Maerzfeld interview, English version

Maerzfeld interview English translation 

Original article in Swedish: http://www.slavestate.se/?e=2513

Maerzfeld were founded by the Rammstein tribute band Stahlzeit in 2009. The idea came from a lyric that the frontman Heli Reißenweber had written. The rest of the band are: Matthias Sitzmann (Guitar), Mike Sitzmann (Guitar), Thilo Weber ( Keyboards), Bora Öksuz (Bass) and Michael Frischbier (Drums). The name for the band comes from the expression, March field. In the mediaeval times you sowed your seeds in March for the summer and the harvests. It can mean hope and new times but the Romans also used the expression when they gathered their troups to discuss new strategies. The Nazis were inspired by the Romans and Hitler’s architect Albert Speer started to build a gigantic Maerzfeld for their parades outside Nürnberg. The band have absolutely nothing to do with the extreme right or neo-nazis. They invited Slavestate’s Maria Bergman to their tour bus to discuss the unfortunate associations, the Rammstein label and a lot more before one of their shows in Berlin. Heli the vocalist looks strikingly like Till in Rammstein. He doesn’t just resemble him but he also sounds like him. Because of this it is not so surprising that they formed a Rammstein cover band, Stahlzeit in 2005.

-       We had played with other cover bands before that, who played things like Metallica, says Matthias the guitarist. We got the idea for a Rammstein tribute because Heli’s voice is so similar to Till’s and then we started working on a show.

Stahlzeit are Germany’s most successful Rammstein cover band because they don’t just look and sound like them but they have also managed to recreate their spectacular show. Isn’t that expensive and also a bit dangerous?

-       We bulit everything ourselves and hired professional pyrotechnicians, explains Heli. It is not so easy to buy a flamethrower. You can’t just walk in to a shop and ask for one. On stage we have to be very careful and know exactly where to stand. So no heavy drinking is allowed before a show. It is ok to play their music but we had to ask for permission for the stage show. We have not met them but they know about us and approve of us. It’s not neccesary  to copy everything they do. It is our interpretation and I draw the line at dying my hair blond and wear a fluffy pink jacket.

The dream of playing music started early. Heli learned to play the accordeon and the organ in school.The accordeon played a prominent role in one of Maerzfeld’s songs, “Hübschlerein.

 But it is Thilo the keyboard player that plays it in that one.  

They might use the instrument again in the future. 

Before they could make a living of their music they did all kinds of jobs. 

Bora the bassist for example was washing up dishes but the dream of playing music was always there. Kurt Cobain and bands like Metallica and Guns n’ Roses inspired him.

Mike the other guitarist who is Matthias’ son and of course a lot younger than the others was inspired by Swedish In Flames and naturally his father.

Isn’t it a bit strange to play in the same band like your dad?

-       I don’t have any problems at all playing with him. My father is also my best friend who made my life. I wanted to play guitar at an early age and I started with him.

-       At the beginning we had three other musicians, explains Heli. The drummer Thomas Buchberger still plays with Stahlzeit. He also has a normal job so he is not availbale all the time. We divide our time so the tribute shows are on weekends and Maerzfeld takes up the rest. Michael is a professional musicician.

-       So, I don’t have a job and more time, adds Michael.

-       It was the same with our first guitarist, Roland Hagen, explains Matthias. He had other jobs and wanted to move to Mannheim near Karlsruhe.  Our Bassist, Samir Elflein had problems with his health and that is why he had to leave.

They released their first self produced album, “Tief” under the band name Maerzfeld in November 2011. I couldn’t help but to ask if they knew about the Nazi associations with the name.

-       Of course we knew about it, starts Heli, but we wanted to show that at some point there must be an end to the past. That time is interesting but we have absolutely nothing to do with it! The expression Maerzfeld dates back to the mediaeval times and before that. It is philosophical and means that you always have to sow new seeds and work on. Keep on moving and then you can enjoy your harvest. We thought that we have had enough of bad concious and guilt feelings. Time to move on! Everyone here, don’t want that time to return and have nothing to do with the far right.

-       It’s a pity that the theme even comes up, adds Thilo the Keyboard player. That time is gone and so it shall stay!

-       Sometimes Rammstein also plays a little bit with imagery from that time but that is just because they want to be provocative and I don’t think they have anything to with the right extremists, says Matthias.

-       The name did help with some attention and on the first album we have a song called “Vaterland”, continues Heli. It is not about what you think but the opposite.We want people to listen and think. The people at our concerts are definitely not right-wing! Bora our bassist is from Turkey so we can’t be!

-       Yes, and also from old Yugoslavia over Bulgaria. A bit mixed, says Bora.

At this the rest of the band reacts surprised and say they didn’t know that.

-       You could have found out if you asked but you don’t care do you? Nazis! Adds Bora jokingly.

Their second album “Fremdkörper” was released in March. This time produced by Simon Michael (Subway to Sally) and Fabio Trentini.

-       We do everything together and at the last stage some experienced sound technicians and producers will arrange our ideas, explains Thilo.

-       It varies with what the producers do, says Matthias. When you work as intensely as we do with the music, you need an outsider towards the end who objectively can do the fine tuning.

Heli writes all the lyrics. Does he have a special message?

