As you are going to read down this interview, Nothgard is one of the bands whose music reflects the characters of its members. Fresh, inspiring and motivating are only the first three words that come to my mind while I’m listening to their Warhorns of Midgard.
In this moment the faces of the formation are the vocalist and guitarist Dom, the bassist Viktor, the rhythm guitarist Daniel, the guitarist Skaahl and the drummer Ziegler.
The story of Nothgard begins in 2009 with a demo and until now it continues with the album Age of Pandora– the reason I contacted the band.

L-R: Vik, Dom, Skaahl, Dominik 'Ziegler' and Daniel

To start off, please introduce yourselves.
We are Nothgard, an epic melodic death metal band from Germany. Nothgard consists of 5 members: 3 guitars, 1 bass, 1 drummer. We will be releasing our new album „Age of Pandora“ on the 12th of September, and it ́s gonna be an album you don ́t wanna miss.

How did the idea for the band come up? What was the thing that brought you together? And the one that alienated Rosh?
We were found in 2008 by Dom R. Crey and the former drummer Toni. Afterwards Vik joined the band as bass player. Different circumstances lead to the current line-up with which we are very happy. We ́ve split up with Rosh as he wasn ́t motivated as much as we are.

Three of you – Skaahl, Dom and Viktor, also take part in another act – Wolfchant. Tell us more about this project. Is it very different from Nothgard and if so – how?
Yes it is. Wolfchant is an epic-pagan-metal band and you will hear the difference right away when listening to it.

Now – the new album and the changes. First of all, the effort is called ‘Age of Pandora’. What is the concept behind it? Are you fellow fans of the greek mythology or is it just a temporary inspiration?
Even though it ́s called „Age of Pandora“, the lyrics of the songs are not inspired by the greek mythology. You will notice this even when reading the song titels. The whole idea of the Pandoras box just fits the music very well. The main goal was to create lyrics which mean a lot to us and not to write about the common nordic mythology what we have done in ‘Warhorns of Midgard’, what have done other bands so many times.

What is your favourite song from ‘Age of Pandora’? What about ‘Warhorns of Midgard’ – can you chose a tune that is somehow closer to you than the others? I personally am addicted to ‘Blackened Sky’, but this is irrelevant right now 🙂
Hard to tell. We are 100% confident with all of he songs we wrote and recorded, as we didn ́t want to record songs we aren ́t confident with. But I guess my favourite song is Black Witch Venture.

Which song was the hardest to write and to play and what is so specific about it?
Guess you can ́t really tell which song was the hardest to write, as we took our time for every song and changed lot ́s of stuff everytime we were listening to it… The hardest song guitar wise is Age of Pandora as it ́s pretty complex, fast and tricky.

Recently Dom joined Equilibrium. How did Nothgard react to the news? Were you happy about it or would you rather it hadn’t happened?
The band didn ́t have any problems with Dom joining Equilibrium as it was an opinion everyone would have taken. Equilibrium is great band with very cool and relaxed guys and awesome music.

Dom, I want to ask you something related to Equi. How come they have turned directly to you for help? Did you expect it or was it a surprise? And do you think that having to work with another band would somehow hinder playing with Nothgard and Wolfchant?
This is Dom now: Well I haven’t expected this. Of course I have know some of the Equi guys before they asked me to join but I haven’t really expected. It was all about one single call from Robse, who has already done a featuring song on Age of Pandora. After this studio session we became close friends and well that’s it. Now I am also part of Equi and it is great. It won’t hinder me playing with the other bands. It means hard work for me but hey, this is what I have chosen and I love it.

With ‘Age of Pandora’ coming soon I wonder have you, guys, got any ideas for the next release? Care to share some of them?
Until now we still got lot ́s of stuff to do until the release of „Age of Pandora“ and don ́t have the time right now writing another album as it takes a lot of time. Also I think you need some space in between to recharge your batteries as it is a long and stressfull process. Most people think writing songs is done quickly, but that ́s just not the case at least for us. We always want to deliver the best material we have and that ́s why we take our time creating music. We want to give our fans songs we enjoy listening to. There won ́t be a song on any Nothgard album we aren ́t 100% confident with. But until now we don ́t have any new material yet.

Concerts have always been a matter of interest when it comes down to metalheads so the next I’m going to ask you is relevant to them. What is the last concert you visited as a fan? What were the ups and downs of the show? If it was you who organised it, what would you have changed?

We have visited the Heidenfest tour at the end of 2013 as a fans. Well it all was well organized so no downs at all. We just enjoyed it and enjoyed meeting friends.

What is the last concert you played as a musician? And again – what were the pluses and the disadvantages?
Just last week I played 3 shows with three different bands in 3 days. One was at the Summerbreeze-Festival with Equilibrium, the other two shows were with Nothgard and Wolfchant on the Metal-Frency Open Air. All shows very very cool and I had lot ́s of fun. There weren ́t any disadvantages, only that it was a bit stressfull as I had to drive a long distance.

Before playing a concert, do you have some sort of a ritual or a lucky charm? Without what can’t you go on the scene (except for the instruments, of course!)?
No, not really. We are getting ourselves ready and warm up about 30 minutes before the show. Nothing special 😉

With whom would you most gladly share the audience? Which band influenced most your style and how exactly did it inspire you?
For me (Dom R. Crey) it would be Children of Bodom or Steel Panther even if the last haven’t influenced Nothgard at all. It would be just awesome and funny.

Who is the strangest and who is most memorable fan you’ve met so far? What is the thing that you admire most about your followers?
We ́ve met lot ́s of crazy people from around the world and there are a few guys we meet every time, which is a really cool thing! We really like hanging out with our fans as they are very polite and cool guys.

What do you prefer – small, intimate concerts or vast festivals? Why?
Personally I really like big festivals as you always got people there who don ́t know the band and might discover Nothgard as something new they might like. That ́s a good way reaching new fellow fans. Of course club shows are great, too, as you mostly get a bigger party and a better atmosphere.

You’re going on a tour with Equilibrium and almighty Trollfest soon. What are you most excited about?
It ́s gonna be awesome and we can ́t wait playing all the shows in Europe. Touring is always fun, and the shows will be great as we we can ́t wait playing the new material!

Describe the concert of your dreams. Don’t be shy!
A big sold out festival show with naked strippers everywhere, random stuff and the rockstar image at it’s best, haha. But this is just not happening and I guess it is better all of us have a normal live and concerts should be about the music and not the aftershow parties.

Let’s talk about the band’s future. Where does Nothgard see itself in, say, ten years? What have you done, what have you missed, what would you do and wouldn’t like to miss?
Our goal is to get bigger and more known, which in my opinion will be happening with the release of „Age of Pandora“, as we already will be touring twice, promoting the album. We would love playing the big festivals like Summer Breeze, Wacken and many more.

One of my favourite questions – would you do an album based on a book and if yes, which book would it be?
Haha good question, but a boring answer… Unfortunately we haven’t thought about it so far.

Last one – why metal?
Why not? 😉 Metal is the music we love, and it ́s so much fun playing live.