Holy Moses: Interview with Sabina Classen

I know the story of the founding and getting the name of Holy Moses involves a church and a priest. Would you like to think back and share those mystical, blessed events with us?

Sabina: I have to say, that I was not involved by getting the band the name Holy Moses. So there are different stories about those mystical moments. But I can tell you, that on our new DVD in the end of the year 2006, you will get an idea about that, `cause I will visit with my camera all the founding places of HOLY MOSES back in 1980/1981.

How did you worked up this brutal style of singing that made you famous? Were there any other singers to sing this way back in 81, where did you get your inspiration?

Sabina: this was only the inspiriation on my own. Their where no others singers like me, not even other male singers growling like me. And I have to tell you the truth – when Holy Moses forced me to sing in Holy Moses, I jumped to the microphone to show them, that I can`t sing, that I can only growl – and this was the reason, why Holy Moses took me as their singer.

What do you think that it takes for someone to be a good singer?

Sabina: To be a good singer? The question here is: what is a good singer? For me a good singer is someone who put out emotions and mysticals. In a normal way, I would say, I have no voice to sing a opera, but I have a mystical feeling in my body what I can bring out with my vocalstrings.

Female singers in metal bands are rare even these days, how was it like for you to be a girl in this man’s world?

Sabina: To be earnest with you, I don`t think about that. I never was thinking about that. I feel like a human being, and I like to do what I do – and I never thought about it, if it`s a girl or not a girl style and if it is a man`s world or not. I mean when I startet with all this kind of music – I even didn´t know if a man is doing what I do – so I never was getting a answer in this question.

Your new label, Armageddon Music has re-released all the classic Holy Moses albums from the eighties. Do you still listen to those albums? What are you thinking now, looking back on them?

Sabina: hahahaha, yeah I had to listen to all stuff back, `cause we had to deceide about the bonus tracks, we had to deceide about the re-mastering and we tried to find back the old masters. It is such a great feeling to look back to all the releases and it makes me really proud. It is still such a great work and it`s still up to date.

Holy Moses always had a problem with drummers; none of them lasted to long in the band, except maybe for Uli Kusch. He even helped Andy Classen to write the songs of the three albums he appeared on, and then he left for Gamma Ray, a heavy metal band. This is a little strange to me, as Holy Moses was a successful thrash metal band at the time, why did he leave to play heavy metal?

Sabina: But Gamma Ray was a lot more successful….hahahaha…I think we where all really young in that time, and we didn`t talked enough to each other about problems….just a few weeks ago, Uli and me talked in a long email about all these things … I think, with all the experience what we have now, we would all deceide in another way….but 16 years ago, we where all young kids…..

Although you had left your studies to fully focus your energy on the band, you left Holy Moses in 1992, and put together Temple of the Absurd (there’s that mystical touch again, a “temple”). This must have been a difficult decision to make, what made you do it?

Sabina:  In this moment I had to do it, to open my mind, to free myself and my soul – and the Temple Of The Absurd, helped me to find back in that what I believe and I am living for….so I could go on with Holy Moses again in 2000 – (I left Holy Moses not in 1992 – I left Holy Moses in 1994 – but founding Temple in the end of 1992)

How did your relation with Andy Classen affect the band and, looking back, do you think it is wise to be romantically involved between band colleagues?

Sabina: the relationship with Andy was not in a romantically way in the band. The personal life was dictated from the bands life….

You got back to Holy Moses five years ago. An important label, Century Media, has released the comeback album, Disorder of the Order. But even though the release gained a positive response, your collaboration with Century Media came to an end short after that. What went wrong?

Sabina: Nothing went wrong. I had a deal for the EP Master Of Disaster and a deal for the album Disorder Of The Order. After the album I was free again, to do a new deal with Century Media or with a new label – and I got the wonderful offer of Armageddon Music and I deceided to go on now with Armageddon.

The European tour for Disorder of the Order brought Michael Hankel in the band and he soon completely replaced Andy Classen, not only as a guitar player but as a songwriter as well. What did he bring new to the band, what is now different?

Sabina: Michael is something like the soulmate of Andy. His style of playing guitar, his style of writing songs for Holy Moses – I have the feeling Michael is a founding member of the band or is ghost was already for years in the band. It was the biggest wish of Andy, that I find a person like Michael for the band – and I was waiting for such a person since 1992 – AND like you can see, it took me 10 years to find this mystical person on that planet – and like the mystic is: in 1992 I moved to Hamburg….and it took me 10 years in Hamburg, to find Michael in Hamburg, and he was sometimes so near….

