LORD OF THE LOST – MORE THAN JUST AN INTERVIEW

It is a nice, warm, sunny Tuesday evening and we meet in a cozy beer garden somewhere in Germany for some pints and an interview. – Wait, no. Unfortunately not. It’s still Covid-19 mode. So we meet on Skype and instead of a beer, fresh from the tap there is a mere glass of water. I am meeting none other than Class Grenayde, Lord Of The Lost’s bass player who joined the band when Chris Harms formed it from his solo project. The obvious cause is the release of their new album “Judas”, but topics flit from football to pets and whatnot. I am surprised anyway.

Kicked off – About Football and Event Industries

An interview slot when all the European world is pinned to the couch watching soccer?”  “I’m not really a soccer fan. No. But I am a fan of European and World championships. It’s fun watching that. Unfortunately, I have been somewhat busy during the past two weeks. I am a freelance back liner too, so I am taking care of the instruments of musicians who get loaners for their gigs. And finally Jazz events are permitted in Schleswig Holstein again, so I am practicing there and SH has rather good corona figures. So I have been working for four days without a break on this festival. So I had no chance to watch soccer. So I said to myself, I have watched on match. Either I am watching a lot and then I am totally in or I manage to keep off and then does not matter at all. So than only yesterday we got the interview schedule and I thought, good, tomorrow we’re gonna have this and that. And then someone said like hey, Germany is going to play tomorrow! And me: well, never mind. Now, I am done with it anyway. Actually, my previous interviewer mentioned that Germany is 0:2 back in the expansion. And I think by now it’ll be over and done for them.”

 

I preferred skateboarding and playing bass

“No, it already was during the regular 90 minutes.” We continue to talk about sports for a while. Class explains: “I come from a handball family, all apart from me. I preferred skateboarding and playing bass. I’m from Fredenbeck, you might remember VFL Fredenbeck, they also played first league. We were the Punks, others were the cool guys, had sponsors, drove Mercedes. But indeed, both of my sisters and my mother played handball. And my father was a handball coach.”

Class Grenayde (pic taken from Cyan-Guitars’ website)

Underdogs, Sheep and 1000 Interviews

“Oh, you were the black sheep.” “No, no one really asked if I wouldn’t want to start playing handball, too. Look, my mother’s fingers are all damaged because it is such a hard, brutal sport.”

“Not good if you want to play bass.”– “Yes indeed! Ice hockey sounds interesting too, wanted to play it as a kid. But those guys were partly too aggressive. I loved it though, 20 years ago when the lakes were frozen and you could play on them or in summer on inline skaters.”

We notice, we already lost the red thread somehow – even before the interview really started… Before we can find it, Class tells a funny story about the previous interview partner: “The guy has two huskies and a wolf hound and I have two huskies too so we would rather have preferred to talk about the dogs than about the album, you know what I mean. We should have done 300 or even 1000 interviews during the pandemic, just talking with people!”

“But I think that amount it would also be stressful, like assembly-line work”-“Yeah true. But it is nice to talk with people again.” Class leans back relaxed.

Distressing Momentum Of Spare Time

We talk about meeting friends and family outside of Germany: “My girlfriend is from France, Caen, you might know it. We visited her family in March, she really was very happy, and we will be back again in August. Easy because M’era Luna was now officially cancelled and we were supposed to play. To have a little bit more freedom to move is cool.”

I catch the chance: “Apropos M’era Luna, how was it for the band and yourself? How have you perceived the whole situation for the last 1 ½ years? You personally, all that keeps you alive is restricted more and live shows cancelled…” – “Definitely not easy. Just before the first lockdown in March 2020, I wanted to change the job, away from the music shop to the entertainment branch as back liner – instruments technician to be precise. They told me, before you sign the contract, we must tell you that we cannot engage you because the whole entertainment branch will be ‘forbidden’ from next week on. My girlfriend moved from France last year in June, she wanted to come earlier. She is a tattoo artist who couldn’t work either. But we endured because the band doesn’t sleep, has new ideas and is big enough. I’m working on accounting and I had enough to do in the office that I didn’t feel useless.”