-       We want to hold a mirror in front of everyone, so they can reflect over  their lives. Not point a finger but just show them what’s going on. Like for example, “Muttertag” is about holy wars and religious fanatics and how many people get involved in them. It is not really a political message more about making people aware. I wrote “Letzte Sommer” because one of my friends died and I never had a chance to say goodbye. So there is personal stuff in my lyrics as well. I started to wonder about when you die, who is it that really mourns you? Who is your real true friend that will  miss you? I staged my own funeral in my mind and realised that the only one was your own mother.

-       Heli writes down everything that happens and what he experiences on paper and interprets it, says Matthias.

-       Somewhere you read that a child has been raped, continues Heli. That urges me to write about how sick humanity can be. The first album “Tief” is more personal and the second album “Fremdkörper” is not so much about my private life but about subjects that deserves to be brought up.  The title song “Fremdkörper” is a good example which is about people that don’t feel comfortable in their own bodies, like trans sexuals. It can also be about individuals that don’t feel like they fit in to society, a relationship or their work. When we worked with the song though it was just about a man who became a woman.

-       Everyone sometimes feels like a stranger in their environment, says Bora. All this with selfies for example is a way to stage your life for a bit  of attention. Just so everyone can see that you fit in. You are not really yourself though but an “Alien Body” (Fremdkörper). Some things we only do to show how “cool” we are.

I wondered if the band had ever thought about fitting in to an international market with making songs in english?

-       No, that’s not neccesary, says Heli.

-       We could do a song in Turkish, adds Bora.

-       Or Spanish, continues Heli. It is a magical language. I don’t speak it but I like the way it sounds.

-       French as well, adds Matthias.

-       Yes, like in “La Petite Mort”, says Heli. The little death that means orgasm in French. The song is actually about a rape that ends with death. You don’t think of that because it has such a positive and happy melody. Like I said I want people to listen properly and think.  I was thinking about my daughter and that she is that age when you fall in love quickly. What could happen if she met some false betrayer?

With their next album they want to shake off the Rammstein label.  They have already taken a big step away from that with “Fremdkörper”. When their first video, “Hübschlerein” came out there were many who thought they were copying the industrial giants because it reminded them a bit of Rammstein’s “Sonne”, with oily men amongst smoke and fire.

-       That was not on purpose, says Heli. They presented the idea for us and it fit in with the theme of the song. Rammstein have already done everything from porn videos to film themes. How is it possible to do something new? We are not trying to imitate them! My voice is similar to Till’s and I am born with the rolling R:s. We are from Oberfranken and this is our natural accent. Am I not allowd to sing with my usual pronounciation without being accused of copying Rammstein? Till has to force those R:s. I always sound like this!

-       Next album, continues Heli, will be more traditional Rock n’roll or maybe something completely different.

-       We have to invent something for ourselves, interrupts Bora.

-       What we are doing at the moment is gathering material and ideas, says Heli. We want to do our own thing. A good example of a band that do their own thing are Knorkator but we are not going to go their way and we won’t play any more Neue Deutsche Härte! That is an expression I really dislike!  How long is something called new? It’s been around for over 25 years but it’s still called “The New German Hardness”!

-       The thing is that none of us are in to NDH, explains Bora We don’t go home and listen to Rammstein. Mike he  likes In Flames. Me and Thilo we listen to old funk and R&B. Heli, well, he listens to Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) and Nazi-pop, he adds jokingly.

-       They all sound exactly the same, continues Heli, with heavy guitars and electronic rythms. It all started way before Rammstein with Die Krupps and Laibach. Have you heard of Goethe’s Erben? They invented the dark gothic scene. Everything was dark, bleak and about death. But we are not goth! All we want to do is to do our own thing and play German rock.

They continue with describing how their earlier ballads were quite deep and depressing but that they are very proud of them and will continue to make more of them since heavy rock bands make the best ballads, apart from AC/DC.

The band will concentrate on touring both with Maerzfeld and Stahlzeit, they will also support Eisbrecher next year  before they enter the studio to record their third album. Their latest “Fremdkörper” reached number one on the alternative Rock charts, so the future looks bright. They are not planning to release any more videos from this album but will wait until the next one. Something that have made the band stand out are their high budget videos. Matthias is happy that it shows how much money they have invested.  Making videos it’s not something they particularly enjoy. It’s a lot of waiting around just for a few seconds of film and it always seems to be cold. They would rather concentrate on making more music but it’s a good marketing tool.

So far it is Stahlzeit that pays for Maerzfeld but they hope that will change soon.

None of them have much time for a private life. They are all professional musicians and play for other bands. Heli also owns his own bar, Backstage in Kulmbach. When they have some time off , they just want to sleep and the only sport they can fit in is Ritter Sport chocolate. The sportiest is Heli because he eats the whole nut version of the square chocolate.

I ended with asking them about the future and if they will continue with music for the rest of their lives?

-       Yes as long as I can, answers Matthias.

-       It’s not that long for me, says Heli sadly because he is a bit older.

-       We will endure and in 10-15 years we can headline Wacken festival, says Michael. All the ancients like Maiden and Metallica will die out and then there will be no one to replace them apart from us.

-       To play in Sweden would be a dream. There are so many good bands from there and also Jacob Hellner Rammstein’s producer that we would really like to work with, finishes Heli.

Text & Photos: Maria Bergman