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| ZEPTER - s/t LP | |
HRR 1049LP, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, download code 1st pressing: ltd: 750, 300 x black, 350 x transparent Kelly green + 100 x multi-splatter vinyl (HRR mailorder exclusive) | |
| Lukas Götzenberger - guitar, vocals & synths Stefan Bolda - guitar Tobias Hochwagen - bass Alex Nemeth - drums & vocals (on “Lonely Night”) | |
| 01 Slasher on the Highway 02 Everlasting 03 The Slayer 04 Hit the Streets 05 The Exterminator 06 Dark Angels 07 Lonely Night (Screem Cover) 08 The Lords | |
AVAILABLE | |
Zepter are a new traditional heavy metal band from Austria. The project started in January 2024. A few months later, an EP called »Inferno« was issued on cassette in a limited edition of 100 copies through Ironbound (a vinyl version on Fucking Kill Records and a CD edition via Witches Brew followed shortly after).
“We have been knowing each other for years and have played together in other bands,” explains guitarist/vocalist Lukas about the formation of Zepter. “One day, the idea to form a traditional heavy metal band came up. And this is exactly what we did. We had our first rehearsal in January 2024 and the EP was published in April the same year. Everything happened really quick.”
“The reactions to the EP were all good,” continues Lukas. “Up until the present day, we have only played four live shows. »Inferno« got positive feedback in several countries, which we are really pleased with. So, we must have done something right.”
High Roller Records will release Zepter’s self-titled debut album, which Lukas describes as “authentic heavy metal of the old school, with lots of catchy hooks and tasty twin-guitar harmony parts”. According to him, “it should come across like a mixture of Thin Lizzy and UFO of the Schenker era, combined with elements of early speed metal by the likes of Acid and Slayer, as if they had been already around in 1978.”
All tracks on the album are new, apart from the cover version of a song called “Lonely Night” by the band Screem.
With songs like “Exterminator”, Zepter’s music transports quite a strong NWOBHM vibe, with hints of Trespass and Tygers Of Pan Tang, first and foremost. “That’s true,” says the band’s guitarist and vocalist, “for this project the NWOBHM is a big influence. But it’s not the only one. We are all listening to different stuff, from blackended death metal to prog, post-punk and film music. Our smallest common nominator is the NWOBHM though. And that’s where Zepter comes in. Some specific NWOBHM bands which have inspired us are early Maiden (everything from »The Soundhouse Tapes« up until »Killers«), Saxon, Witchfinder General, Dark Star, Raven, Saracen, Angel Witch and Satan. Although they are not NWOBHM, one band I would also like to mention is Danava from Portland in Oregon. I can strongly recommend their latest album »Nothing But Nothing« (issued in 2023). They are a criminally underrated band.”
In my ears, the song „Hit The Streets” shows traces of the one and only Heavy Load. True or false? “Heavy Load are an important influence for Zepter,” confirms Lukas. “What they have taught us is that it is possible to make a big impact with relatively simple means. They are masters of that approach, and I really adore that.”
The main riff in “The Slayer”, however, sounds a lot like, well, Slayer. Lukas laughs: “Well, the word ‘Slayer’, and a possible connection to the band, entered the equation only when we wrote the lyrics for the song. So, it’s not a direct copy of a Slayer riff. But saying that, it sounds pretty similar, so it was logical to call the song ‘The Slayer’. The lyrics are not about the band though. It’s about a gruesome medieval general nicknamed ‘The Slayer’.”
As mentioned earlier, most of Zepter’s material is characterized by twin-guitar-harmonies, that’s the foundation of their sound. “Totally true,” finds Lukas. “I was always fascinated by interesting harmonies and well-structured guitar parts, licks. With Zepter, I finally got the opportunity to realize some of my ideas and make everything work. It’s pretty difficult to interact with another guitarist in this kind of elaborate way, but it’s also great fun.”
Lyrics wise, Zepter show a lot of variety: “’The Exterminator’, for example, is dedicated to a vigilante movie from the year 1980. ‘Slasher On The Highway’ is also film-related, it’s based on a fictitious slasher movie from the late 70s or early 80s. ‘Everlasting’, however, is a tune about gaining strength through passion for what you are doing. And ‘Hit The Streets’ was mostly inspired by road trips in the West of the United States. ‘The Lords’ is a bit more far out, dealing with a cyber dictatorship. And although there is no direct connection, when I am listening to ‘Dark Angels’ I always think of the film »Phantasm«. A broad variety of topics indeed.”
MATTHIAS MADER