GUNNAR SAUERMANN – A Dive…

A dive into the record collection of

GUNNAR SAUERMANN

Diving in the record collection to people is something many have done before us, but we want to give it a try anyway. We’ve picked a nice collection of well known actors within what we may call the metal press, and we took a second look at their favorite bands and discs. First up is a well known German. He is currently working as a press officer for Season of Mist and partly as a photographer / journalist for Metal Hammer Germany. Here is a small dive in the record collection of GUNNAR SAUERMANN.  

Are you a vinyl freak or more of the modern CD type?

I am holding it with a sentence by that fountain of profound philosophical statements, although he probably would reject the notion, Fenriz: "I have no time for vinyl that is for the unemployed." Well said, but probably to be taken with a large dash of humour.

Do you have a record player? If so – do you use it?

Funny enough, I still have one that has been collecting dust for ages…

Do you remember the very first record you bought?

The Beatles "Help". I watched the movie on German television and could not help it. I dare say, not a bad choice…

What is the rarest album you’ve got?

I do not really care, but it may be one of the early Metallica EPs or "Master of Puppets" first pressing double vinyl or Ossian’s "Seal Song".

Does Gunnar’s record collection consist of metal only? What else can one find that Gunnar highly appreciates?

Hell no! You will find a lot of Rock: Saga, Genesis, Marillion (Fish), Mike Oldfield, Jethro Tull etc. as well as Irish and Scottish Trad from Planxty to Ossian from Battlefield Band to Julie Fowlis and Catriona McKay. There is a lot of Classical music too with a penchant for Beethoven, some Orff, Bach and more.  

How do you preserve your collection? Is it categorized or is it just helter skelter?

Alphabetical order and sorted by genre with protective inner and outer plastic sleeves for the vinyl. I only kept the highlights, when it comes to vinyl. CDs are arranged by alphabet and genre too.

Emperor – what is it about this band from Notodden, Norway that makes them your favorite band?

Emperor injected "Art" into Black Metal. Highly intelligent music, which at the same time strongly touches the gut feelings. They made something new on top of the Norwegian scene creating something ground breaking anyway with Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Immortal and Gorgoroth being the last to come up with something original within Metal music, which is a rather scary situation. Emperor are just amazing songwriters and the combined forces of Ishahn and Samoth unleashed something utterly amazing that touches eternity.

When did you discover Emperor for the first time and how did you discover them? Was it love at first listen or did it take some time before you realized that this was THE band for you?

Actually I was dragged to it from two directions. Having fallen asleep while watching Headbangers’ ball from the UK as they were playing a lot of English bullshit (instead of all the great British bands) I woke up to some dreadful sounds and watched two weirdos painted in black and white running around a glacier. Yet what they were doing was so fascinating that I had to buy an Immortal album the next morning, which was the first time since discovering Metallica and Venom that I did that. This set me on the trail of Black Metal and was followed by a huge article in Metal Hammer written by German Metal god Robert Müller. He recommend ten early Black Metal albums among them Emperor’s "In the Nightside Eclipse", which Robert especially pointed out. I bought all ten including Mayhem, Darkthrone and Marduk, but funny enough it was Emperor, which I did not get at all at first. I tried again and again and kept failing. Then one fine day I made it to the end and I finally listened to "Inno A Satana" and suddenly it made CLICK in my head! Finally I understood that this was different from the rest in using classical structures. I listen to the album again and was awestruck. I am probably a dumb idiot not to get Emperor immediately, but it was damn worth trying… Thanks Robert for making me do so!

Is the entire discography of Emperor equally essential to you?

Every single album is an outstanding achievement. Now the one I like least of this pack of best albums ever is "IX Equilibrium" as that shows too much Death Metal influence for my taste. Yet of course even that record stands above 98% of all Metal releases.

What is your relationship with the band members?

Well, I had the privilege to be allowed to follow them around for Emperor’s last US tour as I was writing a tour story for Metal Hammer Germany.  Therefore I guess, they do not hate me…

Your favorite album is "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk". When were you first introduced to this masterpiece and how many versions of it do you have in your collection?

On the day the album was released an ex-girlfriend, who is still a dear to me, brought it home as a present.  Now, what a cool girl! I did not need anybody to tell me to buy this album as I was waiting to hear it from the day I read in Metal Hammer is was due to be released. I think, I only have three versions in my shelf, but that is more an accident and was not planned. One version in my shelf is usually enough for me.

What is your favorite song on "Anthems …"?

Basically I consider it to be one masterpiece consisting of different chapters, but alright, my favourite part would possibly be: "Thus Spake the Nightspirit".

Emperor playing "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk" live in its entirety, is that your ultimate dream?

Now that would be great and indeed a dream come true, but there are a lot of things that I would probably consider more of an ultimate … and I am sure the band would agree with me in this.

You are home after a long day’s work and want to relax with some music. What do you, most likely, want to listen to?

Silence. Apart from that, it will depend on my mood and might be anything – except for Lady Gaga, Reggea or Satyricon…

Where do you stand when it comes to original albums? Do you want a first press or are you pleased with re-mastered re-publications?

That depends on the album. Big Country’s "Peace in Our Time" is the perfect example of a recording killed by a horrible mix and mastering.  The re-mastered edition was a treat. Other re-mastered albums are just a rotten means of making money and sound no different from the original,.

There are split opinions about live albums. Where do you stand and what’s your ultimate live album? What’s so special about this record?

Iron Maiden’s "Live After Death", but only the full version. Perfect choice of songs, sound and energy.

What about the gender distribution in your collection; how is that coming along?

Nightwish, Tristania, Within Temptation, After Forever, Epica, Leave’s Eyes, Madder Mortem, Krypteria, Evanescence and so on are present in my collection and well listened to. Now, there are those, who whine about it, but I simply could not care less. I like the genre and that is my final word on that. You will also find Dead Can Dance, The 3rd and the Mortal, Julie Fowlis, DeDannan, Clannad, Oisín and others. Although due to Metal being the largest part of my collection there is a clear bias towards male musicians, there is a definite female side to my collection as well. Female voices sound just more attractive and the girls are nicer to look at for an added bonus. As an interesting note: female vocalists give by average far more intelligent answers than their male counterparts. As I said: BY AVERAGE. 

The vinyl tax collector is standing at your doorstep and demanding one – 1 – vinyl record as an instant charge. What record do you choose to give away?

Metallica "Ride the Lightning". That album has been played so many times it is in quite a bad state by now. He may take the album and go fuck himself with it. I will keep the original cover though as it clearly states 1 vinyl record above. I am German after all and take things quite literally…