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Band page - Fear My Thoughts
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What is your name and your current position in the band?
Hi I'm Matt and I do the singing for FMT.
Tell us about the history of the band. More specifically, when was the band formed, how did you meet, and have there been any particular highlights or low points in your career, any crucial events that have taken you where you are today?
The band itself was formed in 1997. Since we all come from a very small town in Germany the people that are into metal know each other quiet well. A crucial point is the high amount of boredom that exists in our town. Therefore we could focus on our music only and managed to get into it real well. I guess the first highlights were the first shows, that were further away, the first tour, our first concert were we were flown to ( it was a show in London and I still can remember us at the airport...). apart from these experiences important points were of course the first records, we released, the first labels etc. I guess I can say, every little step that showed us, that people care about what we do.
The last highlight was playing a festival were Iron Maiden, Slayer and a lot of other bands, we listen to, played, too.
The one and only low point we had so far, was the split of our former drummer. But at the same time a new door was pushed open, since we got hold of Norman, our new drummer. Fortunately we still have a very good relationship to our old drummer. But still the split was not easy to take.
Was there ever a time when you wondered if your band would remain just a local outfit and never make it in the industry?
To be honest, I guess we never really thought about these things. We never thought that we'd be famous or whatever one day. As I already said. For us it was always important to see, that people care about what we do.
What is your latest album and why should people buy it?
We'll release our new record in January on Century Media Records. It's called "VULCANUS" and one should buy it, because it offers a huge variety of metal songs that everything from straight Thrash Metal to Progressive Metal "Symphonies". Our intention was to write a record that offers songs, that are easily accessible and ones that need to be listened a few times before they fully open...
How would you categorize the style of the band? And did you ever consider or try playing other styles of music than the one(s) you are playing now?
I guess this is one of the most difficult questions to answer. Especially for us. Ask ten different persons how they'd categorise our style and you'd get ten different answers. As I tried to say before. We have a huge source of inspiration and through this our musical horizon is really wide. On our new records there are songs that sound like a mixture Opeth meets Thin Lizzy meets Mastodon as well as there are songs that sound like Destruction meets Kreator.
If you'd listen to our old records, you'd find out, that we never released two albums that sounded the same. There was always something that could be named the FMT red line but the music itself always differed. Because of this we never came to a point were we considered to play a different style.
Can you share with us one or two of your favourite moments with the band?
As I pointed out before, one definitely was, when we played the festival. And the other one was, when we were on last years X- mass tour. We played in Rome and took the chance to stroll around the time we had in Rome. This really was one great moment.
How is the writing process in the band?
We normally have our guitar players coming up with new ideas in the rehearsal room. We then try to model this into something, all of us are satisfied with. When this is done, I try to find vocal lines that fit in there.
What brought you on the path to becoming a musician? Did you ever consider or take any other paths through life besides music?
There are other paths beside music. We are all still working people. Four of us work in social jobs. Our drummer is drum teacher. So in a way he's doing something social, too.
As I mentioned before, we come from a very boring town that has nothing much to offer than these small local sport clubs and stuff like this. We all were never really much into this and we listened to metal very early. I don't know if it is a normal thing, but we wanted to copy the things we heard... Well that's how we became musicians...
Do you have any idols? If yes, who?
Obviously there are always persons / bands that are very inspiring. I can only speak about me here, because I don't feel it would be right to talk about the other members. I do like bands like Iron Maiden, Nevermore a lot, music wise and because I do like both singers a lot. But there are so many others that I could spend the rest of the interview just naming bands.
Beside the music there are a lot of people that one could name as idols, too, authors, politicians or just people that did something great. Maybe one should name Ghandi, Tucholsky, Hesse, Marx etc
Do you have any regrets looking back at your career? For example any songs or even full albums that you regret recording? If so, what made you regret it?
I guess with old records it's like it is with pictures from your past. At the time the pictures are made / the records were recorded, you liked what you did ( if it was different, you wouldn't have put all the effort in it ). But through the process of doing it, getting older ( and wiser :) ) things look different. Off course there are now some things, that I look back on and don't feel like they sound good anymore. But i say this from today's point of view. Back then I liked it. So it is ok. The good thing about these records is, that one can see how things developed.
Are there particular songs in your catalogue that the fans love but you're not particular fond of yourself?
