"A lot of people here in Nuclear Blast are not only related to the bands on a business level, but there's also a lot of friendship."

A conversation with Kathy Schuette, a young lady dealing with the promotion for Nuclear Blast, about the 20th anniversary of the mighty German metal label...

Vassil Varbanov: Hello Kathy! How are you?

Kathy Schuette: I'm fine, what about you?

V. V.: It's great to have you with us now, because the occasion is the 20th anniversary of Nuclear Blast. Since when are you one of these guys?

K. Sch.: One of the crazy team, huh? I joined Nuclear Blast about four years ago.

V. V.: Where do you think should the label improve even more?

K. Sch.: In getting more employees. You know, there's so much work to do, we're signing so many bands... So in my opinion it would be nice to have some more people to get together all the stuff we have to do. Sometimes, for example, me and my colleagues Florian and Jaap are sitting here until ten or even later at night and we can't leave the office earlier. This would be one big wish for myself.

V. V.: Does it mean you don't party at all? Is it just work, work, work?

K. Sch.: Oh, no, no, no! There's still enough time for partying in between, especially when we have bands touring here. For example, we had the EР°rthshaker Roadshock Tour featuring 3 of our bands on the bill - Tarot, After Forever and Die apokalyptischen Reiter... I mean, whenever a band of ours is around playing a concert nearby, we all go there, say hello and mostly it ends up in a big nice party with drinking of beer and cocktails and stuff... and that happened the day before yesterday actually, and you should have seen me yesterday - I had a fuckin' hangover! You know, this is a very important part of the job - it's not only setting up interviews and writing news, but also keeping in touch with our bands, to have a drink with them and to show that you're not only and employee, but also a friend they can talk to.

V. V.: That's something quite specific for Nuclear Blast, right?

K. Sch.: Yes, that's also what a lot of bands tell us after experiencing how we work and how we are in our private and normal lives. People feel like in a family here. The musicians know that if they have a problem, they can come or mail us whenever they want to, as we are always here to help - not only when it comes to business, but also if they just wanna have a chat or something. A lot of people here in Nuclear Blast are not only related to the bands on a business level, but there's also a lot of friendship.

V. V.: Who are your favourite bands?

K. Sch.: On Nuclear Blast or in general?

V. V.: Both.

K. Sch.: On Nuclear Blast I like Amorphis a lot. There's a new album coming out in the end of August. It's called "Silent Waters" and it's brilliant! I also like Communic from Norway - they're doing this crazy thrashy progressive power metal. Exodus are great, After Forever are really nice, and one of my very special bands is Subway to Sally from Germany - I've been a fan for several years, and when I got the chance to promote them for Nuclear Blast I was really, really happy. And when it comes to bands outside of Nuclear Blast, I like prog rock and prog metal a lot. At the moment I love the new Rush album, "Snakes & Arrows". I love Porcupine Tree and singer Steve Wilson's side-project Black Field... Pain of Salvation is also a great band... and I love Nevermore and stuff like that. I like it when music has a progressive touch.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock