THE SORROW

Q	How did you guys meet and form The Sorrow?
A	We already knew each other before we founded the band three years ago. We all played in several bands before and played gigs together, when fate led us together. It would be to difficult to write down how things came to each other but we are sure happy it came to how it is right now.
Q	Who is the main songwriter or do you all take part?
A	The songs are written mainly by Andi and Mätze, but everyone contributes his part later on in the rehearsing room when we are working on details. When this happened the lyrics are mainly written by me and Andi.
Q	Your debut album in 2007 was very well received. What is your favourite The Sorrow song so far?
A	Yes, the response from media and listeners both were to a big percentage very positive. If I should pick my favourite song out of both records, I'd choose “My immortal guardian”, it has a real thrashy main riff and an epic sweden-styled chorus. I really like the lyrics and it's really fun to play.
Q	How would you say your latest album Origin Of The Storm differs from Blessings from a Blackened Sky?
A	In my opinion “Origin…” sounds way more mature. We tried not to build in the obligatory breakdown in every song and the songwriting is more varied, there can be much more different styles heard, from Thrash to Death to Black, we tried to be more timeless in some kind of way.
Q	How did the title ‘Origin Of The Storm’ come about?
A	We always had this idea in mind of a ship in distress. We didn't know in advance in which direction the lyrics on the album would go, but when we realized, that the lyrics are dealing with interpersonal issues, we thought that an image like this still would fit very well.
Q	What subject matter do you tackle on the new material?
A	It's a very loose concept dealing with the word 'storm' as a metaphor. The storm is a personal crisis, when people disappoint you in a very bad way or when beloved people pass away. “My immortal guardian” for example tells the story of a child, who was abandoned by his father. The kid believes that his father is some kind of superhero, that protects it in everything it does. But the truth is that he's only a poor coward. But there is also one song that is called “Anchor in the storm” that pays respect to all the people that stood beside us in stormy times.
Q	You collaborated with Caliban producer, Toni Meloni, once again. Describe the experience and what you’ve learned over the two recordings.
A	The most important thing that we learned is that you have to be as prepared as you can. You can't practice enough before hitting the studio. The process of learning will never be over though, even now when the album hasn't appeared already, we found some mistakes, that shouldn't be made the next time if possible. But Toni did a great job again and he justified our trust in him once more.
Q	You are touring with Sepultura next month. How cool!
A	Yep, and we are already excited as hell. Of course, Sepultura is not the band we listened to ten years ago anymore, but still a big player. And to tour with Andres Kisser, a guitarist that wrote some of the best riffs in metal history is a big honour for a small band like us. We are really looking forward to the shows in those countries we haven´t been already, such as Bulgaria and Romania, that will be really exciting.
Q	Who are your favourite bands?
A	My personal favourites at the moment are bands like Decapitated, Satyricon, Bloodbath, Katatonia and August Burns Red. Our common favourite bands are among a lot of others: Pantera, Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Amon Amarth, Soilwork, Judas Priest,…
Q	And favourites in Austria?
A	My favourite austrian band is without a doubt Belphegor, but my bandmates hate them to deathJ Try “In slumber” from Linz or “Before the fall” from Vienna, two great bands with big potential!
Q	I notice The Sorrow’s MySpace profile is going from strength to strength. How does it feel to be getting so many fans so quickly?
A	It really feels good to know that you can reach so many people in a short time and most importantly, that so many people give us amazing feedback. We really care about our listeners' opinion, so it really means a lot to us and we try to answer each one individually, but it's getting more difficult every day.
Q	And to end, which festival have you most enjoyed to date and why?
A	Wacken! Why? Because it's fuckin´ Wacken J. This village eats, drinks, breathes and shits metal for this week. It was awesome!
To check out more about The Sorrow, visit www.myspace.com/thesorrowmetal and www.thesorrow.net
I would like to thank Tobi for this interview. Keep It Loud!