After three years of significant change Eïs has emerged from the destructive oceanic forces of legal threats, a change of name and the departure of several members last year. Judging by the latest album Wetterkreuz the band has emerged stronger than ever. Front man and core member Alboin gives a full and frank account of the bands trials, tribulations and an insight into the release that could see Eis emerge from its recent shipwreck and make its mark outside its native Germany.
AN: Firstly let’s get the legal battle out of the way (Geist was forced to change its name 18 months ago to Eïs). ‘Geist’ is a fairly common word in Germany isn’t it? So can’t there be two bands called Geist?
Alboin: Could be, of course – given that all parties are content with a peaceful coexistence. One party obviously was not, for whatever reason. There are still some bands out there with that name, and always will be… a lot to do for the Cologne boys to force them out of their way to the top of European rock music. Good luck! We’re enjoying music so far.
AN: It must have felt like a pretty big set-back?
Alboin: A little one actually. That’s something that just doesn’t get into my head. For me, making music has always been something very personal – with a business side of it of course, but nevertheless all musicians have always been kind of comrades for me, aiming for similar goals with producing art. If something really rocked me back on my heals, it must’ve been the emotional coldness I had to witness, that not granting another band with a similar name the dirt under their fingernails. Musically that didn’t have any effect, and we also successfully managed to keep our identity. It’s still black metal and we won’t moan about something like that… so, no set-back, sir.
AN: I like that you only changed two letters of the band’s name (dropping the ‘G’ and the ‘T’). But it sounds like other changes ran more deeply. Is this still the same band?
Alboin: It remained the same band after the renaming, for sure, but somehow hasn’t been afterwards and especially after the split with three band members. But that has nothing to do with bearing another name. 
AN: Was it necessary for the band to split or was that a product of the problems caused by the legal battle?
Alboin: That had really nothing to do with that legal battle (by the way, we weren’t forced to change the name by a legal decision but preferred to do so before things could have developed thus far). Everything related to the changes having taken place a year ago had musical and personal reasons, and I prefer not to go into detail here. After so much time it’s necessary to concentrate on current developments I suppose.
AN: You re-released some of your previous work. At what point did you feel like you had drawn a line under things and were moving on?
Alboin: Re-releasing the first two albums has been a wish I had for a couple of years long before any struggle about the band’s name or something. Overworking these albums we had produced on ourselves back then was something I needed to find my personal inner peace with them, as I always had the impression the albums were badly underachieved with all their potential.
Concerning all other happenings, like the band split… I guess when I acquainted the other guys about my decision, feeling free to do what I felt like with the band again, with Marlek as a long time comrade still by my side, I slowly grew confidential again. The final line under all these things… probably when we had re-organized the whole band, with a new logo, a new album in progress, a new rehearsal room and new members. Seldom felt something similarly relieving.
AN: How much of a relief was it to be able to record Wetterkreuz after what seems like a fairly long break since Galeere (more than three years ago)?
Alboin: A Mount Everest like one I’d say. The album that had been in progress back then, with material from the former members Cypher and Hedrykk, at a certain point didn’t fit my expectations for an EIS album at all, but I was too hamstrung and uncreative for a couple of years to change the situation. Retrieving my creative forces, following my vision again, has been extremely relieving, honestly.
AN: There are obviously similarities between 2009’s Galeere and Wetterkreuz but things have clearly moved on (I gave Wetterkreuz 9/10 in out review this month). Do you see Eïs as a continuation of things for you musically or does it differ from Geist – obviously apart from the change in band members? Do you feel the sound has changed musically?
Alboin: Both “Galeere” and “Wetterkreuz” have been written entirely by myself, that’s why there are no significant changes in the overall styling of the music and lyrics I’d say. Still, each new track and album is a mirror of the time during which it had been created. “Wetterkreuz” is an album sounding much harsher, stormy, gloomy and brutal than “Galeere”, we also aimed at a less modern, less level-headed production. Apart from that… under which name our music is released, makes no difference to me.
AN: How would you describe yourselves musically at the moment and on the new album? How does it differ from Galeere?
Alboin: “Wetterkreuz” is a harsh, melodic and highly atmospheric black metal album, both inspired by mid-nineties Scandinavian (above all Norwegian) black metal and my inner visions of how moving music should sound like. It’s the fastest and most brutal album we have recorded so far, also the most personal one for me as I’ve also played and sung everything apart from drums myself for the first time. We have created it in an extremely short time span, so it’s Sturm und Drang like spontaneously done I’d say. “Galeere” has been much more elaborated, rehearsed to the bone, clad in a clear, nearly well-behaved production. Still, both albums are comprised of the same ingredients – atmospheric riffs, additional keyboard layers, dynamic drums, very long songs, ambient interludes, atmospheric effects. I suppose we found our signature style with “Wetterkreuz”.
AN: It feels to me there is more variation emotionally in your music than a lot of black metal bands I could mention. Is this intentional?
Alboin: Partly. Emotion never is really intentional I’d say, but giving emotion space within your music is intentional. As everything that really, really matters to me in music is emotion, I would see no sense in composing or releasing albums lacking this. To a high extent, music and lyrics for “Wetterkreuz”, just like on the previous albums, digest what is floating around within me. Of course, that suggests the (obviously true) assumption that the time of creating “Wetterkreuz” has been very stormy and emotional for me… and that results in everything between hopeless and hopeful I guess.
