Hi Chris, you little Dutch bitch! It seemes that you were really pissed off to do such an ravaging, brutal, fast fucker like Storm of the horde it is? Am I right? Congratulation to your first masterpiece!

Yeah we were pissed off like hell indeed! Hope you all like it and if you don't well we don't fucking care!

It's really cool that you piss against the stream with all those melo, neo fuckin stuff writing lame and boring stuff. KATAFALK wrotes exclusive for me only fast stuff, hahaha. The way Thrash Metal must be, if you ask me! Your commend, please!

You're damn right about that cause this is exactly how metal should be!

Ok, enough with those slimy words! Tell us a little bit about the beginning of Katafalk! When did you start to play? Line up changes in that time till now? What music did you play in the past? How old are you and the rest of dopesmoking, motherfucking Katafalk!

I started Katafalk in 1995 and I'm the only original member left. All others have fucked off or were kicked out of the band. Katafalk plays true metal only and if you don't like it you can all fuck off! I'm 29 yrs old, the rest of the band basically just got out of their diapers being 20-23 yrs old, hehe.
The name KATAFALK, what means it? What stands behind the name Katafalk! When I read the name first time, I`ve thought you are a posing and disgusting make up wearing Black Metal Band, hahaha.

KATAFALK is a Dutch word and means hearse. It's coming on wheels and it's bringing death, exactly like
KATAFALK is a Dutch word and means hearse. It's coming on wheels and it's bringing death,
exactly like we do when we come and play somewhere! The same word exists in German too, as well in some other languages. Nevertheless, nobody has ever heard of it and that amuses me a lot haha.

Tell us a littel bit about your influences! Who rules in your ears?

Mainly old 80's thrash and 90's death metal. Slayer, Kreator, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sadus, Morbid Angel, Dismember, Dissection, Emperor, Defleshed, Rebaelliun and many others are bands that rule.

In the infosheet stands that Katafalk mixes Thrash/Black/Death to an own style. I hear Katafalk only playing Thrash metal in a very fast way! No Black! No Death! What do you think about?

Well if that's what you hear than that's what you fuckin' hear! We've been labeled all kinds of styles, from brutal death metal to black metal to hyperfast thrash metal and there's a bit of everything of Katafalk, so I don't fuckin' care how all those fuckers label us.

What do you think about your labelmates, wich plays a little bit in the same way like Katafalk, called INRI and Crustacean?

Yeah they also play thrash influenced stuff which is a good thing. Both great bands and cool to hang out with.

You did a Netherlands-Tour with Crustacean and I.N.R.I, why only in the Netherlands? I think many German Metalheads would like to see you live, too!

We did multiple gigs with INRI cause we're on a package with them. We only did one gig with Crustacean so far, but we will play with them again soon. If you German metalheads want to see us, book us! By the way Katafalk is also confirmed to play on Party.San Open Air in Germany so go see us there.

The track "Empty Life" is a little bit other than the rest: The vocals are screamed a little bit slowlier and the track is a little bit more melodic. A little bid like the old Swedish bands it did in the past! Your commend please! Uuuhhh, I love this goddamn track!!!

Well I didn't know if all of you brutal lovers were going to like it but I like it very much so it's on the album and everybody seems to love it anyway. Big surprise hehe. The track rules indeed. We started our CD-release party with that big Maiden-like intro and then blasted off like hell.

Are you into football? Are you satisfied with the result that Team Netherland did on the last world championship? Hahahaha

I don't care about fuckin' football and the Dutch team was only good about 15 fuckin' years ago in 1988. Football sucks.

Commin' to the vocals from Wokkel: His stile reminds me a little bit to old Dark Angel: He screams his words ultrafast in some songs. This is a stile wich not many vocalists follow!

It's exactly how the singing should be for this music. I like the fast and aggressive singing on classic albums like Dark Angel's Darkness Descends, Kreator's Pleasure To Kill, Sadus' Illusions or Slayer's Reign In Blood.

Michiel, your drummer is a real animal behind the kit. He pounds exact like a hammer on an anvil. Are you satisfied to have such an animal behind the drums in the band?

No I prefer he would hit like a bitch haha :) Of course I'm satisfied with Michiel! He really pushes the songs to the max with his ultra fast blasting. He's the best drummer Katafalk has ever had and the last few weren't pussies either. He's totally dedicated to Katafalk so I'm glad to have him with us.

