FleischKrieg

Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)

PD: What type of artist are you?

Richard Cranor (vocals): It’s definitely a bit of a throwback style to 80s goth synth, but with a harder metal edge. Very rhythmic, tribal…atmospheric. We’ve often heard it described as if Depeche Mode and Rammstein had a baby.

Thomas Crawford (guitars): I see us as a heavy goth/industrial metal group. We playfully refer to our style as “Brutalwave”. I’d also say that we’re a visual group as well. Given Richard’s video production background, we want to make sure that our music videos are engaging and exciting. And our live shows are aggressive, yet dancy.

PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.

TC: I met Richard sightseeing with some out of town friends in Seattle. I called an Uber to take us back to my car and Richard was our driver. During the drive we both discovered we had a love for European music and both solo music projects. He was just starting the idea of FleischKrieg, while I was performing instrumental music under the moniker Ceraphym.

RC: I had played a little in my 20s, but the real world grinded all that dreaming to a halt. I had a mid-life crisis a few years ago and though I couldn’t afford a ferrari and a hair-transplant, I could afford a $200 seven string from Guitar Center. The rest is history.

TC: He came out to watch me perform and apparently liked what I did. We started collaborating together on his FleischKrieg material from there. In the middle of it all, we decided to relocate to Los Angeles in the middle of the pandemic. Given there wasn’t much else to do, we wrote our debut album, entitled Herzblut, which was produced, mixed, and mastered by D-Punk of DK-Zero.

In the middle of it all, I decided to put together an all virtual music tour called Welcome To The New Apocalypse. Joined by our friends Nuda and Cryptamnesia, we played five virtual “tour like” shows across five different time zones; three North American, two European. Each show had an opener from the local time zone to give it that tour feel. During that, we met Nick Mason who’s now our drummer. More recently, Nuda has joined as our synth and keyboardist.

PD: Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

RC: I’m big into Sci-fi, the occult and paranormal. I was actually paid $600.00 filming a UFO for the Travel channel. I’m on #ufotwitter all day arguing with skeptics and debunkers. I drank ALL the UFO kool-aid and then some. Haven’t gone full Heaven’s Gate and bought a new pair of Nikes and castrated myself though – I got my limits.

TC: I’m definitely into heavier music, like Machine Head, Pantera, Whitechapel, In Flames, and the like. But lately, I’ve been obsessed with Lord of the Lost. Sadly, I’ve only recently discovered them but they’ve definitely made it into my top five. Non-musically, I’m a fan of horror movies, Hellraiser being my favorite.

PD: What are your dreams and goals?

RC: I’m mainly hoping for an all expenses paid tour of Germany or touring Europe in general. Can’t think of anything better than drinking beer out of stein while playing industrial music live.

PD: Who writes your songs, what are they about?

TC: For our first album, Richard wrote all the synth and drums as a base. I might make suggestions here and there on structure. I then add guitars to it.

RC: Honestly my writing process stems from paranormal and traumatic experiences – a lot of which centers around alien abduction. I feel there is an energy at work in people’s lives trying to free us from the matrix we live in. Every day is a “Flesh War” (English Translation of FleischKrieg) if you think about it. There’s always something/someone trying to steal a piece of your life away. Fleischkrieg is all about saying fuck no to all of that. Self-sovereignty and self-preservation of yourself and the species, that’s what the music is all about.

TC: For the next album, all the members are working on separate demo ideas together and seeing what comes out.

PD: How do you promote your band and shows?

TC: Right now, mostly through our social media on Facebook and Instagram. We’ve also started trying out a few PR companies here and there.

PD: What do you think about downloading music online?

TC: Personally, I’m all for it. I know folks get upset about online streaming and downloading music, but it’s the future. Just like with anything, you have to go with the flow.

PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?

RC: Du Hast. It’s the most perfect industrial metal song ever made. It has all the elements you need. Headbanger? Check. Danceable? Check. Metal enough? Check. Electro enough? Check.

PD: What are some of your pet peeves?

RC: Spending $17 on a sandwich and juice in LA. No major city in the US is livable for artists anymore.

TC: Musicians who screw over other musicians to try to get a leg up on others. I’m all about positive reinforcement and helping others. A community is always better built together rather than tearing others down.

PD: What is your proudest moment in music?

RC: My proudest moment is when Thomass told me he had goosebumps when I first played the “Owl Light” demo for him. It was kind of my litmus test for myself, if I really had any ability to do this music thing. Thomass is a far more experienced musician than myself, and Owl Light was a weird song too, very personal and vulnerable. When he liked it, I knew we had something.

TC: For me, it’s been the caliber of musicians and people in the industry that want to work with us. That D-Punk from DK-Zero wanted to work with our music. That Nick and Nuda were so willing to join our band. Also, the super-fans from around the world are trying to find ways to bring us to their country to perform.

PD: So what are you working on at the moment?

RC: I’m pretty heads down on our upcoming music videos. Also working on some new track ideas, and getting Nuda ramped up on our current set list. Looking forward to playing with her demo ideas and Thomass’s for the next album. I like to still drive the overall creative vision for the band, but look forward to getting more ideas from other talented musicians in the mix.

TC: Currently, working with our support team on setting up our first physical tours for the fall. We’re also starting to work on demoing new song ideas for the next album. We’re excited for this because not only do we have Nuda in the band as a contributor, but we’re planning for each song to have different vocal collaborations. More details to come next year.

PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?

TC: Our first single, Fool’s Folly, is available on all major streaming platforms. Our second single, Reach, will be available 2nd July. You can purchase our music and other merchandise from our website, www.fleischkrieg.com. We’ll also have pre-orders available for Herzblut starting in September.