Holy Moses and Steinberg Software
For over 25 years Holy Moses have been playing a key figure in the thrash metal scene of Germany and abroad. The band was formed in 1980, although the line-up has changed more than once over the years. Since 1981 Sabina Classen has been the band’s one consistent member, revered for her pioneering work as a female lead singer of a metal band and possibly inspiring bands such as the successful Arch Enemy. After their hiatus in the ’90s, the band resurfaced in 2001 with a new line-up around Sabina and guitarist Michael Hankel to pick up where they had left off.
Michael, since when have you been using Steinberg software on your productions, and what was the reason for employing a Steinberg sequencer?
I really don’t know how long it’s been since I took my baby steps with Cubase Audio XT. But since then, I’ve worked with all version updates and am presently using Nuendo 4.2. Back then, I turned to Cubase because no other products out there could meet my requirements. The use is very intuitive and lets you focus entirely on producing your music.
How do you usually get ready to start on a new album? Do you all live close to one another or do you share song ideas by sending them around the world?
We live quite far apart, which means we really have to focus on production work when we get to meet up in the studio. In the pre-production phase, we stored our takes on the server, which then were imported into Cubase or Nuendo. We kept on doing this until the songs were finished, then we got together for the actual recordings. The drums were recorded in our second studio in Hannover. Carlos recorded his part in the USA, which he then put on the server. Thomas, our bassist, did the same thing, recording his parts in his studio. Throughout the production phase, several gigabytes were sent back and forth!
Do you guys have your own studio?
Yes, we have a studio in our house where I recorded the guitars, the bass and vocals, and there’s a bigger one in Hannover where we recorded the drums.
What kinds of gear are found in your studio and what's your computer setup?
In my Hamburg studio I work on a Core 2 Duo 3.2 GHz PC with RME audio hardware and two 19" displays plus a TC Powercore with various plug-ins that gives me the necessary DSP power. I also can call two different pairs of studio monitor speakers my own. When I’m on the road, I use a Dell Latitude 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo with an RME Multiface. Our Hannover studio also boasts a powerful PC.
I’m just thinking of getting the new Steinberg hardware since it’s got really good features that I can also use for producing while on the move.
Of course I also have the usual suspects, such as the Vocal Preamp, the 19" version of the Line 6 POD and a X3 floorboard for guitar and bass, as well as compressors and so forth. Most of the time, however, I work with the Nuendo effects. Since version 4, the effects sound so good and accurate that I’ll probably have to sell my outboard.
Apart from Nuendo, do you use other Steinberg applications?
I use Nuendo as workstation throughout the production process. For mastering, I employ WaveLab with a TC Powercore. WaveLab ist simply the best tool when it comes to mastering. I find that its algorithms sound great and the audio montage in WaveLab is the best I’ve seen around, not to forget the surround plug-ins and some of Steinberg's VST instruments.
Once again you’re on a long tour which is taking you through the whole of Europe for one month, with nearly no break at all. Do you belong to those kinds of bands that also write down new material and record first demos while traveling on the tour bus?
Yes, that actually happens once in a while, provided we have the time and space. You see, when you’ve been on the road for some time, the bus is packed with laundry leaving no room to work in the lounge, and that’s why it mostly happens on the spur of the moment in the backstage room. In January, while on tour with Obituary, that’s exactly how some of our ideas for our recently released CD Agony of Death came about. When the guys of Obituary realized that we were producing stuff while on tour, they immediately wanted to record something too. That’s how the solos of Ralph Santolla and Trevor were recorded, and that's how Schmier from Destruction also got to add a little something.
This is probably a delicate question for you thrash metal bands. Do you also make use of Cubase during your live performances, such as playing back additional samples? Do you utilize computer technology at all? At least one keyboardist could be seen on stage during your performance at Wacken Open Air.
Yes, that was Ferdy Doernberg you saw on the keyboards. He also played the sounds on the intros of our new CD. And since we had planned to use the intros at Wacken, we thought it’d be cool to have Ferdy play them live. However, on this tour the intros are being played back using my laptop. I use the Arranger Track in Nuendo — I simply hit the space key for play and the intro stops automatically at the end.
While playing the actual songs, we don't use the computer because we don’t play by click. When your sound technician forgets to trigger the intro for the hundredth time or forgets to stop the CD so that the next intro is to be heard as well, you trigger the intros yourself in the end. However, at two gigs the entire bass guitar came from the computer. Our former bassist became ill all of a sudden so that I had to record the bass lines the night before the shows — this time having to play by click. To that time, I was the only guitarist for Holy Moses, and it would have sounded a little thin without bass guitar. [smiles] I wouldn’t want to do something like that again though. I don't think it sounds very musical. Our music needs to be played by hand!
What are the band's plans after the current tour?
From January 2009 we’ll be touring the US for three months, but we’ve still got a ton of gigs to give till then. For the time being I don’t want to think of a new CD — we are very happy with Agony of Death, the album we’ve just released, which is by far the best production Holy Moses have ever had. But I guess that's what all musicians say…
Website: www.holymoses.de
MySpace page: www.myspace.com/holymosesgermany
