This past December saw the release of the debut single from German rockers Blast Bomb, a band with friend of The RingMaster Review and owner of the great independent label Undead Artists, Johnny Rose as its vocalist. The whole of the band though has a pedigree which matches their passion and craft, all in potent evidence within Born To Lose. With thanks to the whole band we grabbed the chance to find out more about Bomb Blast and their first single…
Hello guys and big thanks for taking time to chat with us.
Kein Problem, Danke fur dein helfen!
Can you first introduce the band?
Johnny: Singer
Torben: Guitar
Klaus: Guitar
Kai: Bass
Tobi: Drums
When did the band come together and what are your individual musical histories before Blast Bomb?
Torben – The Band comes together in the beginning of 2017 (January). I make music together with Tobi since school. Must be since 1995 or something like that, a long time. Klaus always says we know each other so well if someone does a fart the other reacts from the music view. Our first real band was High Gain District. A few years ago I played together with Klaus at Skull Harvest, so there comes the connection.
Kai: Skull Harvest 1999 – 2005 / Spezialangriff 2010 – 2012 / This One Goes To Eleven 2006 – 2016
Johnny – Torben and Tobi played together in bands for many years! Torben and Klaus played together in bands for many years….. Kai, Torben and Klaus played in bands together for many years…. are you sensing a pattern????
We already know Johnny from his exploits with Thirteen Shots and his label Undead Artists, how did you Johnny meet the rest of the band and what sparked your addition to its line-up?
Torben – the band posted an advertisement on a local band platform that they are searching a singer. At the same time Johnny makes a post that he searches for a band. So he receives the handy recordings from the last practice and in the next weeks some rehearsals was arranged. The rest is history…
Johnny – The guys have all been friends and playing music together for many years, ok in different bands but that chemistry was very obvious for me from hearing the live demo’s, so I was delighted when I got the chance to audition…..
Was there a deliberate direction you wanted to take Blast Bomb or has that and your sound just organically come together?
Torben – The sound comes automatically together from the single members. So we formed our own sound, every member of the band has his influences. Tobi has a Jazz and Alternative background, Kai has a stoner source, Klaus comes from Metal, Torben is more Rock orientated and Johnny …
Johnny – My music taste is superb! Who doesn’t love Chris De Burgh???
Torben – But all members are very open to ALL kinds of music, they have the same opinion about music … If it is good, it is good!!!
How would you describe the band’s sound to newcomers?
Torben – The band sound is something between Punk Rock, Rock, Metal, Stoner and Alternative… The term Crossover is a bit dusted but could maybe fit in another context than in the 90’s.
Johnny – I think the sound is more Punk ‘N’ Roll, we are certainly a crossover but we have this raw energy that runs through every song…..that to me is Punk ‘N’ Roll. But we need you guys to help us?? Who are we? What are we? haha
Can you give a flavour of some of the inspirations which may have made an impact on the band but certainly on your personal tastes and approach to making music?
Johnny -Well for me The Beatles, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd are my biggest influences! But the older Crossover punk bands are the reason I make the music I do…Misfits, Amen, Snot, Turbonegro. I am fascinated by concept bands too, something I would love day love to try, I like the attention to detail in the concepts.
Torben- Guns N Roses (Appetite For Destruction and Lies, when the Illusions came out I throw everything in the garbage), Pantera , Rage against the Machine, Suicidal Tendencies, Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Klaus- My First contact with Rock was Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath; I found the records from my stepfather. But later I found love for grunge Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden… I am also a big fan of Elvis, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis
Torben – Klaus ALSO LOVES Judas Priest and Iron Maiden…
Kai – Don’t forget Adriano Celentano Klaus
Klaus-oh and Jimi Hendrix….
Kai- For me its 80s Metal and Bay-Area Thrash to Stoner bands and the explosive Scandinavian Rock scene in the 90s; there’s too many to mention…
Tobi -NO MEANS NO, Primus, NO MEANS NO and of course NO MEANS NO
You have just released your debut single, Born To Lose; a three track feral punk ‘n’ roll attack showing creative irritability, ferocity, and attitude. It also reveals the variety of flavours in your 
sound. Is the single a full echo of your music or a teaser to an even broader tapestry?
