyl together with the rest of you. 

Good that you have noticed that. Back in the time when we were recording “A Touch of Medieval Darkness” Thorim was a member of Desaster but soon he recognised that this was not his way of doing music, not even his scene. He was more into traditional heavy metal or just popular music. He did some concerts with us and was not comfortable with what happened in the audience, you know, fights, mosh, headbanging etc. It seems it was too much for a young guy. One day he came to me saying that it was great to play with us but it was not his world, he had to quit. I accepted his decision but I was a bit angry at him. We always had problems with drummers. I really liked his style of playing, he was a good drummer and everything worked in rehearsal room. I was a pity that he had to leave. So when the album came out he was only mentioned as a session drummer as he was no longer in the band and didn’t add his photo in the booklet. He said it was ok with him. I think it was very strict and harsh from my side. So when we have done the rerelease on vinyl I decided to pay him attention and credits that he deserves and put him as our drummer back then with a proper photo. He played on this album and did it very well.

6. Let’s talk about Merciless Record as that was the label that released “A Touch of Medieval Darkness”. How do you recall the cooperation with them, how it got started and why did you choose them?

I think it was the other way around – they chose us. It all started with the guys from Ungod with whom we did a split release back then. They were signed to Merciless Records which issued the split. The label asked us after that if they can release our debut as well. We were really glad that someone was interested in us and our music as we thought we were still not that good. It was an honour for us. I still remember the day when the split arrived with my post. It was the first vinyl we did. I was so proud and showed it to everybody. The album turned great as well. The only disadvantage of Merciless Records was the fact that the label was not that much professional. It was just a one man label and he was always working very slowly. We recorded “A Touch of Medieval Darkness” in 1995 already, but it was issued almost a year later. You know, when you release something you want it out as soon as possible, see the reactions on the record from the fans. It was just too slow. That was the reason why we have changed the label later.

7. In the first pressing of the vinyl version there was a special booklet added, with lyrics, photos. Please tell me about the idea behind it and why you have not decided to bring it back with the reissue. 

It was my idea to give something special to the fans. Not just a typical sheet with lyrics but a separate booklet with them plus special photos that catch the special atmosphere of the album – some woods, ruins, castles. That fitted perfectly with the release. I think it was a good idea. When it comes to the re-release we wanted to do something new. People who bougth the album 25 years ago should have something special in their collection. Doing it the same way as the first press will be a betrayal of the fans who own this first version of the record. The new one also looks good. It has some special photos collage with pictures from the recording session and gigs. I really like the way the cover art looks now. The original one was too dark. It was hard to recognise what was actually on it. Now you can clearly see what the original artwork represents – the fairy man standing on his dragon boat with some sort of staff or torch in his hand. It fit to the atmosphere of the album. Also the paper used for the cover is really cool this time.

8. When we are talking about the cover art, could you tell me why you have chosen this particular one? Were there any other ideas, alternatives?

No, not really. The author of the cover was my classmate from the school days, he was a painter. We already had one of his works on our very first demo – “The Fog of Avalon”. I asked him if he had some other painting that we might use for the debut album. He showed me the one that you can see on the cover of “A Touch of Medieval Darkness” and it fitted perfectly, there was nothing more to think about. It was a pity that it turned out so dark on the album back in the days. 

9. Let’s move for a moment to the recording session of the debut album. Could you recall some interesting stories connected with it, where it was and so on? 

It was at the studio in our home town. The guys from the studio were normally recording a typical rock stuff, pop music and when we came there and started to play they were shocked about the way we did the things. Especially when Odin started to record his bass lines. When he put his distortion effect on the mixing guy, who was a bass player as well, started to shout that something must be out of order and the bass was not sounding the way it should have. He was surprised and shocked when Odin explained his intention and the way he wanted his bass to sound. We had to teach this guys how the black metal sounds like. It was funny. 

10. Were there any particular metal albums or just albums that influenced you strongly back in 1995 during the creation of “A Touch of Medieval Darkness”?

Of course we had so many metal bands and albums in the background. I could hardly mention some special ones that inspired us but I remember that back in those days, in mid 90s, we were listening to Norwegian bands like Darkthrone, Immortal. The first records of these bands. They had a serious impact on us. There was also the old stuff like Mercyful Fate, the evil spirit of their records.

11. When I listen to the album there are some part, elements that reminds me of Venom - guitar lines and vocals of Okkulto. Sometimes he sounds almost like Cronos.

Cool, thanks! That’s good to hear that. Venom was the band that was a starting point for Desaster. When we were kids, we were watching Venom’s live video and we were impressed by all that was happening at the stare, those pyrotechnics, Cornos destroying his bass. We had to start a band like this one. It was a beginning of Desaster and that’s cool that you can hear it. We never wanted to copy Venom but listened to them a lot and I think my guitar playing is also inspired by Mantas. He is a very underrated guitarist. A lot of people say that Venom guys are not that good musicians. Ok, I think for Cronos and Abaddon it is correct but Mantas is really good guitar player and I like his style.

12. Let’s sum up with you favourite compositions from the debut album, which ones will it be and which ones do you prefer to play live the most?

We play “In a Winter Battle”, “Devil’s Sword” and also “Portal of Hellgate” regularly. I think when you play songs that often you don’t exactly listen to them on the album. So I prefer to listen to the ones that we don’t play live. I really like the title track because of the great atmosphere and one unusual “Visions in the autumn shades”. It’s cool to listen to them at home. I’m not the guy who listen to his own stuff that much but when I do so and it is the “A Touch of Medieval Darkness” album, I pick these titles.

interview by: Przemysław Bukowski