Dew Scented
Date: 3 June 2013
MG: Great to meet you.
Leif: Likewise, Seb! Really nice to meet you too…
MG: Dew Scented have been in existence for over 20 years, can you give us a very brief history of the current band, and what keeps Dew Scented going and motivates you?
Leif: We have been around since 1992 in different line-up shapes but pretty much intact in terms of style and approach. The current line-up got together as of 2011 and we have done the latest album 'Icarus' together as well as the brand new release 'Insurgent'. What motivates us? Well, the fact that we enjoy the music we play and that we try to always make steps forwards and become better at what we do! Ri9ght now things feel great with the band and we are super motivated to move forwards…
MG: Your new album is released soon how excited are you and what can we expect from 'Insurgent'?
Leif: Well, it’s not really a full new album, just to make that clear right away. 'Insurgent' is some sort of special anniversary release (for the 20th year of the band’s activities…) including a few new tracks, live recordings, cover songs and bonus material of the last two album sessions, in a limited and fairly prized Digipak format. We decided to let the music do the talking…ha ha. There are 3 brand new recordings from early 2013 on 'Insurgent': The two new own songs 'Confront Entropy' and 'Guided By The Dead Light' and the Incubus cover version 'Serpent Temptation'. We decided to use this opportunity and show some of the new song material ideas we have been working on since we released 'Icarus', basically to build a bridge between the last and the next full studio album release. And instead of leaving it as an EP (like the 10” is), we decided to beef up the CD and Digital Download format by a good amount of extra tracks.
MG: Personal favourites on 'Insurgent'?
Leif: I would probably have to say the two new own songs “Confronting Entropy” and “Guided by The Dead Light”. Those are a good amount of fun writing for and I look forward to playing them live for the first time on the upcoming shows we are doing. Both songs also show an interesting and little different touch to Dew-Scented and hopefully whet the appetite for the next new studio album sessions both for us as musician as well as for the listeners!
MG: I loved 'Icarus' and was lucky enough to review it for the magazine, would you say it was one off your strongest albums?
Leif: Yeah, I would like to agree. The songs on 'Icarus' really kicked my own ass as well when we were working on the album! It was a well-needed move also because the band was going through a tough time before and we had just assembled a brand new line-up.
My friend Marvin, who wrote all of 'Icarus' did awesome with that album and I certainly think it stayed true to the Dew-Scented style. And yes, the songs luckily translated well into our live-set for shows and I would probably like to say that it’s one of our strongest 3 albums ever. But of course the test of time will have to show the rest and it’s ultimately also not fully up to us to decide how a certain album gets received and appreciated in the end. All I can say tis that I am personally very happy with it and super proud that we have managed to keep moving forwards as a band.
MG: Are their plans for a big tour in support of the album?
Leif: Well, we just did a full European tour supporting Testament and have festival dates coming up next. Unfortunately that last run of shows didn’t make it to the UK, which is why you are probably asking. We last came over in early 2011 so it’s about time we return, but at this stage there are no offers on the table that would allow us to fairly come over and play, so we will have to wait and see what happens. We always had a good time playing in the UK; so hopefully it won’t mean waiting too long anymore…
MG: Any Festivals planned for the summer?
Leif: Yes, we are doing a handful but mainly in Germany though. We are especially looking forward to playing Wacken Open Air in early August, as that’s the world’s biggest pure Metal festival. We have played there 3 times before and always had a killer weekend, so we look forward to this year’s event again!
MM: Plans for the rest of the year?
Leif: More shows and working on new material for the next studio album recordings. We have a good creative run right now and are already collecting a ton of great ideas, so it might be soon for us to actually get started with a next album to follow up 'Icarus' with.
MG: Last year was your 20 year anniversary , and you are still going strong. How do you feel the current thrash scene is?
