You just played at the Giants of Grind festival in Germany. How did that go?
Steve: It was great! There weren't too many people, but it was fun nevertheless. I just hope for Tom from Power It Up Records that the festival will get some more attention over the next years. Because it really is a cool event.

Power It Up recently re-released your 2003 debut Sweet Chainsaw Melodies. The Razorback Records version was it already out of print?
Steve: Yes, that's true. If I'm not mistaken, Razorback did 1'500 copies of our first full-length album. It has been sold out at Razorback since... uhm, a year or so?

You seem to switch back and forth between No Escape Records and Power It Up as well as a few other even smaller labels. Is it important for you not to bind you to one label or is it just a coincidence that you have releases out on so many different labels?
Steve: Of course we like to be as independent as possible. It would be cool if there was a label to pay all the studio costs and organise some tours, but since we all have to work and got jobs, this wouldn't be so easy, I guess. Thus, the way things are right now suit us well enough. And, by the way, it's quite cool to release stuff with many other bands, like split-CDs and split-7"s etc.

Power It Up also recently put Jane Saw Me. I understand this CD was compiled of material from your 7’EP’s. What’s the story behind this release?
Steve: It was Tom from PIU who came up with the idea. He wants to do the vinyl-version of "The world is a stage..." but wanted something to cover the costs - because, of course, vinyl doesn't bring in much profit nowadays. So "Jane saw me" is a compilation with all our songs we put onto 7"s so far, with 56 songs on it and a playing time of about 69 Minutes.

A thing I noticed on your latest album The World is a Stage… For Murder! was that you had cut back a little on the samples. Is there any particular reason why that is?
Steve: Uh, I don't know. I guess that's based on the topics of the lyrics, and Marco (our singer) is working those out. I'm not quite a friend of samples and intros, but it depends how good they are and how well they fit to a song. And as long as they aren't too long, I don't care anyway, hehe.

Musically there isn’t a whole lot of difference between Sweet Chainsaw Melodies and The World is a Stage… For Murder! which I’m thankful for. Do you think you’ll alter anything on the next album or are you happy with things as they are?
Steve: Haha. I guess we won't "develop" ourselves or bringing new elements in our sound (not much, anyway). We play that kind of old school grindcore we ourselves like the best, so nobody has to be afraid of our next album sounding like, uhm, a mix between early Metallica and Robbie Williams or something alike.

You often blend some rather odd things into the music like the Tiroler music in “Bags with Heads”, the clapping in “Buried Alive III: Suffocation in the Sand-box” and the piano in “Bulldozer Blues”. What will be the next?
Steve: Erm. Honestly, I don't know. Those things are mostly quite spontanous. The piano was done by our mixer at Schweinesound studios, and I think he himself came up with the idea because he was so fond of the "Bulldozer Blues". But our drummer brought up a guitar riff with some Russian-like melody, so that will be special on our next recording.

Most of your songs clock around the two minutes. Do you deliberately try and keep them that short or it just a coincidence?
Steve: Normally, when we write songs, we only bring up two or three riffs. It would be really boring to play a song with only two riffs during five minutes. On the other hand, this is like musical warfare: get up, attack, get back to cover. Hehe. No, seriously - we just like it that way. Grindcore songs shouldn't last longer than 1:30, 2:00 minutes.

What do you think makes a good goregrind or grindcore song?
Steve: A catchy, groovy starter which gets relieved by a fast and brutal riff.

If you should recommend a handful of goregrind bands to the readers which bands would these then be?
Steve: Frightmare, Repulsion, early Carcass. I guess Marco and Dave are more into that kind of stuff, so they could name some more.

You regularly have cover-songs on your releases. Do you do this just for fun or is it more meant as a tribute?
Steve: Definitely meant as a tribute. Those songs are more or less from old, mostly split-up bands. And of course they all influenced or at least impressed us.

What’s the story behind you looking for the members of the long-defunct Swiss deathgrinders Exulceration?
Steve: Erm... I don't know. Ask Dave or Marco.

I imagine you have a lot of split CD’s and 7’s in the works. Could you say a little about what next you have coming up?
Steve: We're going to record some more songs in July/August. Some of them will appear on the split with Frightmare. Else, I don't know anything. I lost track of all the releases back somewhere in 2002 or so. Hehe.

Do any of you have other bands besides Embalming Theatre?
Steve: Heinz (the drummer) also plays with Disparaged, and René (one of our guitarists) plays with some Rock-band.

How does the remainder of the year look for Embalming Theatre?
Steve: First, we will record these songs, and then there'll be some more gigs. And - if all goes well - we'll be touring in the U.S. (California) the first two weeks of October.

Anything you wish to add to conclude this interview?
Steve: Well, thanks a lot! And keep on grinding, all you people out there!

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