NAME: Warhammer
THEY ARE: Raw death/doom/thrash
FROM: North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
FOR FANS OF: Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Apokalyptic Raids
LATEST RELEASE: 'No Beast So Fierce' (Self-released)
SONGS TO CHECK OUT: "Total Maniac", "Warriors Of The Cross", "The Doom Messiah"
WHERE TO FIND THEM : www.MySpace.com/WarhammerDeathMetal

Warhammer are a band that I first came across back in the late 1990s, but it wasn't until some years later that I fully indulged myself in their unashamed Hellhammer worship. Back in 1994, when the band first started, it wasn't exactly considered cool to namedrop or openly admit you were influenced by Hellhammer but these German metalheads just wanted to pay homage to the legacy of the Swiss maniacs that was created by Tom G Warrior back in the early '80s.

Warhammer's music follows the same raw crude musical direction of Hellhammer and they have paid very close attention, not just to recreating the same vibe musically, but also visually, everything from the bands logo to the album artwork just screams HELLHAMMER!

The band released four albums from the mid-'90s until the early-2000s then disbanded before reforming some years later without an original member Frank Krynojewski.

Apparently the band disown their earlier material because it doesn't sound enough like Hellhammer! I love this bands stripped-down, straight-forward approach especially in these modern times of over-triggered and polished productions and I love the fact that the band stayed true to their original musical agenda. I sent some questions to the bands vocalist and a founding member Volker "Iron Lung" Frerich and here is what he had to say on the subject of reforming, the latest album and, of course, Hellhammer!

Hails Volker! Tell us about the band?

"We started 1994 under the name Triumph Of Death. Our drummer Rolf especially learned drumming for this dream of ours. Nevertheless, in the first years we were not constructive, just fucking around in the rehearsal room and playing cover songs. In 1997 we decided this had to change! We wrote some "serious" songs and entered the studio to record our only demo-tape 'Towards The Chapter Of Chaos'. It was very well-received within the metal scene, and one year later followed our debut album 'The Winter Of Our Discontent'. From that point on, we steadily released albums and played shows. In 2001 the band, but some years later I was the driving source for the re-union, together with our old drummer Rolf. We were completed by Christoph on bass and Kiview on guitar."

You guys are known for being total Hellhammer worshipping maniacs, did you think it would last for more than a few albums?

"Frank and I knew each other from the '80s, where we hung out together at a place called Mephisto in my home-town Gelsenkirchen. It was a metal pub, where all the guys from bands like Sodom, Kreator and Assassin hung out, sometimes even Mayhem came over! We shared a common passion for Hellhammer, and I guess, we were the ones, that adored them the most. When we met again in 1994 the idea of a band in similar vein began to form."

Your most recent album was unleashed by yourselves, why did you decide to go DIY?

"'No Beast So Fierce' was, with the exception of the song 'Total Maniac', written completely by Christoph, which I think is very impressive, considering the fact, that he is very young and joined Warhammer without expert knowledge of Hellhammer. I am very pleased with the result, I think, it's the best album we ever put out. We decided to release it ourselves, so we could have total control. The times with Grind Syndicate Media/Nuclear Blast were not bad times, but nevertheless we wanted to try it another way this time!"

There has been some criticism from people about your decision to reform, what is your response to those people and why wasn't Frank involved?

"I can only say to those people, 'listen without prejudice and then judge!' We have not lost our way, and we never will! The problems between me and Frank were the reason for the break-up, and it was/is serious. So to include him in the line-up was definitely not my intention!"

Apart from the obvious Hellhammer are there any other bands that play a big role in shaping the sound of Warhammer?

"No, not really. The band members listen to various sounds privately, but as far as the songwriting is concerned, it's basically just HELLHAMMER, that we focus on."