Author: Rok Klemše
Interview date: 10.08.2007
Cult German thrash metal outfit is back on stage after more than fifteen years. The third record, Hate, is right around the corner, Vendetta’s premiere on Slovenian soil at this year’s Metal Mania was more than great, and after their set frontman Mario kindly accepted our invitation to an interview, which Aleš and I did together.
RockLine: You’re back on stage after a long time, and your new record is coming out soon too. How does that feel, and how did you like being in Slovenia for the first time?
Mario: Playing on that stage was a real pleasure. Yesterday we looked around while driving to the hotel, and two days ago we checked out the venue. Unbelievable! We flew in, without any stage gear, without anything. And it was truly incredible, and we’re proud to be here.
RockLine: How did you get in touch with the organizers?
Mario: That was our manager Michael Hansen, who comes from Denmark but lives in Germany. He organized everything, we found out five, six weeks ago that we’re playing here and we said okay.
RockLine: More than fifteen years have passed since your last record, and now the “reunion” has finally happened…
Mario: Yeah, although only bassist Heiner is left, the rest of us are new. I came in after drummer Thomas… there he is (laughs). Then Daxx left, he still writes songs with us, but he didn’t want to be part of the tour. Frank joined last, so we’ve been playing together for two years, two and a half. We recorded the album a year and a half ago, but it took a while to find a label and everything needed for the release. And on August 17 the record finally comes out in Europe. Today we have it here especially for the occasion, a week before the official release.
RockLine: Hate is only your third album. Almost 20 years have passed since Brain Damage. Why did it take you so long to follow up?
Mario: In the early nineties the climate in Vendetta wasn’t favorable. Mickey, Samson and Daxx weren’t working, so there was a break. It started up again in 2000/2001, and at first we had problems with guitarists. Now we have just one, Frank, usually we have two. We had another Frank, and Daxx. Then I came along. We didn’t have a stable lineup, we kept changing and looking for members, and two years ago we finally settled on the lineup you saw today. It took so long it’s hard to believe. If you haven’t done anything for 15 years, it’s incredibly hard to get a decent deal. Michael helped us a ton, sending us out on tours with Kreator, Sodom, … and so slowly eased us back into the scene.
RockLine: Did you, as one of the “smaller” German thrash bands, ever feel like you were living in the shadow of Kreator, Sodom and Destruction?
Mario: No, not at all. I’ve only been in the band for three years, so I haven’t felt that. You have to realize that the previous guys stopped playing in 1989. What would have happened if they’d carried on? They quit, while Sodom have been going nonstop for 25 years. We toured with Sodom on Lords of Depravity, you probably know the DVD, and Tom said a line that they’d always been around. Vendetta wasn’t, we were on hiatus for 15 years. Okay, Destruction were on hiatus too, but after the first two records you didn’t hear a thing about Vendetta.
RockLine: Frank is an excellent guitarist, he covers a huge amount of space on his own. I think one guitarist is enough. Do you agree, or do you need two guitarists?
Mario: Yeah, yeah, we’d need two. Today after the second song I asked Frank and Heiner if they could hear everything, because Frank couldn’t hear himself on the other side of the stage. Frank plays for two, which is sadly why we can’t play more of the old songs, like Precious Existence. And today we didn’t even have our own gear on stage, everything was borrowed. Usually Frank’s amp blows your ears off, but it’s in Germany. They wanted a fucking 250 dollars to ship it from Germany to Slovenia. We used to have two guitarists, and we got lucky with Frank, since he’s as good at lead as he is at rhythm. But normally we’d need two, because the old songs are incomplete with one guitarist and sound like crap. Precious Existence is a perfect example.
RockLine: Is that why you only played four, five old songs?
Mario: Yeah, Brain Damage, War, On the Road, Go and Live, Stay and Die and Drugs&Corruption. It took us a few weeks to get used to them. In the studio there’s obviously no problem, Heiner plays guitar. Live it’s tough. Today I asked Frank what we’d do if he broke a string. He only had one guitar with him, so he’d need three, four minutes to swap it (laughs). He has another one back in Germany, so he just swaps it.
