Fess: First of all, let me congratulate you on the release of your new album. Wishing you all the best moving forward... So for those of our readers who don't have much information about MANDRAKE, would you please give us a short overview of the band's history?
Lutz: MANDRAKE was created in early 1997. We chose the name after seeing the movie "Flesh and Blood." In this movie a young princess eats a plant called mandrake. The plant gives her eternal youth and beauty. So it's a nice myth, and we decided to take this name for our band, which was formed after playing in a BOLT THROWER-like death metal band called SARCASTIC. The first lineup consisted of the guys from SARCASTIC. After the release of a demo tape called "Mandragora Offizialis" in 1997 and a debut album called "Forever" in 1999, and after playing some gigs, the band stopped being active in early 2001. After some sessions with the band in early 2002, I decided to leave. In the past, I had registered "Mandrake" as a trademark, so only I was allowed to use the band name. Just one month later I had a new lineup, which still exists to this day. In autumn 2002 we released a promo maxi called "Entwine" with the new lineup. Only two months later we got a deal with Greyfall, which is a sublabel of Prophecy Productions. In autumn 2003 we released our second album "Calm The Seas."
Fess: What is the role of mythology in your band (in lyrics, in music, in personal life)?
Lutz: Oh, that's a different angle. The mandrake plant also gives the people who eat it eternal love, besides eternal youth. That's the main idea behind why we took this name. All our lyrics are written about the differences in life and between the sexes. And the lyrics are a part of my personal life. I'm not very old, but in my life there have been many things that made me feel the sadness you hear in the songs and in the lyrics. It's about what you focus on in life. I don't give a damn about my day job and business stuff. The truth in life is the relationship between human beings.
Fess: What is the ultimate goal of your existence (as a metal band)?
Lutz: To reach many people with our music. Also, it's a great pleasure for us to have a record label that lets us do everything we want. It's very nice to get the money for recording your own songs.
Fess: So money isn't the last thing on your mind when it comes to music? Is there a commercial side to your band?
Lutz: Yes, I think so. It becomes commercial the moment you make the music available to fans. If you don't want to be commercial, you should never release a CD for anyone other than yourself. But for us it's important to reach many people with our music — not because of the money. But it's also a fact that we could never record our albums if there was no money. We're students without any money for such things. So money plays a role in everything you do.
Fess: Please tell us a bit about the new album. What is the spirit of the album like?
Lutz: We've just begun writing new songs for the next album. On our upcoming album we're trying to combine the old trademarks of MANDRAKE — like keys, female vocals, and melancholic guitar lines — with nu-metal grooves. We're also trying to reduce the male growl vocals and put more clean male vocals on the new songs.
Fess: Don't you think that might scare off some of your fans? Nu-metal is really popular right now, but it's not well-liked by the "old-school metal fans."
Lutz: No. It will never be the main style. We will never be a nu-metal band. We'll only use some grooves from that style. No more than that. When you play live, it's much cooler to have some groove parts.
Fess: What is your favorite MANDRAKE song? Why?
Lutz: I like "Entwine" very much. The lyrics are very cool. Also "Essential Trifles" and "Distant Shores" are great (both lyrics and music). "Essential Trifles" has a cool electronic style, and "Distant Shores" is really cool because of the doomy style with a sad guitar melody.
Fess: What is music for you — money or feelings?
Lutz: First of all, music is and should always be about feelings. For me, music is a way to express my feelings. I try to put my melancholic feelings into the songs of MANDRAKE. When I'm not feeling down, I can't write songs for MANDRAKE.
Fess: What do you think is the limit of using electronic effects in metal/rock music?
Lutz: Where is the end? I like using electronic effects, but rock music without real guitars and real instruments is not rock music. Electronics should always be a part of metal and rock music, but should never play the dominant role.
Fess: But "where is the end"? With the help of electronic amps, you can make a guitar sound like a violin. Where is the border between a "real guitar" and an "artificial guitar"?
Lutz: Oh, I don't know. For myself I can say that I don't use any guitar effects. I have no effects on my amp. I play a Rectifier Top from Mesa Boogie and a Mesa Boogie cab. It has a nice distortion and a warm clean channel. And that's it. Nothing more to add. When we record songs, we only put a little delay on the clean guitars. No pitch-shifting, no simulating or whatever, hehe.
Fess: And traditionally, your final words for the readers of our webzine…
Lutz: Please check out our new album "Calm The Seas" and visit us at www.mandrake.de. Stay open-minded! "Heavy Metal is the fucking law!" (Flo of Pyogenesis) Hail to the Ukrainian metal fans!!! Lutz and MANDRAKE.