(by Bryan Reesman)
Ever mutating and evolving, melodic German death metallers Atrocity refuse to be pigeonholed. They have played everything from aggressive death metal to industrial crossover to melancholic rock. Since the release of their last album, the epic, symphonic Atlantis, the band has quietly been working on their new ‘80s cover album Werk 80 II while also pulling double duty as the successfully growing Leaves’ Eyes, the Nordic-inspired ensemble that singer Liv Kristine founded in the wake of her departure from Theatre Of Tragedy.
With the announcement of the creation of Werk 80 II, there were probably some fans that thought it was a good way for the quintet to cash in on the CD’s 1997 predecessor, Werk 80, which was very successful in Europe and landed the band a major label deal. But Atrocity frontman Alex Krull denies that the group was trying to ride the coattails of any previous hit.
“For us, it was not a commercial view of the whole thing,” the singer remarks, calling from Mastersound Entertainment, his recording studio in Stuttgart, Germany. “We really wanted a new musical challenge after we had tried some other stuff that we and our fans liked. Of course, [some] people don’t like it because they’re jealous or whatever, and maybe they would like to have had the same idea. But you have to live with it. We’re a band that wants to break through barriers, and I think that’s why we’re still alive after so many years. I think it’s the source for us to keep going and have the same fun as when we started the band. I see a lot of bands that are forced to record the same album over and over again, and the fans criticize them if they don’t do it or go in another direction.”
Fans of Atrocity’s heavier material might be stumped by the obviously more pop flavor of the Werk 80 releases, but Krull does not fret over the issue. The towering frontman compares his band’s diverse oeuvre to the film work of director Peter Jackson, whom he greatly admires. “He was stuck in the horror genre, but he showed everybody that he could also direct other stuff like Lord Of The Rings and King Kong,” observes Krull. “I think he’s a really great artist, and I also like the funny movies he did, like Meet The Feebles. I think it’s a good comparison to our band. Our Bad Taste was maybe Blue Blood, the first EP we did. Now we’re heading for other shores and looking for newer challenges. That’s something I like about our band, that we’re open to things like the Werk 80 album” — which included covers of “Shout” by Tears For Fears, “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell, and “Wild Boys” by Duran Duran — “because it’s fun doing that. It’s great work, but it’s also great fun.”
It’s obvious listening to Werk 80 II that the members of Atrocity poured their passion into the cover tunes, which range from their dour rendition of the Eurhythmics “Here Comes The Rain Again” to the gothic-tinged reinvention of Simple Minds’ immortal anthem “(Don’t You) Forget About Me,” complete with sensual coos from Liv Kristine. The band retained the original melodies of the songs while adding in new parts, including real orchestral and choral parts, and reshaping them to fit their style. Indeed the cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” sounds more sinister than the original.
“That was the idea, that we keep the soul and character of the song and turn it into Atrocity soul, like into a dark soul,” explains Krull. “Some of the songs you might not even think we could play. For example, on the first record we had ‘Send Me An Angel.’ At first I didn’t know if it would work out. I thought that maybe I should change the lyric to ‘Send me a demon,’ but the publishing company here in Germany, GEMA, wouldn’t allow me to do that. It’s funny, the guys from Real Life wrote us from Australia when they heard ‘Send Me An Angel.’ They thought what we did was really cool. At Wacken, there were thousands of fists in the air, with rivets and leather, and people headbanging to ‘Send Me An Angel.’ It was great. I would not have thought that it would happen myself!”
When asked about his favorite cuts on Werk 80 II, Krull picks “Relax,” because of its heavier slant and embellishments, and a-ha’s “The Sun Always Shines On TV,” in which he duets with Kristine, his wife. “I think it’s a really cool song, and you can hear a great string arrangement by the orchestra,” he adds. “I guess the one song we have to play until the end of the band is [Alphaville’s] ‘Forever Young.’ Somehow it grabs the heart of the people. When you look back to the ‘80s and sing this song as a child of the ‘80s, you get this nostalgic feeling, even though we’re all growing older. It’s a perfect song to sing along to.”
