ROUGH SILK: Lineup Revamped, Writing 'Heavy' Songs Again

Singer Ferdy Doernberg of the German epic/melodic metallers ROUGH SILK has posted the following message on the group's official web site:

"Hello friends. Well, I'm thinkin' 'bout how to begin this? I guess the best way is to just go for it!!!

"Alright. As I'm writing this now I am the only 'surviving' member of the old ROUGH SILK line-up because Ralf [Schwertner, bass], Nils [Wunderlich, guitar] and Herbert [Hartmann, drums] decided to quit the band.

"The whole thing still seems a bit unclear to me but I guess the breaking point was our last show at the 'metal night' at Peine, even though my memories this was a cool gig actually. All the other bands played death metal or hardcore so I was a bit nervous before but the fans accepted us very well, sang with us and also wanted an encore.

"So far…so good….

"After the gig, all other bandmembers left directly, which was a bit weird. After that, I didn't hear from them for a while until I suddently had Nils on my answer phone, who told me with some kind of a 'graveyard-voice' that we would have a band meeting in two weeks because there'd be something we'd need to talk about. I couldn't get anyone on the phone until someday Ralf called back and told me that he would not feel like playing 'heavy metal' and wouldn't identify with the metal fans anymore and also he was so busy at work and with his family that he had decided to leave the band. The second part I could totally understand but the"metal-phobia was quite a surprise for me. Even more surprising was that Ralf told me next that Nils would also leave.

"Herbert and Nils never called back and I was talking on their answering machines without anyone calling back.

"The day of the 'gathering' came and was over sooner than it had begun! Herbert said that he also would quit because — unlike me — he would be an adult person now and also would be to old for the 'heavy metal' scene now. Nils had already cut his hair and had already prepared some kind of 'splitting-up-ROUGH SILK-contract' and just said, 'please sign this!' Of course, I refused to do so until we changed it into a declaration of only them quitting. Everybody signed it and afterwards they all left quickly….

"The strange thing is that there were no differences or arguings before all this happened.

"I can totally understand that everybody has to set his own priorities. Also, I, of course, knew that the 'heaviest' CD Nils for example had bought last year was the new THE CORRS CD. Also the input that came from them (about touring, rehearsing or starting with the songwriting for the new CD) was less than zero in the last year. And of course I wasn't happy with that. As I started pushing them (to play shows, etc.),maybe I put nail after nail into the old ROUGH SILK line-up's coffin.

"For me personally, ROUGH SILK is still a very important thing and I still love — even though I'm musically very openminded — heavy metal and I'm pround to be a part of the metal scene. And I still like to talk to young (or old) metal fans. So I wasn't happy with the situation of 'my baby' ROUGH SILK becoming sort of a hobby band at all. During the production of the last CD — for example — they all only showed up when they had to play or sing themselves. They didn't show up once during the mixing, mastering or to listen to what another guy recorded. So maybe it's good the way it is! I just would have wished that it would have ended in a nicer way because I founded the band together with Ralf and Herbert and we went to thick and thin together for years.

"Alright, that's it now about the past — now let's look at the future:

"I asked myself now if it was time to just end the chapter ROUGH SILK forever or if I should carry on.

"For me, ROUGH SILK was always more than just the involved musicians and I couldn't imagine to never again play songs like 'Never Say Never', 'Walls of Never', 'Nosferatu', 'Never Lose Again' or 'Insania' live. So I decided to carry on.

"The search for new members was easier than you may think because I had founded a side-band half a year ago together with André Hort (our webmaster!) who's the bass player in our 'Symphony' tour-support A.O.D. and also played on my new solo album, my brother Curt (ex-ROUGH SILK) on drums and the guitar player Mike Mandel (also A.O.D.) with the intention, after ROUGH SILK had turned more and more into a 'prog-rock-band', to play real metal again.

"After the first songs were written, we thought, 'This sounds like the heavier ROUGH SILK songs! Well, but why not?'

"So I asked André and Mike (Curt had left in the meantime) if they would like to become the new ROUGH SILK and they agreed. Now we had to look for a drummer and found Thomas Becker, a student of my good friend Mike Terrana.

"Now that all the new members are under 30, I'm kind of the 'band-grandpa,' but, hey — you're always as young as you feel — ain't that true?

"We rehearse our asses off at the moment to play as soon as often as possible and also write songs for the new CD. We now have 12 songs and they definitely sound heavy again."