MEGAHERZ were pioneers alongside RAMMSTIEN and OOMPH during the rise of Industrial Metal. They have released In Teufels Namen which shows they don’t plan on stopping there. Rock Out Stand Out’s Lotty Whittingham spoke to lead guitarist Christian ‘X-Ti’ Bystron about the album, the biggest change he has noticed over the decades with regards to the scene and mental health.
You released In Teufels Namen, what are the main differences between this album and previous releases?
I guess with each and every album, you hope to make some sort of progress in songwriting, producing and arranging the whole thing. Every album is that struggle to find the greatest sound, to write the best song that’s ever been done and that’s what drives you on.
Sometimes I notice bands might try something new and it backfires or it works really well.
I’m not one of those that tries to find new things just for the sake of finding new things. I’m just doing what interests me and what keeps me going. You have to have a reason for writing a song; it could be the lyrics, the topic, a special arrangements, synth sounds, electronics or something like that. Things that excite you.
An example being I have always been fascinated by film music, especially trailer music; which is not song related but I love the impact those sounds and effects have. For the last couple of years, I thought that I would love to bring this to the new album because it would be a brilliant fit. To take this aesthetic and combine it with songs. This is what I did with Amnesie, if you remove all the guitars, you would have this huge film sound I am talking about.
That will explain the huge sounds on the album. When you’re putting songs together, what comes first? Is the lyrics then music, or the other way around?
It’s usually the music that comes first but I do enjoy it if Lex sends me lyrics or even records them. Sometimes he has problems understanding the difference between writing the lyrics and short novels, which isn’t so bad for me as I have something that’s way too long and it gives me the ability to cut out the pieces I like the most. I start to hear the music to what he’s singing and this even more fun than starting a new song with a totally blank arrangement. It makes it easier when there is something to work with.
I understand it’s better to have a lot so there is plenty of room to cut stuff out but then it can also be difficult when all of it is good.
Yeah, Lex thinks one part should be the chorus and this should be the verse. I then decide completely the opposite way. This is exciting because it shows how different people think about music and lyrics, if it excites me the opposite way then it makes the song bigger as I have this vision in my head.
Out of the songs on the album, what were the most challenging tracks to record?
There was something I really underestimated, which brings us back to the film music thing. I recorded six remakes of old Megaherz songs but all arranged for orchestra and cinematic sounds. I thought that I could do this really quickly and that it should be a problem. It was so fun and I spent a lot of time on it, maybe too much time as I smashed every deadline. It took me a really long time.
Reading the notes, Megaherz are pioneers in industrial metal. For you, what’s been the biggest change you have noticed over the decades? This could be in terms of how the style has developed over the years or music is distributed.
I would say is that I miss new influences. When we started this thing, everyone in the Munich area wanted to be like an American band. Everyone wanted to be like Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses and use English lyrics. They wanted to be one of those LA Super Bands and we didn’t because they bored us. We were fascinated by bands such as The Prodigy and one huge influence to us has been techno music.
In those days, when I listened to techno music and the riffs sounded like guitar riffs. This was the basic idea, to combine techno and with distorted guitars but not using English lyrics but German lyrics. No-one was doing it at that time. I miss this pioneership a little bit; music needs to be refreshed, don’t repeat yourself over and over. The younger bands that come into this, it’s a little bit for me that they see the music from a fan perspective which isn’t always a good thing. I was fascinated by the film trailer and I decided to try something new and different. Try something new, try your own stuff.
At Rock Out Stand Out, one of our missions is to keep the conversations about mental health going. What’s mental health awareness like in Munich?
These are not easy times and if you think about a couple of years ago, everyone was living their safe life then suddenly everything changed with this pandemic. Even afterwards, the war began. It’s a natural thing that people have problems with fear without obvious reason. It’s funny you talk about it as my wife is a therapist, she could tell you stories and all the details for this particular area. She’s working a lot as people are desperately seeking help.
That’s a reassuring sign that people are reaching out for help. If a friend of yours was struggling, what advice or suggestions would you give?
It’s not an easy question as the problem with depression is that you fall into a hole and it’s so hard to find a way out. If you’re a healthy person in that perspective, you would say ‘get help and talk to your friends or a therapist’ but that’s not so easy. I’m not a doctor but I would say go to a professional that can help you try to find help. Maybe talk to your best friends first, people that you can trust and who take you seriously, that might be the first step. This is what my wife says; if you are looking for therapy, make up your mind and make the phone call yourself. Doing this is the first step of therapy, it belongs to the whole process; don’t send someone else, pick up the phone and try to break the inner barrier.
You’re right, it is hard to get help. Here in the UK if you can’t afford to go private or don’t have a scheme at your work, you are waiting months for that first session.
In Germany, you get your first appointment quicker. The health system gives you three appointments to see if this is right for you, for more regular treatments, that’s a lot harder to get. Therapists start group therapy and that’s a good thing as everyone is helping each other. It’s always about sorting things out and getting new views of your own problems. It helps the people, it doesn’t have to be one-to-one therapy; it can be very helpful to get into group therapy.
Is there anything you like to do to unwind and chill?
That’s not so easy. The best thing to do is to take a weekend off and go to Austria, far away from work. If I want to relax, I always have to put myself in a situation where I can’t work. I make sure I don’t have my laptop or iPad, of course I will have my phone. There’s a really nice place we have in Austria where we go to, you open the windows and you see all the mountains. It’s such a healing and relaxing experience.
Do you have a message for Megaherz fans and our readers?
I would love to see you all on tour. It’s our first European tour we will be going through Barcelona, The Netherlands and Holland. We are also playing in London and Manchester. It’s a co-headline tour with Combichrist.
Thank you so much for talking with Rock Out Stand Out and best of luck with the album.
