All the way from Lausanne, Switzerland is the fanatical creation Kruger. The inception of the band occurred only a handful of years ago, and in that short time they have issued 3 studio albums full of intense, creative and heavy tunes. If you dare, join me now as I ask vocalist Renaud (Reno) and drummer Raph about their handiwork, their new album, their stage performance, and much more in this lively interview. This "Cattle Truck" is "Built for Speed" so watch out and prepare for your "Redemption Through Looseness"... Metal Fanatix: Kruger is a relatively new band for me. Tell me a little about your band. What did you set out to create when the band started? Reno: Sure, I guess our name is pretty unknown in the US… Kruger started in 2002 with no particular goal but playing something loud and noisy. The background of most guys in the band at the time were mostly heavy Swedish stuff (Entombed…) and the post-HxC scene (we’re all huge fans of Breach). So it took the direction we’re still following now: sludgy, thick, noisy and dark rock’n’roll. Metal Fanatix: Where do you derive your sound? I believe I hear an obvious influence from Neurosis and Tool. Would that be correct to say? Raph: Neurosis and Tool are definitely bands that we appreciate and who have always shown passion and integrity which I think are the best reasons when it comes to creating music. We also like Mastodon, Clutch and Unsane who do their thing with their own distinctive approach. But all the guys in the band listen to a lot of different stuff (from Chris Isaac to Cephalic Carnage or Blonde Redhead...) and it certainly shows a little bit here and there in some parts of our songs... We basically like it dark and heavy and never pretended to create anything new in this genre. As long as we enjoy playing in this band and remain fully dedicated and honest towards our music, we’ll carry on... Metal Fanatix: The first time I heard about your band the first thing that popped into my head was the well-known horror character Freddy Kruger. Does that have anything to do with your namesake? If not, how did the name Kruger come about?
We always do things in a very spontaneous, almost naive way, be it finding a name for the band, writing music, playing live or choosing weird covers for our records. So we don’t always remember when or why we took a direction or another. If it’s cool on the moment, then we’ll go for it without questioning too much... Metal Fanatix: Has any inspiration from your beautiful homeland of Switzerland made it onto your records? Raph: Maybe, but if it’s the case there’s nothing conscious about it. I’m quite certain we’re all influenced by the place we’re living in but I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of effect our homeland has on our music. I’d be pretty happy if we could be as heavy and mighty as our famous mountains. (lol) Metal Fanatix: Did anything unique or interesting happen in the recording process of “Redemption Through Looseness”? If so, tell me about it. Raph: The recording process was pretty stressful. We’ve had to face a lot of technical issues (HD crashing, mics buzzing, preamps making strange noises) and since we hadn’t that much time to complete the sessions, we were all a bit nervous. Especially me who was in charge of all the rec/stop thing and production. When we went to Boston to mix the album, I wondered if Kurt Ballou wouldn’t be too disappointed by the sound quality of the takes, but he managed to bring the best out of this shit and I think the result sounds quite alright. It was pretty relieving to work with such a nice and talented guy. By the way, we had eight days to complete the mix, which was pretty unusual for us (“Cattle Truck” was mixed in only three days) and gave us the chance to concentrate more on the details. Metal Fanatix: Before writing the album did you set any goals on what you wanted to achieve? Were the goals met for the album? Raph: We never define anything when it comes to writing new material. We just jam ideas and riffs for hours and eventually end with a new track, which we’ll re-arrange forever until everybody finds it satisfying. I think we always naturally tried to avoid making the same record and took slightly different musical directions with each new album. “Redemption Through Looseness” may be a little more intense than our previous works with faster tempos and more direct tracks. The production is richer too. Layered guitars, samples, effects... We spent a lot time on small details which we never did before. I think the main goal is always to come with the best album we can. I know this sounds cliché as hell, but if you don’t have that primal will in the first place, what’s the use of making new records.
