NUKING MOOSE. Hailing from Bremen in Germany. Established ten years ago, in 2013. Back then with a male singer, Lars Michalsky. But since last year with a female singer by the name of Liz / Miss ScarRed (whom you might know from her work with Aeternitas, Chaos Rising and as a solo artist). But most of all, with a really interesting debut album called “Ritual“ out since July 29th. Enough facts and reasons to send Liz some questions. So we did, and here’s the little tête-à-tête we had with the charismatic redhead (we mean that complimentary, Liz).
INTERVIEW BY: HENK VAN NIEUWENHOVEN
HELLO LIZ, WELCOME TO THIS INTERVIEW ON THE OCCASION OF THE RELEASE OF NUKING MOOSE’S DEBUT ALBUM “RITUAL” ON JULY 29TH. HOW ARE YOU DOING?
Hi and thanks for your inquiry. Personally I am doing very well, the tension from the release is easing and it is getting calmer again.
NUKING MOOSE IS A NEW ADVENTURE FOR YOU, SINCE YOU JOINED THEM IN MAY 2022 AFTER VOCALIST LARS MICHALSKY HAD LEFT THE BAND. WAS THE CONTACT ACHIEVED RIGHT AFTER THE SPLIT-UP OF YOUR PREVIOUS BAND AETERNITAS?
No, it took a moment. I had to deal with the quick dissolution of Aeternitas. I put a lot of work and time into it, and the goals were big, as well as the shock at the end. I wanted to take care of my solo project, I didn’t want to leave a band again. I was very depressed and very sad. I got many offers, even from famous bands, but I turned them down. One very sad evening I found the ad of NUKING MOOSE, the band was looking for a male singer. On a whim I applied for the fun of it and we met for a rehearsal and it felt right. Maybe it was a coincidence, I don’t know, but it was a good decision.
YOU PROBABLY MUST HAVE ASKED THE REST OF THE BAND WHY THEY ARE CALLED NUKING MOOSE, WANNA SHARE THAT? AND WHO ARE THE GUYS BEHIND MISS SCARRED?
Yes, I have. The story about the name is that there is none (*laughs*). It was supposed to be a strong name that would stick in your head, which seems to have happened because people keep asking us for it. There are no guys behind Miss ScarRed. Yes, I am the front woman, but is there a front woman without a band? No. We are all on the same level, we are NUKING MOOSE together and everybody is behind everybody here.
WHEN DID YOU START TO RECORD YOUR VOCALS FOR NUKING MOOSE’S DEBUT ALBUM “RITUAL” AND WHERE DID THAT TAKE PLACE?
The complete recordings took place at Daniel Baune‘s Tectonic Tone Studio in Hassendorf. The instrumental recordings began in January. My vocal recordings started in April 2023.
THE FIRST SINGLE AND OFFICIAL VIDEO TAKEN FROM THE DEBUT ALBUM WAS FOR THE TITLE TRACK “RITUAL” . YOU WROTE THE LYRICS FOR THAT SONG, BUT WHY IS IT CALLED “RITUAL” AS THE WORD NEVER SHOWS UP IN THE LYRICS? OR IS IT ALL EXPLAINED IN THE VIDEO?
Yes, it is a story video. It is about a man who has lost his wife. He tries to bring his wife back to life through a ritual performed by a hermit. The video shows the story behind it. The respect of all of us goes to Jabben. He wrote the script, he shot the scenes himself, he edited the video, everything. You can see more of it on YouTube. There you can find not only “Making Of Video Ritual” (https://youtu.be/LMPcA9kQ6jw), but also the complete “Making Of Album Ritual” (https://youtu.be/aaNbTNm1IFY), the videos were made by Jabben as well.
DID YOU WRITE ALL THE LYRICS FOR THE ALBUM?
No, there are songs on the album that already had lyrics. Of course the previous singer Lars wrote them and I took them over or even changed or completed them.
“When they witnessed the world’s first nuclear explosion, which changed the course of history forever, we thought it would also be appropriate for the closing song of our album, because music also has an irrepressible power.”
– LIZ / MISS SCARRED –
THE ALBUM OPENS WITH “FLOATING”, A RATHER MULTIFACETED SONG THAT GOES DIFFERENT WAYS PARTLY AT THE HANDS OF YOUR VOICE. IS IT THEREFORE THAT YOU LABEL YOUR MUSIC AS MELODIC DEATH METAL WITH METALCORE / DOOM INFLUENCES?
