LOVE.MIGHT.KILL
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 11th July 2011.
Love.Might.Kill is a new German/Italian metal band with a brand new album "Brace For Impact" just out. We reviewed and liked it, so the only thing left to do was interview 'em. Former Metalium/current Firewind drummer Michael Ehré was on hand with all the answers...
Hi Michael, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Michael: Thanks!
What's the history behind Love.Might.Kill? How did the band form?
Michael: I started the band a few years ago, when I was working on some demo-tracks. These tracks didn´t fit into the style of the bands I was playing in at that time. But I knew that these tunes were too strong to leave them on my computer so I decided to produce a whole album on my own.
The band members come from both Germany and Italy. Has that proved a problem for writing and recording?
Michael: No, that was absolutely no problem. In times of internet you can easily work on ideas even if you are living on the opposite sides of the planet.
Would this band exist without modern recording technology and the internet etc.?
Michael: That´s a good question...I think I would have started this band anyway as I wrote all the songs and produced them on my own but if I would have found such great musicians like our Italian singer Jan Manenti is another question. We didn´t have a huge budget to make this album so the modern recording technology helped a lot as we didn´t had to fly from Italy to Germany and back again to do the vocal-recordings.
Who were the early influences for you and the band as a whole?
Michael: My personal influences were bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Judas Priest or Dio. I think for the other guys in the band it´s nearly the same. I mean I also listen to heavier stuff like Slayer but in the end I would say that the "old" bands are my biggest influence.
Where did the band's name come from?
Michael: That was also my idea. I know that this name is kind of strange for a metal band but it works. I never expected so many people to like the name. Nowadays it´s hard to find a cool band name that is not in use by another, already existing band. I had some other names in mind but in the end we decided to use "Love.Might.Kill" as no other band on this planet used that before. I also like the idea that you can look at each word of the name separate and find a metaphoric way to describe the main ideals that our society nowadays is built on.
Did you know what sort of sound Love.Might.Kill was destined to have at the start, or did you simply let the sound develop organically?
Michael: I think it was a mixture. I had an idea how the band should sound but in the end our mixer Markus Teske brought that sound a few steps further. He did a really, really good job as he transported the sound of the mentioned "old" bands into the here and now. In a lot of reviews our sound was described as a "modern version of Whitesnake“. This is a big honour for us!
How would you describe your sound to somebody who hadn't heard you before?
Michael: To describe sounds is always hard. I would probably take the example of that "modern version of Whitesnake". But I think I would also mention bands like Judas Priest or Accept. But the most important thing is that we always use a lot of melodies in our songs.
Tell us about your excellent album "Brace For Impact", How is it performing so far in terms of feedback?
Michael: We got tons of excellent reviews so far. We didn´t expect that to be honest. I´ve played on a lot of albums but I never got this feedback. I haven´t found one bad review – not one! But in the end we have to see how much records we will sell as times are tough...
How do you go about writing your songs? Talk us through the construction of a typical track...
Michael: Sometimes the writing starts with a guitar-riff – sometimes with a vocal-melody. In my home studio I have tons of demos or just ideas like guitar-riffs. Sometimes a song develops very fast and sometimes you have an idea which seems to be cool but you have problems finding the right other parts for it.
Where do you look for your lyrical and musical writing ideas? Is there a theme or story running through this album?
Michael: No, it´s not a concept-album. The only thing that´s running through the album is this dark feeling that you can find in the songs. Though the lyrics often deal with the word "love" they are not love-songs. I´d like the listeners to read between the lines of our lyrics to get the ideas behind the words.
Do you do anything unusual or special in the studio to get your sound?
Michael: No, not at all ;-) As this was my very first production that I did completely on my own, I was happy to get any sound on the computer, hahaha...
Talk us through your existing touring/gigging plans...
Michael: We already played some shows but we´re planning to do more at the end of the year. Right now I´m in contact with some promoters for some possible November shows. We also hope to get a support-tour with a famous band. But this is not that easy...let´s see what happens ;-)
What have been the highlights and lowlights of your musical life so far?
Michael: Fortunately I haven't had any lowlights so far. Talking about the highlights there are so many...My personal first highlight was when I joined Metalium in 2001. That opened the door for my personal musical "career". Another big step was when I was asked to join the band of ex-Scorpions-guitarist Uli Jon Roth in 2005. I toured a lot all over the world and got a lot of good and helpful connections since then.
Any question you love being asked that I've missed? If so, what's the answer?
Michael: I´d like to mention that we´re working on our second video-clip for the song "Down to nowhere" at the moment. This song is different to our first video "Pretty Little Mess“ and shows the other, heavier side of the band.
What are you up to once you've finished answering these questions?
Michael: At the moment I´m sitting in a hotel room in Czech Republic and I´m waiting for tonight's show with Firewind ;-)
Anything else you would like to mention?
Michael: I´d like to thank everyone who supports Love.Might.Kill so far! I hope to see you all on tour someday!!!
Thanks again to Michael for his time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of Love.Might.Kill's new album "Brace For Impact" by clicking here.
Label: Massacre Records
Artist's website(s): Love.Might.Kill | MySpace | Facebook