Raph: It’s basically all about finding that special moment when everybody’s involved and fully into it. Somebody will come with a riff and if the inspiration is there, we’ll certainly manage to build a strong structure around it. And sometimes we’ll just spend the whole rehearsal struggling to bring something decent. It really depends on the mood of each other and the way the alchemy works between us. Nobody in the band writes entire songs at home so everything takes shape in the rehearsal room. We’ve always done it this way... As for the lyrics, they always come after the music’s done. And then we enter the “vocal arrangement” phase. Reno comes with a bunch of ideas and we all discuss them and change some parts until it fits the song best. Metal Fanatix: Do you have a favorite track on your new album? What is it? Why? Reno: I love “Queen of the meadow”, because it has a very melodic and groovy “Breachesque” riffing, and gets totally apocalyptic on the second part of the song. Raph: “War & Wine” is one of my favorites. It kinda shows all the aspects we try to develop in our songs: intensity, dark moods, anti “verse/chorus/verse” structure and some strange guitar harmonies... Metal Fanatix: Who writes the majority of the lyrical content for Kruger? Reno: I do. Raph: He does, I confirm... Metal Fanatix: What do you like to write about? Reno: Well, lyrics are pretty useless in Kruger, and I like to see them this way! I think it’s very conceited to pretend to have anything to say when you play rock music. Isn’t it? So I just try to have fun writing down on subjects which are mostly inspired by US popular culture: General Motors, cattle breeding, Miss Minnesota, Hummers and Hollywood. Metal Fanatix: Renaud, what type of mic do you use? Reno: I cherish a Shure 58 “old school” mic, which looks like the ones back in the sixties.
Reno: No, I’m a pretty bad singer on all technical levels! I would just suggest to be as spontaneous and loud as man can be – this can occult the lack of talent! Metal Fanatix: Onto the live front…do you have any shows lined-up for the near future? If so, where are they? Reno: We have a couple of weeks with Unsane in Europe in Sept., and totally look forward to it! We love these guys. “Unsane” should be taught in the schools as a model of power, sincerity, and coolness in rock music! Metal Fanatix: Describe what Kruger is like live? Reno: Spontaneous, heavy, and intense, I hope. And, above all, happy to be on stage. Metal Fanatix: Reno, how do you prepare vocally for a show? Reno: I don’t – but someday I might definitely need to! Metal Fanatix: Who has been the most memorable band you’ve shared the stage with? Why? Reno: I’d say Dillinger Escape Plan, who are as ascetic in the backstage as totally crazing on stage. Metal Fanatix: How long have you personally been interested in loud, hard rock, or metal music? Reno: Forever, or almost – though most of us listen to several types of sounds, from electro to folk music. Metal Fanatix: What bands do you appreciate today? Reno: These days I listen a lot to Jesu, Woven Hand, Idaho, Heavy Trash and the last Unsane.
Reno: I hesitate between Elvis Presley “King Creole,” Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures” or The God Machine “Scenes from the Second Story” – all of them sound totally intense, in my opinion. Metal Fanatix: Do you have an opinion on the direction metal is going in? Reno: Not really, as it’s going in several directions. I dig a lot the mix that Mastodon are doing, between Black Sabbath, Neurosis and Clutch. On the other hand, I am bored by the “post-whatever” scene, as bands such [as] Neurosis, Breach, Old Man Gloom or Isis have already said all there was to say. The atmospheric / progressive “hype” in this scene make me want to throw up… Then, I like the black and death-metal scenes, who seem to stick to the original direction forever! Metal Fanatix: If you could put-together a band with musicians from the past and present, who would be it? What would you call this new band? Reno: Mmh, interesting! I would probably have Dave Grohl on drums, Dave Curran of Unsane on bass, Judah Bauer (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) and King Bozo (Melvins) on both guitars, and probably Neil Fallon of Clutch on vocals. Would sound nice, uh? Metal Fanatix: Do you have any interest or hobbies besides music? Reno: Well, music is my hobby, my work and even my time off…! To keep up with all the latest news & much more on Kruger check out the following websites: http://www.kruger.ch/ - Official Kruger Site http://www.myspace.com/krugerband - Kruger MySpace Site © Jeffrey D. Adkins August 2007 Not to be re-printed in any form without written permission. |
