It has been a while. It is already since 2021 that Wolfchant released previous new work on ‘Omega : Bestia’. How did it go with the band in the meantime?
In the meantime we had to clarify a lot of private things and that is the reason why it took time for making new music. Two members got babies during this time and they needed some time off. We played festivals and shows in the meantime, but we were always in this process of creating songs and so we released the song ‘Witchfinder’ for these 70,000 tons of metal cruise in 2023. During this time we created this music, maybe 18 to 20 songs. Out of these songs, we picked out the ones we think are best and now you will hear the result (chuckles).

Every album has new different challenges. Did you have new additions to your sound on ‘Echoes Of A Time Once Past’?
At least every album is a mirror of our mood, of what happened. In this case, we went through a lot of bad experiences and now it is different, we are in a good mood and everybody was happy to create new music and going a new way. I think it is a good mixture between old and new Wolfchant and of course we added a portion of power metal again, but also a little bit more technical metal, maybe verging to black metal from time to time and also melodic death metal, because we wanted to bring something faster maybe, but also epic. With Wolfchant every song should be an epic one.

Are you writing the lyrics and what can you tell about them?
Me and Nortwin, both vocalists, are sharing the lyrics. He writes lyrics and I write lyrics. Before I did all the lyrics, but since Michael entered the band in 2011, of course he was starting to write lyrics around that time and of course we used his lyrics. They are very nice, so we share making the lyrics. During this writing process the majority of the music is written by our guitar players Skaahl and Seehb, because both of them have a very good studio. They do the recordings and when we had the first sample, everybody could add his ideas. Sometimes a song changes 20 times in two years. So everybody is adding ideas, then we try to add the lyrics. Sometimes we have to do a change because of the lyrics. And then hopefully after a few changes, the song is ready and everybody is satisfied. If one member says ‘I don’t like it’, we will not use it. So everybody has to be 100% sure this song is going on the next record.

Is there a story running through the album or not?
It is always a more or less different story in every song. Of course on former albums we mainly used pagan and Viking themes, but ‘Lifeblood’ is more or less about how brutal war can be. What you say and what you think when blood is spilt on the soil and people are dying. That’s what the song is about, but there is also hope inside. It is more or less this kind of meaning.

Since 2019 you have two guitar players again. I think that makes sense as well, surely in live situations. Why did you decide to release the album via your own label?
It is difficult with a record label – we do it as a hobby at least – and of course we were at a very strong growing record label with Reaper – they need bands who do a lot of touring and do a lot of activities to sell albums, but we are not that kind of band. We do it because it is a hobby, because we like it and when we say ‘okay, we want to release the next album in a few months’ we can do it if we want, just because of freedom. We are at a certain age at the moment, so everybody has a good job, has families, and so we want to invest the time when we can, we want to play shows. We will release records and we will play shows when we have time for it. So for us it is all about personal freedom.

I think you feel better about that. In 2003, you and guitarist Skaahl founded the band. What can you tell about the beginning of Wolfchant?
In the beginning, more or less around 2003, we shared a rehearsal room. I was at that time in a black metal band and two of the other members of Wolfchant, they had some kind of punkrock band. One evening we were sitting together, because they played in that room after us and we were friends. We came to this discussion that we wanted to make some harder music. During this time we founded Wolfchant and it was more or less this kind of pagan black metal. We decided: ‘we like it, let us see if it works’ and we released the first demo. The people liked it, then we made the second demo and after the second one, a small label from Austria, CCP Records, during this time they had a lot of Viking and pagan metal bands, they offered us our first contract. Then we released the first album and things went very fast for us. After the release we played shows everywhere in Germany, when ‘Pagan Storm’ was released, we played shows all over Europe and then, ten years later, when we released ‘Boodwinter’, then we played shows everywhere in the world. It was really a nice time for us, as persons and as band and also for the music. It was a very good hobby! (chuckles)

You were lucky that around those years between 2003 and 2015, pagan metal was really successful…
Indeed, it was a lot of fun. We played at 70,000 tons of metal again in 2017. That year we played all the huge festivals like Wacken and Summer Breeze. For us it was unbelievable to play all these shows in one year. Really nice!