Kärbholz is a metal band from Germany, and they were our guests for an interview during their appearance at this year’s edition of Wacken Open Air.

Benedetta

I’m here with the amazing Kärbholz today. How are you doing, guys?

Kärbholz

Thank you, we’re very fine. How are you?

Benedetta

I’m very good, thank you. You’re playing Wacken Open Air in the 35th anniversary edition. How does it feel?

Kärbholz

It’s really, really amazing. We played here the first time in 2013 and this is the second time that we’re allowed to play on one of the bigger stages and it’s always a great feeling to come back here. I mean, how good can it be? Like, the anniversary on the biggest metal festival on earth, beautiful weather, seeing beautiful bands and having the opportunity to play in front of these amazing people, so many of them.

Benedetta

Since you have a lot of experience in playing live shows, but you also have experience in producing music and working on music, do you think that the life of an artist is a lonely life?

Kärbholz

Hopefully not, no. No. At first hand we are four guys in our band and we meet on a regular basis for rehearsals, so there’s no loneliness in that, for example, and also we’re friends. But in one way you might be right, because I feel like I’m writing the lyrics, and for myself I feel you write the best lyrics if you are outside your comfort zone. You have to feel some pain, because if you’re just lazy and you arrive somewhere and you’re like, “Okay, it’s good for me, life is perfect“, what do you write about? So, for me, I try to get in these situations where I’m outside my comfort zone, maybe getting a bit nervous, anxious or whatever, just to have something to write about. This might be, from time to time, also a lonely place, because maybe you’re surrounded by people, but you have thoughts, and you’re the only one who got these thoughts and try to put them in words. But then we’re back together, and you’re able to share this with so many people and this is perfect, awesome.

Benedetta

Do you think that we will ever reach some sort of equality between men and women in the metal world?

Kärbholz

I hope so, because I do love all-female bands or female-fronted bands, and I had the honor to, two years ago, to play drums in a female-fronted band just for one gig. Yeah, she’s a friend of mine, and she was like, “Yeah, we want to do one last show but we don’t have a drummer“, and I was like, “Yeah, if you don’t find anybody else, I’ll do it“. I was thinking that I was never going to do it, but then she was like, “Yeah, you have to do it!” And it was a great show, and because we did a support for Liv Kristine, which was also, you know, female-fronted, which is great, and I hope we do get a day where we have equality, because we just were watching Kittie here on the loudest stage, and it was awesome, you know, and I think we do need more females in metal. In the first place, there should be an opportunity. It shouldn’t be something strange when girls form a band and say, I’ll do really hard metal stuff, whatever it is. It should be a normal thing, so I think it’s not important to have as many bands with female frontiers, as many male frontiers. I think this is not the point, it’s just like, it should be normal, and I think this is on a good way, because so many female-fronted or all-female bands are really huge, and really like… Yeah, and this is a good thing. When we play, when we will play at our time at the same time today, tonight, Arch Enemy is playing. So, also really, really nice. Hopefully, some people will come to our gig, not only to Arch Enemy. I think it’s about time, especially in metal, that we have a change, you know, because like in the 70s, 80s metal, it’s on most of the male front, and it’s all about like being a big, muscular guy, fucking all around and stuff like that, and we do need more emotions, we do need more everything, you know, and so I also think they are getting older, and there’s a switch and change in this perception, you know, and females can help.

Benedetta

Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Is there anything else that you want to add to our readers and viewers?

Kärbholz

Be careful with each other, love each other, have fun, have a great time, and yeah, go on and play some fucking music and hear some fucking music. Make love on the washboard, this is it.