AN: Can you tell us about the theme of the album for those of us that don’t speak German?
Alboin: “Wetterkreuz” translates to weather cross. A weather cross is/has been a three bar cross raised on mountains, protecting against bad weather and evil forces – a pretty superstitious thing that is. Just like on “Galeere”, the album deals with certain metaphors and visuals – here we have everything related to mountains, rocks, abysses, cliffs and the like. The cover artwork certainly expresses the overall genuine atmosphere of the album quite well.
AN: To what extent is the term ‘black metal’ still relevant to Eïs?
Alboin: It is relevant. The question is: What is meant by “black metal” then? To me, black metal is a personally touching genre of music, the one that surely, after more than 16 years, confirms to be the most fitting to me. Connected to that are some forms of expression that genuinely belong to black metal and which are used on EIS albums as well. Talking about stuff like black metal life style with all its conformist clothing, hair styling, attitude towards life, religion and so forth… that’s crap left for sheep in wolf’s clothing. Black metal how I understand it is something you feel and that needs no conform expression to be judged as such. Seen like that… black metal is very much relevant to EIS.
AN: I am guessing that the first song Mann aus Stein (‘Man of Stone’) may have some relevance to the band’s recent past history? What about the other tracks?
Alboin: Actually, “Mann aus Stein” is something very personal related to me and has only little relevance to the band’s past years. A little, though, I’ve to admit. All other tracks have less connections to factual happenings, apart from the album closing “Bei den Sternen” [‘In the Stars’ – ed] I’d say. “Auf Kargen Klippen” [‘On Barren Cliffs’] makes use of the metaphor of barren cliffs, bare of any life that is, and thus is closely related to “Mann aus Stein”. The title track, “Wetterkreuz”, is a little similar to the track “Kainsmal” [‘Mark of Cain’ – first released by Geist on 2006’s Kainsmal and re-released as Eis last year], with some biblical hints and metaphors as well, radiating a very accusing, bitter taste towards mankind. “Am Abgrund” [On the Brink’] is in the classically Nietzschean way a personal track as well… you know what Nietzsche said about staring in the abyss. It somehow turns the corner in the end though, with an at least neutral, partly hopeful view up from the abyss to the stars.
AN: Can you also tell us about the other band members? Is the roster likely to change and are there other members contributing? Do you feel Eïs is where you want it to be for the future?
Alboin: Marlek is playing drums, just like he did since the day that I started making music, and he will surely do so until the end of that band. Playing with us are Abarus on lead guitars, a young and very skilled guitarist, equally skilled C:R:A on rhythm guitars and multi-instrumentalist, photographer and graphic designer Satyrus.S on keyboards. C:R:A and Satyrus.S are members of Funeral Procession as well, a band both Marlek and me play or have played in.
Comparing the 2012 EIS to all other incarnations of the past, I can just say that we have an amazingly skilled and dedicated line-up, with all members being motivated, reliable and personally involved, which is a fantastic feeling really. Hopefully there’s nothing to change in that constellation… I’m thankful for having the opportunity to play with these guys; it’s just amazing as it is.
About contributing… I’ve to admit that I enjoy playing the dictator when it comes to writing music and lyrics, at least. There’s always a little space for contributions of course, but as I have finally noticed how much I follow a clear vision of this band, I can’t dissociate myself from this. That is no problem anyway; all members have other bands they’re contributing to.
AN: What about your other musical projects and those of other band members? Are they on going? Most of them are very different to Eïs from what I have heard, or maybe you disagree?
Alboin: Huh, a lot to mention in here.
Marlek has joined a young band called Multiple Destruction Assault a couple of months ago – they’re doing some kind of melodic death/modern/prog metal just for the fun of playing it and he has the metal grandpa role there I guess. Apart from that, he’s playing drums in Funeral Procession. C:R:A has played in various bands over the past fifteen years, and still is a member of Funeral Procession besides doing his own thing with a death’n roll outfit called Sethnefer. Satyrus.S, also member of Funeral Procession, mainly concentrates on the visual aspect of art and has no other musical projects. Abarus, as the last one to mention, plays lead guitar in Out Of Mind, which is kind of a modern metal band including influences ranging from death metal to mathcore and from prog to pop.
Concerning things I do, and I’ve done quite a lot during the past years: Enid seems to be dead, and if not, I won’t be taking part anymore. Inarborat is lying dormant for more than five years, and I haven’t heard of its mastermind Miserere for years, so probably there’s nothing to happen. I’ve quit playing in Funeral Procession as well, they have a guitarist called Arjan van Grimhusen instead. Lantlôs has been something I did vocals on the first album, and that’s it. Actually, as a fully employed guy with the wish for some kind of private life, it seems better to concentrate on what is really important to me, and that is EIS.
AN: And where next for Eïs? Presuming there are no other bands out their called Eïs?
Alboin: I expect law suits from some kind of Venezuelan hip hop solo artist or something each day…
We’re going to play live as often as possible during the coming year and have a lot of gigs confirmed already. Looks good we’ll be under way in Europe next Spring for a few days as well. I’ve also started writing some new music and hopefully we’ll by recording the fifth album in about one year. So, a lot to do.
Thank you for the extremely interesting questions and your support!
Interview by Reverend Darkstanley
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