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INTERVIEWS |
Interview de Peter Daub (Fils du Metal records).
A l'occasion de la sortie de l'album de Damocles, voici une interview de Peter
Daub, le créateur du label "Les Fils du Metal", un label allemand spécialisé dans
les rééditions en vinyle de groupes de Heavy Metal des années 80.
L'interview a été réalisée en anglais par Shreut en
Novembre 2008. Traduction à lire ICI...
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Hi Peter, can you talk a bit about you, how old are you, where do you come
from ? |
I am a quite normal and boring guy and in my main job I am the head librarian of
the little university here in black forest in Southern Germany. I am 39 years
old and I was born next to the French frontier in the county “Saarland” so this
is a reason maybe why I love to talk French and love French Metal. If you live
next to the frontier you are not always bilingual but you cannot avoid the mix
of the two cultures.
I have a family and my little daughter is the thing that changed my life and
robs my time for metal. I am really serious and correct through this. It is cool
to have a structure in life that you cannot and do not wanna change and to learn
each day to live better with it and to develop better logistics in a human 24
hours—day life. |
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When did you start listening to heavy metal and more precisely french metal ? |
I started listening to metal in 1984 and really got a die-hard metal fan. I
collected from the beginning, took part in releasing records, went to concerts
like a maniac in the 80’s ( more than 300 gigs) all over Germany and finally
released a fanzine called EPITAPH in 1990 if I remember correct. After two
issues my private life struck me and I sold my whole collection and due to
personal problems lost contact to the metal world. Back then I was not so deep
into French metal.
After I got my life sorted again in the mid 90’s I studied and led a regular
life until I got back into metal in 2001. By accident saw the Satan Jokers “Les
fils du metal” LP and bought it. Listened to it and I was back in metal again
with full force! I really freaked out again and spent each minute with it. It
was a second youth in the beginning, I felt like 18. Drove through the little
villages in France from record store to record store. Visited little concerts
with Killers and Mystery Blue, it was just the time all the bands re-united
again and a cool time to start again. |
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What are your favorites french bands ? |
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Uff. Hard question. VIXEN/JUMPER LACE, DAMOCLES, VULCAIN, VOODOO CHILD, HIGH
POWER, DEATH’S ANGELS, AXTON PRYTE, H-BOMB, SORTILEGE, STRATTSON to name a
dozen. |
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Classic question for non-french speakers: do you prefer Sortilege singing in
french or english ? |
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What a question: The best French metal has French lyrics...Ok, one exception:
STEEL ANGEL are the only band bringing the English lyrics so good that it is
also really a killer album. |
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How many french records do you own ? Were they hard to find ? |
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Hard to number: I actually got ALL 12” and LP stuff. In the 7”’s some important
ones missing which I stupidly traded/sold again sometimes to get other French
7”’s. Stop! One LP is missing: BLACK SUN “Try another world”. Get back to me if
you have it. It is musically seen nothing great but then I can finish the 12”
collection. But a number...? 200? 250? Amongst those 6 or 7 different versions of
SORTILEGE “Metamorphose” and strange stuff like that. 7”’s less than 100. Yes,
some items surely were hard to find. Think of ANTHRACITE’S “Plus precieux...” you
have to have a bit of luck in finding those and you have to keep your eyes open
24 hours a day or it is impossible to collect like this. It is hard work. |
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When and how did you decide to start your own label ? |
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The idea came when I found JUMPER LACE and Chris. “Beyond the romance” being the
last BIG album out of France. It was 1991 already and the good times were over
for metal. Chris is a great guy and first listening the CD it killed me cause it
is as unbelievable as the history of the band VIXEN/JUMPER LACE is. And I do not
like CDs, it was the first thing on CD that impressed me and that I will never
throw away although it is a CD. I mailed a lot with Chris, discovered the
unreleased album and the Vixen demos and so it started. First released the “The
last jump” CD then together with Alain Ricard from BRENNUS RECORDS. |
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Why LP and not CD's ? |
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I grew up with vinyls and believe it: CDs and especially digital music like
mp3’s are the worst things on this planet. Inventions of Satan ! Do not wanna
bore you therewith that vinyls actually sound better than CDs or digital music.
It is a fact.
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Obvious question, why such a name, les Fils du Metal ? |
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Because of SATAN JOKERS. “Les fils du metal” is a milestone and was the thing to
let me head off back in the world of heavy metal again. And it is a phrase
standing for metal in French or “Metal francais”. Surely a feeling you can
understand in France as “Les fils du metal”.
