FT: I am not sure actually, I think there is some new stuff on it.

OZ: It’s that Berlin show and some footage from Rock Hard Festival 2007 and some other things like videos and outtakes.

PM: ‘Stay Thirsty’s’ lyrics suggest you like things the old way, drinking, going from pub to pub etc without any fighting or burnings…

FT: Well in the 80’s it was never our intention to start out with the alcoholic theme, but it just happened. You had SODOM with their witching metal, there was death metal, thrash metal, so we thought we would be “alcoholic metal”! The song itself is more about old guys like us!

PM: So ‘Hyperthermia’ (from Thirst) – what happened there? Is this a true story?

FT: Yes – that was Gerre – going up there to drink beer…

PM: Were you happy with the response to ‘Thirst’? Did you do anything different?

FT: We used the same producer (Andy Classen), but we are very lazy, we started too much too late, we had the lyrics and a lot of pressure to record the rest of the album. But I think this is as good as anything we have done. I like this record very much. We would write the music in Andy’s studio, then make a cd and give it to Gerre to work out melodies and vocals etc, but sometimes he says that this does not work and cannot sing to this, so it’s a process that’s ongoing.

PM: How do you occupy your mind during a touring schedule?

FT: Like I said to you before the interview started, we made new rules, and we don’t drink till after 7pm on the evening of a show, which is the new rule! Before this we would just drink and get drunk! We just go city-to-city and play, between venues and hotels. Sometimes we get opportunities to look around, but it depends when we have our flights booked and the schedules of the tour.

PM: What drives you and how do you choose the set list, you have a mighty back catalogue to choose from?

FT: There are some songs we have to play, but it’s always a hard decision for us as a band. I mean we always have to play ‘Empty (Tankard)’, ‘Zombie Attack’, and ‘Chemical Invasion’, these are our classics, people expect these, and we put around 3 or 4 tracks from our latest album, try them for the audience. Tonight we will play 3 songs from ‘Thirst’.

OZ: We always have requests from fans, but we cannot play everything!

PM: Did you know, the opening band tonight (Doctor Death) have covered ‘Empty (Tankard) in the past? Obviously they cannot play that tonight…but..

FT: (cutting in) Why not? They should, but I think we should hear it first in case they are better than us, ha!

PM: Can I see the beer rider for today?

FT: Well we normally have 4 cases of beer, 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey, coke and water of course.

PM: Are there any plans for a new album after the tour dates planned for the rest of the year?

FT: Yes – maybe by September next year, we have to get off our asses and get it done. We have that booked.

PM: Will you use the same studio?

FT: Not sure at the moment, we don’t want each album to sound the same as the last so we have to decide where to record it. This is the 4th album we have done in the same studio with the same producer; maybe now we should try to change the sound a little bit otherwise it gets boring. We had criticism in the 80’s for recording in the same studio and people were saying it’s the same album everytime, so I don’t know.

PM: You played Elsrock Festival with Flotsam & Jetsam recently, you were meant to tour UK with them last time – what happened?

FT: I don’t know the reason for that on the last tour, but this time we did not actually see them, we were at the festival very early so we did not stay for the rest of the festival.

PM: You have some debut gigs in Poland in November, do you know what to expect?

FT: They have fantastic food, looking forward to that, what about you Olaf?

OZ: Never been.

FT: From what I have heard the Polish fans like the harder metal than us, so we are hopeful and looking forward to it.

PM: How was HEADBANGERS OPEN AIR - HOA?

FT: Europe’s biggest garden party – we love it you know!

PM: 1991 to 2005 – No UK dates – was it market conditions or the music scene in UK the deciding point?

FT: No, that was down to local promoters not booking us!

PM: Any memories from your very first UK shows?

FT: I remember playing with Xentrix, which was cool. Then nothing… Maybe the UK does not like us…

OZ: (asking the interviewer!) Did you see us last time here in 2006?

PM: Yes – but only half your set, I like beer too! (The interviewer responds honestly!)

PM: Tell me about DJ Gerre?

FT: Well that’s his own thing, he needs the money!!! [laughs] you can book him if you want?

PM: Are you pleased with the recent interest in thrash metal again, especially from the younger generation discovering it for the first time? Are there any bands you like in particular?

FT: I love it, it means thrash will never die. If there was only us, Sodom and Destruction then it would die, the younger bands make it last longer for us. These younger guys are playing this old shit but then putting it in a modern way like Legion of the Damned, I think they have some great things going on, this is the best thing for the music we play. I hope this “revival” will last for a long time. We did joke once that our instruments are older than the crowd, but that is what you need…

Thanks for your time guys, good luck with the show tonight.

For more on the band check out http://www.tankard.info/
http://www.myspace.com/tankardfrankfurt
http://www.afm-records.de/en/bands/bands-Tankard.html

Interviewed by Paul Maddison

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