Thanks so much to Bernd for the interview! I wrote about Gloom of the Grave on the blog some time ago looking for any information about this obscure German band who hailed from the Hannover area. I had discovered them through a song on Youtube that my friend Heinz posted and I thought it was really good. And yeah, this post helped and Bernd got in touch and he was kind enough to answer all my questions!
++ Hi Bernd! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? Still making music?
Hi Roque, I am fine, thanks for inviting us to an interview. I am not active in music anymore. Some former band members still do music but some don’t. Time is changing in life ☺…
++ Let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen at home while growing up?
My first music experiences were I think about 1980 when I played drums in a two members band (guitar + drums). The drum was self constructed out of cartons, metal pieces and the heating radiator in the children’s room. Was fun, with ten years age. At about 13 years age I started playing bass guitar.
++ Had you been in other bands before Gloom of the Grave? What about the rest of the members? If so, how did all of these bands sound like? Are there any recordings?
Yes I played in school bands mostly together with friends who also came to join in Gloom of the Grave.
++ Where were you from originally?
I originally come from a small city near Hanover in Germany. In this region Gloom of the Grave was situated too.
++ How was Dresden at the time of Gloom of the Grave? Were there any bands that you liked? Were there any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
I moved to Dresden later on so our experiences with other bands are from Hanover. It was a quite active rock band scene in Hanover at the time Gloom of the Grave existed (1989 until 1995) with some very good bands. Maybe “Scorpions” is the most popular band from Hanover if people like them or not. Another band from Hanover coming out in the early 90ies was “Fury in the Slaughterhouse”.
++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?
We started with playing in school bands in about 1986. In 1989 we changed the name into “Gloom of the Grave” and therefore also changed our music style. As we already knew each other from school and from old bands there was no real recruiting process at the beginning.
++ Were there any lineup changes?
Some few changes were during the years. The drummer changed his role to the singer (like Genesis ☺) so we got a new drummer. And the keyboardist also changed.
++ How was the creative process for you? Where did you usually practice?
I think everybody of us had some contribution to the songs in terms of music and lyrics. Some ideas emerged at home and some during our music rehearsals.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
We have a song called “Gloom of the Grave” and this was the basis for the band name. Our intention was to give some dark impression.
++ And who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
At the end of the 80ies we were strongly influenced by bands like Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, the Cure etc. so we also tried to create a dark sound. Compared to other bands who don’t want to be to be restricted to a certain music style we wanted to fulfill all clichés. We wanted to be a goth band☺.
++ One thing I am curious is that you have these jangly pop songs and then you have some other more darker songs. How did this duality work for the band?
In fact our attempts to create a dark sound were “interfered” by pop influences. Our past bands were more like pop bands and I think some of my former band members had very good melodic inspirations to put into our songs. This is why it resulted into a mixture of dark songs and pop songs. Of course every band member had a special musical contribution to the work.
++ Your first release was the CD single “La Guardia” in 1991, is that right? Or were there previous releases or recordings by the band? Perhaps demo tapes?
The first proper record release of Gloom of the Grave was the CD La Guardia, some tapes before existed only from recordings in the rehearsal room but they were not really suitable for a demo tape.
++ I was very curious about the name of the CD “La Guardia”. Where does the name come from?
The name of the CD is originated from the title song “La Guardia”. It is a song about the airport LaGuardia in New York. When a band member of us had been traveling to New York he made the observations described in the. Somehow it is a song about globalization, about alienation, about losing his relation to his home.
Another song on the CD is “Behind the Fence”, a song about the incidences during the political changes in east and western countries in 1989. In the song the situation of people from former Eastern Germany people is described as being stranded in the embassy of Prague in order to refuge to Western Germany. At the time of our musical activity at the end of the 80ies this was a major incident and had a big influence.
++ This CD was self-released. How did that work for the band? Did you enjoy taking care of pressing the CD, promoting it, doing label work in general?
The 3 song record “La Guardia” was recorded in a studio belonging to a friend of our singer. I think it is always a great thing for a young band to record your own songs in a studio, to release these records and to get some kind of feedback. It was a very nice experience for us, together with all the related work like labeling, contacting music magazines and so on.
++ Then in 1995 you released an album called “Serenity”. I wasn’t aware at all of this album. Who put it out? Where was it recorded?
The album “Serenity” was recorded in two studio sessions, three songs in Hanover in 1994 and seven songs in Hildesheim in 1995. The record was finally released by the German label “Idol Music”. For this CD we shortened our band name into “Gloom”.
++ How was the experience of recording an album? Much different to the early single?
To record a whole album was a good experience too. It was a good time to stay in a studio for a relatively long time only making and recording music, to get a feeling of doing something like professional music activities for a limited time. Especially during the recordings in 1994 we were quite enthusiastic about the studio work. Unfortunately we had to finance most of the studio activities and record pressing by ourselves even though it was released by a music label. Finally we had about one day time per song for recording and mixing. Of course this is not enough time to get professional results.
