WCI was very cool and the shows, which we could play in the USA and Canada, went out fantastic, the audience was very nice. On the other hand, it was a pity that there were so many problems of the organization. We had even problems to get home again after the last show.

Your band must be pretty tight knit since you work with them in Leaves’ Eyes, for the exception of the drummer.

Everybody of Atrocity is involved in Leaves' Eyes, too, also our drummer Moritz. But I have to say that we see the bands as two total different bands especially if it comes to the music! It's great to be with such creative musicians and friends! It is a gift to do two such great bands at the same time.

How do you split your time between both bands?

We try to plan all the band stuff in the best way for both bands and we are having a (tough) time schedule. In the moment we are working on the new  ATROCITY record, the follow up album of our WERK 80 cover album, and we are just about to finish our new LEAVES' EYES Mini CD, too. Sometimes it's very hard especially when we play on tour with both bands at the same night, but that's our choice!

Which band is easier, harder Leaves' Eyes or Atrocity…why?

Atrocity is something we are doing since two decades and we went through all up and downs, but that's normal if you do something for a longer time. Like I mentioned before this band is a big part of me and the other band members, too. Leaves' Eyes is something new for all of us and we reached very much already with just two albums. We hit the German charts twice with "Vinland Saga" and "Elegy". That's incredible! In the past we should have toured in the USA more often with Atrocity, that is something we don't want to miss with Leaves' Eyes. Ken Kriete who managed for example Type O Negative in the past is our new Leaves' Eyes manager for North America - it looks like we will come over soon again! Musically I have the feeling we are doing our records faster with Leaves' Eyes than with Atrocity - With Atrocity it's always taking longer…

What was the reason for the three-year sabbatical between Gemini and Atlantis?

Like I said we have been signed to the major label who are doing bands like Limp Bizkit, Rammstein or Marilyn Manson in Germany. We were getting a bunch of money and we have entered the German charts again but the pity was actually that there was nearly no good distribution of our last record Gemini outside Germany, Austria, Switzerland. Except Mexico, there was only a very poor distribution situation for us.

We have been aware of that "major problem" before and signed a contract, which helps us to get out of this situation. In the meantime, we changed location of the Mastersound Studio which cost a long time and Tosso left the band for private reasons, but he returned after one a half year. All songs we were writing in between were kicked out even if they have been cool, but we wrote them with another second guitarist. After Tosso returned, we wrote new songs and Atlantis was born! And we searched for a new label, too. We wanted to have a new partner, which can handle us worldwide again of course! So, we are happy to be on Napalm Records now who are releasing the record everywhere! The people there work very professional and we are top priority with Atrocity and Leaves' Eyes!

In your opinion, how has song writing changed since the days of Hallucinations in comparison to your latest?

I remember very well the times when we had our practice room in Germany's first and biggest Metal club in Germany the famous Rockfabrik Ludwigsburg. Our practice room was in the backstage area and the sound was terrible haha. But it was great fun, too. These times were magically! Nowadays we run a quite big studio and we have conditions to produce our music we were not even dreaming about! That's how things can change and I appreciate it! The only problem is the time itself. I have so many ideas in mind, which I would love to do with Atrocity, but we are also doing many things besides the band for example I produce three other bands in the moment.

Please tell the viewers something about the production of Atlantis that they may not have known previously.

First of all, ATROCITY cannot be described in just one special category. We did a lot of different things in the past and we also liked to do musical experiments. We like to combine several musical elements and styles. You could describe ATROCITY as a band, which creates extreme, atmospheric, bombastic, melodic, and hymnic songs at the same time. I think an album like Atlantis is a great and varied output and shows the big musical spectrum of ATROCITY!

We wanted to create a dark soundtrack of a big myth with metal songs! The whole Atlantis topic we wanted to put in a mystical vein with a dark atmosphere, which fits perfect the concept and our musical ideas! Around Atlantis there are so many legends and rumours which reach from pure science to occult things. In every period of time there have been people thinking about Atlantis, that's really interesting! We wanted to keep all emotion and atmospheric parts of the whole story we thought are necessary to create a great epic album and giving the listener a musical picture of the mystical sunken continent. So it has wild and furious parts, the big ancient battles, the mythology of the gods which is more hymnic in the music, the glorious times, the mighty empire and of course the doom of Atlantis and the apocalypse of the whole world and the escaping of the survivors to all parts of the world.

Was there one event that sparked you to create the concept behind Atlantis?

The idea of doing a concept of Atlantis is quite old. I was getting in touch with some strange things regarding Atlantis when I was together with my youth girlfriend. Her stepmother said she was origin Atlantean and she was reincarnated. Since then I was interested in the Atlantis topic. More or less, I was getting new information about Atlantis through the years, reading some stuff and the idea to do something with Atlantis is quite an old idea, I just wanted to wait until the time was ready for it! When I suggested to the other to do a concept album for Atlantis this time, everybody was enthusiastic about the idea! When we started with the work I was really diving into the whole thing like listeners of the album can do with our album now! I was reading books and when we have been in Ireland for honeymoon, I was writing lyrics at the coast between cliffs and tombstones!

Out of the fifteen tracks, which is your favorite off the album?

That's a very hard question. Maybe my fave is "Reich of Phenomena", a great opener. It contains the bombastic and brutal elements!

Being co-owner of Mastersound, would you ever entertain the thought of having others produce Atrocity?

I don't know, in a way I would find it interesting. But I simply think it's not necessary. We are a great team and the rest of the band wants me to be the producer of our albums, too. We worked with other people in the past.

Whom will you work with in the future at the studio?

In the moment, I produce the new Bloodflowerz album, the new Elis album, and the new Punish album. I do some mastering and mixing jobs, too.

If you could produce anyone, who would you chose to work with?

Maybe some of my favorite acts like Laibach or even Possessed if they would ever do a reunion.

Oh yes, we have already 7 or 8 songs prepared! There will be a follow up album of "Calling The Rain" after so many years, ha, ha. My sister is living in England so we will have to find the right time to do it. She is also preparing an own solo album which will be very atmospheric music, too.

Please tell your side how you met Liv, how did you know she was “the one”?

The first time we met was when we went on tour together. I was working for Theatre of Tragedy's old label and we met in the studio again when they made their second record. As their guitar player Tommy had a stroke, Atrocity guitarist Mathias helped them out on tour. The practice for the tour took place at our practice room in Germany, so Liv and me met again and fell in love. After Liv came back from tour, she moved from Norway to Germany and I [had] known she is the "one"! 

How is it working with your wife?

We have a very good teamwork together. It's great to work with such a fantastic and professional singer like Liv, and I am not saying it because I'm her husband. I have great respect for Liv as an artist. Like in all partnerships, you may have sometimes-different opinions, but that's fine.

What did you grow up listening to?

Deep Purple and Pink Floyd, I was a little boy back then.

Whom are you listening to in the genre right now?

Since you are a frontman, in your opinion who epitomizes the role?

I think James Hetfield is a cool frontman.

Favorite drink / food?

Blood Orange juice, vegetarian "Schnitzel".

If you could turn back the hands of time, would you change a thing?

Of course, this is a big wish sometimes, I know probably hundred things I would like to change, but I don't know, you can always make things better in life. People should better learn from mistakes and history and keep going on. I guess I made some mistakes like anybody else and hopefully I learned well of them.

If your job was to interview bands, name one that you would want to interview and something you would like to find out about them.

Pink Floyd, if they are doing ever a new album again.

More role reversals, do you have any questions for me?