DORO PESCH: All Animals Are Sacred To Me

In a new interview with Emilee Capogni, German metal queen Doro Pesch spoke about her decision to take a strong stance against cruelty to animals, calling on fans to respect all living, feeling beings by not eating or wearing them. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I turned vegan. I just do it because of the animals. I'm a big animal lover. On [my] new album ['Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud'], there's actually one nice song on it for the animals that's called 'Heavenly Creatures'. The album has 20 songs on it, and 'Heavenly Creatures' is one of my favorites. And I wanna do something with the song, because I love animals and I wanna support them. Yeah. And I turned vegan."

She continued: "I started maybe 20 years ago that all the stage clothes and everything I wear is not any more real leather, because before I wasn't aware —I wasn't conscious about it — but then I learned that lesson. So I thought, 'Yeah, I don't wanna harm anybody — not people, not animals.' And then I started doing all, like, vegan leather, which is great stuff. You can now get it all over. Twenty years ago, it was very difficult to find good stuff, good vegan leather. But, yeah, I started with that. And then I think I was always a vegetarian, pretty much, at least for 10, 15 years maybe. And then seven years ago, I turned vegan. And it's just for the animals. And because of that, I got great connections with so many people who help animals and who get 'em out of really bad situations. And I adopted two horses — actually, not in America, not in Germany; it's in Austria… Yeah, I adopted two horses because I love horses so much. But I love dogs too. And cats. Every animal, they are sacred to me."

Back in 2018, Doro filmed a video for PETA Germany in which she attributed her strength and stamina to her healthy diet.

"I'm always on stage for two hours in high gear," she said. "It's really exhausting, and I really feel that I'm healthier, more fit, have more energy, and have a much, much clearer conscience.

"We are all living beings, good souls," she added. "If you listen to your heart, then you know what is right, and then you also know how important it is that we, as humans, take care of animals."

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" was released on October 27 via Nuclear Blast.

The 20-song "Conqueress – Forever Strong And Proud" LP is described in a press release as "the result of intensive hard work that took the incomparable singer and songwriter back to studios in Miami, New York and Hamburg, amongst others. The album presents Doro at the height of her creative powers."

This past June, Doro released "Time For Justice", the first single from "Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud", along with a "Mad Max"-style video. The clip was filmed with director Mirko Witzki.

"Conqueress - Forever Strong And Proud" arrived one day before Doro's 40th-anniversary concert at the Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Düsseldorf, Germany.

In September 2022, Doro released a very unique single — a soulful adaptation of her classic metal anthem "Raise Your Fist In The Air". The track was made possible by the new ZDF (national German TV channel) music show "Music Impossible".

In celebration of 35 years of the "Triumph And Agony" album from her former band WARLOCK, Doro released "Triumph And Agony Live" in various formats, including CD, vinyl, cassette, DVD, Blu-ray, and a huge box set, in September 2021 through her own label, Rare Diamonds Productions. The "Triumph And Agony" artwork centered on Geoffrey Gillespie's famous original drawing of the "Warlock" embracing the blonde rock star.

Photo credit: Jochen Rolfes