I can’t give you a good answer to this question. There is a meme from our producer, in it he tries to explain what style of metal we do, the explanation is very wild (*laughs*). Also in different reviews our style is described differently. The answer to this is obvious… we do what we feel and everyone is allowed to call it what they want.
IN “MESSAGE TO THE DEAD” THERE ARE ALSO SOME HIPHOP INFLUENCES AND THE BREAK HALFWAY IS JUST BRILLIANT. IT GIVES YOU TIME TO THINK WHAT THAT MESSAGE TO THE DEAD WOULD BE. HOWEVER, IF WE TURN IT AROUND, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE MESSAGE OF THE DEAD WOULD BE FOR THE LIVING?
I think the message from the dead to the living can be that you should not run away from death and life, leaving behind sad people who loved you. There is always a solution other than running away. A dead person no longer bears the consequences, those are borne by the people we left behind.
THE MUSIC ON “RITUAL” IS QUITE CHARACTERISTIC AND THEREFORE EASY TO RECOGNIZE (MAINLY DUE TO THE GUITAR RIFFS AND YOUR VOICE). IN YOUR PRESS KIT YOU ARE COMPARED TO THE AGONIST AND JINJER. ANY OTHER BAND YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THAT?
In a press kit, people who don’t know us yet, need an orientation, that’s an unwritten rule. I don’t think there are any direct comparisons for what we do. I find it very hard to compare one band to another anyway, every band is individual.I think we proved that with this album.
AT THE END OF “WAR GAME” YOU SCREAM: GOD HATES US ALL. WHY DO YOU THINK SO? DO YOU THINK THAT HE HAS TURNED HIS BACK ON US AND IF SO, ISN’T THAT OUR OWN FAULT CONSIDERING WHAT WE DID TO HIS CREATION?
“War Game” has nothing to do with religion in this song, because I have no position on that. God isn’t meant in a religious sense here, but as a metaphor for an almighty power. You yourself are the monster you have to fight, and the others think they are the so-called God who wants to tell you what you have to fight with and what you have to fulfill.
IT’S HARD TO POINT OUT A FAVOURITE SONG ON “RITUAL”, BUT “SILENCE” HAS A LIGHT PREFERENCE AS IT IS THE MOST AGGRESSIVE ONE ON THE ALBUM. WHAT IS YOURS AND WHY?
“Floating” and “Values” are my most intimate songs on the album and my two favorite songs. They both have all the feelings and emotions compressed into one song. “Floating” comes from my deepest soul. In the part starting at 2:25 minutes, the original demo voices were used and edited. I wrote and recorded this song in a single, very dark night. The panic, desperation and sadness in the voice let people be a part of the state of my soul that I was in. It was an honest snapshot of that feeling and something like that cannot be honestly reproduced. With “Values“, I think the message is very important. It’s about the right values and how the world determines which person is worth how much, also I love the vocals together with Godt (2nd voice/guitar) in the chorus.
ALBUM CLOSER “WHAT IS LEFT” IS ALSO QUITE INTERESTING, BECAUSE OF THE SPOKEN WORDS AT THE BEGINNING. HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE “OPPENHEIMER” YET?
Yes. When they witnessed the world’s first nuclear explosion, which changed the course of history forever, we thought it would also be appropriate for the closing song of our album, because music also has an irrepressible power. For us, it has no other association with the content of the movie.
ARE YOU SECRETLY HOPING TO INK A DEAL WITH A GERMAN LABEL LIKE NAPALM RECORDS OR NUCLEAR BLAST AFTER YOU HAVE DRAWN THEIR ATTENTION WITH YOUR DEBUT ALBUM?
We deliberately made this album without a label, it’s not really a dream of ours. But if a label with the possibilities to boost us and our music would offer a fair deal to us, changes are high that we would accept, of course. Yes, we have caused a stir and if a suitable label approaches us, we are ready for talks. But as a newcomer we are still too small for Nuclear Blast or Napalm Records… I think.
HOW WAS THE ALBUM RELEASE PARTY WITH SKYSHAPER AND WORLD OF SICKNESS AT THE ZOLLKANTINE IN BREMEN ON JULY 29TH?
The album release party was a great success for us and we had an explosive evening with the other bands and all the fans. We also played at the Rock For Animal Rights Festival on June 16th.
WEBSITE: https://nukingmoose.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/nkmbremen