Torben – It’s more a teaser, the band just in the forming process of their own style. The band creates a dozen songs since January; all have the same direction but are very different. The direction is forward …
Johnny – Absolutely, we are still finding our direction, The songs we are writing have so much power and purpose. Born To Lose felt like the correct single to record as it was the first song I heard and realised I wanted to join this band; I actually wrote the lyrics on the train to my audition, not much has changed from my original lyric idea!
We all work together to encourage us to achieve our best. Wait till you hear the full length
Can you give us a look into its themes?
Torben – Just wait for the Long Player… Till then we fix our sound…
Johnny – We keep working, Writing, Fine tuning, maybe we won’t rush the full length, better to focus on quality. We only want to put out the best, we are not kids anymore!
I assume you have a host of other songs in your arsenal. What was it about that trio which you felt made the best introduction to the band to the world?
Torben – We thought that it was a good idea to give a wide selection of our sound and don’t pick the most equal sounds.
Johnny – Yes we always knew that Maiden Hero and Born To Lose [would be on it] but we was unsure on the third option, we had another song in mind, But we played a show two days before we recorded and the feedback from friends and people at the gig made us re-think the third option…. that’s why we chose You’re Going Down… it was chosen kinda by fans.
The single is released through Italian label Archetype Records; how did that link up come about?
Torben – It just a friendship, so we help them and they help us. So it was a good opportunity for all of us.
Johnny – Yes these guys are trying to build something unique, we are trying the same, felt like a good agreement
On the live side of the band, you have already been successful supports to the likes of Honeymoon Disease, Conan, and Monolord, earning plaudits at the same time. When starting out did you suspect your sound would make a potent fit with bands and audiences of different genres?
Torben – No not really but we hope regarding our different sources and it seems that the idea works out well.
Johnny – To be honest I was incredibly nervous playing the show with Conan and Monolord. We are in NO WAY doomy but the crowd was more open than I expected, we got a really positive reception. We didn’t change our approach for the show so to see these doom fans getting down to some punk rock was quite amusing for me….
From the outside, The Hamburg music scene seems to be boiling up, how is it on the inside?
Torben – Curse and blessing at the same time. In Hamburg the scene is really big, so you can catch up a lot of influences. Furthermore you have the option to see a lot of bands, local and international, in the small and big clubs.
But regarding that it is hard to get a good gig and bring the people to the concerts. In Hamburg you can go to minimum 5 concerts every day. So it’s hard to get notified by the people but that makes us proud that we get that attention only after the first shows.
Johnny – Yes we just played our first headline show and the venue was pretty much sold out, it was certainly cosy. The Conan and Monolord show was just outside Hamburg, a Tuesday night and SOLD OUT… that to me was crazy.
I lose a lot of money a month in going to gigs, Some fantastic local bands too, in so many different styles.
What is next for Blast Bomb?
Torben – To rule the world 😉 …We are planning our first Italian tour, during the summer we want to play a few festivals and still searching for a good support slot. Furthermore we are looking to Johnny’s homeland to get a few shows there.
During the next year we want to do some more recordings, we think about a few small releases, nowadays we have no need to bring out a whole record… We bomb the world with a lot of, lot of small releases.
Johnny – haha Blast Bomb the world…..it will be explosive
Again many thanks for sharing your time; any last words you would like to add?
Torben – Better be aware the next bomb could be next to you …
Check out our review of Born To Lose @ https://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2017/12/02/blast-bomb-born-to-lose/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/blastbombhamburg https://blastbomb.bandcamp.com/releases
Pete RingMaster
The RingMaster Review 10/01/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
The mellower caress of Reflections is courted by the great dark shadowed throb of bass and volatility in Ben’s beats which never erupts but magnetically stalks the melancholic beauty of the song’s heart and touch. A song which just grows over time and listens, it brings another enticing aspect to the Mammoth Temple sound which only grows when the track does uncage its muscle.