You had no less than 22 songs to choose from for your latest album Strength Power Will Passion; lots of band would wish to have your creativity. What caused this abundance of new ideas?

Sabina: Michael had such a lot of ideas in his soul, even the same with me and that is the most important thing, this ideas still going on, and for the new album, we have again a lot of songs and we can`t wait to start with the new album.

I understand that the title of the album Strength Will Power Passion describes the determination and the passion you put in your music that helped you last so long on the scene. But the picture on the cover seems to have some deeper mystical meaning; does it deal with religion and divinity?

Sabina: The cover portraits my form of magic. The pentagram as a symbol of my spirit, I see as a protection and also a realisation and reinforces reflection and protects us from outside influences. The pentagram is for me a symbol of power and a window into the soul. My harmony and peace of mind leave the ghosts to rest and reveal memories of the quality I want to invite. I believe this is all connected to the quest for the personal symbol of power, to trust my impulse and instinct, to trust my eyes, to find my heart. Through this I find the aspects of my life which deserves more of my attention and with which energy I should use, The pentagram is my Mandala – and points to my evolvement. We Are God – Your Are God – I Am God – God Is New – stands for the evolution of self defence. Then I alone can release the power from my symbol to use against outside influence. „Strength Power Will Passion“ As the title of the album summarises all the lyrics into one song. In the individual songs I describe how I come to realise the connection between Magic and my realisation/defence. Also the individual lyrics show the meaning of the cover with the individual development phases of my knowledge. So like you can see, it`s my form of religion, my own religion and not dictated from an other god.
      

What was you intended to achieve with your latest record, and how satisfied are you with the response so far?

Sabina: What I intended to achieve? My inner luck, my satisfying of my soul – and I got it!!!

You had a German tour this year and you also played a number of festivals, what kind of an audience you had to your shows? Do the young metalheads seem interested in old school thrash metal?

Sabina: Yes, the younger metalheads a totally into old school thrash metal – and we have really a totally mixed audience in our shows from 11 years to over 60 years – so the old fans are already coming with their kids starting around 10 to 11 – to our shows, and the kids are crazy like their parents….

Is it true that you were supposed to play in Afghanistan earlier this year and why did the show get cancelled?

Sabina: Yes, we got a offer to play in Afghanistan, but it was for the UN soldiers and they wanted to dictate which songs we should play, so they wanted to play us cover songs, and we said NO WAY.

You had a show in Bulgaria this summer, Romania is very close by. What  do you think about the east-European public?

Sabina: We will come to Bulgaria live in 2006 – I was alone in Bulgaria in 2005 without my band and I saw the fans going crazy when I jumped on stage to sing along with Destruction. I have to say, the east European public is very great and we will play this year in Bulgaria, in Ukraine, also in Poland and Czek and I hope we will get the chance to play in Romania also…

You seem to already have prepared all the details for the 25th anniversary of the band, scheduled to take place in December 2006, in your home city, Aachen. What is exactly going to happen?

Sabina: I think it will be a really great party event with a lot of fans and friends during all the years. Specially for this evening the bands Vanadium and Axe La Chapelle will do a reunion, `cause we played along with the in the 80ies in Aachen. Some other specials I will think about in the next weeks, I think we will do a really special kind of show and perhaps some of the old members and found members will join us on that day.

I know you were already booked for some shows in 2006, other than that and you anniversary event, what is in plan for Holy Moses for the upcoming year? A new CD, a DVD maybe?

Sabina: We started to work on the new CD – but I think it will come out in early 2007 – but with a lot of work we are planning to get out the DVD to our 25th anniversary party in Aachen in December.

You have been around for some time now on the metal scene. You have been a singer, a band manager, a hostess of rock shows on a German TV station, so you have seen a lot of things coming and going. I’m not going to ask you to write a book here (although one day you definitely should), but could just describe in a few words these 25 years of heavy metal that you lived and breathed as an insider?

Sabina: Strength Will Power Passion

Where do you think heavy metal is heading to, what do you think about the metal of today?

Sabina: It's the same like 25 years ago – the only thing is –more people are into it, but the feeling is still the same – but I can't look into the hearts of the young people – but I can tell you – I feel the same like 25 years ago.

Last question is a quick quiz. Short question, but no necessarily short answers