"BETTER THAN RAW"

Finally, after years of depressing, plodding, whiny alternative and grunge muck and mire, there is a bright ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Hard rock and metal are ripe for a comeback and when it happens, Helloween will be ready. The German band has been around since 1984, comprised of members of Second Hell and Iron Fist. Since then, they've released many albums, undergone personnel changes, the suicide of drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg and of course, the Seattle invasion. Now in 1998 they return with their latest album, "Better Than Raw" on Velvel Records. Vocalist/guitarist Andi Deris gives some insight on that and on the US music scene:

By David LaDuke

DAVID LA DUKE: First off, congratulations on the new CD, "Better Than Raw." This is no doubt destined to be a classic following the footsteps of such gems as "Keeper Of The Seven Keys (Parts I & II) and I personally have to agree with the statement Kerrang! (Magazine) said that this is the best album Helloween has recorded since "Keeper." Would you agree?
ANDI DERIS I hope that I may agree.

DAVID LA DUKE: Do you agree with that?
ANDI DERIS (laughs) Well, I'm very objective. I want to agree and (laughing) yeah, I agree!

DAVID LA DUKE: I know that it's been some time since Helloween has toured North America, and I was wondering if there was any chance the band will hit these shores in support of "Raw," or do you feel the lack of support of hard rock and metal here in the 'States would be a financial risk at this time?
ANDI DERIS Yeah, it is a financial risk. We'd already scheduled to come to the 'States with Iron Maiden and Dio, then they downsized the concert halls, the venues, but the money figure was still kept the same, which means we were to pay $200,000 for 38 shows, which is a shitload of money. As I said, they downsized the venues but the sum of money was still the same. We decided not to go, not to take the risk. We just have to wait, actually, as sad as it is. We have to wait and see how the album will do in the 'States. If there's a possibility that we sell, let's say one step more than last time, then we have the financial background to tour the 'States.

DAVID LA DUKE: I've heard you've also toured with 'Maiden in Europe and Japan---
ANDI DERIS No, not Japan.
DAVID LA DUKE: It was just throughout Europe?
ANDI DERIS Yeah. I mean, Japan or Asia overall would look a little bit bad for me, because we're double-platinum there everywhere and 'Maiden just is not even gold there. It's always sad for a legend to play in front of non-legends! (laughs)

DAVID LA DUKE: I've also heard that the tour is going to continue in the middle of September. Is that true?
ANDI DERIS Yeah, we play Part Two Europe with 'Maiden again for five weeks.
DAVID LA DUKE: Are there any South American dates planned for that?
ANDI DERIS There are South American dates but they are not confirmed, so I wonder how many we play. We will play, but I don't know how many.

DAVID LA DUKE: I also heard you and the band have performed some large stadium shows with Black Sabbath. I Was wondering how you rate 'Sabbath today in '98?
ANDI DERIS Hey, this is what's happening number one for me, actually, because I remember my cousin who's four years older than I am. When I was like eleven years old, he walked in the room with one of the first Black Sabbath albums and it scared me to death! (laughs) And then suddenly, you stand onstage with exactly that band! These days, when I first listened to Black Sabbath, I did not even imagine myself with a guitar or with a microphone standing onstage in front of a lot of people and that this would be my job. That's definitely one of the strangest feelings I've ever had. Seeing the original lineup playing with Ozzy and hey, they were kicking ass!

DAVID LA DUKE: Bet that was really something. How did the title "Better Than Raw" come about? Why "Better Than Raw?"
ANDI DERIS That's actually fun. Our favorite club in Hamburg is called The Backstage. We had our coffee and beers going on and we had a chat about the pumpkins the chaps gave us after the concert and always give us after the concerts. The fans think that we were into pumpkins and we really hate them. What we hate most is raw pumpkin. Have you ever tried raw pumpkin?
DAVID LA DUKE: No, I haven't and I really don't want to. (laughs)
ANDI DERIS Somebody, I think it was Uli who said, "Well, anything better than raw." We just said then, "Yeah, that would be a title, wouldn't it?" And because we are all Smurf fans, we just take the pumpkins instead of the Smurfs and instead of the evil sorcerer Gargamel, who is always trying to cook the Smurfs and get gold out of them, we take our pumpkins and a sexy witch and she's trying to cook a pumpkin. That's the whole thing behind "Better Than Raw." That's it and that's what we went for.