I know an album from Stigmatheist but it never satisfied me, hahaha. It was really boring: Was this your first musical step in business?

You're confusing with INRI now! Stigmatheist was the former band of some INRI-members. I never heard it but saw them live once. INRI is much better!

When it comes to the scene (Black, Thrash, Death and Grind), what do you think about? What do you think about your "local" scene?

The Groningen area has been very fruitful and there are lots of bands around. Besides very old Heavy Metal bands like Vortex, Katafalk is one of the oldest bands from Groningen, having been around since 1995. After that many other bands came and there are some good ones like As It Burns, Seizure, Obtuse, Winter Of Sin and Monastery. A lot of bands feature ex-Katafalk members by the way.

Did Katafalk a Demo or anything else before “Storm of the Horde”? Because I`ve never heard before the album about you!

Katafalk released a demo in 1997 called "Through The Storm" and a thing called "Promo 2001". We made 200 copies of the demotape (all gone) but didn't really promote it because the line-up collapsed shortly after its release. The song "Rise Now" appeared on this demo. Of the 2001 promo CDR we made about 800 copies (all gone). All songs ended up on the album in a re-recorded version, those are "Birthmark 666", "Hatred" and "Operation Mindloss".

When will you tour in Germany?

We certainly will tour Germany in the near future! Interested tourpromotors, book us!

In the thanx list stands greetings to Cremation! Do you know their actual album "Retaliation"? I think it`s a great piece of Death Metal!

We played live with them once and they're a good band indeed. Their guitarplayer Paul is in Thanatos too.

What`s up with Dead Head? Any news about these fuckers?

Yeah I know they got a new singer and a new bassplayer. Their previous singer/bassist Michiel Dekker is now in Monolith, who will also release an album via Cold Blood Industries. Robbie Woning (guitars) still writes for Dutch Aardschok Magazine and also has done some production work in Franky's Recording Kitchen (famous studio of CBI co-owner Berthus Westerhuys). Recently we got fanmail out of Japan cause one of the DeadHead guys recommended Katafalk to them. Thanks for that, dudes!

Do you have some songs for the next record ready? Wich stile will it follow? Again Thrash metal as fast as you can? Hahaha

We've already begun writing new songs. Don't expect any major changes. It could be different though, but Katafalk will stay true to its style and of course to metal in general!

Do you think Cold Blood Industries do a good job for Katafalk? Are you satisfied with their work for you? What do you think about "The Serpentkings" band God Dethroned? Hahaha, very precarious question, huh?

CBI is doing a hell of a job for Katafalk. 'Storm Of The Horde' is released worldwide and they put a lot of effort in promotion. They arrange a lot of interviews and we're in every big magazine. God Dethroned is a great band who really deserves all of their success.. We often get compared to them which of course is a compliment though of course we have a different style than them, yet similar in a way.

My gay buddy Uwe said Katafalk sucks, they are not so brutal like I.N.R.I. sounds. I tell you what I did as I heard it: I got my dick and pissed him straight in his ugly face, hahaha. Any commends about HIS commend, hahaha.

INRI and Katafalk both sound brutal as fuck and we get along well, so there's no need for competetion. Tell your guy buddy Uwe he can suck his own dick and eat shit haha :)

Before we close this shit, tell me about the reactions by press and maniacs about "Storm of the Horde"!

Some scores: Aardschok (NL): 85/100, Rockhard (D): 8/10, Legacy (D): 13/15. Everybody is pretty excited about the record and we've gotten lots of good reactions by both press as metalmaniacs worldwide. We've received a lot of fanmail too.

Why should anybody buy "Storm of the Horde"

It's a great album with a great sound, it literally comes crushing out of your speakers! 13 tracks, no fillers just killers of death/thrashin' intensity! Buy or die!

O.K. dear pussy, that`s all. I think I´ve nothing forged. The last words are yours and don`t feel ugly when Team Netherland will not play at the next football worldchampionship, hahaha. And don`t smoke to much dope, hahaha. Greets to the rest of Katafalk, Thanx for this great Metal Album! Cheers and Death to all Posers! Marcus / Carnage Zine

Thanks Marcus for your fuckin' interview! We don't smoke dope over here, maybe you and your gay buddy did smoke some! Football really sucks, enjoy our album 'Storm Of The Horde' instead! Drink beer, bang your heads and see you on tour! Check out our website www.katafalk.com for news, tourdates, merchandise, downloads and other stuff. And Support Real Metal!!!

Interview: Marcus