“So you could switch from physical work on stage to home office without a problem?” – “Yeah, kind of, it was sh*te though. I was used to having a part time job for 17 years, while working as a freelancer and the band on top of it. So I’ve always been on the move and then, all three parts break away. First it was okay, compulsory leave so to spek, to slow down, relax but then it became stressful, not knowing what to do. Nevertheless, my freelancer business is growing. Lots of people changed into other branches with me, I can make more money from it now. We could endure because of Lord Of The Lost and I can now reach the next level of it.”

Resources and Relocations

“Big stroke of luck that Lord Of The Lost are big enough!” – “Sure, we always saved some money for hard times so we could pay a part of your lives. It is not like we’re making a living form Lord Of The Lost.  We all have our dayjobs and because of those, we have some resources and could help each other. There were so many bankruptcies because many used up all their savings.”

Just take a look at the pedestrian areas and what is closed now. Are you still living in Hamburg?” – “I just moved 45 minutes away from the center, Buxtehude, south of Hamburg and the river Elbe. It was worth it because it is an area where you don’t necessarily meet people outside. I could still walk with the dog because no one cared. That’s an advantage and when everything goes back to life, I’m still close to Hamburg.”

“Ah how nice, just the thought of not needing to meet people when you don’t want to…” – “I love people but when you were not allowed to meet them anyway, it was nice to walk through the forest with my dogs and everything is fine. We also took a second dog, half a year old now, because we have time for the dogs. We also have a pension for them nearby where they can spend time with other dogs once events restart, it is all fine.”

I’ll wait and see, I have it in my diary as’ I’m off’

“Apropos, when will you be back on stage? Is something planned for this year, autumn maybe?”– “I don’t think so, there were offers but it must be in a relation. If, yes then people deserve the real deal. What so far isn’t cancelled and might happen due to the seemingly current good pandemic situation is the Faine Misto Festival in Ukraine at the end of July. We also have a short tour through Russia.” Class doubtfully mentions: “They apparently seem have it under control. Don’t know if all is true what we hear from there…. That’s it in theory, if it really happens it can still change from week to week. I’m not sure, I think the Gothic Meets Classic is still scheduled. I’ll wait and see, I have it in my diary as’ I’m off’ so to speak Aaand theeen, we can only hope that the big thing next year will be the shows with Iron Maiden

Postponing Again and Again and Again

“It was nearly heartbreaking for me, you pulled the joker to play with Iron Maiden and then it was cancelled.” – “Buuuut” Class falls in “you can talk yourself into good spirits with the increased anticipation. First it was 2020, then 2021, now it is 2022. The only concern I have is that the guys of Iron Maiden keep up, because they are all older.”

We stick with the topic for a short moment and agree about some of their former health issues, cancer and new hip issues for Bruce Dickinson, his weird hairstyle and then, Class OF COURSE recognizes one of my cats who wants to have cuddles during the interview! He smiles and reports: “One of the dogs of the previous interviewer also urgently needed to take part so he asked him to sit down and had to send him away. But I like it, it is always nice when your pets are around”

Pet Distractions

A very happy face (screen shot taken during the interview)

My cat Lucky still needs to say hello, waving her paws, Class meowing back – she is a show stealer for sure. Grinning, “We’re always drifting away”, I stop their interactions coldheartedly. “Yeah, lucky us. We can still talk 15 minutes longer, all is fine, it is all easy now! But ask your question, we’ll try to be serious.” (laughing)

 “I’ve last seen you on August 15th 2019, Summer Breeze…” – “Summer Breeze, ah that was awesome!”- “Yeah, awesome, you had a bad slot around noon or one o’clock!” – “But Main Stage, Main Stage!” Class replies exitedly. Seems he can remember it as if it was yesterday. Playing main stage at Summer Breeze is a big thing for Class and speaking of that, I can’t help but say they outplayed potentially bigger bands. Routine can be a killer for a show then a passionate small band easily outplays a big fish, which is more visible when both share the main stage of a large festival.

A black, wet nose and greyish ear tips appear: “Oh, a doggy! “ – “Yeah, she just wants to have look and say hello and check if all is fine and goes away.” I try to get back to our actual topic but one can’t ignore pets: “Apropos pets, I find it ingenious, I have been hearing your cat purring on my earplugs all the time.” –“Yeah, she’s sitting beside the microphone”, I explain. “Leave her there, that’s really cool, the evening today is super funny and cool, so cool, I’ll tell my girlfriend later ‘You don’t know what happened today’ we’re really having a good time, thank you!” He is very pleased!