There are indeed some songs that are always requested when we play in our area. Some of the songs I actually would really like to play again, but since we had the drummer change and due to the fact that we immediately started writing new songs, the old ones sort of got lost along the way... well there are others, that we still play. So everybody's happy...
How important do you rate the lyrical side of your albums?
Well, since I write them I do rate it quiet high. For me it's important to use our songs as a medium to carry topics that are of importance for me. I don't really like lyrics about death, destruction, sex drugs and Satan. They can be fun, too. But as I said, for me it's important to read things that inspire me. A good example here would be Heaven Shall Burn. They always have very good political lyrics and try to use their popularity to spread their message. This is what I like.
What do you think about the state of the music industry today?
I cannot say too much about this. All I can say is, that they have to find different ways, of spreading music as they, due to the fact that more and more CD's are copied, don't sell too much anymore. ( considering the fact, that CD's sometimes cost up to 18 ? and more makes this understandable). Off course, they do have certain expenses for each production. And of course they want to live from what they sell, too. But somehow this seems still a lot to me.
What do you think is the best way to fight music piracy?
Find a way to make CD's cheaper. I know that it is a circle that can't be broken easily. If the sales go down, there isn't enough money to support and finance new, unknown acts, but on the other side, we're living in a time in which it is a luxury for some people to buy a CD for the mentioned price...
Another thing might be, to put a certain gimmick to each CD, just something that can't be copied, maybe this would help...
Do you have a life philosophy? If yes, what is it?
I used to be straight edge because I wanted to take my role model function serious, but this changed when I became a student :). So all that remains from this time is vegetarism. Apart from that, or even connected to this I try to live a Life that focuses a lot on our environment. We seem live a life that is not focused on our surrounding but based a lot on science and modern technique. Through that we drift further and further away from where we come from. I believe that a lot of the problems we have today, like diseases, illnesses etc result from this fact...
Can you describe a typical day in your life?
Get up at around eight. Have a cup of coffee. After that I go to the university and do my time with learning etc. When I come home, I take my dog for a walk. Come home, have something to eat. Then there's time for homework, or other things that need to be done. Twice a week, we rehearse. So if it's that day of the week, I'm off to go there. Or I have singing lesson. In the evening there should be time for the dog again. Then I watch the news, spend the free time with my girlfriend or friends and go to bed relatively early to be prepared for the next day...
What do you like to spend your time with besides music?
Well I just tried to describe this. In my free time, which is relatively rare. I like to go cycling, or swimming, watch soccer, go out with friends or just read a book... nothing really spectacular...
What's the craziest thing that has ever happened on a tour?
I can still remember this one particular gig we played in Budapest Hungary: there were these three girls in the front row and all of a sudden one of them touched our guitar players balls and they all were screaming: do you want to fuck us? ( will du knippe ? )this was really funny but crazy at the same time, since we never really had any experience with these things before. Another strange thing was a bet, we had at this gas station in Belgium. Me and our bass player found ourselves running around it naked because the others betted that we wouldn't do it... Well the things you have to do for money, I guess...
You're heading off to live on a deserted island for a couple of years with your portable entertainment system... Which albums, movies or books would you bring? (Max. 3 of each)
Movies: Star wars IV - VI, Lord of the rings, Lynch Lost highway ( after three years one should finally get the meaning, don't you think?)
Albums: Maiden, seventh son. Neurosis, enemy of the sun. Opeth, damnation.
Books: never ending story, sth from Nietzsche, and a complete book about history.
What is your favourite joke?
There are so many... Maybe this one: What's the reason that males don't get cellulitis?
Because it's ugly....
Can you tell us about any future plans for you and your band?
Of course we want to become filthy rich so we never have to work again. Oh and I'd really like to have action figures like the ones one can buy from Metallica and Kiss etc. this would be sooooo cool!
Until we reach this, we'll be on tour with Kataklysm in January, play a lot of shows on our own and do everything to tour Japan one day.
I almost forgot: We'll be shooting a video in December. Maybe it'll be shown on a TV channel of your choice...
Thanks for answering these questions. Now you are free to write a few lines to our readers.
Thanks for your interest. Hope to see you guys on one of our shows near you. Take care and watch out for our new album "VULCANUS"!
Added by Steen - 12/3/2006
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