For the Love of Rock and Metal is a blog dedicated to music articles, concert reviews, CD reviews, interviews and all other things related to rock and metal. There is an emphasis on local or semi-local music in the Madison, WI area.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Interview with Andy Dörner of Caliban


Originally publish on The Blacktooth
Written by Nicki Stapleton

Caliban, a metal band from Essen, Germany recently released their new album “I Am Nemesis” and I had a chance to talk to vocalist Andy Dörner about the band and the album. It took the quintet more than 10 months to perfect the new album, but was well worth the time and wait with it’s brutal sounds and intense social messages.

Nicki: Can you tell me a little about the band?
Andy Dörner: The band was formed around 1997 by Marc and me and 3 other members who left us over the years. The formation right now has existed for about 7 years now.  We make heavy and intense music, our roots are in the 90´s hardcore scene. We are on the road as much as we can, because Caliban is our full time job.   We almost toured the whole world and wont stop until we die...for a more information, check ourWebsiteFacebook etc.

Nicki: I know Caliban can is the name of a few different things (the antagonist in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the moon of Uranus, a Marvel Comics mutant, and a few others) – why did you choose the name?
AD: We took the name from "The Tempest." We all liked the character of Caliban and what he stands for. Later on we learned about the mutant and his face is on our first mini cd. 

Nicki: What is it like to tour in so many different countries? Which country/city gives you the best welcome?
AD: It feels great to have the chance to see so many different countries. We feel everywhere welcome, so it´s hard to pick any specific place.
Nicki: What is your favorite song from the new album (I Am Nemesis) and why?
AD: There is no favorite song, because I like the whole record very much, but special to me is "Memorial," because it´s song for my dead father and the second one is "This Oath," because this one is for my wife.

Nicki: What kind of music/bands did you listen to growing up?
AD: I started very late to listen to music...at the very beginning it was the 80´s pop music, but when I started to widen my horizon I started to listen to Metallica, Megadeath, Anthrax, Machine Head, Rage Against The Machine, Suicidal Tendencies etc...and after that I started with Hardcore / New School like Unbroken, Chokehold, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Morning Again, Culture, Converge, Swing Kids. 

Nicki: Were you a good student?
AD: I just went to school and I sucked big time.

Nicki: What is the song writing process like in the band? Is it usually one or two people writing the lyrics or is it a group collaboration from the start?
AD: Marc is doing the music in co-op with our producer Benny Richter. I start writing the lyrics and before we record the final songs we work everything out together.

Nicki: If you could describe Caliban with one word, what would it be?
AD: Priceless ;) 

Nicki: What is something your fans would be surprised to know about you (individually or as a band)?
AD: Two of us are married, otherwise we are just normal guys who like making music. 

Nicki: I noticed that the new album points to a lot of social issues. Is there specific reason for this?
AD: We started with that topic on "Say Hello To Tragedy" and we liked the way it felt, so we decided to write more in this direction. There is enough bullshit going on in this world.

Nicki: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
AD: Thanks everyone for your time and patience!!! Check us out and feel free to follow us!!!

Show Andy Dörner and the band some love at their website or on their Facebook  page, and check out their new album I Am Nemesis.

And check out metal magazine The Blacktooth to read more of my interviews and other great content. 

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