#ROADTOBOA Interview: Beyond The Black

Bloodstock 2016 logoHere we go again… Last year we covered every band on the Hobgoblin New Blood and Jagermeister stages in the run-up to Bloodstock 2015. This year, we’re going one better and aim to have interviews from all the bands on those two stages as well as all of those on the SOPHIE stage prior to the event kicking off on August 11th. That’s almost 100 interviews to get online for you lucky people over the course of the next couple of weeks. I bloody love this job, but you lot owe me a beer at Catton Hall, right?

Thanks to all the bands who’ve taken the time to respond!

Beyond The Black – SOPHIE Stage, Friday

Founder member Jennifer Haben answered the following for us…

Simple things first – where is Beyond The Black from?

We’re from Southern Germany.

How long has the band been going?

BTB basically started in January 2014. Our first show was the 31st July 2014 at Wacken Open Air.

Where does the name of the band come from?

The idea behind the name “Beyond the Black” was the thought about the look and the lyrics of our band. The tough, “dark” boys in the back and some kind of light in the front. And when you think about the lyrics of our first album, you will hear so many songs with sad, melancholic stories but at one point there’s a bit of hope… well, something beyond the black.

Following up from the recent big news, I’ve not been able to find an interview in English and Google Translate only goes so far so please excuse me if you’ve had these questions before! What led to the decision to part ways with the rest of the band?

The plan to release internationally has so many consequences. It was not possible for my old band members to go that step further with me. There were private and occupational reasons that influenced their decision to leave BTB.

What line-up for the band can we expect at Bloodstock?

I’ve found some spontaneous transitional musicians who will make a great job at Bloodstock. We already played Wacken and a full headline-set together and I can promise that BTB will be heard in a more than satisfactory manner.

Are you the main musical creator in Beyond The Black? And if not, how do you feel that bringing in a completely new crew will change or influence your sound?

I have been the main musical creator so far. Of course, with the new musicians there will be some other influences, too, but Beyond The Black was always very diverse, so I think this can be a positive development.

What are your musical influences?

I love many bands with a strong woman at the front like Within Temptation or Halestorm. But I also love Queen, Elvis or the awesome album Sempiternal by Bring me the Horizon. So many different influences that appear in the diversity in Beyond the Black.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

Like I said before, BTB is very diverse and I think, that’s the reason why we reach so many people. Not just the people of the metal genre, also the housewives that hear “Pearl in a World of Dirt” while they’re cleaning the house or the kids that are hearing “Running to the Edge” while playing Pokémon Go! I love thinking about such potential situations!

What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you?

All I can say about our show is that we play with so much fun and passion that it will be a big celebration with us. We will give everything for you and you would be part of our first step into foreign countries.

When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?

Two or three months ago our management told us that we got a slot at Bloodstock. We were so excited to finally return after our tour with the mighty Saxon and to see our fans in England. I’m sure that will be awesome!

What sort of setlist can we expect?

It will be a good mix of our first and second albums with a very special song everybody knows. Stay tuned!

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment the main focus lies on the audition to find the right boys (or girls) to go on tour with, but I’m also writing songs for some special things.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?

The craziest thing I’ve seen on tour was on the first tour we ever supported – the Saxon Tour in England. We were in one nightliner with Saxon and on our journey home we were waiting for the ferry. The boys were bored and decided to make a match that only boys can come up with. It felt like 2 degrees(!) and in teams they were running around the nightliner just in boxer-shorts and with a beer in one hand that had to be empty when they wereback at the door. I don’t know why you’d do something like this, but it was so funny to listen to the discussion in the end, that the winner-team was cheating – like always ;)

What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?

It’s the most important thing to be surrounded by people you like! Get great band members, get a great team that believes in you. And if you have this and you really believe in yourself and work hard for what you love, you will make your way.

If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!

For the band before our show I would choose a band that’s provided by the Wacken Foundation. It’s great what they’re doing for so many smaller bands so it’s obviously to support them. For the last band I would say Queen with Freddy if I could, but unfortunately that’s not possible anymore. Of course it would be great to support one of our main influences, no matter what one.

What stage / time are you playing at Bloodstock (if you have your slot yet!)

We’ll play the 12th August from 8pm till 9 pm at the Sophie Lancaster Stage. We’re so looking forward to this!

Check out the band’s Lost in Forever release via the facebook app.

 

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