No judgement from Crematory



To celebrate in february 2011 Crematory for 20 years Anniversary I had a chat with Markus Jüllich, the drummer of Crematory.

Crematory has been around for over ten years? How does it feel to stand the test of time so far?
First of all: in 2011 it will be 20 years.:-) It feels great. We didn't even expect that we'd reach this „age“ when we started. But time flies, when you're having fun. And we had and still have a lot of fun.

Any big tour upcoming? Who are the lucky acts who get to join you on stage?
We have just started our tour and its planning isn't finished yet. So I can't exactly tell you where we will be. But we'll be on several big festivals, as well as on a few smaller ones, and we will also play some club-shows. Just check our website from time to time to be up-to-date.

Providing we lived in a perfect world, what is the ultimate dream tour line up for Crematory with bands living or now defunct and why?
The perfect tour for me would be with bands like Depeche Mode, U2 or Billy Idol.
Even it would be a strange mix it would be an honoer for me because I love their music.

Is there any place you've toured before you'd like to return to specifically?
There are lots of places where I want to play again. But it wouldn't be fair just to name a few of them. And if I would name them all, it would take too much time and space...:-)

Your line-up has been steady since the beginning for the most part. What is your secret to being able to stand each other for so long?
The secret is quiet easy. We are like a family and love each other as we are. It is easy to stay together with the same people for years if you respect them and you stay cool even in situations you want to kill another. If you feel like being in a family it is easy to clear problems quick without difficulties.

When did each each individual in the band start enjoying metal and what was your first metal album?
As we grew up in the time metal started to get popular it was “normal” to get used to it. I can’t remember which was my first album but since then I have bought hundreds.

Being the metal oddball of the family myself, did friends and family find your appreciation for such music appealing or revolting?
Not really. Our families always have supported what we have done. When we got popular they were even proud of what we have reached. We are happy to have our families because they have given us the chance to do what we did and still do.

What made Crematory want to perform their particular style of gothic melo death metal? Any major influences you'd care to name?
As we always wanted to do something new and individual we didn’t really have any influences. We just put all our creativity into our project and at the end we had a sound that was new and special. We are very proud to be part of the evolution of music.

What were the inspirations for the latest album, Infinity?
INFINITY is the evolution of our previous album PRAY. The target-settings where harder, louder, darker and faster as before. That’s what we planned and finally did. Our inspiration was our creativity and our will to try new things and to step forward. INFINITY is a mix of all our ideas we had and contains catchy songs, as well as harder songs, German and English lyrics as well as of a cover of “dépêche Mode’s” BLACK CELEBRATION. It is pure CREMATORY sound!

Do any songs on Infinity have any particular meaning to the band they would care to share with the readers and fans?
Each song has a special meaning to us because they are all our babies. But as our singer Felix writes the lyrics he only knows the deeper meanings of them. He decides which words fit to the music.

Would you consider Infinity to be your heaviest album to date, or the most experimental, and why?
Both. We have always experimented new things on our albums and have evolved our sounds. We want to step forward and stretch our limits and borders. INFINITY is the best album we ever have recorded because it has a mix of several different sounds. To experiment and try out new things is the best way to satisfy your creativity.

Metal has obviously changed a lot in the past ten years. Care to discuss what you think the best and worst of it has come in 2010?
We do not judge any kind of music. Each sound has its authority to exist. Of course there are styles we do not like but there are also people who don’t like our sound. We are not god or a critic who would judge or tell our opinion about music and bands.

Are there any young/recent acts that you've grown fond of for the musical capabilities? Any acts you absolutely despise and why?
As I told you before we do not judge or tell our opinion.

Do you see the music industry as falling apart now the music is mostly digital and people can steal it from torrent sites or others like Limewire, therefore possibly robbing artists of their credibility and hard work they put some much time and money into?
The internet and the illegal download pages and programs have hurt the music-industry a lot. Those so called “fans” who download music illegal are something else but not fans. They steal money that belongs to the bands! Many more bands would be able to make their lives out of music if people would buy their records instead of downloading them illegal. At this point we need to thank our fans for their support. A band only gets as big as their fans allow it. And our fans have always supported us and have bought our records. Thanks to the best fans of the world!

Will Crematory ever go completely digital? What plans do you have against music piracy?
As we are no computer-cracks we do not have the knowledge of how we could protect our music against piracy. But we will always try to protect it and we will try everything to find those people who steal our music. Time is working for us.

Again, I want to thank you guys for taking the time to discuss these things with me and giving the fans a bit more depth about the new album, but before I got, one last random question for everyone in Crematory: Favorite method of taking over the world?
Hmmm… Never thought about it because we are on our way to get there.
In 2011 we will release our greatest hits CD and DVD which will contain all our hits, a lot of unreleased video-stuff, as well as several specials and surprises that will get us closer to taking over the world!
Band:
Interviewer: devilmetal747
May 4, 2010

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