++ The only other notice of releases of yours is on a compilation called “72 Minutes” that the label Pigs Can’t Fly released in 1993. You contributed the song “Time To…”. Who were behind that label and how did you end up on this compilation?
We came to this compilation by an advertisement in the German music magazine Zillo from the person of Pigs cant fly who organized the CD compilation. He also organized some funding to realize the compilation. Good idea to enable amateur bands to release their own songs on a compilation. We sent the CD “La Guardia” to the organizer of Pigs cant fly so the song “Time to get away” was finally chosen as a contribution of the compilation CD.
++ So the CD single, the CD album and the compilation, are them all your discography or are we missing something? Are there more songs by the band? Unreleased?
These three CD´s is the full discography of Gloom of the Grave. There are some more songs existing but they were only recorded on rehearsal room tapes and on live concert tapes.
++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Time to Get Away”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
“Time to get away” is a song about escaping from his old life, from bad experiences and maybe from lovesick into a new life or to a new place where you want to be. This is why it is called Time to get away (like time to escape).
++ If you were to choose your favorite Gloom of the Grave song, which one would that be and why?
Apart from “Time to get away” which probably is one of our best songs my personal favorites are “Profound Sleep” and “Pavements Grey” on the album “Serenity”. For me these two songs have some very good song writing. As far as I know “Profound Sleep” was close to getting some contribution for another German CD compilation but it never came to this.
++ What about gigs? Did you play many?
With Gloom of the Grave we were playing a number of gigs between 1989 and 1995, predominantly in our home region in Hanover and the surrounding. Most of them took place with other bands, for example as a support gig, some of them on festivals as well.
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
We had a gig in Hanover as a support of the British band “And also the Trees”. For me this was maybe the best gig of Gloom of the Grave. “And also the Trees” was one of my favorite bands at that time and it was the only gig we had with kind of an” international act”. And the reaction of the audience for our support gig was also not too bad.
++ And were there any bad ones?
Yes, sometimes the room was almost empty when we had a gig and people were standing at the bar drinking beer instead of paying attention. This was less motivating but it is normal, most bands probably know this situation.
++ When and why did Gloom of the Grave stop making music? Were you involved in any other bands afterwards?
At the end my motivation to continue was very low and I think for the other band members it was the same. And maybe at some age other things get more important and time is limited. Everything has it´s time. Afterwards I didn’t play in a band anymore.
++ What about the rest of the band, had they been in other bands afterwards?
Our drummer changed to another band and our former singer and maybe also keyboarder still have some music activities.
++ Has there been any reunion gigs?
No, we didn’t make music together since 25 years. Our guitar player asked us to have some sessions again. But it is difficult if you are living in different places of Germany. But who knows…
++ Did you get much attention from the radio?
Not really. I think one of the songs of the CD “La Guardia” was once played on a radio program called DT64, that’s what I have heard from a band member.
++ What about TV? Made any promo videos?
No we didn’t make a promo video. But we often recorded our gigs with VHS videos. It is funny to watch those videos after a long time. Especially if some things went wrong during the gigs.
++ What about the press? Did they give you any attention?
We had some feedback from the local press but not a lot. Gloom of the Grave was not big enough to get some relevant attention from the press. But of course we were always proud when something was written about us in the press☺.
++ What about from fanzines?
Like in conventional press we were not really “registered” by fanzines. The only thing I remember was a review of our CD “La Guardia” in the music magazine “Zillo” in which the CD evaluation by the author fortunately was not too bad.
++ Looking back in retrospective, what would you say was the biggest highlight for the band?
Difficult to say…There have been a number of moments with much satisfaction for all of us. It was during some of our gigs (even in school prior to Gloom of the Grave), during the recordings or only when a new song was created.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
Bernd: If I find some time I like to do some hill / mountain hiking, cycling or skiing in winter.
++ Never been to Dresden. So I will ask for some recommendations. If I was to visit your city what shouldn’t I miss? What are your favourite sights? And any particular food or drinks that you think one shouldn’t miss?
Dresden and its surrounding is a beautiful place to visit. It is kind of touristic here too. Some historical city part of Dresden has been rebuilt after bomb attacks in 1945 so it is definitely worth to visit the city. And the surrounding is great too, mostly with hilly areas and places for rock climbing and Nordic skiing in winter.
Regarding food Dresden is especially famous for “Christstollen”, a traditional Christmas Cake. And this region has some similarities to nearby Bohemia and Bavaria, which for example means good local beers.
++ Anything else you’d like to add?
Bernd: Maybe just a short comment to Cloudberry Records I think it is a very good idea to pay attention to smaller indie bands in the internet on this platform and also to bands which do not exist anymore sometimes for decades. This is rare so thanks again Roque for this opportunity of having this interview.
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