Tezura – Band Interview

Formed in late November 2018, Tezura, is a high-octane German Progressive Thrash Metal act, that has just released an energetic and original debut EP, entitled “Voices”.

Sum and result of its creators, Tezura consists of: Timo Kammerer (Guitar / Vocals), Phil Elste (Guitar), Max Wopinski (Bass) and Lukas Mayr (Drums).

Click HERE or on the album name for a full review of  “Voices”.

As always, a huge *Thank You* to the band for their time, openness and availability!

MAtW – Hello guys and thank you for agreeing to squeeze this interview into your schedules. What is the overall mood in the band?

Timo: We’re happy to give this interview and stoked that this demo gets listened to by so many people. And they like it, that’s always a good thing. We’re also excited to write new songs and play our first shows soon.

MAtW – You are moving quite fast. TEZURA was formed in the winter of 2018 and you have already released your first material. How does it feel to finally see your EP, “Voices” released?

Timo: It is amazing. We’ve worked hard to release it as quick as possible and it’s cool to see how it turned out so far.

MAtW – Were the songs already done by the time you officially came together as a band or were they written and recorded in 2019?

Timo: The first riff idea for the song “Voices” was originally written by Max in 2016. The first ideas to some songs go even back to 2014. But all the ideas turned into songs in late 2018 / 2019, when we came together as Tezura.

MAtW – Speaking of which, can you share with us how TEZURA was formed?

Luke: Timo and I always had plans for making music together, and in Summer 2018 we had a few jamming sessions with Phil.

Timo: And with Max, it all began around early November – I was playing in another band at that time with Max – he asked me whether we could start something on our own and so he joined the three of us. We then formed Tezura in late November.

MAtW – And how did you choose TEZURA as band name?

Luke: Our goal was to find a band name that wouldn’t be one dimensional. We neither wanted to make any obvious statement with it nor choose a name which would just fulfill the typical metal cliché – like a lot of bands tend to do these days. We wanted to define our name with our music, and not our music to be defined by our name. Concerning the meaning, we know what it means to us. But before we reveal what meaning might be behind our name, we would like the people who listen to our music to have their own interpretation and find out what it could mean to them.

MAtW – Let’s meet everyone in the band!

Timo: Hi, I’m Timo, 22 – on rhythm guitar and vocals.

Max: Hey, I’m Max, and I’m 24 – I play bass. I live and study in Munich.

Phil: I’m Phil, and I’m 21. – Lead Guitar for Tezura.

Luke: Hey, I’m Luke, 21, I play the Drums and study music in Munich.

MAtW – If you were to describe each member in a few words, they would be…

Max: Timo is always crazy on detail, especially production-wise. Not always easy, but pays off in the end.

Timo: Max is always reliable. Luke is very disciplined, and Phil is very sociable and just fun to be around.

MAtW – Is Progressive Thrash Metal a common taste in TEZURA or was it a direction you specifically chose to play?

Tezura: We don’t think about genres that much. We just develop our own style. All our musical backgrounds flow into our music. Maybe that’s why our music is considered progressive – because it’s a mix of what the four of us like in different music. We have a consent within the band, though – and that’s what you hear.

MAtW – What are some technical aspects behind “Voices”?

Timo: When it comes to production, the demo was recorded in a small room in a basement. Guitars were also miked in the basement of Phil’s parents’ place. And the whole thing was recorded and mixed on a small laptop.

MAtW – There is a conceptual feeling to “Voices”, was that intended?

Luke: Well, we are aware of its conceptual feel and it’s really cool that you also noticed it. “Voices” was the first song to be completely finished with lyrics in January, before we even began to write some parts of the other songs. So somehow the topic of heteronomy and foreign control as well as dealing with your inner demons and „Voices”, became an inspiration for the lyrics of the other songs. Somehow everything fit together pretty well and when we decided the order of the songs on the demo, we noticed that everything made sense and had a conceptual feeling to it. We are proud of that fact, and that’s also why we called the whole demo “Voices”.

MAtW – What is your favorite song on the album? 

Tezura: Sun, because it has the direction that we want for Tezura and our music. Even though combining so many different influences in that song, it all fits together nicely. And you can bang your head to it very hard – that’s what counts.

MAtW – What are some positive and negative aspects in self producing an album?

Timo: On the plus side: You can always decide what you want your work to sound like and what you want on an album, for instance – and how much time you want to put into that. On the downside: You have to work even harder, because every aspect is up to you – that can be challenging. But we don’t have the bucks for making somebody else do the production work – and the energy we put into it, makes up for it.

MAtW – How are the responsibilities shared within TEZURA? Who writes the music and the lyrics? Who handles the promotion part?

Timo: We have a PR guy, Markus, helping us with the promo part and we also do promotion on our own, which is then mostly my domain. I also handle all of the production part. The songwriting is shared within the band, and everyone gets to contribute music and lyric ideas. Max and I are writing most of the lyrics, and the music comes from all members of the band. Luke handles the design and graphics part and Phil is doing booking.

MAtW – Germany has quite a history when it comes to Thrash metal bands and metal, overall. How would you describe the local scene nowadays?

Timo: I think the metal community is very big these days, so it’s hard to speak of a “scene” as such. But, if anything, it is diverse now. Also, the metal community is much more versatile, it’s growing and more connected now. Right now, there’s a lot of young bands rising up.

