"We try to give people more than just a disc with music."

A conversation with Yorck Eysel, mastermind of the currently inactive German gothic rockers Love Like Blood and current Head of Distribution, Legal Affairs and Licenses for Nuclear Blast, about the 20th anniversary of the mighty German metal label...

Vassil Varbanov: Having in mind you're taking care of the business side of things in Nuclear Blast, which was the most successful year for the label so far?

Yorck Eysel: The best year was 2004 because of the big success of Nightwish's album "Once" - it was not only due to the units sold, but it sold much more than the band has done before. That affected the whole year and turned it into the most successful one.

V. V.: Do you think 2007 is also going to be as good as 2004?

Y. E.: I believe so, because besides Nightwish we have so much other highlights coming up, for example Dimmu Borgir and HammerFall, as well as new signings like Chimaira, Nile and After Forever. I think that 2007 - besides being our 20th anniversary with a lot of specials coming up - will become Nuclear Blast's best year ever.

V. V.: Lots of people think that the music industry is in a crisis lately due to the Internet and mp3's. What is Nuclear Blast's answer to this serious threat?

Y. E.: Now we take even more care of the whole packaging and the quality, of the bonus and extra material. We try to give people more than just a disc with music. I believe that if you are a fan of a band, you're more interested in an original product and merchandise and everything else that surrounds the music like concerts, etc. If you're a follower of a band, you're not interested in copies and illegal downloads. If you download the music and you pay for it - that's fine for us, because that's the new trend. However, we feel it's more important to take care of the end product - CDs and DVDs and what you can buy as a physical thing in stores. That's what the fans still want.

V. V.: I believe Nuclear Blast have "opened" a place for paid mp3 downloads?

Y. E.: Yes, we opened a download shop where you can download everything for a good price.

V. V.: Finally, which bands are your all-time favourites?

Y. E.: From the Nuclear Blast bands it's Nightwish, Amorphis and Dimmu Borgir. Besides them I like a lot bands from the gothic metal area like Type O Negative and Paradise Lost.

V. V.: You also used to play in a band. How many musicians are working at Nuclear Blast at present?

Y. E.: I'd say there are around ten.

V. V.: You're working non-stop for the label and don't have much spare time, as far as I know. Does this mean we're never gonna hear about Love Like Blood again?

Y. E.: You never know, but there are no plans at the moment. Time will tell.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock