ACCU§ER
FRANK THOMS & DENNIS RYBAKOWSKI
Founded in 1986, German Thrashers ACCU§ER had a technical sound that were more in common with the bands on the other side of the Atlantic. They album debuted in 1987 with The Conviction and during the glory days of thrash Accuser released Who Dominates Who? in 1989, Double Talk in 1991 and Repent in 1992. In the nineties Accuser experimented with a more groove metal sound and they hired Testament and Anthrax producer Alex Perialas to produce Reflexions from 1994 and Taken by the Throat from 1995. After that they changed their name to Scartribe to pursue a more rock oriented sound.
But in 2008 Accuser reformed and since then they have put out four more albums; Agitation (2010), Dependent Domination (2011), Diabolic (2013) and The Forlorn Divide (2016). Their latest effort The Forlorn Divide was recently released through the classic metal label Metal Blade Records in February of 2016. Over their long career they have shared the stage with a ton of respected bands such as Sepultura, Forbidden, Sodom, Destruction, Tankard, Rage, Heathen, Sadus, Death Angel, Accept and Helloween. Now over to lead guitarist Dennis Rybakowski and vocalist and rhythm guitarist Frank Thoms.
We can start with a small presentation of Accuser...
Frank: Accuser was founded in 1986. With the goal of always staying committed to thrash metal in mind, a number of very different albums were released. In 1996, Accuser disbanded and reformed again after a creative break twelve years later. With a new line-up, the band picked up momentum again and put out five releases over the last six years. The most recent album, "The Forlorn Divide", is the first album with Metal Blade Records and its songs will be heavily featured during the upcoming festival season. After that, planning and writing for a new record will begin. It'll be exciting to see what the future holds!
Right off the bat, You released The Forlorn Divide a couple of weeks ago, are you satisfied with how it has been received by the media and your fans?
Frank: We're incredibly satisfied with the album itself, which has been the result of a lengthy writing and recording phase, as well as with the reactions, which have been fantastic so far.
Dennis: We're quite happy with the very positive reception. We definitely experimented more on this record and tried to push things in a new direction and we weren't sure how this would go over with the fans and the critics. But everyone seems to enjoy it so we can rest easy.
Prior to the release of The Forlorn Divide you signed up to Metal Blade Records. It must be an exciting time for the band being signed to such a legendary label?
Dennis: Yeah, it's a great honor for all of us to be part of this esteemed metal label with a rich history. It's been an awesome experience working with the good folks at Metal Blade and this record deal has opened up many opportunities for us as a band. We're more excited than ever to see what the future has in store for us.
When people talk about German thrash metal they mostly talk about Sodom, Kreator, Destruction and Tankard. But there were so many talented thrash bands from Germany in the eighties, such as Assassin, Mekong Delta, Holy Moses, Angel Dust, Iron Angel, Exumer, Accuser and few more. Was it hard to get your music across when there were so many talented bands around in the eighties?
Frank: It's completely normal for every genre to have a few big names and a lot of lesser known artists. It's impossible to have every band be equally successful. We did a lot of things right with Accuser in the 80's and I think that our situation would've been a very different one today, if we hadn't broken up in the 90's. But I also feel that our creative break was necessary in order to regain our focus and get a fresh perspective on us and the metal scene. In addition, our current line-up would've probably never existed without the break, which would've been unfortunate.
Did you play any live shows with Kreator, Tankard, Destruction or Sodom in the eighties?
Frank: We played with all those bands in the 80's, except for Kreator.
Accuser - Frank Kimpel, Dennis Rybakowski, Frank Thoms & Olli Fechner.
In the eighties you released The Conviction in 1987 and Who Dominates Who? in 1989. How was the good old days for Accuser?