Judas – Born In The Songwriting Camp

“I have to thank you as well. Buuuut maybe let’s talk a bit about your new album “Judas” – so what has been the most asked question so far that you’re slightly nerved about?” – “This doesn’t nerve at all, but most people ask why we recorded so many songs [24] and the answer is simple, because we had the time. We went into a songwriting camp for a week and wrote them in several teams. I really have to confess that generally the questions were quite cool, of course very similar, but people meanwhile understood that they don’t need to ask us how the band was born and these things. ’How did you meet each other?’ and that stuff.” he replies with a charming smile.

“Ha-ha, for how long have you known Chris?” an ironic question in from my side. “I indeed had a question like this today but it was asked in a very intelligent way, bound into the whole interview. There are no stupid questions. There are super good questions, but they are just rattled down, next answer, next question so there is no conversation.” He speaks with hands and mouth at once. “Just questions, answers, that’s it.” I confess that I surely have a script with key points as a red thread but prefer to let the conversation develop instead of falling back to the rattled down thing. “Yeah, sometimes it happens that people ask questions and I ask myself, didn’t I already answer it? But then they still have it on the order of their script and ask it again. Of course most people ask about the songs and how the situation during the pandemic was, but that is normal and needs to be asked especially this time because it is the first time that we are giving these interviews. It is more annoying when you meet people and they ask ‘What are you doing during the pandemic?’ – same as you, what else? Still, it is interesting to ask, how we solved it with the album during the pandemic. But I have no problems with it.”

“I found it really cool, last year you released Swan Songs III and now a double album when other bands would say that’s three albums, enough for the next ten years.”– “Yeah true, very true.”

That’s what friends are for: doing it together

“I thought about “Judas”, that’s amazing, you’ve written a musical or opera.”“Sure, it is very…., very orchestral. It is like a soundtrack. Chris (Harms) has a style to start creating songs which is never slowing down, and he has no ego to say it must all come out of his or our hands. That’s why we met with long-term friends as far as possible but summer was bit more open anyway. And members of the crew, who were in the mood joined in, built teams and wrote the songs altogether. Everybody had an input, Chris channeled it, transferred it into the Lord Of The Lost style and co-wrote each song. He thinks, it is a useless limitation to allow only your own input. That’s what friends are for: doing it together. Because we have the friends in music business it offers itself to make music together, that’s why we are proud of it. Our Rupi, Rupert Keplinger of Eisbrecher wrote with us. Funny enough, I have met him today coincidentally and talked about this and that, we both had to go to the photographer, share a beer, etc., that’s nice. And then you write songs with these people, that’s super cool.”

Support and Charity

“Sounds very much like family! That’s also something, one can watch during your live shows.” – “YES, everybody is allowed to take part and we involve the crew so we created the last-minute support box.” – “Excellent idea, sold out already. Learned too late of it, it seems.” – “Ah yes, we thought about presenting it during our 24-hours live stream. 500 boxes, what if it doesn’t sell and we have the costs? Luckily it happens very often that we believe, fewer people have an interest in such things and then we sell out fast. We produce a lot of special boxes so there is enough for everybody. If they are really limited, it increases the demand. It is a bit of a risk; we need to know what we are doing. With this last-minute box, we don’t earn that much but what we earn goes to our lovely Nasa [their light technician] because she suffered most during the pandemic but still helps us with this and that. It costs a lot of money to order all the items for it, a music box had to be made, what if we sit on 500 of them afterwards? We are more based on the save side.”

I ask for more avenues to support the band. “There is the support button on Spotify for example, I’m not sure if the bands really get all this money, but one can donate when you like them. Feel free to do so, at least Spotify says it goes to the artists.” We talk about several other charity options e. g. Sea Sheppard. Class states “Chris did something like that at his birthday, he asked people to donate to a children’s home in Africa and later on, its crew sent a letter with a pic ‘Thank you Lord Of The Lost, thank you Chris’ from kids and crew. I really got to do something like this too, got to remember.”