DAVID LA DUKE: That'll work. I was wondering also, why was there a track in Latin? Is there a reason or a story behind this? Was it difficult for you to do as well?
ANDI DERIS Well, first of all, there's a little story behind it. Weiky (guitarist Michael Weikath) loves this Wagner and Haydn version of "Laudator Domini." ("Praise The Lord"---ed.) It's a very, very old classical symphony track from, I think, the seventeenth century. So we came up with the idea just to make a Latin title mainly for the Spanish, Italian and South American fans because their languages are based on the Roman Latin language. And we thought maybe they'd have a chance to understand and second of all, we were all convinced about the idea to make Latin metal! (laughs) It was just a stupid idea and in Helloween, stupid ideas are probably welcome! We just went for it, just to have fun. For me personally, it was a little bit strange standing behind the microphone---I never had Latin in school.
DAVID LA DUKE: Yeah, I was wondering if you spoke Latin or---
ANDI DERIS No, I didn't have it in school. I never heard about it, actually. So when Weiky came up with the stupid lyrics, I was feeling very, very relieved when I realized that I just may say the words the way I read them. So there's no special pronunciations for German, just pronounce it the way you would read it. That made it easy.
DAVID LA DUKE: It wasn't difficult, then?
ANDI DERIS It wasn't easy, but I think I gave it three or four tries, then it was all right.

DAVID LA DUKE: When will the single "Hey Lord" be released and what other tracks will be included?
ANDI DERIS I'm not quite sure if "Hey Lord" is being released in the 'States, but it might be. I know that the album will be released on September 15 in the 'States, and I know that you guys are starting out with "I Can" as the first single because we've already shot the video and it's already out in Europe and Japan and it's charted No. 1 to No. 5. That's mainly Asia. I hope that it's the right track for the US as well. If not, they'll probably try a second single. This will probably be "Hey Lord," then.

DAVID LA DUKE: So "Hey Lord" is going to just basically be throughout Europe?
ANDI DERIS Europe, Asia and South America. As I said, I don't know what the schedule is over there in the United States because you guys come up with the release in September. It's already been out there four and a half months in Europe and Asia. So you're kind of---back. (laughs) Mainly because the Japanese are very scared of imports, you know. They want to avoid the import flood from the 'States into Japan because ordering the CDs in the 'States would mean half price from the normal Japanese. And so you can imagine what's going on there.

DAVID LA DUKE: My personal favorite track on this release is the track "Time." I really like your vocal approach to this, the dynamics, the feel, the overall performance. If you had to narrow it down to just one, which would you say would be your personal fave and why?
ANDI DERIS Actually, I'm proud of songs like "Push" or "Revelation." Mainly because the song that you just mentioned is a song that I wrote by myself. So I'm very much used to that one and I've probably already lost the feeling for it.
DAVID LA DUKE: So you wrote "Time," then?
ANDI DERIS Yeah.
DAVID LA DUKE: That's a great track.
ANDI DERIS Thanks. "Push" and "Revelation," somehow I still listen to them as a fan, you know. I listen to myself, and I've never heard myself, like on "Push," for example. And I think, personally, again, very subjective. (laughs) I think it kicks ass!
DAVID LA DUKE: It does.
ANDI DERIS And I've found myself in the control-room smiling. I love the way I sound because I never listen to myself in that brutal way. I don't know that I'm able to do it. So I was kind of proud.

DAVID LA DUKE: I was wondering also, I know that you recorded a solo release, "Come In From The Rain." Do you have any plans in the future for any other solo recordings and how is that project doing for you?
ANDI DERIS I've signed for five albums for Europe and Asia and I just hope that it will be released in the 'States as well. We all know that's one of the biggest markets, so if it happens and the whole rock/metal thing wakes up again there, I would rather say I'd be hearing it. Also, released and having a chance to do something. So far, as I said, I've signed for five albums, without time pressure, so it's something that I have to do---five albums in between the next ten years, I would say.

DAVID LA DUKE: Is there any chance of you doing a solo tour or anything like that?
ANDI DERIS Yeah, I will do a solo tour, but probably only in Asia.
DAVID LA DUKE: Would you be using the same players that you recorded your album with?
ANDI DERIS Not exactly. Momentarily, I think about taking Mike from a British band called Skin. We had a tour together, they were opening up for us during the "Time Of The Oath" tour. Very, very, very good band, but they split up, which was stupid (laughs). But the guitar player is very good and I thought about taking him and replacing the old one, because the old one is actually very, very busy with his job; he's an architect and he's building houses and stuff like that. He probably doesn't have the time to go out there and tour for four, five, six, seven weeks or whatever.

DAVID LA DUKE: I understand you started your musical career as a guitarist rather than a vocalist. I find this most interesting. I was wondering if you could elaborate briefly as to when your vocals came into play and who would you cite as your influences both vocally and as a guitarist?
ANDI DERIS Well, I started out with KISS. So when I learned guitar, I played along with KISS tunes, so I would definitely mention Paul Stanley and it's quite clear that he influenced me with his way of singing. Later on I wonder how people like Rob Halford could sing that high. So I decided that I really have to sing that high as well. (laughs)

DAVID LA DUKE: Rob Halford is definitely great. I've seen him a number of times. By the way, what do you think of Ripper Owens?
ANDI DERIS Very good singer.
DAVID LA DUKE: Yeah, I think he is, too.
ANDI DERIS That's a point I have to say when I bought the new 'Priest record. I was scared that I wouldn't like the record because of the new singer.
DAVID LA DUKE: I was the same way.
ANDI DERIS Honestly, it was the other way around; I liked the record because of the new singer. But the music itself could be better. So it's a very strange mixture; it turned to the opposite, actually. I now listen to the album because of Ripper Owens.

