THE LAST WARNING

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LAST WARNING
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/lastwarning1
COUNTRY: Austria STYLE: Metal

WITH A NAME CHANGE; A NEW LABEL AND A NEW ALBUM YOU MUST BE HAPPY THAT THINGS ARE FINALLY MOVING AHEAD TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN NOW CONCENTRATE ON SUPPORTING YOUR NEW ALBUM AND NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE?

That’s very true. We still worked very hard on this production and we spend a lot of time in preparation of the release. We are very happy with the new material and also with our new label. It is very hard to get a deal with a label these days, because there are a lot of bands out there who are very good. But, as you say, now we are concentrating in promoting the Album and we are sure that people will love it.

HOPEFULLY IT WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN BUT IF YOU HAD TO CHANGE THE BAND’S NAME AGAIN WHAT WOULD YOU CALL IT?

Haha, that’s a good question. I never thought about that case. We changed our band name from “Last Warning” in “The Last Warning”, so it is just an adaption of the name. If it happens again I would propose “The Storm Warning” or something like that.

DID YOU GUYS SIGN TO A NEW LABEL BECAUSE YOUR PREVIOUS CONTRACT ENDED OR BECAUSE YOU WERE LOOKING FOR BETTER OPPORTUNITIES TO PROMOTE THE BAND?

We signed to “7 Hard” because we wanted to have a Metal Label behind us. Our old Label, Ton 4 Records; was very passive with our band, because they are more in mainstream music. So we looked for a better opportunity to promote the band worldwide. We feel really good now to have a “Metal Label” behind us.

AS MENTIONED THE BAND HAS RELEASED ITS THIRD ALBUM TITLED “ELEGANCE OF BLOODINESS” ON THE THIRD OF OCTOBER. DOES THE ALBUM TITLE HAVE A SPECIFIC MEANING OR WERE YOU JUST LOOKING FOR A TITLE THAT ACCOMPANIED THE MUSIC ON THE ALBUM REALLY WELL?

The Title “Elegance of Bloodiness” is a synonym for the statement we want to make with the Album. It means that we, the human race in general, are very innovative to create weapons, instruments of torture, or fear. Today it looks very elegant when we see the daily news full of war and other violent stuff.

But the title means also the individual person itself. We work more and more and try to make money out of everything until we are mental ill. In the lyrics we speak about this topics and how we can overcome it. So, “Elegance of Bloodiness” is a rough title, but with a positive attitude.

HOW LONG DID THE RECORDING PROCESS TAKE AND HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THE SONGS ON THIS ALBUM WITH THE SONGS ON YOUR PREVIOUS TWO RELEASES?

It’s not easy to say how long we needed to record the whole Album, because our Guitar player Roland has his own studio, so we recorded it in a lot of sessions. I think we did it in 6 month, part by part when every musician had the time to make his part in the studio.

Compared to the last album, the new songs are much more Metal and less Hardcore. My voice also goes more in the direction of Death Metal on this production, what was a big step forward for the sound of the band.

WHAT THEMES DOES THE BAND COVER LYRICALLY ON “ELEGANCE OF BLOODINESS”?

As I said before, the lyrics deal on the one hand with the “Bloodiness” of the human race in general, as you can hear in the song “We all are murderer”, and on the other hand very personal and individual “Bloodiness” in a psychological way. You can hear a lot of things in the lyrics about self-confidence and how to manage the darker days in live.

I want to make it a little bit more personal on this production because I believe that if we want to have a better world we should start with our own live and our own actions.

DO YOU FIND THAT AS TIME GOES ON YOU GROW AS MUSICIANS AND THAT YOU INCORPORATE MORE “MUSICAL INFLUENCES” INTO YOUR OWN MUSIC?

Oh yes, that’s for sure. When you get older, you see many things from other sides and you also find more and more bands you like to hear. Today, all musicians of “The Last Warning” hear a broad spectrum of music. I think that goes on with the personal experience and that we all are more open minded now, as ten years ago.

WHAT GEAR ARE YOU GUYS CURRENTLY USING TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FOR RECORDING AND PERFORMING LIVE?

I personally use a Shure SM58 Microphone, it is old but good. Our guitar players use Ibanez and ESP Guitars with Mesa Boogie and Peavy Amplifiers and our bass player use a Hughes & Kettner Bassbase 400 and Ampeg SVT PreAmp. Our drummer use Tama stuff.

WERE THERE ANY BIG CHALLENGES THAT THE BAND FACED DURING THE WRITING PROCESS OR IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE STILL LYING AHEAD WITH PROMOTING THE ALBUM AND THE BAND SO THAT YOU CAN PLAY BIGGER AND BETTER SHOWS?

One of the biggest challenges was to go on with the writing and recording process, because some band members fought with diseases during this year. A big challenge was also to find the right sound for the whole Album, because if you listen to modern productions the sound varies so much. So we wanted to make a modern production but also find a sound what is not too overmastered. The good thing now is that the label makes a lot of the promotional work, so we can concentrate in booking and playing shows.

THE BAND HAS PLAYED BIGGER SHOWS IN ASIA THAN IT HAS IN EUROPE; LOOKING BACK ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT THE BAND HAS RECEIVED MORE INTEREST OUTSIDE OF EUROPE THAN IT HAS AT HOME?

When we look back to our Asian Tour activities, I think we are very lucky that we got the chance to do this. We started the first Asia Tour with no expectations; we thought that we will play small club shows and smaller festivals. But when we arrived there, our Tour Manager told us that we have the opportunity to make a show on those big festivals. So I think it was our strong believing in the band and in the Tour that we received that interest outside of Europe. Or you can call it luck; it depends on your point of view…

THE BAND IS PLAYING A HOMETOWN GIG FOR YOUR CD LAUNCH OF “ELEGANCE OF BLOODINESS”. HOW OFTEN DO YOU STILL PERFORM HOMETOWN GIGS AND ARE THEY ALWAYS A HIGHLIGHT FOR THE BAND COMPARED TO OTHER LIVE SHOWS?

We still play not that often in our hometown, but I hope we will have more opportunities in the near future. This hometown gigs are always very special too us, because we are always sold out and the people come exclusive to see “us”. What I mean is that it is not like a festival where people come to see some bands and it’s nice that “The Last Warning” play also, at this shows people come to celebrate with us.

NOW THAT YOUR ALBUM IS OUT WHAT DOES THE BAND HAVE PLANNED FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR AND THE BEGINNING OF 2010?

We will play several shows in middle Europe to promote the Album as good as we can. We have a strong Album in our backpack and we definitely want to be on the road to play as many shows as we can, see new locations, meet new and old friends and bring our ideas of Metal to the masses.

ANY COMMENTS OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

I want to thank you for this interview and I hope that people in your country will have a look on “The Last Warning”. Maybe one day we will have the chance to play on a festival in South Africa. Thanx