« The most spectacular band in Germany is called Die Apokalyptischen Reiter! » states peremptorily Volk-Man at the begging of the interview! It is true that this band is above all a band that one savours live! By the way, a live report of their show at the Raismesfest will be available in few hours. But, for the moment, enjoy this interview with the bass player that introduces “Licht”, the latest album of Die Apokalyptischen Reiter that was released a few days ago by Nuclear Blast.


Volk-Man (Die Apokalyptischen Reiter)


Interview conducted by Charlotte and Florian
Date : Septembre 2008 by email

Radio Metal : First of all, do you think you could describe your music to the metalheads that don't know you yet?

Volk-Man : Sans aucun doute, le groupe le plus spectaculaire d’Allemagne s’appelle DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER ! C’est la traduction allemande pour les Chevaliers de l’Apocalypse. Si vous avez lu la bible, vous devriez savoir de quoi ça parle.

No doubt, Germany's most spectacular act is named DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER. That`s the German translation of Horsemen Of The Apocalypse and if you ever read the bible, you should know, what they are all about. With their unique combination of power and melodies, bittersweet lyrics and a breathtaking, outstanding live performance, this band is definitely a class of its own. The Riders, as the fans call them, give a shit on so called rules, they are true innovators and courageous ... and, last but not least, incredibly successful.

"Licht" (light in English) is due to come out at the end of the month, does the title of the album have a special meaning?

As the translation says, LICHT means LIGHT in English and the overall topic of all songs is best described with light. It does not mean the physical aspect of light; it stands for the light that (hopefully) shines inside of your soul and heart. If you want, you can say light stand for hope itself in general. The meaning is very positive as in these dark days positive energy is needed to survive.

And what can we expect in musical terms? Something in the continuity of "Riders on the Storm" or something new and different?

I think, we followed the path, we entered with "Have a Nice Trip" in 2003. It's a colourful album, full of passion and energy and as its predecessor "Riders on the Storm", we have recorded "Licht" in Studio Principal, where also bands like In Extremo have recorded their albums.



Your style has evolved a lot since the beginning of the band, from something quite extreme to something a little more heavy. Is it a natural evolution of the band, or due to choices you have made?

Of course all this development is very natural. We have been a together in the band for over 15 years. When we started, we all were about 20 years old, young and full of hate against everything. I think that it is normal that we sounded different back then, there would be something terribly wrong if we still sounded like in 1995. For me, music has always been a mirror image of my life. So everything that has happened in my life you can somehow find in the music.

You often adapt your sets when you play in extreme festivals by playing older songs. Are you intending to go back to your "extreme" roots, or is that time over?

We have done over 80 songs in our career and depending on what kind of events we play at, some songs might be different from time to time. But in general, 80% of our live set-list is like it is, as nowadays our audience it totally mixed. We have metal heads, medieval fans, rock fans, people that like guitar music. Our music is universal.



Do you prefer playing the older or the newer songs live?

Both, but now everybody in the band is excited about playing some of the new songs from the new album, as this is always a very special moment in the career of a musician.

You used to sing a lot with Fuchs at the beginning of the band and still do when you play those songs live. Why have you stopped singing on the newest albums, and are you thinking of doing it again in the future?

Yes, my appearance on the vocals decreased over the years. When we did death metal vocals, extreme screaming was a good addition for that style, but as Fuchs sings more and more melodic, I have the feeling that extreme screaming is a bit displaced this time. I did some melodic backgrounds choruses on Licht, it worked out cool. When we play live, I often have a microphone handy, as we still play a lot of older songs with both voices.

On your website, we find a link to eBay where you are selling the original artwork of your new album. The profit of this sale is supposed to go to charity. Can you tell us more about it?

Actually, it was not the original cover of the new CD, it was the original painting of our old live backdrops. Yes, the money was spent for charity (www.naturvoelker.org), it is a German organization, that fights for the last indigene tribes in Asia, India, South America. As civilization kills all those unique tribes, we feel good about helping with some positive actions. We all in the band like to travel a lot and we have visited some remote areas on this planet.

You have already done a similar action a few years ago towards the construction of a school in Ecuador. Is the school built now?

We still have good contacts to this school, as the founder was/is one of our friends who grew up together with us here in Germany. So we know that all the money we gave to him, goes to the right place. It helps the orphans in Ecuador.



These two projects may present you as an involved band. Are these positions also asserted in your music and your lyrics?

Definitely. It is hard to say how this can be found in the music itself, but as much as I can say, there is something about the lyrics: they can make you think about different things that happen on earth. We don't want to point our fingers at somebody, but we want people to think, to face the reality of death, lies, misery, hunger and politics. They should face the wall of lies that comes from the mainstream media that poisons your thoughts with silly game shows, so called VIP news and lot of advertisement bullshit for items and gadgets that nobody really needs.

A new member recently joined the band - Lady Cat-Man. How is this new collaboration working out?

It is special and not as easy as expected, haha. Everybody is in learning process and we can say more, when the first touring in a nightliner bus has passed. So far, she is very ambitious and full of energy and she helped the band a lot to record the new album and to develop the songs.

You have an amazing energy on stage. Do you have a secret?

No alcohol before a show, sport twice a week and no pork.

Where did the idea of picking people in the audience, whipping them and locking them up in a cage with Dr.Pest come from? Do you still do that, are you going to do it in France?

Well, the cage is part of history now, we did it too often I think, but the doctor has got a new item, a special swing and it looks damn crazy. But we still bring some people on stage and from time to time, if somebody likes it really nasty, we sometimes get the whip out on stage (or backstage). The idea was just, to have a interaction with the fans and it turned out that crazy over the years.



The band's albums were not distributed in France for a few years, and your gigs in French speaking areas are rare. You were supposed to play here last year with After Forever and Finntroll but the shows got cancelled. Two dates are planned in September (Strasburg and Raismesfest). Can you explain this "lack" of relation with France? Is it a personal choice?

We had a lot of bad luck with the French shows in the last years. Some gigs were really badly promoted (for instance the gig in Poitiers in November 2007), some other shows (like the Roadshock show) was cancelled, even if the show was sold out. We are sad about that, but I can tell you, we all love France so much and in 4 days we are finally coming back with 2 shows, that will be awesome. Fuchs spends a few weeks every year down in the South of France (Ardeche area) and myself did a lot of camping in Provence and Languedoc area (even some nasty stuff at Cap d'Agde hehe). I can tell you, that D.A.R. will play more shows in France in the next years.

Fuchs passe plusieurs semaines par an dans le sud de la France (dans l’Ardèche), j’ai moi-même fait pas mal de camping vers la Provence et le Languedoc (et des choses pas très sages à Cape d’Adge, hehe). Je peux vous dire, D.A.R va jouer plus de concerts en France dans les années à venir.

Do you think that "Licht" will be the album that will develop "Reiters" notoriety in France?

Hopefully. But we know, an album alone is not enough the bring a band forward. But as said, we want to play and tour in France, so I think, Licht will be a good reason to do that.

Final question! The most popular German band in France (and I am sad to say that!) is Tokio Hotel. What do you think of them?!!

That is not my business. But I heard they have guitars. A hip hop band would be much more disgusting. Don't forget, this band is MADE by the industry.

Thanks for this interview !

Thanks for the interview too. You can get all our official merchandise on our website. And please check out also our official English peaking MySpace!

MySpace Apokalyptischen Reiter : http://www.myspace.com/reitermania