Exclusive Interview: Agony Atlas talk “Retrogression Part 1: Egomania”!

“We’re in the year 2095. Planet earth is on its rushing way down into the abyss. The United Nations put together a group of leading international scientists to prevent that decay. For the scientists, a journey back in time is the only possibility left. A journey back into the year 2020, back to the turning point of mankinds‘ history. The name of this newly established organization: Agony Atlas. Therefore they put a team together to shake up the society of that decade. With images of all that is to come, unless widespread action is taken: Wars, catastrophes, hunger and distress – ultimately linked to the downfall of Earth and thereby also the whole of mankind.” ~ Agony Atlas on the concept behind “Retrogression Part 1: Egomania”

Seasoned professionals with no less than eight other projects between the quartet, having reviewed the debut EP from German Progressive Technical Metalcore outfit Agony Atlas in September, we were lucky enough to be granted a few minutes of time with guitarist, keys and programmer Christoph Fuchs in (Karabooza, ex-Sixfinger ex-Timeshift Passenger) and drummer Markus Moewis (ex-At Daggers Drawn, Henko Kano) from the band to find out more about what they’re all about…

How have you found the reaction to Agony Atlas so far?

Markus: To be honest, it has been overwhelming! The songs are more than well received and we’re really happy about that.
Christoph: We gave everything to create unique songs, but of course you‘ll never know how people will react in the end. I am very glad that our hard work pays off.

What was it like having Aljoscha Sieg (August Burns Red, Any Given Day and We Butter The Bread With Butter) Mix and Master the record? How did his involvement come about?

Christoph: It was a great experience to work with Aljoscha. Besides creating exactly the sound that we were looking for he is an awesome dude. A friend of mine, who was working for him as a studio musician, introduced us to him.
Markus: You know, we had a precise idea what the songs should sound like. So we looked for a professional who was able to realize our ideas and Aljoscha was definitely the right choice.

We’ve compared Liane Walter’s vocals to those of former Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow. Who are her vocal heroes?

Markus: Actually, Liane has no vocal heroes. She shapes her voice like an instrument, so it suits the music in the best possible way. But she really likes Tatiana Shmailyuk from Jinjer because their voices are pretty alike and Tatiana‘s style is great.

Having so many projects between all the members of the band (Deathlesson, Incertain, Karabooza etc) how did you go about ensuring that Agony Atlas’s music sounds different?

Christoph: I started Agony Atlas in 2019 because I had a lot of song ideas that were just too hard and too progressive for my other band Karabooza. So sounding different from the other band projects was the reason why Agony Atlas started in the first place.

There is a fine balance between the programming and the guitar work on the EP; how much of an inspiration do you take from Industrial Metal acts like Rammstein and how difficult was it to find the balance that you wanted?

Markus: We all like bands like Rammstein, Mnemic or Fear Factory but I wouldn’t say they’re a huge inspiration for us. In our opinion other bands had a bigger influence, like Architects or Jinjer. I think Christoph can tell you more about the balance you mentioned.
Christoph: Of course I am a big fan of Rammstein. I visited their last Show in Riga in 2019. But there are other musicians that inspire my work on the keys, for example Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Jordan Fish (BMTH), Mick Gordon or Klayton (Celldweller), just to name some of them. But in the end the keys are just an addition to the guitars, not the other way round.

Having the futuristic storyline running through the material and concept do you have any plans for a comic book to go alongside the first few releases?

Christoph: We haven’t planned something like that at the moment, but never say never.
Markus: If there was an Agony Atlas comic it should be a dark and atmospheric one, Frank Miller like. That would be great. I think otherwise it wouldn’t accomodate the whole background story and the serious issue behind it.

There are no guests on “Egomania” so if you could bring someone on board for a future release, who would you choose?

Markus: For me it would clearly be Devin Townsend. He’s such a musical genius and seems to be a cool guy, too. I admire most of his work, including the stuff he produces. Soilwork’s „Natural Born Chaos“ for example is one of my favourite albums. Regarding the electronical and sample part of our music, Jean-Michel Jarre could also be great. That would probably be a crazy mixture, but with all his electro sounds and electronical soundscapes – let’s just say, he’s a visionary musician and performer.
Christoph: I think collaborating with somebody like Björk would be an awesome experience. I could also imagine that jamming with Les Claypool would bring in some fresh ideas. And I‘d love to hear what a remix of one of our songs by Danny Lohner would sound like.

As Egomania is just the beginning, what can we expect from “Retrogression Part #2”?

Christoph: We are currently working on new material. I can already tell that the new songs will be harder and more experimental than our latest release.
Markus: Right now we‘re thinking of an EP, maybe with four or five songs. I can assure you that there will be lots of things to discover.

“Retrogression Part 1: Egomania” by Agony Atlas is out now, you can find it in all the usual places as well as official merch here.