Few questions to Alexander Krull, creator of Atrocity.
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! Could you please introduce yourself and the band Atrocity without using the usual “Metal” labels?
Alexander Krull: Like a painter we are artists who want to express our emotions and feelings through our music and lyrics. For every new album we have a vision in mind, so we made a lot of different music in our career and were also breaking barriers of genres which is exciting, challenging and thrilling at the same time.
What is the link between the band’s name and the music you play?
Alexander: When we formed the band back in 1985 we first had a different name, but we changed it from Instigator to Atrocity as there was already a Punk with the same name. As we had a song called Eae Atrocitates Neronis in Latin (The Atrocities of Nero) we chose the english translation and called our band Atrocity which fits to the brutality of our music.
Okkult III, your twelfth album just being released. How do you feel about it? Do you already have some feedback?
Alexander: We have amazing feedbacks from fans and media! Really incredible, we feel really honored that Okkult III is getting such great responses!
How did you deal with the composition process for this album? Was there an evolution compared to the beginning of the band?
Alexander: Like mentioned before we have been doing a lot of variety in our music already with Atrocity, and having a huge history of our musical career. When we started our Okkult trilogy in 2013 it was really clear that we wanted to have a mix of brutal, epic and dark elements on the Okkult albums and yes, that’s fitting very well with our death metal roots! For Okkult III we had the goal to write the grand final of the trilogy with killer riffs and a monster production!
What inspires you to create your music? Same question for the lyrics?
Alexander: I was always interested in history, occult topics, and dark poetry. For Okkult III and the album trilogy we have a special lyrical concept about the dark side of human history, obscure stories and mysterious places. The occult world contains very different topics indeed. On Okkult III we look deep into the mental abysses of the serial killer Józef Cyppek from Szczecin, Poland, in the 1950’s (Cypka), experience the great conspiracy of the « Schwarze Reichswehr » after World War I (Born To Kill), dive into the world of modern ghost conjuring (Faces From Beyond) and into the occult machinations of the Vatican and the order of the Knights Templar (Bleeding For Blasphemy).
The album Okkult III follows the first two chapters of Okkult, how do you link the albums together?
Alexander: The occult lyrical concept, the dark atmosphere and the brutality of the music connects the three albums. But all of the three albums have their own identity and that was the goal. It would not make any sense to record three times the same album. Okkult I has the most symphonic and melodic parts, Okkult II contains splendid choirs as contrast to the heavy sound and Okkult III is for sure the most brutal album of the trilogy with tons of killer riffs!
The band has been alive since 1988 (or 1985 if we consider Instigator), what’s for you the secret of longevity?
Alexander: Yes, we formed Atrocity in 1985 and Instigator was only for some months our name. What keeps this band alive is the driving force inside to always have new ideas and new musical challenges in our career. Instead of repeating ourselves we want to create new works! Always with lots of passion and our lifeblood! Metal is my lifestyle.
Do you have plans for the band’s future? Whether it is about live shows, new material, or even anything else.
Alexander: Our Okkult III Release shows have been great on 70000 Tons of Metal! We will play some more festivals and planning our tours at the moment. We can’t wait to be back on the road again!
Are there any musicians or bands you would like to collaborate with? Whether it is for one song, an album…
Alexander: We have great guests on the new album like Robse (former Equilibrium), Elina from Leaves’ Eyes, Zoe of Cradle of Filth or Misstiq which we really enjoyed working with for the new material. In general I really like to cooperate with other artists and as producer at Mastersound Studios or as video director I work with a lot of other international artists which is awesome! Regarding your question, maybe we could get Tom Araya back for one song as guest on an Atrocity song – good idea? 🙂
Last question: with which bands would you love to tour with? I let you create a tour (or just a single show) with Atrocity as opener and three other bands!
Alexander: Wow, good question haha…. Laibach, Celtic Frost and Possessed!
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours!
Alexander: Thank you for the interview and to all fans for the fantastic support! Enjoy Okkult III and see you on tour soon!