Leif: Oh, it’s pretty interesting again, as there is a new wave of really good bands coming up in these last years and also it seems that the audiences are getting younger again. Bands like Warbringer, Vektor, Havok, Angelus Apatrida and many more are coming up with great quality releases and some of the established and pioneering names of the scene like testament, Kreator or Overkill have also recently released really strong new albums, so it never slows down. I think the scene is doing well right now and it’s good to see that Thrash Metal has outlived so many trends and fashions. This style of music seems to be getting the right level of respect again, so I am surely not gonna complain ad we have all gone through a lot harder times than right now…
MG: the German Metal scene has always had a great Metal following why do you think that is?
Leif: I don’t know…I guess it’s because Germany has had a very active scene (bands and fans) since its very beginnings in the early 80’s and also great infrastructure with a huge amount of record labels, press, festivals, booking companies, fanclubs and so on. It almost seems that every style and sub-genre of Metal has had a reliable place and die-hard following in Germany. It also doesn’t hurt that Germany is located so centrally in Europe, so that every tour passes over here and we never have quiet seasons anymore. For us, growing up here and always having been an integral and active part of the local and national scene, we sometimes tend to forget that other countries have quite a tougher all-around situation and a much more difficult time to get heard or properly get launched as a band. I certainly appreciate the good backing Dew-Scented have always had over here, but also internationally. We certainly can’t complain too much and our longevity probably stresses how lucky we were…
MG: Which countries do you enjoy most playing?
Leif: Ah, I don’t really have preferences. There are good or bad shows, everywhere. I do like the challenges and exotic surprises though, so sometimes playing in areas or countries where we didn’t play before or not so regularly are an interesting move to make. I generally think there is support and an understanding for our music all over the globe, which is why we have also toured in several continents in the turn of the years.
MG: You recently played the Full Metal Cruise .. how did that go? And did any one get sea sick!!
Leif: I was actually expecting to be miserable and sea-sick myself, because usually boats and water aren’t my thing. But it went super well and smooth in the end of the day. The organization as extremely professional and because it was such a huge cruise, you sometimes didn’t even have the feeling to be somewhere out there on the open sea. Overall it felt like a nice holiday time with the band and we met a lot of fun people, so yeah it was a really good new experience for us!
MG: If I was new to Dew scented which tracks would you introduce me to first?
Leif: Not sure, probably something brand-new like 'Confronting Entropy' or 'Guided By The Dead Light' because that often feels like it best represents the “now” for me being in the band. But I guess some of the band’s current and all-time core songs, which are also solid part of our live-sets are 'Soul Poison', 'Cities Of The Dead', 'Turn To Ash' and then 'Storm Within' or also 'Sworn To Obey' from the latest studio album release 'Icarus'. I guess any of those tracks I mentioned will easily demonstrate what we are all about.
MG: Looking back on your career so far, what would you say has been the bands biggest highlight, and your personal one?
Leif: Having managed to be around after such a long time is definitely some type of highlight. I don’t really have single stand-out moments, but it’s a huge bag of memories for good and bad experiences that we made throughout the years, especially the ones on tour on when working on a new album. I think making friends and seeing cool new places are some of the best things of being active with a band!
MG: What else can we expect from Dew scented.. i.e: DVD?
Leif: Nah, not really into DVD’s. I think we can expect a next studio album, rather sooner than later because we are on a good run with the songwriting right now…
MG: Three words to sum up Dew Scented?
Leif: Deadly Thrash Metal!
MG: Finally anything you would like to say to your fans and our listeners?
Leif: Thanks for the reliable long term support for sure … we really appreciate that! And if you have missed out on the band so far or even for a while: Check out our latest album 'Icarus' as well as the new release 'Insurgent' in case you wanna catch up with what Dew-Scented is all about in 2013. And as always: See you on the road!
MG: Thanks!!!
Leif: You are very welcome! Thanks to you for the support and the time you gave us. for further news and updates on the band…keep it heavy!
Interview by: Seb Di Gatto