Interview: Volker's Ulrich Wegrich and Jen Nyx

Volker

It's certainly been awhile, but you may recall when we reviewed Volker's debut EP.

They were definitely a cool and unique band and that EP just got me more and more excited to hear more of their music.

Their latest album, Dead Doll, was released on Overpowered Records on May 26th and is a real cracker.

Recently guitarist/composer Ulrich Wegrich and vocalist/lyricist Jen Nyx took some time to visit the Glacially Musical Secret Underground Headquarters of the Global Email Center of Greater Zimbabwe, just past the water cooler, in the room that isn't being spied upon by Moscow to answer a few of our questions.

Now you can get to know them.

Glacially Musical: Good afternoon. Thank you for taking some time for me today.

 Ulrich : Hi! Thank you for your questions!

GM: Tell me a little bit about the formation of the band. How did Volker come to be?

Ulrich: For me, it was a dream of mine to start a “rock band”, and distance myself from the the extreme metal scene.

Manu, our bass player, shared the same wish... so we started to work on a new project: VOLKER. Jen joined the band and really added some creepy, freaky imagery.

GM: How do you describe your music?

Jen: I would describe VOLKER music as a mix of dark rock, horror and grunge...

GM: I know you're big horror fans, how do you incorporate that into your music?

Jen: Yes, you can find a lot of horror movie influences in our music, sometimes through the music... sometimes through the lyrics.

We try to incorporate a creepy ambience every time. We are pleased when the audience feels the same atmosphere!

GM: What about true-horror? Do you get into true crime or just fictional stuff?

Jen: The “real” aspect of horror is interesting, especially when we try to understand it from a scientific point of view.

The most abominable acts are often linked to human psychology. Trying to understand the human psyche is always interesting!

I have more passion for the fictional though - I find it more entertaining, even if often it's a reflection of reality.

GM: Do you collect anything scary?

Jen: I own some animal skulls, Chucky figurines, a customized real-size dummy and a lot of trinkets that reflect my own personality... you can imagine I don’t have your average “Ikea” room!

Ulrich: I have several snakes and a tarantula. Also, I collect vintage and collector Reebok Pumps!

Not so scary, ha!

GM: Who are your biggest influences?

Ulrich: Mine are all from the 80's and 90's. I'm a huge fan of Guns N Roses, Scorpions and Nirvana, but also Blondie, Muse and others.

I mix all those inspirations with my metal touch... because as you may know, I played and composed extreme death/black metal for more than 15 years...

My fingers and my playing can't get totally rid of those years.

Jen: It’s hard to give you one band or one person. I have many different inspirations. I can cite Marilyn Manson, Korn, Otep, Nirvana, The Nymphe... and many more.

GM: What are the tour plans for your new record?

Ulrich: We hope to be on stage a much as possible.

Actually, we’re just now going to begin booking some tour dates because we unfortunately encountered some delays.

We hope to receive some good propositions from our home country of France and abroad!

GM: What are the five most important albums of all time?

Ulrich: Iron Maiden- Live After Death, Guns N Roses - Use Your Illusion I & II, Slayer- Live Decade Of Aggression, Scorpions- Love At First Sting and finally Michael Jackson- Thriller

Jen: Metallica- Metallica (aka The Black Album), Korn- Follow The Leader, Nirvana- In Utero, Devin Townsend- Addicted and Marilyn Manson- Antichrist Superstar

GM: Tell me something I didn't ask....

Jen: Get up freaks! Listen to VOLKER, come and dance with the dead!

Don't forget to hit them up on Facebook and purchase Dead Doll here!