interview with The Trollenberg Terror
What´s the name of your band? The Trollenberg Terror
What made you call the band "The Trollenberg Terror"? I read a review on an old movie called The Trollenberg Terror. It’s from the late 1950s and some people worship it kind of cultlike. Seen the movie once and it is quite okay, but that’s it. But I found the name spectacular. And we think the name does not tell you too much about the music we do. Which to us is important, too.
How was the band formed? At the beginning there were just Jörg and me. We had been in some other band before, but we split for different reasons and decided to go on with a different style of music and new bandmates. Or at least one other bandmate. We we’re pretty much into the idea of being a trio from the very beginning. That was in 2011. Did not take much time until we had Holger as our drummer and it fit perfectly well from our first time rehearsing together.
Can you tell about your band? Our style is kind of diverse. But we know exactly what we are doing. Well, most of the time we do know. Although we try to be as humourless as possible I think you need to like irony to really get what The Trollenberg Terror is all about since we implement all kinds of styles that we like into our music. Which sometimes sounds a bit absurd. But not to us. To us it is just natural after all. We are three different individuals with three completely different backgrounds and that reflects in our music. If you ask me it is all about riffs, riffs and more riffs, but I don’t think the others see it the same way. Haha…
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? We live in Berlin, but none of us is born here. Holger is on drums, Jörg on bass and me (Flo) on guitar. And each one of us does vocals as well. Holger is more the grunting and growling guy, Jörg is good at screaming and I do the rest. At the beginning we had some discussions whether we should have a vocalist or not. After we tried out some very very strange folks we decided not to go on searching but to split vocals between the three of us. I had singing experience before, so it came up naturally that I write the lyrics. But the rest just happens the way it happens when we play together and have a couple of beers. No big deal.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? No, not really, but I’ll try. From a guitar point of view we are pretty much influenced by Swedish heroes Entombed. I am pretty much into Entombed. Not just one record, but nearly everything they have done so far. It doesn’t really matter if it’s the early stuff with more Death Metal or even the Same Difference album. I just like their attitude, their guitars of course and they have never done the same record twice. I think that they are the foundation for our sound. The rest is Grind, Sludge, Doom, Alternative, Rock, Metal. None of us is really what you would call a metalhead. Holger has a huge Punk background, Jörg is – ehem – rather strange. You never know, what he likes or not. And I like nearly everything but for very different reasons. And that reflects in our music. Kicks ass (hopefully), very diverse, heavy and finally: We are not trying to imitate Entombed but their attitude. So we just do what we like and what is important, too, is that we just do downtuned stuff. Veeery important. The common tunings really suck, come on!
Where was your first gig? First gig was self-organized in Berlin in a club called Slaughterhouse. We found two bands in the internet to be headlining the show and hopefully motivate a few people to come. Worked out pretty good. That was with Voltron and Loipe. They share a rehearsing room in Berlin which we didn’t know in advance. The world is a pretty small planet, isn’t it? Good gig, good guys, hope to play with them again.
Where was the latest gig? In November 2013 at Villa Kuriosum in Berlin. Great location, great people, love to play there.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Songwriting is teamwork. I come up with the basic ideas or at least a riff most of the time. The rest is done in teams of two or all of us depending on who is available. Also happened that I was not available for rehearsing and when we met the week after, the other guys had written a Ska song. Anything is possible. Which sometimes is a bit annoying. Haha. Lyrics are my thing. Try to involve the others from time to time which depends on whether they have already kind of invented their own vocal rhythm for a song or not. If they have I think it’s a good thing to have the lyrics written as a team as well to keep the flow. But I think they do not really give a damn what the lyrics are all about. So they just let me do my thing and don’t care.
What made you call the band "The Trollenberg Terror"? I read a review on an old movie called The Trollenberg Terror. It’s from the late 1950s and some people worship it kind of cultlike. Seen the movie once and it is quite okay, but that’s it. But I found the name spectacular. And we think the name does not tell you too much about the music we do. Which to us is important, too.
How was the band formed? At the beginning there were just Jörg and me. We had been in some other band before, but we split for different reasons and decided to go on with a different style of music and new bandmates. Or at least one other bandmate. We we’re pretty much into the idea of being a trio from the very beginning. That was in 2011. Did not take much time until we had Holger as our drummer and it fit perfectly well from our first time rehearsing together.
