LOVE.MIGHT.KILL – Embrace For The New Metal Command

Drummer Michael Ehre from Germany doesn‘t let time idle by. He has a lot to accomplish in terms of drumming and songwriting, and he certainly pushes his talent to the limit through the years. Metalium, Uli Jon Roth, Firewind- these are just on the short list of acts he‘s either recorded with, toured with, or done both. Currently promoting his newest melodic metal outfit Love.Might.Kill , he appears to have adequate insights and opinions about his own influences, playing abilities and the metal scene in general. Enjoy his answers as I fired off these questions by e-mail.

How quickly after the dissolution of Metalium did you develop the lineup for Love.Might.Kill ? Can you tell the readers a little bit about the background of the other players in the band?

When I started to work on the Love.Might.Kill-Album a few years ago Metalium wasn´t about to split. Metalium decided in 2010 to record one last album in 2011 or maybe 2012 and end this chapter. Let´s see when we can get together to work on our final album…as we all have a lot of other things to do it seems not that easy but I´m sure we´ll make it. The lineup for Love.Might.Kill was completed in 2010. Besides me on the drums we have Jan Manenti on vocals. He´s a very talented singer from Italy who I met when I was touring with Kee Marcello (ex-Europe). We also have my longtime friends Christian Stöver and Stefan Ellerhorst on the guitars. Both played in a german-metal-band called Crossroads back in the nineties. Finally Jogi Sweers on the bass completed our lineup.

What did you learn in your ten year tenure with Metalium as far as recording and touring cycles? Do you believe you really improved as a songwriter through the years- and learned a lot from the other members who also were productive songwriters for the band?

I‘ve been pretty busy playing in different bands and projects the last years. So I learned a lot from fantastic musicians such as Uli Jon Roth, Vinnie Moore, Kee Marcello and of course the guys in Metalium and Firewind, who I joined late 2009. I learned not only a lot of making music but also about some business things and everything that‘s important for a band besides the music. As I was the main songwriter (along with Lars Ratz, our bass-player) in Metalium and wrote songs for different other artists I guess I developed my songwriting skills all the time. My big advantage is that I can play guitar. That makes it a lot easier to communicate with other musicians. It´s easier to show a riff on the guitar than singing it.

Which instrument did you pick up first in your youth- drums or guitar? Who were some of your early influences on both instruments, and did you receive any formal training or did you pick up your skills just through having a good ear for music?

I picked up the drums first. My uncle who wanted to form a band back in the days of my childhood wanted me to play the bass but I said „No way! I will play the drums!" – I was 10 or 11 years old and that´s how it started. By the way: my uncle played some tunes for the Love.Might.Kill-Album, which was really cool as I haven´t played with him in more than 20 years. My main influence on the drums were Cozy Powell, Ian Paice, Tommy Aldridge and Tommy Lee. For the guitar I don´t have any specific heroes. At first I didn´t have any drum lessons. That changed when I started to study music at the university, where I also got lessons in guitar and singing. That really helped me a lot. On the drums I try to practice as much as I can, which is not so easy nowadays due to all the bands and projects I´m doing. I also have some drum-students in my hometown. This is also very cool – especially when you see their development.

Brace For Impact as a debut album possesses a variety of melodic power metal tracks- something I believe a lot of current bands lack in terms of changing up tempos and dynamics from song to song. How do you feel the album turned out and what are some of your favorite songs? Were there any particular tracks that were more challenging for certain members than others?

I think you´re absolutely right. We got some up tempo-songs and also a lot of groovy, mid tempo stuff. Very melodic but always with a certain heaviness. We´re really happy with the final result. Also Markus Teske, who did the mix for the album has done a fantastic job! For my ears Brace For Impact sounds exactly like a heavy production of this genre should sound like. The songwriting and everything also went really smooth. For me personally it was more challenging to coordinate all my musical activities. Talking about my favourite songs it´s difficult because I can´t pick one as I like the whole record.

Your video for Pretty Little Mess appears to be a straightforward performance clip, with some behind the scenes footage interspersed to give the viewers more of your personal band chemistry. How do you believe the shoot turned out?

In my opinion the shoot turned out very well. We didn‘t have a huge budget for that but everyone involved gave everything. We got very good world wide responses to the video.

What type of touring plans do you have with Love.Might.Kill ? Are you gearing up for the summer festival circuit and what expectations can the fans have for the band in a live environment?

For this year‘s festivals it´s too late as our album comes out in June and we´re a newcomer act that no one is waiting for yet. We have a few shows in June but we´re planning to do more shows in December or maybe January. Let´s see…

You are a drum teacher as well. What types of students do you take on- and what do you see are the biggest obstacles and challenges these musicians face in mastering their craft?

I teach every kind of student. I have for example a few kids that started to take lessons in the age of 5 and now they are teenagers. I also have adults and a Samba-group. It´s all a lot of fun for me but a lot of work for them, hahaha…the most challenging aspect is to convince the students to play for the songs and not for themselves or to impress other musicians. Usually it takes some time to realize that. It was the same for me when I was young.

What do you think of the changing business model of music distribution and digital media in general? If you had the ability to modify or change certain aspects, what would you change and why?

To be honest I don´t have any idea…I mean it´s tough for musicians nowadays because of all that downloads that lower the album sales. But I know that we have to deal with it and use the advantages of the internet instead of giving up. But don´t ask me how that should happen…

Tell us about your time with Uli Jon Roth- one of the legendary guitarists through the years. What has it been like playing with him on the Under A Dark Sky record plus touring?

I´m with Uli since 2005 and I´m very thankful for that. I learned so much from Uli. He´s one if not the kindest person on earth. I think I became a much better musician since I´ve joined his band. We´ve done a lot of shows and tours and we´re still on the road and it´s always very funny because we have a lot of cool guys in the band. In general I never had to deal with idiots in my musical career so far.

If you were stuck on a desert island and could only bring 3 albums plus 3 additional items, what would you bring and please tell us why?

Albums: „Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance" – „Rainbow – Long Live Rock´n´Roll" – „Deep Purple – in Rock"
Additional items: 1.) My wife 2.) My son 3.)….I don´t know …I already have all I need….

How would you describe the personalities within Love.Might.Kill and what do you think each member brings to the band that makes you work so well together?

We are all complete different personalities but have the same vision: we want to bring the band to the next level. This is hard enough these days for a newcomer but we all believe in what we´re doing. Everyone brings different input. Stefan Ellerhorst (guitar) for example directed our „Pretty Little Mess"-clip while Jogi Sweers (bass) is keeping an eye on the technical, equipment-stuff. I wrote, recorded and produced the album.

What does Michael Ehre like to do when he has free time away from music? Any special hobbies or collectable items/ passions you have?

These days I have the problem that I don´t have free time with all my musical activities. But it´s worth it because that´s what I was aiming for since my younger years. If I find the time I like to spend as much time as possible with my family by going swimming, playing football or simply watch a movie with my son. I collect music-dvds/blu-rays but it´s always hard to find the time to watch them, hahaha…

Any final thoughts for the readers of Eternal Terror?

I´d like to say „Hi" to everyone who´s reading this interview and I hope you´re keeping the metal flame alive. Maybe we´ll meet someday somewhere on the road!

http://www.michaelehre.de  
http://www.lovemightkill.com