Empire Extreme got to talk to the multi talented and industrial Germanic gods of Hanzel und Gretyl about all things new and old and everything evil in between.

EE: Satanik Germanik just released how’s the fan response been?

Vas: So far our solid fan base seem to love it and most reviews say it’s the most serious we’ve been with our music. Everyone has their personal opinion of us and everyone prefers one or the other certain style that we play. We try to cover all bases. But this CD is our most darkest and most serious. I do appreciate it when people keep an open mind and totally understand our journey down the burning path.

Kaizer Von Loopy: All of our albums deal with what i regard as the 3 basic food groups of metal or industrial, those are: futurism/sci-fi ,militarist/politics, and religion/ the occult… in our case often with tongue firmly planted in cheek! some of the past CD’s have dealt in these themes or aesthetic in varying degrees but the past 2 , Black Forest Metal and Satanik Germanik clearly lean heavy on the occult side! the response as always with us, excites some and can disappoint others as we shift gears which we often do! That being said the response has been favorable! i think sonically, this is our best produced and darkest CD to date!

EE: Was the recording and writing process any different from previous albums?

Vas: Yes. I demoed the majority of these songs back in 2015 during the cold winter months at home, sipping on a nice bottle of scotch. So when it came time to finally get these songs into Loopy’s Recording studio, they were mostly arranged and vocals done. He took what I did and added some new arrangements, along with magical drum programming and the Kaizer killer guitar riffs, while writing the remaining songs himself. We practically only met up in person in the studio several times per month instead of the usual day to day work. It went quite smoothly..

Kaizer Von Loopy: Advances in recording technology is really making collaboration easier as we can better avoid the horrors of occupying the same space in a creative setting! lol!! I took Vas’ demos and spent 5 months largely alone, 12 hours a day, programming, rewriting at times, composing and adding a fair amount of orchestration to her very raw tracks. Vas Kallas tends to get the best performances vocally on the first take so rather than have her rerecord her vocals, she was surprised that i instead used her demoed vocal takes she did right into her laptop with her consumer level dynamic mic. i had her rerecord only a chorus here or there into the expensive Neumann U87 condenser, but largely i used her home demo takes with a shit ton of processing of course whilst still maintaining the integrity of the take! i record my vocals with a beat up beer drenched wireless mic i use on stage. i hate setting up microphones it slows my workflow! i prefer to program as much as possible! conventional recording technique does not excite me, i love virtual EVERYTHING! i record at such low levels living in an apartment in the Bronx!

EE: Favorite song off the new album?

Vas: That’s tough to choose. I like then all!! Each of my favs have a deep meaning to me personally… either musically or lyrically….The most deeply felt are We Rise As Demons, Black Six Order, I am Bad luck, Sonnenkreuz’. I guess that’s most of the CD LOLOL!

Kaizer Von Loopy: the first song Golden Dämmerung and the last song Kinamreg Kinatas have been referred to as “Black Metal Yoga” music which i believe is a genre unto itself, one created by ME!!! however inadvertently. lol!  I’m also am partial to “Trinken Mit Der Kaizer (Der Bierz From Hell) for obvious reasons!

EE: Favorite song from full catalog of HUG?

Vas: It’s crazy to choose just one, since we have so many songs, so many years, so many styles and influences! But to be honest, I would say the most fav popular song to play live of all time which never leaves the set list is
“Third Reich From the Sun” ..
BUT, my most personal favs are: Pentagram Sky, 11:11, Trance Planet Vortex, 10th Circle… to name a few…

Kaizer Von Loopy: Number 1 In Deutshcland, Fukken Uber Death Party, Ich Bin Uber Alles, I’m Movin’ To Deutschland, Kaizerreich, I could go on but i will, Kaiser Von Shizer, and of course DAS BOOT!! and not because i wrote these and sing most of them but yeah because that…I like shit you can yell and drink to!! PERIOD!! …or do yoga to.

EE: This year marks the 25th anniversary of HUG, I’ve been a devoted fan since 1996. How’s it feel to hit that landmark?

Vas: Woooa! It makes me feel like “what just happened?” and how did it go by so fast? First off, thank you for being on that Long Ride with us since 1996 and still with us! I know we’ve evolved into many things…. and appreciate the open mindedness of yourself and anyone that understands the flow of our strangely evolving creativity! We’ve been though a lot of tours, moments, people, places, and drummers, leaving a trail of empty beer bottles and dirty lederhosen behind…..It’s kind of mind-blowing and I don’t like to think about it too much. Do I need to start writing my Bucket List? lol!

Kaizer Von Loopy: when we started i think the Rolling Stones were a 25 year old band, i honestly never thought we’d reach that milestone! i figured i woulda drank myself to death by now or Vas woulda broken her hip onstage!! maybe at the same time!

EE: Any chances of hearing on a new album or live any stuff from Transmissions or Ausgeflippt? Maybe even a heavier version of one of those songs?

VAS: As a matter of fact we are in the long, intricate process of trying to legally get those back. As they say “it’s complicated”. If all goes well, we should have some interesting product to report. I’ve always wanted to re-record those songs as well.. and maybe we will. It’s up to the Kaizer von Loopenstein! … what says you Kaizer???

Kaizer Von Loopy: I fully intend that we will rerelease those early tracks possibly rerecorded and do a dedicated tour for it at some point!! Satan willing….

EE: Vas- any chance of a cycle sluts from Hell reunion?

VAS: That would be a Hell no. But, if it was at all possible, it would certainly be a fun thing to do. But sometimes, it’s best to let the memories remain as is…

Kaizer Von Loopy: only if i can play cowbell!!

EE: If you could have any German band do a cover of HUG song, who would you want?

Vas: Rammstein must do “ I’m Moving to Deutschland” and “ Third Reich from the Sun” That would be both Hilarious and Intensely Hilarious!

Kaizer Von Loopy: i would really love for Roland Kaiser to cover Kaiser Von Shizer! then i can retire happily!! #lifegoals

EE: Kaizer Von Loopy- will we see a KyzrWölf album in the future?

Kaizer Von Loopy: ABSOLOOPY!! i released the full length album “REICHSTAR” by KyzrWölf independently in 2017 available only through my website www.kyzrwolf.com. I will be working towards a new KyzrWölf release for 2019!

EE: Any chance of the highly elusive Oz Faktor album ever seeing the light of day?

Vas: If we are able to get our old music back, hopefully Oz Faktor would be part of the package. Recorded in 1997-1999 I believe. It’s a time capsule of an era long gone.

Kaizer Von Loopy: We are looking into acquiring our early catalog and we are determined to get Oz Faktor released!! it’s a very important CD for us and the HuG fan as you can really hear the transition from the heavily electronic, analog synth and sample oriented 90’s era HuG morphing into the more aggressive metal unit we are now.

EE: Any plans for touring the US for Satanik Germanik?

Vas: You’re going to have to wait for it…We hope this will change in 2019. Instead we’re going to focus on more interesting products and more music.

Kaizer Von Loopy: right now, we are very focussed on taking the time to develop and deliver the kind of show and live experience we want to create that can include the full range of HuG era material from our inception as a band! of course there will be a tour for Satanik Germanik however! our sites are set on 2019! the last 10 years or more have been pretty hectic with touring and recording. we are looking forward to taking the time to refine our live performance. …and find a dog sitter!!

I have been a huge fan of HUG for many years now, they have always evolved their music while still having that same sound. I met them back in the day and still they are just as friendly now with their fans as they were back then. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Hanzel und Gretyl.

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Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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