DAVID LA DUKE: What type of guitar do you actually play?
ANDI DERIS Only Les Pauls. I don't like Strats. It's just a personal decision. Roland, for example, plays Strats only. On the other hand, with two guitarists in the band it's quite good to have a Strat player and a Gibson player. It's two sides of the coin, one left, one right, and here we go. For me, because I mainly do music, if you listen to the solo album, for example, it's my number one guitar. Or in my former band, when I wrote songs for Pink Cream 69, they were mainly written for one guitar riff. So I would then definitely go for a Les Paul because this is the only, THE ONLY guitar that fills up the whole spectrum. Again, I'm being very subjective.

DAVID LA DUKE: The first sentence of the Helloween press release/bio states, "Sadly enough, in the era of the '90s, music in North America, heavy metal has been dubbed extinct, only the fertile underground waving the flag." This is sad, but definitely true. But Andi, as you and I both know, what comes around goes around and metal will be at the forefront again. That you can bank on. I was wondering what are your personal thoughts and opinions as to why metal has been put on the back burner, taken a back seat here in North America and not elsewhere in the world?
ANDI DERIS Elsewhere in the world, grunge and alternative, for example, never were that big than in the United States. So that might be why the rest of the world is still into metal. They never gave up metal, they just added on grunge and alternative. Actually, in the rest of the world, it's not a question of "this is grunge," "this is alternative" and "this is metal," they just say that this is hard rock and heavy metal to everything. They just added on, they did not give up one for the other. This is the big difference. I understand that in the US they gave up metal music because somebody in stupid MTV said "Metal is dead."
DAVID LA DUKE: Yeah, they did make that comment.
ANDI DERIS This is something that the people just believed and did not even realize that when they go for grunge or alternative music, that this is actually metal music anyway, if you ask me. There were always a lot of bands around. Look back even to Led Zeppelin. They all talk about grunge music, alternative music, hell, what did 'Zeppelin do that's different? This is a fucking joke, you know?
DAVID LA DUKE: I see exactly what you mean.
ANDI DERIS This is all a fucking joke. They are all blended by sound, but the actual music, nothing has changed. Nobody came and invented the wheel again, know what I mean? Just because some stupid idiot in the media says, "This or that is dead," everybody believes it, and don't even realize that they are all listening to stuff that's already been there, thirty years ago!

DAVID LA DUKE: It's definitely not dead, but that's what they're trying to push here in America.
ANDI DERIS Absolutely! On the other hand, we should all sit down and relax because we all know what will happen. After the grunge, which was kind of primitive, I mean, I enjoy primitive music. I enjoyed the first Nirvana album and I still listen to it and I still love it.

DAVID LA DUKE: Myself personally, I listen to all types of music. I'm not closed-minded when it comes to that.
ANDI DERIS Well, a lot of people did just because one stupid person said, "That is dead." That's stupid, actually. That's stupid! After grunge and alternative showed up and somehow it had all come to a certain point where everybody should just say, "Hey, we are actually playing metal music again." Because it is metal music.

DAVID LA DUKE: Tell you what, Andi, I won't keep you any longer here, so that's about it. I wish you much success. Do you have any closing comments?
ANDI DERIS Just say hello to everybody and thank them for still holding the flag up for metalheads. As I realized, it's only in the US, actually, where metal went that much down probably because of some stupid idiot in the media.
DAVID LA DUKE: I've also heard it's having a time in Canada as well.
ANDI DERIS Canada is doing good, actually.
DAVID LA DUKE: I know I've heard the same thing about Canada.
ANDI DERIS Just to keep you updated, it's probably not only for us, for Helloween, but we went into Top 10 and Top 20 all over Europe except UK and Netherlands. We even went Top 5 and Top 1 in Asia, and we even went Top 4 and Top 5 in Australia. So it looks like the USA is something like the last thing to come.

DAVID LA DUKE: I'm sure you can do the same thing in the 'States if you can get this kind of music out here again.
ANDI DERIS This is the biggest market in the world, so it's very important, definitely. On the other hand, I have to say that all the still-big metal bands---I don't think they put too much hope in the US markets, still. We'll probably still have to wait another one, two, three years, but it's slowly starting out again.
DAVID LA DUKE: It will come back in time, I'm sure of that.
ANDI DERIS Hey, thanks a lot.
DAVID LA DUKE: You take care and don't miss your flight.
ANDI DERIS I will, same to you. Thanks for your time.