Frank: The 80's were a great time because thrash metal was still young and everything was based on experimentation. There were no set rules for the genre and many classic songs came from completely spontaneous ideas. Today, there is a lot more music and you have to be careful to not sound too similar to somebody else or you won't stand out from the crowd. On the other hand, spontaneity can still result in great material, so if something simply sounds good, then it's worth considering, even if it features similarities to other songs.
You are re-releasing your eighties catalogue again right?
Frank: Yeah and it's a great thing in my opinion because one of the questions we get the most is where to get our old releases. Now they're available again and the younger generations can finally check out all the classic Accuser material. The originals from back in the day are still valuable collector's items though, so don't throw them away just yet :)
In the nineties Accuser's sound changed from your typical techno-thrash sound to a more groove metal sound, why did you chose to go in that direction?
Frank: It wasn't a conscious choice to change our musical direction, it just happened naturally as we wrote material that we liked. The songs were still thrash metal songs, just with a slower pace and a more direct feel. This allowed me to experiment more with my voice. This is also the reason why the vocals on "Taken By The Throat", which was our last album before breaking up, came out very aggressive sounding.
Around that time you worked with Rob "Wacko" Hunter and Alex Perialas who produced Testament and Anthrax amongst others. How was it to work with them?
Frank: We had an awesome time with Alex and Rob "Wacko" Hunter from Raven. And in addition to sharing many laughs we also had no problems working together effectively :) It really felt like a big family. We got to know their friends who did the background shouts and after that we all went partying. Or we just hung out at "The Haunt" live club and checked out some bands. In the end it was really difficult for us to leave Ithaca because we had such great time there.
Who Dominates Who? (1989)
In the 2000's Accuser performed as Scartribe, why the name change?
Frank: We wanted to try a more rock-oriented sound which worked out in the beginning. But the more songs we wrote, the more similar they sound to Accuser, so we just changed the name back because it made the most sense.
Since the comeback, Accuser has managed to release some strong albums, are the band finally reaching it's full potential?
Frank: I think that with our latest album especially, we showed that we as a band still have a lot of potential. I'm really excited for the future and how our songwriting will develop. Of course the most important thing for us is still to deliver a great, cohesive album instead of trying to force taking things further with every record.
What do you think about this thrash revival that has been going on for a decade or so?
Frank: I feel that we've witnessed an evolution in metal music in general. It started out with a big influx of new bands and immense growth. Then, everything declined and labels and organizers started reporting losses. General interest in metal decreased. Today, things are looking very different. After a tough period, metal as a whole came back with all its different subgenres because it finally became possible for every band and every style to find an audience.
Have you got any funny story to tell, if anything weird has happened while touring or so?
Dennis: Last year we played a festival in Bavaria and somehow things didn't exactly go as planned. First up, we had to cut our set short because the previous band played for too long. Then, we almost couldn't leave the parking lot with our bus because another bus was in the way. Then, we couldn't find our hotel rooms that night because we got directions to the wrong hotel and we didn't know that there was another one. So we split up and just slept on different benches in the hallway of the wrong hotel and one of us had to sleep outside in the freezing cold bus in case the other guys got arrested or something. Luckily, nothing bad happened but it was still frustrating running around some random hotel in the middle of the night for hours not being able to find the room number on your keys. Looking back though, it's a hilarious story.
What are your plans for the near future?
Dennis: Right now we're looking forward to playing quite a few awesome festivals in the coming months to promote our new album. After that's done, we're going to start writing and preparing our next album. It'll be a busy year, that's for sure :)
And last of all, where did the idea to spell the band name with a "§" come from?
Frank: We wanted to have some kind of logo that sticks with people. The § symbol, which stands for "paragraph" in German jurisdiction was an obvious choice because our debut album "The Conviction" mainly dealt with the judicial system, which also has a strong connection to our band name.
Any last words to our readers?
Dennis: Remember to stay metal and thank you very much for checking us out.
Frank: We're all addicted to metal. Let's always celebrate that. And a big thank you to all our supporters and fans out there.
By/Ruthless
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