The ‘Petrol Emergency’

“Funny enough, we lost track again.” – “Don’t worry, it is not really productive, but it is always the best when the chemistry between people is right. When we meet at a show, even if you need a moment to remember everyone, if you tell me, your cat purred into my microphone, I’d say yes, very cool. That is how the best stories happen, unplanned. One of the best stories still is when our guitar player filled petrol in our diesel van. We had to stop on the motorway nearby Halle, three o’clock in the morning and call the towing service. In this moment it is the biggest sh*t but you have a cool story to tell by the end of your days. Best stories ever are those which went bad, you’re laughing about them the longest.”- “Well if you had “Benzin” by Rammstein on the radio, it would have been the overkill.”– “And when he said he thought he refueled with petrol, can he stop on the right side? We said he can, and he said but that is only for emergencies. I shouted at him ‘THIS IS EMERGENCY’, crazy story! But let’s go back and talk about the album!”

Songwriting By Schedule

Relaxed concentration (screen shot taken during the interview)

“Good, so for how long did you work on the album since you had the idea? Something like that is not written in short time.”– “That was a cool thing, from the first ideas, meeting, song writing by giving the master to the label [Napalm], it took nine months like a pregnancy, like giving birth to a baby. When you take away the days you would spend on tour or so, you can’t use them elsewhere due to the pandemic, so you have a lot of time and energy. When you are a real workhorse like Chris, work clocked through and the whole album is completely timed so everybody knows what to do, deadlines, etc. It functions!”

Have you collected the material over a longer period?” – ”Well maybe some song ideas already existed previously but we took this one-week songwriting camp and then it all became clear. You meet at ten or nine o’clock for breakfast, then start writing, ideally at six o’clock you offer your song ideas for diner. Of course, you can have a block but when you write together you got to keep going and overcome it together. Then you are inspired by the ideas of the others, not that you copy them, but you build something on them.”

“With whom do you write mostly, who do you prefer?”– “I don’t write that much with the others, I started with my nephew now.  I write with so many different people. I’ve written with Gared, or our current sound mixer Bang, that was cool and different, joking a lot, etc., humoristic. Not that it became a funny song though, more the situation itself. It was nice to work with Corvin Bahn, who is such a genius, a musical mastermind. When he comes with an idea it’s just ‘Wow, that’s it’ and add little pieces. Or Rupert who is very analytical ‘We now need something small to push this song’. It is very different, I am lucky that I have more friends to play with, not as in the pandemic when you could only meet one.”

Inspired by Lady Gaga’s “Judas”

“How did you come to this biblical theme? Who had the idea? It is a bit heretical.” – “That was Chris. He is a big Lady Gaga fan. He loves her song “Judas”. It didn’t let go of him. Due to the video shoot for ”They know not what they do” he got to know a clergyman. They talked about the Gospel of Judas. It was the fact that you can’t judge Judas only as the bad guy if you look at it in detail and read it. There are reasons why the Gospel of Judas is forbidden by the church. On the album it is about regarding the character from different angles, he might be interpreted completely wrong, maybe he was the good guy. Or it was Jesus who was hanging on the cross but Judas who sacrificed himself to Jesus. Mainly, the album “Judas” is about not judging people from hear-say, the whole theme could be completely different. There are no people who are only good or only bad. There is always more to it. It is neither anti- nor pro-religious. It is a big interpersonal component. Judas” is about not judging people from hear-say”

“About justice?” – “Yes indeed justice, or…, but yes, justice. Or ‘don’t judge a book only by its cover’. You can’t just say, bad sample, he is black, he is different to us but then he speaks better German than me because he is born in Germany, do you know what I mean?”

“Sure, just look at former football player Jimmy Hartwig from HSV!” – “Or, a few days ago I heard a podcast from a well-known German presenter, forgot the name. Anyway he spoke in a perfect Berlin dialect “Berliner Schnauze”, and I noticed, he was black. Automatically, although you think, you are not racist at all or have a bad mind, you guess it is strange that he has this perfect slang, though it is complete nonsense. How else should he speak, if not These are the things, if you don’t know any better, you have the wrong picture in mind – as that of Judas. Even in a story thousands of years old, someone had to be the bogeyman.” – Thinking of the current discussion on racism, I learn how deep its roots in our minds are and even the best of intensions only very slowly helps to unlearn them.

We ‘waste’ some time talking about Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal but that‘s another story, and again we are chasing the mouse who has stolen the red thread.Who among you knows this book? It is a funny read indeed! We catch up again, already talking for more than 40 minutes now.

