Waldläufer Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?

The project “Waldläufer” was born in 2021 in light of the approaching 10th anniversary of the death of one of my best friends Matthias. He lost his life back in 2013 together with his brother Jan and another comrade in a tragic accident in the mountains of South Tyrol.

„Waldläufer“ was Matthias' personal stage name, under which he worked as a drummer in the black metal band "Nargal" together with my brothers Thomas, Harald and me.

2.So far you have released an ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

It actually is not released yet, I wanted to release it through a label but I changed my mind and now plan to self release it.

Stylewise I went for black metal but I kept all doors open, so there’s some other styles involved. Listening to the finished EP now, I think you could label it something like blackened melodic death metal.

 

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?

The songs tell the story of the Waldläufer, a hermit, who is living alone but yet happy in the mountains. He is thoughtful about the "hurried life in the valley" and despises the "crowds of people". The Waldläufer is content with the nutrition the earth offers to him and he lives in harmony with nature. Animals are dear to him, people less so. The song "Tempus" deals with the theme of transience. The lyrics in the title song "Der Ewige Augenblick" are an expression of the ongoing displeasure, but also of the acceptance of life changing events.

 

4.All of your lyrics are also written in German, what was the decision behind using this language in your songwriting?

I’m born in South Tyrol, a bilingual region in Northern Italy and my native language is a German dialect. I found it easier to express myself with the language I do speak daily. I also find that the German

language can be used in a very aesthetic way.

 

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ' Waldläufer?

>> Already explained in question 1 and 3

 

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the ep cover?

The painting is the artistic representation of the settlement of a hermit - the Waldläufer - in a clearing in the mountains, made by father Gottfried Wieser and digitized by Samuel Stelzer, who took care of the design as well as the project logo.

 

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to expanding into a full line up?

Technically it would be possible to expand this into a live project, but I don’t have concrete plans yet.

 

8.On the ep you also had a few guests, can you tell us a little bit more about who they are and also their contributions to the recording?

All people that collaborated with me on this project are family or close friends and that’s what makes it so special to me. I had my brothers Thomas and Harald doing guest vocals on 3 songs, my friend Elmar doing the instrumental outro, my father Gottfried painting the artwork, my friend Samuel doing the digitization of the artwork and creation of the logo and his brother Benjamin doing the mastering of the EP.

 

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?'

I already sent out the mastered EP to a couple of labels that would fit, and I have received some suggestions for deals but most of them want to create physicals and want me to contribute a certain percentage of the production costs of course. I want this EP to stay a zero budget project and that’s why I decided to release it by myself.

 

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of melodic black and death metal?

We will see once it’s released.

 

11.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

Well, my main project is the technical death metal band Virial that is also doing live shows, therefore most of my time goes into that one. I don’t plan to do a full length, but it might be possible

that I’m going to do another EP sometime in the future.

 

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

As main influences on the EP I’d name Dissection, Der Weg Einer Freiheit, Ensiferum, maybe a little bit of Children Of Bodom.

These are bands that I’m listening to of course, but my musical horizon goes way beyond these ones. I’m very much into prog and technical metal from Plini to Gorod, but I also enjoy some good power metal like Helloween, Eternity’s End or Dragonforce and fast death metal like Aborted, Benighted or Vader.

 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

If anyone enjoys this EP or any other underground project, don’t forget to spread the word. Share it with your friends, show them your favourites and new bands you find. That’s the most important thing one can do to keep underground projects like Waldläufer alive.