RockLine: You still sounded great. It was my first time hearing the new record and it sounds like you never stopped playing!
Mario: You already have the new record?
RockLine: Yeah, I do.
Mario: Well, when you listen to the CD, you’ll hear exactly what I’m talking about. Frank’s sound doesn’t sound like anything else! It doesn’t sound like any Marshall or whatever else. It’s a custom-built sound for Frank and Vendetta. It sounds dirty, deep, scary! It’s incredible! Listen to the CD and you’ll hear.
RockLine: So this is a fresh start for Vendetta. How does that feel, and what are your new plans?
Mario: We all have jobs and families. We’re playing Barcelona in October, and then we might do a short European tour, maybe Russia. Ask this guy (points at Michael) (laughs). We’ll see. We probably won’t sell as many records as we did twenty years ago.
RockLine: What’s the German thrash scene like? Are you all one big community with the other bands, like the Bay Area scene for example, where Exodus and Testament are one movement and good friends? Is it the same with the German thrash metal scene?
Mario: We’ve played festivals with Destruction and Kreator, and toured with Sodom. We played with Exodus in November in our hometown. We don’t talk much with Exodus, but Sodom, Bobby and Tom are totally regular guys, we spent a month together on a bus, so we became good buddies.
RockLine: Sodom just played Metalcamp a few weeks ago. They were filming the DVD Lords of Depravity Pt. 2 there, so I’ll be on the DVD (laughs).
Mario: Really? Awesome (laughs). We had a great time with them. Great people! In the booklet of the new CD we have a special thank-you to Sodom for that tour. They’re big personalities, but at the same time all three are completely down-to-earth. Nothing “Brain Damage”-like (laughs).
RockLine: If you had to pick one person or one band as your biggest influence, who would it be?
Mario: Ugh, tough question. As far as singing technique, vocals go, I’d say Geoff Tate or Dio, Kiske too. That’s not a voice I’d normally sing with, if I sing like that Heiner kicks my ass (laughs). I grew up on those vocals, Dio is 67 or something and he still sings incredibly. For Vendetta, I’d say Metallica. Best band of all time. Last year we played at Battle of Metal in Germany. We played before After Forever and they were amazing. Floor Jansen is incredible, the woman is two and a half meters tall, and gorgeous to boot! Beautiful (laughs). For male vocals it’s Tate and Dio for me, and for female it’s Floor Jansen.
RockLine: If you don’t know Epica, check them out too. Simone has a really excellent voice!
Mario: Really? I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know them. I’ll listen, thanks.
RockLine: So what’s the future for Vendetta? The new record is out in a week.
Mario: Yeah, it’s out next Friday. We’re already working on new songs, we’ve got two, three done. We’ll probably start recording next year.
RockLine: I’m really glad you’re back together. I miss the classic thrash bands. I’m happy we got to see you in Slovenia! To be honest, I didn’t know Vendetta that well before, but when I heard Go and Live… Stay and Die and Brain Damage, I was blown away.
Mario: Thanks, thank you so much! Sadly we don’t have the older records with us. The remasters just came out, with bonus tracks from the Sodom tour, a new booklet and so on. We didn’t know who would show up here, but we do this for fun, not for money. That’s exactly why our heads are clear and we do it with so much joy, we don’t think about money. Since we all have families, we each have to make time and adapt. For shows, the studio and rehearsals.
RockLine: One last thing – what’s your message to the Slovenian fans?
Mario: I hope we come back! Honestly, great festival, great people. Incredible, truly incredible! I’m usually in Slovenia at least two days every year, since we go sailing. I usually come with my family, we absolutely love Slovenia, and then Croatia. Last time I was in Portorož. I’ve been coming here for the last seven years, I’ve been here at least ten times. I don’t even want to go to other countries, we like it here that much. I want to play here too! Incredible country, people, and you two as well!
RockLine: Thank you so much!
Mario: Thank you both!
Photo Gallery
