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Peter:
- Hi, first off all I just want to congratulate you with “No
Escape”.
Jonas: Thanks a lot! We want to thank for the great review
and the possibility to give this interview!
Peter:
- Your first output was “First Blood” (2005). Are you
satisfied with “No Escape”?
Benjamin: Compared to the first CD, YES! To us, it’s
impossible to listen to “First Blood”; we were just horrible
on that record! “No Escape” turned out to be a really
listenable album, even for us!
(Both
laugh)
Peter:
- Hokum is a very special name… how did you get that name?
Jonas: I came up with the name; I read it in a book about
helicopters. Really, we did NOT name the band after the helicopter,
it just sounded cool, and at first I thought “Hokum” means
werewolf, no idea why. But then we found out the real meaning of
the word, which we think fits even better.
Peter:
- In what words would you describe the music and moods of Hokum
for someone that has not heard you yet?
Jonas: Hokum is like a giant creature to me. It tramples
down everything in its way, not caring about trends or fucking
mainstream. We don’t have a special “dark” or something mood,
we’re neither Satanists nor war enthusiastic; we’re just
musicians trying to go our way the best we can.
Benjamin:
For me it’s just ass-kicking metal with balls and cool solos.
(Both
laugh)
Peter:
- You triumphed over mainstream oriented bands at the Kulturalarm
Band Contest 2005 in Freising…
Tell us a little more about that, please?
Jonas: We participated at that contest without really
thinking that it’s possible to win at such a usually mainstream
influenced event. But it turned out that we were evidently the
best band on that evening. Surely the fastest and noisiest we were,
though.
(Laughs)
Benjamin:
The Kulturalarm Contest is a stage for young musicians in the area
of Freising, the opportunity to play in front of a bigger audience
than the usual concerts.
Peter:
- “No Escape” was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by
Yogi Lang, right?
Jonas: Yes, and we think he did a really great job! He is a
really experienced, talented and patient producer, who brings up a
lot of good ideas. It was a hard time recording this EP, but now
it’s even better to listen to the result, knowing how much heart
blood and sweat it contains.
Peter:
- How is the writing process in the band?
Benjamin: The main song writing work is done by Michael
Vogl, our lead guitarist. He just comes up with all these riffs
tabbed out and passes them on to us, then we modify it when it’s
necessary and after a long, long time rehearsing it without lyrics,
I write the fitting words. Most of the time I finish the lyrics
the night or even just a few hours before we perform it live for
the first time.
Peter:
- “No Escape” is both “catchy” and aggressive. What, in
your opinion, separates a good Thrash or Death Metal band from a
bad one?
Benjamin: Self irony. Maybe combined with the ability to
play instruments. It’s all about having fun in a weird,
aggressive way.
Jonas:
I have to agree, a band that just makes music “to get famous”
will always fail. Music has to come from the heart. Then it’s
good music. Something very important is also a wide musical
horizon. A healthy interest in “foreign” styles can positively
change your perspective on the music you’re making.
Peter:
- Do you feel that your sound will evolve in some different
direction, in the future, or you will still follow the same path?
Jonas: Our sound always varies. Every song has a different
soul and vibe, and this will hopefully always be this way. Of
course, we always will have that heavy foundation in our music:
Metal!
Peter:
- The music scene really changed between the 70's, 80's and 90's.
What would you say has been your strongest influence?
Jonas: We’re all born in the mid 80s; we can only judge
it retrospectively. But there has indeed been a huge development
in hard music during that time. Our first encounter with Heavy
Metal was around the millennium, shortly after that we founded our
band in 2000. In the beginning we covered a lot of Metallica, of
course.
Peter:
- Any plans to go on tour? If so, when and where?
Benjamin: Perhaps later this year, but there are no
concrete plans yet. But would be great, though.
Peter:
- Who designs your CD artwork and who has the final word on what
actually goes on the album cover?
Jonas: I did the artwork, but the whole band decided
whether it was ready and suitable or whether it had to be improved.
Peter:
- Let's speculate - you have been granted a free slot on a tour of
your own choice - who would be your ideal touring partners?
Benjamin: Sadly Pantera doesn’t exist anymore.
Jonas:
Due to the different musical interests and influences within the
band, everybody would choose a different band, I think. Peter, our
drummer, would probably favour Machine Head, our guitarist Voge
would kill to tour with Dream Theater and I, personally, would
love to support Atheist or Mastodon.
Benjamin:
Give me Maiden.
Peter:
- What are you doing besides Hokum, job wise as well as hobbies?
Benjamin: Jonas and I didn’t want to join the army, thus
we’re currently doing our civilian service instead. Peter is a
student and Voge is currently playing guitar all the time.
Jonas:
During our free time we do the same shit everybody at our age does:
partying, drinking, having fun etc. You know it.
Peter:
- What albums or bands do you believe have had the greatest impact
on the history of metal?
Benjamin: Metallica - "…and Justice for all", and
Slayer – "Reign in Blood".
Jonas:
I think it all started with Black Sabbath. They’re the masters.
The following bands added speed and brutality, there are really
too many bands that influenced the way of metal to name them.
“Metal” is a too general sentence to be able to root it to a
few bands.
Peter:
- Thank you very much for participating in this interview and
sharing this information and your thoughts with us - these last
lines are entirely for you…
Jonas: Again, we want to thank you for the opportunity to
share our thoughts. Thanks to the fans and supporters of metal.
You know who you are. You rock! Metalheads, unite!
Benjamin:
If we ever have a video shoot, I want the guy who plays Harald in
“In
China
they eat Dogs” to appear in it. Danish movies in general kick
ass!
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