Phil: In our region, the local scene is definitely growing, and there’s a lot of new people getting into metal, but starting mainly with all the mainstream stuff, basically.

MAtW – What do you consider as cliché in metal music and the image?

Max: Dressing like a pirate. Being a satanist.

Phil: Typical for metal is that you have to be “trve” and it’s all about satanism and being brutal. Long hair, beer.

Timo: Long hair, wearing black holes as shirts, lacking hygiene.

Max: Concerning the music, a cliché could be always distorted guitars. Overall, just loud noise and screaming.

MAtW – What was your first contact with music? As fans and as far as instrument of choice goes?

Luke: As my father is a professional classical musician himself and my mother a big music lover, my first contact with music was basically still in the belly of my mother, before I was even born. So, from a very early age I was exposed to all different genres of music and it soon became clear that music, no matter which genre, should once be a constant in my life. When I was a little child, I really had a big fascination for Marching bands, that’s actually the reason why I started playing drums. But obviously because of my dad I also started playing the piano when I was 6 years old, and I learned to love classical music as well. After being the biggest Michael Jackson fan you could imagine, I came into contact with Rock and Heavy Metal because of Timo when I was 11 or 12, and I love this genre since then.

Phil: I started out on saxophone when I was about 10 to 13 years old. Then played the piano for 3 years, before starting to play the guitar when I was about 16. I got into Metal when my Dad showed me bands like Van Halen and Gary Moore and my Mom showed me Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath.

Max: Before I discovered the Iron Maiden records of my Dad, I loved German folk music – don’t ask why. I initially played with the thought of learning to play drums, because I thought learning to play guitar was too hard. But my parents wouldn’t let me because they thought it was too loud. Then I learned guitar and switched to bass many years later because every band needs a good bassist, and they’re rare.

Timo: My first contact with music that introduced me to guitar – and made me dream of playing guitar as a young kid of 5 – was Eros Ramazzotti, especially with the song “Una Storia Importante” – the guitar and its sound on this song simply fascinated me. But what finally inspired me to pick up the guitar at the age of 7 was AC/DC’s “Live at Donington ‘91” album. When I saw that energy and performance I knew: That was what I wanted to do for a living when I’d grow up. Right away.

MAtW – Do you think success would change you?

Timo: I definitely think success has an impact on your personality. So, I won’t say it wouldn’t change us in any way. But I hope that it won’t change us in a negative way.

Max: I think we just hope that we would stay down-to-earth and that it won’t affect the quality of our music.

MAtW – What is the first thing you would like your fans to know you for?

Max: Being known for our music, not for our person or our attitude.

Timo: And for delivering awesome live shows that stay with good memories.

MAtW – Any stories or lessons learned from recording “Voices”?

Timo: Recording-wise the lesson would be: It always starts with a good drum sound, and that’s the most difficult part for most of the time. We can now draw from our experience with recording “Voices” for future recordings.

Max: And we noticed that Orange Amps sound fucking great! Another thing is that the recording process can turn out to take more time than expected.

MAtW – What are some non-musical inspiration sources for your music?

Max: Everyday life. When it comes to lyrics, I don’t try to raise my finger concerning politics and those things. I rather like to look at inner conflicts everybody has as a human being. For example, the song “Sun” shows the struggle with one’s inner demons and how they affect our decisions.

Phil: The story of your live that you’ve experienced so far, and the environment that you live in – from nature and the people that you meet to what’s happening in the world.

Timo: Everything that happens around us, basically – be it a great or small issue. Chapters of my own live as well as things happening out there. The song “Behind The Glow”, for instance, is dealing with how technology changes our very self and the way we interact with each other – as well as affecting us on a large scale as humanity as a whole.

MAtW – Is your journey so far as you expected it to be?

Timo: Actually, the response to our demo is much bigger than we expected at first. So, yeah – greater than expected.

MAtW – What are some current plans and what is next for TEZURA?

Timo: Writing new music and record a follow-up, and currently we’re rehearsing to play the demo stuff live. We’re very excited for the time ahead of us.

MAtW – You are quite technical so there must be a practice or rehearsal routine you follow.

Timo: Yeah, there is a routine. For me, it’s 1 to 2 hours a day or more whenever possible, consisting of different exercises for warm up and speed skill, as well as live set and additional stuff to improve certain skills and precision. Writing is also a good practice method in some way.

Phil: A lot of building picking skills, basically. 1 or 2 hours a day most of the time practicing technical exercises.

Max: I try to play our set as often as possible. And I play the whole set straight through, like it would be in a live situation. If I spot any difficulties, I think of technical exercises which help me to eliminate those. To keep up with the galloping riffing on the bass, I practice that as often as possible.

MAtW – Time for the last question, THE RANDOM QUESTION: What is the funniest joke you know? ( 😀 x3)

Phil: What is red and bad for your teeth? A brick.

Max: What do you say when a metal artist dies? Rust in Peace.

Timo: You don’t need a parachute to go skydiving, you need a parachute to go skydiving twice.

MAtW – I want to thank you all once again for your time and interest. In case there is anything at all I missed asking or you would like to add and mention, please do!

Timo: Listen to our demo, blast it on wherever you go, share it with your friends, and have a great time! You’re welcome to leave a comment on YouTube etc. and tell us what you think. And keep your eyes open for our new releases and next live shows!