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How do you work, searching ex-members of bands and tape masters must not be
easy ... |
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Often it is by accident... A French collector friend (Frank) sent me some demos
and it was also the HOLSTER-demo. So I listened to Holster and I knew: I must
release this. To find the band contact is not so difficult if you know the
people in France like Laurent Ramadier who could help me to get in contact with
HOLSTER and DAMOCLES for example. |
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How many copies of each records do you release ? |
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300-500 copies. In moment everyone is releasing vinyl again so it is getting
harder. I mostly lost money in releasing the French stuff. The JUMPER LACE CD
was released in 1000 copies and sold bad. The VIXEN LP is sold out, HOLSTER I
still got enough copies, same for DEATH DEALER (from French speaking part of
Canada) |
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Why did you choose Vixen for 1st LP, how did you work with Chris Chambers ? |
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As I mentioned above. I first listened to the CD at a friend and I was caught.
Immediately found the contact to Chris Chambers and so it started... |
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Same question about Holster ? |
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The same for Holster. Got the demo from Frank and had to release it as vinyl:
Although it was very different to the work with VIXEN/JUMPER LACE. I really had
a personal connection to Chris. For HOLSTER or other stuff the bands are not so
much interested in it. They say “Yes, ok do it” but no passion, no interest for
it really. They do not care too much about it. |
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Same question for your brandnew release, the awesome Damocles from Caen ? |
DAMOCLES is somehow something new. I got back again to the point where I make
the release really for myself. Do not care if it sells or not honestly said. If
I am lucky enough I will have a zero/zero situation in anycase. I do it without
pressure of releasing something to sell and that was the success for
VIXEN-French Warriors, still the LP I am the most proud of musically seen and
regarding the whole work with band and my cover designer.
I got in contact with Damocles through Laurent Ramadier, thanks mate, without
him it would not have been possible. The DAMOCLES LP is something really special
cause there are only the two tracks from the 7” everybody knows and no other
material recorded in studio or same session. They had some more tracks, those
are on the LP , the demotape and the live tracks which kill everything. I adore
those live tracks on the LP. You will love it if you are into French 80’s metal,
believe me. You still can feel the spirit in it, I know cliché what I say but
tell me after you listened to it if I were right. |
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Can you talk about stuff you did with bands from other countries ? |
I released 6 records until now:
JUMPER LACE - The last jump CD 2003
VIXEN - French Warriors LP 2004
GRAVEN IMAGE - People in hell still want ice water LP 2006
HOLSTER - same LP 2007
DEATH DEALER - same 2 LP 2008
DAMOCLES - same LP 2008
So the other stuff also was an adventure and VERY difficult. It was a
masterpiece of hard work to work together with GRAVEN IMAGE and to re-release
their stuff. Was the biggest success and sold out after 4 weeks. Well we all
know US metal sells better than French metal.
The DEATH DEALER 2 - LP I released together with HHO Records. I still did not find
the time to sell my copies and need to do this too. Musically seen an all time
masterpiece for everyone. Unbelievable Canadian metal with English lyrics. |
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Are you alone at Les Fils du Metal or do you work with someone ? |
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I do it alone. For the cover artworks I occupy some of my students which study
design. |
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What bands would you like to have on your label ? |
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I still have 3 releases queued maybe too early to talk about. TENEBRES if
someone finds the band.. I only wanna release stuff officially in collaboration
with the band. And DEATH’S ANGELS LP would be a dream. I am just planning to
release a US band with their stuff from 1985 in April 2009. |
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How and where can we buy records
from your label ? |
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That is the big problem. Mainly at the well-known dealers like HHO-RECORS
(http://www.hho-records.de/). As I do the records for myself I do not have too
much time to take care about distribution and promotion. I know this sounds
ultra strange but it is like this: For Damocles I only made some threads in The
Corroseum forum and in Miskatonic Forum. That’s it. I always think: Who wants it
will find it and mail me ! No, I have to improve this and then I maybe sell out
stuff like DAMOCLES in some months/years. I have no distributor in France. The
French distributors say: “Oh no one wants to buy this here, too risky, difficult
etc.”. Strange, cause it is French metal and sells better in Germany, Japan or
elsewhere. |
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Anything to add ? |
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Yes, life sucks, make days with 48 hours so that I can release all stuff I want
and have more time for everything. 24 hours for family and 24 hours for metal... |
Thanks Peter !
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