  ‘If there’s a bullet with your name on it    You could hold the gun, remember this’  (“Your Star Has Led You Astray”)

– Doesn’t really fit in with those ancient times without bullets? – “That’s right and something I already thought of: it`s not necessarily 100% biblical context, but metaphorical beyond time and space. At least there is always one Judas or more Judases! Even nowadays, you can study this character or just stupidly label him guilty. It is always easy to blame a Judas instead of making the effort of find out more about the person. You better turn around by 180 ° for a better or a different point of view!”

“Thinking about the phrases one just repeats brainlessly…”– “Yeah, exactly! Just looking at the other one, get to know him and make up your own mind! For example, yesterday a completely drunken man asked if he could touch our husky. My first thought was ‘Oh no, he is so drunk’ but then I allowed it. He was so drunken, he moved weirdly but plainly he tried his best and talked very friendly with us. He only had the best of intentions. Of course, it is not cool to be drunken! But he was happy in his own limitations. ‘You certainly must step back from your position. Nothing happened and you must take the risk’, I told myself. In theory, stupid things could happen but on the other side we should be open minded and give others a chance.”

“You certainly made his day. You never know, what went wrong for him and you  overcame your prejudice.” -“It was nothing special anyway, I am not the one who raises the hand ‘I have done…’, everybody has the right to get a chance.”

It was just the next level

We again lost track and need to return, completely different topic. “Some years ago you changed your record label, from ‘Out Of Line’ to ‘Napalm’. Did it have a big impact? Do you still have the same artistic freedom with big ‘Napalm’ as with the small label or do you have even more possibilities?”– “No…, it was just the next step, we realized, we cannot grow anymore if we stay with Out Of Line but is was more like moving out from home. We are still in good contact with them. We have the back catalogue there and released the Best-of album there because most songs where from Out of Line and the Re-release, all is fine. We still order our CDs which we sell from them. Sure, it is less but with André or Yvonne, the bosses of them it still is cool. We frequently meet in Berlin. That’s how it should be, like parents when you moved out. At Napalm, they are much bigger and still growing, they have really big names and when you upload a video with them it has a much bigger impact than with Out Of Line. Because we already were a bigger act when we joined Napalm, we could negotiate much better. With regards of artistic freedom, Out Of Line never stood in our way at all. It was just the next level and Napalm has more range. And marketing… well in theory everybody can do it and we wouldn’t need a label for adverts, but they could even make the next step for us. We don’t know where the journey will lead us in the future. In the moment we are very happy with the situation.”

Speaking of future plans, Class points out that he would prefer constant growth at a healthy speed, and with that achieving a solid economic basis for the band and its members rather than shooting up to instant fame. We joke that then it would be Iron Maiden supporting Lord Of The Lost – opposite to their postponed tour supporting Iron Maiden as it happened with Five Finger Death Punch and some years back. Quite a few bands lingered on a certain level for many years before suddenly going through the roof. “Nothing against that but the healthiest is the steady progress, I think so, but I’ve known nothing else! It wouldn’t be nice if no one liked us anymore, which I doubt because we are still giving everything and have enough fire inside.”

 “The quality of your songwriting is a key to success and has progressed continuously.” “Yeah, Chris has already written countless songs with his other projects. He has been in the business for ages.” Class laughs as my other cat Sookie demands her cuddles. Now! Where is the red thread?

If you exchanged guitars for keyboards, the result is Schlager

“You mentioned, Chris is fond of Lady Gaga  and Roxette?”– “Chris, certainly! I’m fine with them, not a fan but Chris is a mega Lady Gaga and Roxette fan!”“How about you?” “Yes, they are cool, very sympathetic. I really like a lot of bands. For example, I’m very excited by Peter Gabriel, Genesis and these (bands). Lesser those 80ies pop-bands. They don’t play a role but Roxette is good. We grew up with them!” “Yeah, in the end there are many pop-inspired metal songs and metal covers of pop songs.”“There are so many metal bands nowadays, if you exchanged guitars for keyboards, the result is Schlager! Good music is good music, no matter who has written it, ABBA, Iron Maiden or Metallica.”

J Symbolism

“J”-symbol, from their  Facebook page

Getting back to the actual thread, I noticed the sword-like J tattooed on Chris’ forearm. “Yes, the ‘J’, it is the ‘J’ of Judas. He said it is so incredibly beautiful.” Class shows the cover art again. “He can say he was the first who had it. I have it too now, on the calf. I have a skull and the ‘J’ centered on it as on the cover. Nearly the whole band has it and a big part of the crew!”

