IN BLACKEST VELVET – Interview with Tobias Bruchmann (Bass)

Hi Tobias! Let´s start immediately. Your 6 track album „InSuiSight“ was just released. How have the reactions of your fans as well as from magazines been?

The reactions have been amazing. This is a bit surprising to us. Till present we have got about 60 reviews from Germany and about 30 from abroad. Most reviews were very good as said and we might give so many interviews as never before. Especially we are glad about those reviews that say “InSuiSight” sounds independent. Just this predicate is important for a death metal band in the overrunning scene and we hope that also the labels thereby become interested in our tapes.

Tell me, where are you from, who are you and how, when and where did the story of IN BLACKEST VELVET begin? How did you end up starting a metal band?

We come from four different cities of Nordrhein Westphalia/Germany.

Our singer Christian lives in Dinslaken, Pepe our rhythm guitarist in Rheinhausen, Raf our drummer in Dortmund and Michael on the guitar as well as I on the bass guitar and backing vocals come from Voerde.

Because we had a high wear in musicians in the course of the time, all recordings have occurred with a different line-up. To pursue all line-up and occupation changes, is quite complicated, therefore, I appeal only to the most important things now.

In 1996, Michael and I founded together with drummer Ralf Richter and our later singer Damian Hain on the guitar, as well as singer Björn Goosses the band FLAMES AWAIT. Björn left FLAMES AWAIT after a brief year, and Pepe joined us and took over the guitar and Damian the vocals. Then the band name changed into IN VELVET BLACKEST. I think, now all clearness is removed… 😉

Where did you record „InSuiSight“?

We recorded our album in Essen-Katernberg in the Riza Music studio, where up to now, no death metal stuff except the both GRIND INC albums and our album was recorded.

Who is responsible for the songwriting? Do you have a main songwriter in the band or do you work together as a group?

Michael is our main songwriter who writes the songs. The group dynamism comes in the rehearsal room, when we work together with the songs and when we try out ideas or changes.

Where do you take your influences from?

We all listen to different kinds of music, but metal is our best influence.

How does your music originate in detail? How do you begin, what comes first, what follows afterwards?

In form of a preproduction, Michael records his ideas at home. He distributes the song to us, so everybody can find out what it is all about before the rehearsals.

The song structure often serves as a scaffolding and inside the rehearsal room, we mostly work on small changes. The last thing is Christian´s turn, when he does the vocallines. Then a few parts will be shortened or extended, sometimes.

How did you end up using „IN BLACKEST VELVET“ for a band name? Which meaning does it have for you personally?

Sometime, Michael came up with the idea. As far as I know, he took it up from any songbook. We looked for a name, being not typically for genre sounds, that immediately everybody knows which music we play. Above all, because of the drawer thinking, many people do not count on this kind of music which we do. The name sounds nice and this was also important to us. A personal meaning is rather less behind our name. As said, we did not want to have a clichée name. So we had to call attention to ourselves through our name.

Unfortunately, I do not see any concerts in your list. Isn´t there planned anything?

Unfortunately, nothing has been planned so far. Nevertheless, we look for appearance possibilities. Bookers and organizers please contact: Contact@InBlackestVelvet.de Each person who wants to have the pleasure to play a concert with us, should feel appealed and get in contact with us. We are hungry to get on stage finally after more than 3,5 years.

What would you say: Which bands were your best influences?

Ten years ago, these were primarily bands from the Death Metal a scene, most came from Sweden, but also bands like PARADISE LOST or CARCASS. Today we almost listen to as good as everything, above all, what is made with good bangs.

You unite a few metal styles in your music. When I listen to your album, I hear death metal/metalcore mixed up with gothic. How would you define your music style?

Modern fashionable and independent melodic death metal.

What are your aims with your music? Do you have any message for your fans?

We play the music that we like most and we want to take out the best of our songs. We hope that the listener likes this affectionately compiled piece of music and we therefore make happy our fan community. Maybe we can extend it with it.

There is not really a message in terms of message.

Why would you recommend your album?

Because we have got a lot of good reviews. So many that it cannot be so bad. In most cases, the reviewers said, we has certified independence. The interest in independence is important to us, and I think, it is also interesting for the buyer. In the overrunning market it is difficult to find bands which have their own style.

Nevertheless, the most important thing to us is the selfrealization and we think, if others like it, we can draw more attention to ourselves. Besides, we made a professional studio admission and we have a thick, coloured booklet with lyrics and many pictures to a favorable price.

Which subject does „InSuiSight“ include?

It is about kinds of the self-destruction. Better said, from the creeping suicide of the humanity in the most different variations, e.g., by wars, terror, drugs, liberalisation and poisoning of the environment and food.

We live in a world where you can see that in the medias every single day; the everyday insanity that happens round us.

When I listen to your songs, I like that they are different, detailled and aggressive. But nevertheless, the melody is not missing, there is no chaos. Which is your favourite song on your album?

This is difficult to say, and changes every now and then because this is dependent on mood. At the moment these are “SUICIDE SUN” and “WHOREHOUSE”. But as said, for me all songs on “InSuiSight” have their own charm.

How far do you want to go with IN BLACKEST VELVET? Is IN BLACKEST VELVET a fun band or anything serious? Finally some parts of the band play in different bands…

If you hold a band in the life for years, this is something more serious and you are not going to simply give it up. Of course, it is the fun that is the first point. None of us is dependent on the band, and we earn our money with our regular jobs, our drummer is a student respectively. If we had to live from the music, we would have starved fast or we would have put much more time and energy in the band.

To manage the thing generally, you would have to think about another music style with which you can earn money ;).

The sidelines are also of band character, in which none can live on the music, even if there would be a dream to come that everybody probably had sometimes. It is a great hobby and to every hobby also belongs a lot of work. We do all that for reason: the love for the music.

You expressly declare that IN VELVET BLACKEST is not a project, but a band consisting of five friends…

In the past it was often written about IN VELVET BLACKEST that it concerns a project. Probably because we were or are partially active in other bands.

Because we want the mags for example, not to write such stuff about us anymore, we expressed that subject in the band info.

What does your CD cover reflect?

The cover fits well to the music and we liked it right away. The artist calls it “Repellent Insight”. The “InSuiSight” wordplay, the cover title and the lyrics pull a red thread in itself.

Your words for the metalheads:

First of all, thank you very much for the chance to do an interview and for your support with Metalcentre.

Who has read up to here, is maybe interested in our CD's.

You can buy “InSuiSight” for the preferential price of 5 euros including postage and packaging.

We still have some “Edenflow” albums to offer. If you order both both CD's, you will get it for 10 euros, all included!

Also sometimes take a look at our homepage under www.InBlackestVelvet.de and www.myspace.com/InBlackestVelvet. There you get song samples, photos and a lot to read.

You can find complete songs on the following samplers:

Rebith of Metal No.3 “Lamb of Liberty”,

Eternity Magazine No.22 “Bastard Show”,

Ancient Dreams Vol.1 “Flames Await”.

So,

Support the Underground!

Thank you for the interview and the time you took for it!!