Can you tell about your band? Our style is kind of diverse. But we know exactly what we are doing. Well, most of the time we do know. Although we try to be as humourless as possible I think you need to like irony to really get what The Trollenberg Terror is all about since we implement all kinds of styles that we like into our music. Which sometimes sounds a bit absurd. But not to us. To us it is just natural after all. We are three different individuals with three completely different backgrounds and that reflects in our music. If you ask me it is all about riffs, riffs and more riffs, but I don’t think the others see it the same way. Haha…
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? We live in Berlin, but none of us is born here. Holger is on drums, Jörg on bass and me (Flo) on guitar. And each one of us does vocals as well. Holger is more the grunting and growling guy, Jörg is good at screaming and I do the rest. At the beginning we had some discussions whether we should have a vocalist or not. After we tried out some very very strange folks we decided not to go on searching but to split vocals between the three of us. I had singing experience before, so it came up naturally that I write the lyrics. But the rest just happens the way it happens when we play together and have a couple of beers. No big deal.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? No, not really, but I’ll try. From a guitar point of view we are pretty much influenced by Swedish heroes Entombed. I am pretty much into Entombed. Not just one record, but nearly everything they have done so far. It doesn’t really matter if it’s the early stuff with more Death Metal or even the Same Difference album. I just like their attitude, their guitars of course and they have never done the same record twice. I think that they are the foundation for our sound. The rest is Grind, Sludge, Doom, Alternative, Rock, Metal. None of us is really what you would call a metalhead. Holger has a huge Punk background, Jörg is – ehem – rather strange. You never know, what he likes or not. And I like nearly everything but for very different reasons. And that reflects in our music. Kicks ass (hopefully), very diverse, heavy and finally: We are not trying to imitate Entombed but their attitude. So we just do what we like and what is important, too, is that we just do downtuned stuff. Veeery important. The common tunings really suck, come on!
Where was your first gig? First gig was self-organized in Berlin in a club called Slaughterhouse. We found two bands in the internet to be headlining the show and hopefully motivate a few people to come. Worked out pretty good. That was with Voltron and Loipe. They share a rehearsing room in Berlin which we didn’t know in advance. The world is a pretty small planet, isn’t it? Good gig, good guys, hope to play with them again.
Where was the latest gig? In November 2013 at Villa Kuriosum in Berlin. Great location, great people, love to play there.
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Songwriting is teamwork. I come up with the basic ideas or at least a riff most of the time. The rest is done in teams of two or all of us depending on who is available. Also happened that I was not available for rehearsing and when we met the week after, the other guys had written a Ska song. Anything is possible. Which sometimes is a bit annoying. Haha. Lyrics are my thing. Try to involve the others from time to time which depends on whether they have already kind of invented their own vocal rhythm for a song or not. If they have I think it’s a good thing to have the lyrics written as a team as well to keep the flow. But I think they do not really give a damn what the lyrics are all about. So they just let me do my thing and don’t care.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Holger. Without a shadow of a doubt.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are?
Good: We exist, we do shows, we record new stuff constantly.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are?
Good: We exist, we do shows, we record new stuff constantly.
Bad: Not having conquered the world by now. Not sure if we are really in ONE genre. Most people keep telling us we were sort of Grindcore but we do not think that fits that well. Part of it would be Grindcore of course but there is lots more. It’s like a smooth blend of Sludge-infused Death-Grind-Rock.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We didn’t pick that style. We’re just not capable of playing a different style. Whatever we try to come up with at the end it still sounds like us. The three of us. Lyricwise that is a bit complicated. I would say that about two thirds of our lyrics do have something like a lyrical content. Some of them are very personal, some socially critical, some just pissed offffff. And then there is this one third that doesn’t make any sense at all. I guess you have good days and you have bad days. That’s just it.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Only own material. We have tons of it. No need to do covers by now. And we are lazy bones.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We did two eps by now: “Orchid” and “Dahlia”. You can download them for free on bandcamp. And we have a minialbum called “We’ll be out of prison by midnight” to be released within the next weeks when mastering is finished. You can also purchase the stuff in physical form of course. Just drop us a line via facebook and we’ll send you a copy.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, “Endlife Crisis” is kind of a cartoon clip and then we have two clips where you can see us on stage at Slaugherhouse club in Berlin.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are old. Very old. We have been in the music business for ages. Each one of us. We started because we had no choice. If it’s in your blood, you just gotta do it I guess.
At what age did you start playing? Can’t speak for the others. I just have no idea. Cannot remember so I was very young at age probably.