“It indeed has this elegant simplicity, it is sensational. Who’s design is it?” – “Indeed. It was Chris, he fiddled around with the ‘J’, crosses and all.” Class shows it and draws in the air. “An upside-down  ‘J’ is like a cross”, showing some autograph cards for the Last Minute Support Box. “So his idea was, if this is the ‘J’, I create ‘U’, ‘D, ‘A’ and ‘S’ to complete it.”

“Funny enough, when I saw it first, I thought it is a sword.” “I also drew a knight on one of these greeting cards. And it really looks like a sword.”

Lord Of The Lost and Tom Harm

The legendary Tom Harm bass, (screenshot from the interview)

Time keeps running, and as it is getting late, I need to address one more topic. The amazing Cyan custom guitars by Tom Harms! “Lord Of The Lost play several of those jewels, how did that come to be?” Class takes a moment to think about it “It was me. It was like this…. Around 2004, I played in a band with a buddy here in Hamburg. His father was one of the “Bronx Boys”, Hardcore Ghetto and stuff like that. Tom has built guitars ever since, amongst others for Die Ärzte, and also my buddy and his father too. They were just cool! Once we were at Tom’s as his guitar needed a  freshen-up. I was like ‘Cool, cool, cool, outstanding instruments! One day I will ask you to make a bass for me.’ Then we started with Lord Of The Lost and there I was back at Tom’s: ‘Now let’s build it’. He replied “Look, I have a bass laying here for 20 years. I’ve never finished it. Bring me some pick-ups and pay me some xx € and it’ll be yours’. Funny enough, it is the one I am still playing.” Class grabs to show me his legendary Cyan by Tom Harm four-string-bass– iconic as Lemmy Kilmister’s Rickenbacker. “The guys of the band liked it so much, they went to Tom’s, too. We  have established a good familial relation. Since then, all our guitars have been from Tom’s.” 

Family

“Once more, you mention familial and family. It is a real band thing for you, family?”– “Sure, life works best when you do something with the family, trust and these things. It is a lot of fun. “

“Lord Of The Lost has a family-like chemistry at the very least on stage.  Have you actively worked on team building?” – “Yeah, we’re taking care of it, pay attention, speaking with each other. Sometimes relations just fall apart in a band, it happens. But we try to hold it together as much as possible. I believe each time someone left the band, we became more sensitive, more clever and discussed how to deal with each other in a better way. We take care to ensure the whole band and each of us is happy.”

“Sounds a bit like a self-support group.” – “Yeah, surely that’s what it is in the end. There is always a failure, someone has a bad time and we say ’C’mon, nothing is as bad as it seems at first glance!’. We’re still four guys who are all fine and we go through it together. That includes the crew, too.”- Just like that drunken man the other day, we agree.

 

Food Porn

“Only one short question about your tour life, do you have any food preferences?”  “Nah, not really. I think whenever people thought about the food, it mostly is quite tasty. We mostly eat vegetarian food on tour. When meat is offered due to other bands’ taste, I eat it as well, I’m not a strict vegetarian. I have no favorite dish. I have favorite chefs in some venues where the catering has always been good, like Matrix (Bochum) or at the M’era Luna Festival. Summer Breeze has always been very good. They have chefs cooking especially for you.”– 

“Summer Breeze has been well known for good catering.” – “And all band are allowed to be in the same catering area. So, you see bands you like a lot ‘Oh my god, they are here too’, though it is normal because we are all colleagues.

Favourites

“Speaking of colleagues, which bands do you like privately? You already mentioned Peter Gabriel!”– “There are a lot of bands, for example the longest are Korn from their second album on, Tool ever since. At their time, Primus were cool, quite psychedelic. I used to listen to Rush, but not that much.” “Rush are not really your generation.”– “Well, just like Genesis from the 70ies. I never listened to the 80ies and 90ies Genesis. I only know their radio hits. A reason is that I once was invited to Musical Box, an Australian Genesis cover band. Costumes, stage, show, everything is a 1:1 copy from the 70ies. It really was musical-like and I was never into Genesis before. It was the first time I heard the album and saw the show of “Selling England by the Pound” and it blew me away. Since then, I have been a fan, listened to one or two albums, only to be zoomed back to the 70ies to see all the lights hanging from the ceiling…” He talks and describes with arms and hands to show the dimensions. “Everything was original, the instruments, the outfits, the black lights, it was incredible.”

