"We're getting old and fat and grey-haired, but we're still here!"

Germany's thirstiest thrash metal band Tankard returns with a brand-new album, entitled... "Thirst", of course! Let's find out more about it from founder and vocalist Andreas Fritz Johannes Geremia a.k.a. Gerre...

Vassil Varbanov: Hello Gerre, how are you?

Gerre: Thanks a lot, I'm fine, I hope you're too.

V. V.: Yeah, although I've got a little bit of cold.

G.: I have a cold, too, but it's ok.

V. V.: Let's then talk about Tankard's new album "Thirst". It's about beer again, I suppose?

G.: Yes... The title "Thirst" has actually two meanings. The guy on the cover is really thirsty, but on the other hand, after 26 years we're still thirsty and hungry to play that kind of thrash metal. We still have a lot of fun playing that kind of music.

V. V.: Give us some details about the recording of "Thirst".

G.: We recorded it again with Andy Classen - the former guitar player of Holy Moses - at his Stage One Studio. We're really satisfied with the production - I think it's old-school music with a new, modern guitar sound.

V. V.: Do you guys from this first German thrash metal generation - Tankard, Kreator, Sodom, Holy Moses - form some sort of a league versus the younger guys?

G.: What do you mean?

V. V.: Like meeting from time to time, talking about the good old days and laughing at the youngsters.

G.: Yes, we meet from time to time... We played a couple of shows with Sodom in the last years - Sodom and Tankard really fit, you know... We're getting old and fat and grey-haired, but we're still here!

V. V.: Nowadays we're talking a lot about the so-called financial crisis. To what extent shall this affect the music business, according to you?

G.: I've been in a financial crisis for 41 years, ha-ha, so I don't really care about this matter!

V. V.: Do you have some new songs that didn't make it on the album?

G.: No, we don't have any material left. We recorded everything for "Thirst".

V. V.: What are you going to do on Christmas?

G.: We're gonna play a couple of shows here in Germany, beginning on December 25... and on December 19 the album will be out and we'll try to play as often as we can.

V. V.: You sound particularly satisfied with "Thirst", am I right?

G.: Yes, we are really satisfied with the album, especially with the production. We have some good reviews in the magazines and... We're really looking forward to still being thirsty!

V. V.: Finally, tell us what is the best beer in the world, according to you?

G.: The best beer in the world is the beer we get at the shows. That's the reason why we created the band - to travel all around the world and taste the beer, ha-ha!

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock