We last chatted to Swiss band Invoker back in early 2017. Time for a catch-up!
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Andy Meier (Guitars): We are Invoker from the city of Lucerne in the centre of Switzerland.
How did you meet?
We’ve all known each other for a very long time. Except Patrick, our bass player, we all grew up in the same town. Peter and David our singers are brothers. Peter and I went to school together and we’ve been friends since first grade. We met Raphael our drummer on the playground near the school and through stuff like skateboarding and playing basketball and our mutual interest in metal we got to know each other and became good friends. Those common interests lead us to meet Patrick a few years later and he also became a good friend, years before we started Invoker.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Most of us played in other bands before Invoker was formed. Peter and I previously played in a melodic metal band called Sense Of A Divination and David used to sing in a beat down band called Prison Planet and occasionally helped out in Sense Of A Divination as a session bass player. Invoker was formed six years ago and the lineup hasn’t changed since then.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Back when we were searching for a band name I was working as a software engineer and in the program I was working on I had to use a software code function that was called Invoker. It was used to call small sub-programs within that program. I liked the sound of the word, and also liked the meaning of invoking something, so I told my bandmates about the idea of calling us Invoker and they liked it too, so it was settled!
What are your influences?
Oh, there are so many! We do not have a particular set of bands we call direct influences. The influences come from every band we like and we do not restrict ourselves with any boundaries. Yes the main core of Invoker is hardcore but because we also like a lot of different music genres we have many styles in the mix. If I had to name some bands we’re influenced by right now I would say Landscapes, Counterparts, God Seed, Explosions In The Sky andThe Gaslight Anthem to name a few.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
As I mentioned, the main core is hardcore but we blend in different styles like post metal and black metal. This is nothing new, but the way we write our songs gives a pretty unique theme.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Our lyrics are almost all about about mental health. Some of our members have experiences with mental illness like depression and anxiety, in the past and some currently. Our singer David is trying to process these experiences in his lyrics. We want to show people the severity of those issues and that mental illnesses are more common than some might think. We have been accused of somehow trying to romanticize depression, but with our lyrics we really try to reach out to people suffering the same problems and hope that we can bring them some light in the dark by showing them that they are not alone.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
If I had to describe it in three words I would say; emotional, heavy and intense. We love to have contact with the audience and like to feel the energy face to face. And to date we’ve played around 60-70 shows I’d say.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Well there are several things that we have done, like Peter once broke his wrist during the last song of a show by smashing his hand too hard against the guitar, or one time our drummer Raphael threw me into another band’s drumkit (sorry for that mates!). One thing we are not proud of (but it was hella fun!) was a show in a serbian city called Beocin where the locals filled us up with their own brand of plum schnapps called “Rakija”. We got so hammered that in the end only three people were left on the stage. The other two weren’t able to play anymore. The locals have been pissdrunk too and they enjoyed it very much so it was cool!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Peter and I both play the Marshall JVM 410 H and have since the day we started Invoker. It’s simply the best amp we’ve ever played and we couldn’t imagine another sound. We tried different amps, but nothing was able to convince us. For guitars we’ve both played Schecters for a very long time and we are genuinely satisfied with them. Peter plays a Banshee Elite 7 and I fell in love with a KM-7 some years ago.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?
Our new EP Cursed To Feel, it came out in October. Check it out!
What are your plans for 2018, into 2019?
We are going to play some shows to promote our new EP and then in 2019 we are going on tour. The dates and all the bands will be announced soon!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
We would love to support Landscapes if they were still together and for support act we would definitely take some of our friends with us, like our pals in Imperio or Deconvolution.
From previous Band of the Day Muscular Child: Dave Grohl, Mick Jagger, Prince – Who would you kiss, who would you marry and who would you kill?
I’d kiss Prince because he is obviously the most handsome of those three. I’d kill Mick Jagger because I am not into the Stones and I’d marry Dave Grohl because I think of all those three, he is the most fun dude to hang around with.
From another BotD, Vanity: If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Invest in Apple! Buy Bitcoins! I know you think you can do that backflip from the diving board, but you can’t, you will fail and really hurt your balls! Frosted Tips are not a cool look!
No seriously, I have no idea!
And from Charly&Faust: What’s your underwear colour?
Grey and Blue, nothing special but thanks for asking!