What year was the band started? 2011
Best/worst gig you've played? We feel like every gig we get the chance to play is a success itself. So there are only good gigs.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Since our drummer is on vacation until April right now we do not have plans for the near future. Hopefully we will be back on stage in May 2014. Just check our facebook profile or our website where we’ll keep you informed.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Too many and still missed to many as well.
Is it always the same songs live? No. As I mentioned earlier we have tons of material. So we pick out our faves, try out, just see if the feedback is good and if not we try other songs.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? No. We are constantly touring. In Berlin. Hehe
How big crowds do you usually play for? Just small clubs, so it’s small crowds as well. Could be just 30 people, maybe 100. But we’d also be prepared to play in front of an audience of 10.000 people. Just book us!!!
What are the plans for the rest of the year? As long as our drummer is on vacation we will be mastering our minialbum and write new songs. When he returns we will rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, release the minialbum, play live as much as we can, and hopefully record our first full-length album.
Where do you usually play? Wherever someone wants us to play and as long as there are at least one or two guys being an audience.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? Beer, drugs. The usual stuff…
What are your goals with your music? Get free beer and free drugs of course. Seriously: Start a musical revolution. Conquer the world. No, seriously: Do we have any goals but to write more songs, play live and release our stuff? Don’t think so. It’s all just for the fun of it.
What would be your dreams for the band? Touring. Better: Touring as support for Entombed. At least that is MY dream.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Everything, really. Being a dogmatic person doesn’t help you that much in life. So how could it when listening to music, eh?
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We didn’t pick that style. We’re just not capable of playing a different style. Whatever we try to come up with at the end it still sounds like us. The three of us. Lyricwise that is a bit complicated. I would say that about two thirds of our lyrics do have something like a lyrical content. Some of them are very personal, some socially critical, some just pissed offffff. And then there is this one third that doesn’t make any sense at all. I guess you have good days and you have bad days. That’s just it.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Only own material. We have tons of it. No need to do covers by now. And we are lazy bones.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? We did two eps by now: “Orchid” and “Dahlia”. You can download them for free on bandcamp. And we have a minialbum called “We’ll be out of prison by midnight” to be released within the next weeks when mastering is finished. You can also purchase the stuff in physical form of course. Just drop us a line via facebook and we’ll send you a copy.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes, “Endlife Crisis” is kind of a cartoon clip and then we have two clips where you can see us on stage at Slaugherhouse club in Berlin.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are old. Very old. We have been in the music business for ages. Each one of us. We started because we had no choice. If it’s in your blood, you just gotta do it I guess.
At what age did you start playing? Can’t speak for the others. I just have no idea. Cannot remember so I was very young at age probably.
What year was the band started? 2011
Best/worst gig you've played? We feel like every gig we get the chance to play is a success itself. So there are only good gigs.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Since our drummer is on vacation until April right now we do not have plans for the near future. Hopefully we will be back on stage in May 2014. Just check our facebook profile or our website where we’ll keep you informed.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Too many and still missed to many as well.
Is it always the same songs live? No. As I mentioned earlier we have tons of material. So we pick out our faves, try out, just see if the feedback is good and if not we try other songs.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? No. We are constantly touring. In Berlin. Hehe
How big crowds do you usually play for? Just small clubs, so it’s small crowds as well. Could be just 30 people, maybe 100. But we’d also be prepared to play in front of an audience of 10.000 people. Just book us!!!
What are the plans for the rest of the year? As long as our drummer is on vacation we will be mastering our minialbum and write new songs. When he returns we will rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, release the minialbum, play live as much as we can, and hopefully record our first full-length album.
Where do you usually play? Wherever someone wants us to play and as long as there are at least one or two guys being an audience.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? Beer, drugs. The usual stuff…
What are your goals with your music? Get free beer and free drugs of course. Seriously: Start a musical revolution. Conquer the world. No, seriously: Do we have any goals but to write more songs, play live and release our stuff? Don’t think so. It’s all just for the fun of it.
What would be your dreams for the band? Touring. Better: Touring as support for Entombed. At least that is MY dream.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Everything, really. Being a dogmatic person doesn’t help you that much in life. So how could it when listening to music, eh?
Have you been part of any other projects? From time to time, yes.
Have you been in any other bands? All of us: Yes, too many to name them all.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?You Are A Battlestar and Tyranno Both to be released on our minialbum
Have you been in any other bands? All of us: Yes, too many to name them all.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment?You Are A Battlestar and Tyranno Both to be released on our minialbum