To complement this collection of classic covers, fetish supermodel Dita Von Teese graces the cover of Werk 80 II. But the photograph of her sumptuous, lingerie-clad body splashed across black velvet is only a precursor to the images found inside, which Krull describes as “a dark opera house turned into a fetish club that Dita is introducing you to. That was the idea to have her. She has a really classical style, and she’s the supermodel for that style. She can transport the idea of Werk 80. She’s artistically classic and super erotic at the same time. There could be no other one but her.”
While the band continues to evolve and move forward past the ‘00s into the ‘10s, even while waxing nostalgic with their ‘80s covers, it recently had to cope with the departure of two players, leaving longtimers Krull and guitarists Thorsten “Tosso” Bauer and Matthias Röderer to forge ahead. When it came to finding a new drummer to take over for outgoing Moritz Neuner, who left to pursue the business side of music (he handled booking for the band), Atrocity found its ideal replacement, former Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir skinbeater Nick Barker. “It’s great for the band,” enthuses Krull. “The future plan is to do a very dark and brutal trilogy, and he’s the right drummer for that stuff. It was great with Nick because we’ve known each other for a really long time. He was a drum tech when we were touring together with Deicide in 1992. We met up with him when he was in Dimmu Borgir.”
Krull is optimistic about the pairing, especially since Atrocity members also play in Leaves’ Eyes. “He’s a really nice guy, and I hope he’ll have the same fun that we do with both bands,” the singer states. “He’s really excited about it. He likes Leaves’ Eyes a lot, and he loves Liv’s voice. For him it’s the most beautiful voice he has ever heard, so it is perfect to have him in the band. He has the ability to play the stuff from Atrocity as well as the Leaves Eyes’ songs. We’re doing a tour of Asia, in China and Taiwan [with both bands], and before that even we will go to Mexico. We have great plans together. I think he found his musical family.”
As far as a replacement for outgoing bassist Chris Lukhaup, who was discharged for undisclosed reasons, Alla Fedynitch (formerly of Pain, Enemy Of The Sun, and Eyes Of Eden) is now their session player. “Alla is a friend of Tosso and seems to be a very tough lady with a warm heart,” remarks Krull. “She is actually playing in two bands with Waldemar Sorychta, the producer of Lacuna Coil.” He imagines that if things continue to gel with her as they have been, she could become a full member of both groups. “It’s interesting to have a headbanging lady on bass now!”
Another exciting announcement from the Atrocity camp is the re-release of a majority of the group’s diverse back catalog through Napalm Records, much of which has been out of print for years. Krull also remastered and improved the sound of many of the group’s older recordings. “It was real fun. Treasures like Blut, Willenskraft, and Calling The Rain, or our debut album Hallucinations, are gleaming now in new splendor,” beams Krull. “We hope to release the best of album Non Plus Ultra when the DVD will be out. Gemini is also hard to get, and I hope there will be a possibility to figure out something for that as well.” Fans can now easily find such eclectic releases as their original ‘80s cover album (Werk 80) and their collaboration with German industrialists Das Ich (Die Liebe). Throughout their two-decade career, Atrocity have explored a wide range of influences, and they certainly courted symphonic elements on early albums like Hallucinations and Longing For Death [aka Todessehnsucht].
Their lengthy history has allowed Atrocity to explore and experiment. “We like to take some time and have some distance in between so we don’t do the same shit again,” Krull states, acknowledging the four-year gap between Atlantis and Werk 80 II. “We wanted to have some new influences, so it was really cool this time because we got rid of the keyboards and synthesizers and replaced them with a real symphony orchestra and a real choir. It was a lot of work, of course, but it was worth doing it.”
The long shadow of the highly successful Werk 80 lingered not only over its sequel but the work of other gothic and metal groups in Germany. Krull recalls that the German press was critical of the first covers album, unsure of what to make of it, but they have been more open to its sequel. “I guess we inspired a lot of other bands to do that,” ponders the growler, “because afterwards [in the late-‘90s] there were a lot of ‘80s cover versions from metal bands. Maybe from the same guys were saying, ‘who the hell should buy your album?’ I guess they tried to do it themselves! People from the gothic and metal scenes already want to jump on the train again, so it’s quite funny.”
