1.Who are the band members(little information about them):
Ok, first there is our singer, his name is Daniel Funke. He came to the band in spring 1998 and is now a fixed band member. We are very happy that he can put strange, but always good influence to our songs. Andreas Fanter is a guitarist, he has very good ideas and writes most parts of our songs. He also sings most of the 'clean' vocals, some keyboards and some shouts. Then there is our drummer, Yann F?, who is the owner of our band room. We are proud of this room, we made it look very nice. The fourth member is me, I play guitars (and bass on our recordings). But I don't like to tell more about me, others should do that :)

2.How did you got your name and does it have some secret meaning(those it symbols something):
I think getting a name was one of the most difficult things in our band history. We had about 4 or 5 names before 'Dark Before Dawn' because we always thought the names would not be good enough... But one day we needed a fixed name for a concert and out ex-guitarist saw a film one night where 'dark before dawn' was written on the screen, and so we decided to take this name. It has no special meaning, we only think that it sounds nice. It is only a name, but it is always interesting if people search for the non-existing philosophy behind it...

3.What are your favorite groups:
Oh, I know so many bands, it would be unjust to make a 'chart list' of them. I'm sorry. Sometimes I also like only one or two songs of a band and think that these ones are really great. So I don't like to point out few bands, there are simply too many.

4.Which way of metal music do you play:
Our metal style could be called 'melodic death metal', but people say that we also have some black elements. I think it has a Swedish sound, but we also have many acoustic parts in it and some clean vocals. It is difficult to describe and we have no straight way, so that we change our style a bit for different songs. But I think fans of melodic death could like it. Who wants to hear examples should be free to enter our homepage at http://metal-online.de/dbd

5.Albums and demos that you made:
We are an underground band, we exist for 3 years and have now released our first demo-tape (45 min). We got nice feedback on it and we are now working on our next one. So we are very excited what the future will bring...

6.Favorite song that you made and why:
This question is impossible to answer. If you have a band it would be strange if you would not like all of your songs. You kick songs you don't like and in my opinion this is normal. I like all our songs in a special way. Every song has elements that I like special.

7.What do you think about German underground metal and commercial scene(name some of your favorite songs):
There are very good bands in the German underground scene but also in the commercial scene. A big problem is that most people think that underground bands can not be good because otherwise they would have a deal. That is not true. I think there are not few commercial bands who get there ideas out of the underground. On the other hand it would be wrong to say that there are no good musicians in the commercial scene. And the word 'commercial' is also strange. Many bands are called 'commercial' when they get a deal. But in my opinion that is jealousy. There are nearly no musicians who really earn much money with their work (making music). That is often a dream. If a band gets a good deal, people should be happy for them. To tell something about the German scene itself: I suppose the German scene is a big one in comparison with other countries. There are many zines here and you can buy metal records in nearly every record shop. People from other countries told me that they would be happy if they had such a metal scene in their country.

8.Do you think that metal have future or other words is metal dying or progressing:
I think that metal is more alive than every time in history. Today most people do not look strange anymore when metal fans play their music. It gets more and more acceptance in the publicity and I think that is good. If somebody says that metal is progressing, this person is doing promotion for the death of metal.

9.Do you think that metal deserves more attention of media or that it should stay totally underground:
There could be a little more transmissions for metal in radio or on tv. But to get more attention of media, music has to be a kind of 'easy listening'. Metal has more complex structures so metal songs cannot get to the Top10 or anything else. And that is good because the media today has such a big influence to people that it is like a dictatorship what people have to hear. Metal fans will never support such systems.

10.How many concerts did you have until now and what is the best concert that you had:
Until now we had only 3 concerts in cause of several line-up problems. The best concert we had was in 1996 when we played at a newcomer-festival and most visitors (600) voted for us so that we won the 1st price.

11.Do you whish to come to Yugoslavia and play on some concert:
We would like to play in every country if we had the possibility. But that is a problem of money (and time). We are underground today, so we don't have so many possibilities to go on tour. We'll see what the future brings.

12.Do you have some musician idol:
No.

My address is:
Heiko Lohmann
Zechenplatz 2
45527 Hattingen
Germany
If any readers of your zine want to get our tape, it costs $6 incl. postage/packing.
http://www.mirabilis.com

ICQ # 15674174

Emotions that could not stay
With my obvious searching thoughts
I try to descent in my gloomy past
Obtuse thinking odious creatures
Want to obstruct in every occasion
My disharmony life I can't remember
With hate in my soul I will surrender
With mortal tears of pain I will cry
Seeking my past in the blackened sky
It seems like all the obsequies of my friends
Came back in my mind telling stories of life
Yearning for the strength of the beings behind
Aeons of fighting and striking for sight
Knowing my past is what I will try
Thinking as far as ravens can fly
To lascivious gods for might I pray
Losing emotions that could not stay