 “Analogue technology…”– “Yes exactly, and it was sooooo cool. And I listen to so many stuff, also Death Core, Thy Art Is Murder, or Djent, Meshugga a bit. I’ve listened to Grunge, not Nirvana, but Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots.”

 “So more on an intellectual level…” – “Yes, but I also listened to some albums by Five Finger Death Punch, Pantera… Pantera are kind of intellectual too in their own way, and in comparison, to Five Finger Death Punch. I’ve also been at home in Punk, American Punk, Rancid, NOFX. Bad Religion. I heard them again and again, all their choirs, super cool! Never The Clash though but some German Punk maybe.”

 “I really like that you take the time to listen to other bands. A lot of musicians just say, they don’t listen to music anymore due to lack of time.”– “You can always listen to music, when you are walking, on the bike, in the car – I listen to a lot of podcasts – listening to music works every time. I’m mainly a fan. When at the Summer Breeze the At The Gates vocalist just stands there! I am like ‘Oh my god’ and in private life he is, I believe, a primary school teacher in Sweden when they are not on tour. Or there is the singer of Testament.” He laughs “Uuuih.”

 Musicians and “safe” jobs

“Primary school teacher is a safe job, fixed income.” – “Yeah true, someone excitedly encounters the At The Gates’ vocalist, but then at his school he is only the teacher. The kids don’t care who he is. He is just a human too, that’s what I wanted to express. I mostly am too afraid to go there and talk with them. I think they don’t want to talk to me anyway, even if it’s nonsense. I’m just too shy, I still have to work on it.”

 Rituals

“Last Question!”– “Okay, last question and I try to be serious and straight.”

“You, the band and the crew are like a family. Do you have a ritual before the show?” – “Yes, for some time we’ve formed a circle, it is my part to give a short speech about why we are in this town, current events, something which went wrong – we don’t let it pull us down, we give full power – a joke or whatever comes in my mind. Then I shout, ‘Because we are Lord Of The Lost’ and the others fall in ‘Lost, Lost, Lord of the Lost’. Everybody in the crew who we worked with on the day day and is around gets a fist bump.” Class fist bumps my screen. “Everybody gets one, even if they are just guests, met us for the first time, etc. And then we kick off!”

“No shots or so involved as other bands might do?” – “No nothing. More swearing in.”

 “Cool, like a sports team!” – “Ha ha, true, we are more and more pushed to wear sports shoes rather than heavy boots because we do move around  a lot on stage”

 “Look at ‘KISS’, 70 years old and still 20 cm platform boots, unbelievable that none of them has broken his legs so far.” – “That’s why they don’t move anymore, they are just standing still now.”

 Mysterious bottles

A hint for the mystrious bottle (screenshot from the interview)

A while ago I spotted some dark bottles in the back, I am as curious as my cats and ‘have’ to raise the point although we are far far beyond the scheduled time. “The bottles in the back, red wine or white wine?” – Class laughs “Neither nor! It is Mead. It is ‘Met der Edelleut’  from Günni, one of our supporters.” He shows me the bottle in detail. “The Met is dyed black in a clear white bottle. It is a little limited edition, not for sale and has our “J” label on it. He sent some over to me.”

“Really cool. Mega cool. Things like this interest me.” – “Yes, we also thought about it for sale in our shop, but we don’t know, not that we would earn a lot of money with it but the idea is nice. We’ll see.”

“I would certainly buy a whole box even if you come up with it a year later.” – “Sure, we will consider thinking about it, the colour, the label, it looks so cool. He has to think about it too.” Class shows this real must-have-gimmick on my mind again.

Aaaand Indeed Finally….

We slowly come to the end and exchange a few words about their at that time forthcoming Sinister Summer Stream on 3rd July, available for a few days to promote the new album “Judas”, their merch and the possibilities of support for crew, stagehands and the band. That’s it, we thank each other, we had a really nice conversation, hope to meet during the next tour or for another interview. Finally, Class doesn’t forget to greet my cats again. It was long, super long, super exhausting but really nice, interesting and a lot of fun to talk to Mr. Class Grenayde, bass player of Lord Of The Lost.

 

Judas,  Salvation CD cover, review of the album

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