Okay let’s get back to the interview with the brilliant melodic death metal band Burden Of Life. Here we go!

(Why don’t you check the interview PT.I at first if you didn’t try it yet?)

Me：Well, I’m curious about the history of the band and about current members. Could you tell me about it?

Kötti: Oh well, the unavoidable question :D The roots of Burden Of Life lie in a basement of our former guitar (later-on bass guitar) player in the summer of 2003. But the name was different, the people were different, so the history of Burden Of Life starts in December 2005 when we had already 80% of the current Line-Up and a proper place to rehearse. From then on it was just a usual underground band history. We played between 1 and 13 gigs a year, had to face small line-up changes and released a demo in 2007, our first album in 2008 and the EP in 2010. The next “real big thing” was getting our record deal with Twilight, through which we will release our second album.

Kötti: Our current members are Michael Schafberger on guitar,

Tobias Haimerl on keyboards,
 

Matthias Babl on drums,

Karl-Arnold Bodarwé on bass

and myself, Christian Kötterl, on guitar and vocals.

Kötti: We were all there from the beginning except for our bass player Karl who joined in fall 2008 shortly after the release of “Ashes Of Existence”. So this is our most stable line-up yet.

Me: Do you have any plan for a new full-length in the near future?

Kötti: Yes we do. We are now writing and rehearsing the songs for our second full-length and all I can say is that it will be a concept album and will feature eleven songs including an intro and an interlude. It will be recorded in April and we hope to release it in late 2012. So stay tuned and check our homepage (www.burdenoflife.de) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/burdenoflife) from time to time!

Me: Okay, this is the last question. Could you tell me what the aspiration of Burden Of Life for 2012 will be?

Kötti: Well apart from the aforementioned album recording and release we hope to get the chance to play some smaller festivals in summer (although we would not say no to the bigger ones as well) and of course concerts in general. Yeah, all these things that small aspiring bands wish for you know? :D And of course we hope that the people will like our new record when it’s out, but there is still some time until that happens.

Thank you so much!

Kötti: Thank YOU so much for your interest in underground metal and supporting Burden Of Life way over there in Japan. I am such a huge fan of the country and I hope to go there one day to bring you some awesome German Melodic Death Metal! THANKS!!!

I’m absolutely psyched that they told me they’ve already started preparing the new full-length and are trying to release it in this year, wow!

Okay, here’s the fabulous opener of their latest EP – In The Wake Of My Demise called “Your Ruin, My Relief” , so check it out!

TASTE OF EXTREME METAL – “Your Ruin, My Relief” by Burden Of Life

Your Ruin, My Relief
(Music & Lyrics by C. Kötterl)

Caging myself beyond all reason
Witnessing the madness within
I am prisoner and jail guard
I‘m virus and infected
Merging it all I am left a nervous wreck
Losing focus and losing track
Who‘s still preventing escape I cry
Finally perceiving my tears‘ reflection
Shattering the mirror
This impostor made of glass
I realize my foolishness
And how this all could ever last
Trading my love for mercy
My self-respect for surrender
Accepting my emotional suicide
Dead inside I crave for salvation
Crave for this hell to end
All that‘s left to do is to let you feel
We‘re done
Shattered is the mirror
This impostor made of glass
I realize my foolishness
And how this all could ever last
Turning my back on you
I return the hell you put me through
Now these days will end
The days you mauled my feeding hand
Your Ruin, My Relief!
Your Ruin, My Relief!
Release me now!
Turning my back on you
I return the hell you put me through
Now these days will end
The days you mauled my feeding hand

Me: I’m a newcomer a fan of Burden Of Life coz I knew the band only some months ago, and now am totally into your music especially for the latest RP “In The Wake Of My Demise” . I mean the EP is more greater than the last album within the strong sound production and the sense of momentum. How did you dedicate your efforts for making the great stuff?

Kötti: I am not 100% sure if I got the question right but I’ll try ;) First of all thank you for your kind words! We really appreciate that you like our music! I am guessing that you want to know about what we did differently in terms of recording and production compared to our last album and why it is a better release in virtually every aspect. Well, for the first time we went into a real studio with people who really knew what they were doing while we engineered our demo and our first album “Ashes Of Existence” on our own. That’s the reason why they sound like shit (demo) and shit with a little whipped cream (Ashes Of Existence) in comparison to the phenomenal sound on the EP. I also think the songs had gotten a lot better by the point we went into the studio for “In The Wake Of My Demise”. We are still very happy with the result, even almost one and a half year after its release.

Me: You got my point perfectly! So, I would love to know more details about the EP. Does it have any theme or concept for that?

Kötti: Well there is not a real concept behind the EP as a whole but if you like you could say our band’s “concept” is that the lyrics are always revolving around rather sad and depressing themes. We called the band “Burden Of Life” and not “Sunshine Of Life” for a reason ;) I think the things I sing about are issues that almost everyone can relate to in one way or another like broken love, feeling shut out and alone, losing your loved ones and things like that. These are the things that weigh on your life like a burden but we do not say there is no hope. The songs are meant to scream out your anger and get pissed off for a bit to feel relieved afterwards and maybe find a way to carry on.

Me: Could you introduce each song in the EP?

Kötti: Sure I can!

Your Ruin, My Relief
As an opening song on a release with only four tracks you need something that is as much in your face as possible. So I think this is the most brutal and straightforward song we did up to this point. Of course it still has beautiful melodies and even an acoustic interlude because we are not Cannibal Corpse (which I love by the way) but compared to our other songs it is quite relentless.

The lyrics talk about breaking up a relationship in which you did not feel respected and more like you were exploited and now you finally have the balls to say “Fuck off you abusive vulture! This is so over!”

Breathing The Soil
This is the oldest song on the EP and we played it live as early as fall 2008. It is the “pop-song” on the EP as you can hear in the very catchy chorus. I have always liked the idea of incorporating clean vocals into our music as I am a HUGE fan of vocal giants like Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and Rob Halford (Judas Priest). We already tried it on “The Endless March” on “Ashes Of Existence” but I think it worked a LOT better here.

We will keep on using clean vocals in the future whenever they fit the song, but don’t worry the screams, growls and shouts will stay :D Lyrically this song is about a nomad-type of guy who loves exploring the world and seeing everything with his own eyes and whenever he happens to come back home his yearning for freedom and adventure takes him back out on the road again.

Behold A Burning Soul
This songs seems to have struck a nerve with many people as it is quite popular on YouTube and was already covered by two people, which is a huge honor for us. I think it’s the most “doom metal” we will ever get :D It’s a slow and brooding song about being afraid to tell someone how you feel about them out of fear of rejection.
The string section at the end of the song are real instruments and not synthesized and we would love to do more of that in the future. We will see if this happens.

In The Wake Of My Demise
The title track and the last one we finished before we went into the studio. It is a song in the same vein as “Of Father And Son” on our first album. A straightforward Melodic Death Metal Double-bass tune.
The cover artwork was inspired by the song’s lyrics which talk about a man who feels unwanted by his environment and thinks about leaving. “In The Wake Of My Demise” means quite literally “after I am dead” and because he feels laughed at und not being loved he decides to wander off. I think most people have in felt like this at some point in their lives.

The interview PT.II will be out next week. I asked them about the band, about their next album, and some teaser from their EP will be appears on it. So, stay tuned! The EP – In The Wake Of My Demise is a real blast one!

Check it out on their official site:
www.burdenoflife.de
Facebook Burden Of Life:
http://www.facebook.com/burdenoflife