MARCH 14th 2024
SMORRAH EXCLUSIVE

Metaltitans very own, Metal Mom got the opportunity to chat with Marius and Daniel "Pumper" of Death Thrash Metallers SMORRAH. Forming in 2017, these heavy hitters mix powerful and groovy blast notes, with technical refinements. There is only one direction to go to learn more about Smorrah... Straight ahead !

Band Members:
Marius Wegener - Vocals
Daniel 'Pumper' Hartmann - Guitars
Christian 'Kraje' Krajewski - Bass
Raphael Swierczynski - Drums

MT: Tell us how you came up with the band name ?

Marius: Hey Metal Mom and hello Metal Titans! Thanks for the invitation! “Smorra” is the name of a demon that sits on people’s chests while they sleep. It’s a myth that has been told for generations in our area.

MT: How did all the members come to be in Smorrah ?

Pumper: Marius and i actually go way back, making music together since 2003 and Raphael also joined a former project for some time in 2007. We already knew Kraje at the time, who had also started making music. In 2011 I took a break from making music, because of other interests and hobbies, while Marius still was active in another band. Then in 2017 we got back together with drummer Robin, who was also with us from the very start in 2003. We wrote a couple of songs, but were still in need of a bass player. When we asked Kraje if he wanted to join, he was cool with it and we finally got the band started for real, also coming up with the name of the band at that point. Then Robin left the band for personal reasons in late 2020 and Raphael joined.

MT: Who originally formed the band and why ?

Pumper: Kraje, Marius, Robin and myself, because we wanted to make music again, play some shows and have fun.

MT: What year did the band start up, and was it easy to get started ?

Pumper: We started in 2017 and got going without much problems, as we already had a rehearsing space and all the equipment.

MT: Who writes the lyrics for the band and where does the inspiration come from ?

Marius: I write the lyrics for our songs and they are inspired by scary things and events. Some of them are real stories, others are pure fiction. They’re usually about death, murder, natural disasters or other human abnormalities. Always written without judgement and without glorifying the things described.

MT: How did you come up with the new album cover, and who designed it for you ?

Pumper: We wanted to depict our own version of the demon "Smorra" and how she tortures her victim. After Marius made a rough sketch, we got Timon Kokott to design the artwork for us.

MT: Your new album "Welcome To Your Nightmare" will be released Feb 23, 2024, what can people expect from this?

Marius: Pure freaking metal without any compromises. Written to be fun for people and a sound that never follow any trends.

MT: Was it easy from start to finished product ? Any issues ?

Marius: There were a few obstacles of a personal nature and of course world events that affected us all. Apart from these circumstances, there were no problems. We had fun with the recordings, the preparations and only interacted with people who were also really up for it.

MT: You have 9 tracks on the album, how do you decide how many to put on the album ?

Pumper: As we knew from the beginning of planning the album, that we also wanted to release on vinyl, we could only fit the 9 tracks we now got on the album.

MT: Do you have a favourite song among them, I know I always have a favourite.

Marius: My favourite song ist “Dead Snake Eyes” ‘cause it’s our newest song and one of the most thrashiest tracks on the album.

Tracks:
01. Welcome To Your Nightmare
02. Dead Snake Eyes
03. Age Of Decay
04. Killing Spree
05. Hope Dies Last
06. Buried Underneath
07. Death Awaits
08. Evil Betrayal
09. When The Tide Comes In

MT: Does everyone come up with their own drum blasts, guitar riffs, etc ?

Marius: Everybody brings his ideas to the rehearsal room and in the end we put it all together.

Just a few fun questions:

MT: What are your favourite bands?

Too many! Classic bands like METALLICA, PANTERA, BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER etc. probably influenced me the most.

MT: What makes a riff a riff?

Pumper: As long as you repeat it a couple of times, almost anything can be a riff, if you ask me. Now what makes a good riff, to me, is the rhythm. If a riff has a cool rhythm, it'll always make you want to move.

MT: Your favour death thrash metal bands?

Marius: SEPULTURA. I think they are the epitome of Death Thrash.

MT: Who was your influence in music?

Pumper: As a guitarist, over the years, i've been influenced by a lot of players from a variety of different styles. When i started playing at the age of eleven, i had a really cool guitar teacher who'd let me pick songs that i wanted to learn and once i had access to the internet, i would search for tabs to play along my favorite riffs from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Black Sabbath, Sepultura, Death, Crowbar and many others.

MT: What are you hoping for reaction wise for your new album ?

Marius: That people have fun with our album and of course recommend it to other people. That's all.

MT: When you create it, do you do it because it is what you enjoy, or for the fans ?

Marius: This is a very difficult question. If not the most difficult one I've had to answer so far. Of course, we recorded the album for ourselves and will always do so and not be guided by any fads or expectations. Nevertheless, we recorded it mainly for our loyal followers, who we call "Necrosouls". We did our best to honor their incredible support when recording this album. I think this is the best way to say thank you to our fans.

MT: Tell us something about yourselves, that I might have missed.

Pumper: Little easter egg: All bandmembers are cat owners, which is one of the reasons we put a cat on the album cover.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview with Metaltitans, we appreciate it. We also wish you much success with your new album "Welcome To Your Nightmare".

Pumper: Thank you Metal Mom and everyone reading this interview,for your time and interest ! Have good one and cheers!

Marius: Thank you!

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/smorrah
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/smorrahofficial
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/smorrah_official/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@SMORRAH