Interview for DEATHTHRASHER MAGAZINE by ARMANDO MUTILATOR : 

Hi Armando,

sorry that it took so long, but besides the work I hadn't much time
to care about band stuff last weeks.

I wrote the answers under your questions below.

Thanks again for your support and horns up!

Metallic greetings
Chris

-----------------------
www.ascension-net.de
www.ascension-music.com
-----------------------

DT: When the band was formed? (Current line - up).
A:
The band was originally founded in 1993 by a bunch of young Metalians who just wanted to play loud. After many years of changing lineup and advancing our sound to Melodic Death Metal with some progressive touch, the current lineup is:
Zeisi - guitar, voc
Chris - guitar, voc
Olli - bass
Martin - drums
If somebody wants to know the whole bio shit, just look at our
homepage www.ascension-music.com.

DT:
Talk me about your musical influences.
A:
Hm, that should be Death, newer Carcass, some Opeth mixed with classical and melodic guitar riffs.

DT:
Are you crazy for cocaine?.
A:
If the question is meant to be serious ;-): Nope, I can talk for the whole band if I say we don't take drugs. Except some beer (in Bavaria, the part of Germany we live in, this is staple food) and Jack Daniels Cola.

DT:
How does the writing on ASCENSION? How about lyrics?.
A:
The music is written about three quarters by Zeisi, the rest comes from me (but only the guitar riffs, bass and drums are done by Olli and Martin themselves, nobody tells them they should play a riff in this or that way), the lyrics are (until now) to 100% my job.

DT: Are you friends with HORST HRUBESCH or ROGER MILLA?.
A:
Hehe, even if we were that old, Hrubesch lives in Hamburg, 1000 km from us and Roger Milla is even more far away.
Could it possibly be that you are a soccer fan ;-)? Just my thought as I first read through your questions. But it's surely OK, I'm a big soccer fan, too.


DT:
What can you talk me about your work with "PELU" CARCAGNO?.
A:
I read on your site that it was (it says also R.I.P - sorry) a Peruvian musician. Perhaps you can tell me more...

DT:
What kind of things inspire you the most, when making a song?.
A:
Sometimes it's music I hear, sometimes a certain mood. I think, with Zeisi it's roughly the same.

DT:
ALYSSA MILANO or NATALIE PORTMAN?.
A:
Wow, that's a heavy question. I would prefer Alyssa Milano - yamyam.

DT:
Please describe your stage performance. What songs do you play on stage and do you play any cover songs?.
A:
We play a mixture of old and new songs, but more new ones. We have covered Carcass' "Heartwork" and At The Gates' "Blinded by Fear" for the last gigs. Perhaps we'll do something new for the next ones.

DT: What do you know about Peruvian Underground Scene?.
A:
I unfortunately only know Supremacía. I'll go through your webpage more often and get to know some more, I promise.  Perhaps you can recommend me a few...

DT:
What can you talk me about the band DECAY, and the "Downwards" (Demo 1995)?.
A:
We we're young, played a mixture of simple Metal and some Punk riffs with some nice gory and senseless lyrics. The most interesting track was a German song named "Besessen" (engl. "possessed") which was highly influenced by Pantera's "By demons be driven", but had a more gory and funny text. We recorded old-school with a 4-tracker.

DT:
Please what is your opinion about the old Heavy Metal?.
A:
I like the "Ozzy period" of Black Sabbath, but I can't do anything with NWOBHM for example. There are some nice songs, but it's not my direction. If it's got to be old, it's got to be Thrash like Kreator or old Slayer or Metallica records.

DT: Your 10 favorite albums from all the times?.
A:
Another brutal question, but I try:
Carcass - Heartwork
Opeth - Still Life
Death - Symbolic
Emperor - Prometheus
Anathema - The Silent Enigma
Cynic - Focus
Fear Factory - Demanufacture
Arch Enemy - Stigmata
Pavor - Furioso
Morbid Angel - Covenant


DT:
Do you know Metal bands from Argentina, like V8, HERMETICA, HORCAS, MALON or ALMA FUERTE?.
A:
No, I know a few Brasilian bands, but no Argentinian.

DT:
Do you prefer MACINTOSH or PC?.
A:
PC

DT:
Tell us about "Walking On The Psychopath" (Demo CD, 2001)?.
A:
The sound is not so good, because we hadn't a good equipment.  There are some nice songs on it, for example "Bloodred Letter Day" or "Black In Men" which also appear on our first full length album.  It's the first album we recorded via PC.

DT:
Tell me about the Underground Scene in your city.
A:
Except our drummer (he comes from Munich) we all come from small villages, but the next big town (Augsburg) has a cool Underground Metal scene which organises gigs. Take a look at www.lechmetal.de!  We have some very good bands like PROFANITY, FETUS CHRIST, STORM,  HUMAN DESTROYER and many more. All worth checking out.

DT: How long do you think ASCENSION will be around?... Do you think you could keep on playing this kind of music when your 50 of age or over?.
A:
Oh, I don't know. I think we'll play this sound as long as we have fun.

DT:
Do you know the Chilean Satanist DON FRANCISCO?.
A:
No, should I? We are not a religious or a political band.

DT:
Are you friends with KLAUS FISCHER?
A:
Ah, soccer-Armando is back ;-) No, but one of the best forwards Germany ever had.

DT:
Tell me about your last gig?.
A:
The last gig was before six months (we're writing songs for the news album at the moment, so that we don't play live very often).  We played with

DT:
Do you know CLAUDIO PIZARRO?.
A:
Surely, a great forward from my favorite club Bayern Munich which  I support since 1985.

DT:
Tell us about your "Ascension" (CD) 2003, thanks for the CD CHRIS.
A:
It is - like the demo before - selfrecorded and shows nearly all the  variety of songs we have. We're not so content with the drum sound anymore but it was the best possibilty at this time. The base trigger sounds too clinical and the snare is also triggered one because we couldn't adjust a cool sound for the acoustic one.

DT:
Do you listen to anything apart from Metal?.
A:
Not much, but sometimes classical guitar music.

DT:
Your future plans.
A:
We'll record the new album in this summer, and then....let's see.

DT:
Your last comment for DEATHTHRASHER readers?.
A:
First, thanks for this interview and your support, Armando!  Then check out our homepage at www.ascension-music.com and download  some songs. If you like it, we would be glad if you order a CD :-)!  Also check out our regional scene portal www.lechmetal.de for some  other great bands! Horns up!