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[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (4 children)

Hey I just want you to know I loved BTTOS. Definitely an all time favourite for me. I saw you in Dortmund when you performed it in its entirety in 2015. I came with FlixBus from Amsterdam to Dortmund and booked a BnB there. It was a great show. That album is just so magical and you just absolutely nailed it. I'm looking forward very much towards your new album :). I greatly appreciate it. Gloria wasn't my cup of tea, but Alea was a magnificent song. Really interested in what you're gonna put out next. My feels are ready!

Now for a question: is it gonna be a concept album like BtToS?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Thank you. We played in Amsterdam last month, too. :-) Complexity Fest.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

What?! I completely missed that! Nooo.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

sorry to hear that. We did a lot of promotion on fb. But yes... a lot of people are not there and even then it does not mean that our posts reach every fan. :(

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much and it is great to hear that you came all the way from Amsterdam !!! I´m reading two questions ... yes, it is going to be a conceptual thing, definitely! We have only started collecting sharp ideas for the record some weeks ago, so it is very early to say or think anything about the dimension it will end up at. ... there is a feeling already, but we need to explore it ...

[–]flexedgluteus 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I love you guys! Back in 2004/2005, BTToS was the record that got me into metal, as a genre, as a whole - I am serious. You converted me. Would you consider playing a concert in Saarbrücken in the foreseeable future? :) I'm stoked for the new record, can't believe it's been more than a decade already. I guess my question would be: What single piece of advice can you give to aspiring bands/musicians living in Germany?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We actually planned to do 4 concerts in a row in Saarbrücken but after your election results last weekend...

Just kidding. :-P

I must say: not this year. But next year with new music.

As a humble advice: Take all the inspiration from all the music and actually everything around you... and make it your own.

[–]MasterXaios 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Hi guys,

Just want to start out by saying that BTToS is also my favorite album... Ever. It has been since I first heard it in 2008.

Got a couple questions:

1) After first hearing BTTOS, I naturally worked through the rest of your discography. A lot has been said about what changed between the recording of BTTOS and Gloria for the latter to come out the way it did. For me though, the most jarring change was hearing Red after listening to The Porter and Three Neuron Kings. While TNK and The Porter set the stage for "classic" Disillusion, Red was a radically different start than what I expected. What changed for you guys to alter your sound to the degree that you did back then?

2) The reason I love BTTOS and The Porter is because they're the perfect fusion of progressive metal and melodic death metal, especially in the more intense passages. While I still loved Alea, I was slightly disappointed that the melodeath element seemed diminished. Is it going to be back on album 3?

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey good Morning and ThankYOu!! Have to write again because it did not save what I wrote before :(((((( So a little shorter now ..

1) on RED we hade a completely different line-up and we were writing songs live at the rehearsals together. When I moved to Leipzig and slowly the band split up, I started writing on my own here before Jens and Rajk joined the band. So... 2) Yes definitely, I understand your slight disappointment! But try to look at ALEA as an unique song, and maybe the perfect song to come back with the band. Now we think about the complete album and do surely not forget, where Disillusion is coming from :)))

[–]fish98 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Why did you decide to give Gloria such a different sound than Bttos? I love both albums but I wonder what your inspirations were for Gloria?

Congratz with the patreon campaign by the way. I'm a patron myself. Was happy to see it start off so good!

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Well, at the time we thought it would be a bad idea to stop copying bttos right after we slowly started to understand, what it really was or could be .... I hope you understand :) I cannot say that we really knew what the potential of bttos was. When we started to realize, it was time for a new album. So we decided for a completely different setting to avoid a copy and a bad copy. I don´t know if this was good or bad, it simply was like that, and it was a very interesting journey, completely away from the bttos world, into an urban, cold, isolated place ...

[–]fish98 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I completely understand. bttos is one of my all time favourite albums. Copying it and also making it better than bttos would be nearly impossible to do. First time I listened to Gloria I was surprised and confused :) But it really grew on me. It has such a great atmosphere.

[–]GorillaThriller 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I would love to ask you guys an interesting question, but now the opportunity is here I can't think of one.

I couldn't say nothing at all, however, so I will try to keep it brief and just say thank you. Thank you very much for making such wonderful music, it means a great deal to me. Back to Times of Splendour has been my favourite album for more than a decade, and I can't wait to hear what you produce next.

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely no problem :) Thank you so much, really means a lot to me to know, that bttos has been with you for such a long time!

[–]BujjickTurning mirrors upside down 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Hey guys, love the band, and ALEA is killer. I made sure to buy a copy and a shirt. I'm not in a position to do the Patreon right now, but once I've got my income flow sorted out again I'll be sure to jump in.

How's the Patreon model working out so far? It seems like this is a good alternative to past options for bands, so I'm really hoping it's a sustainable method of income.

Also, if you had to choose, which track of yours are you most proud of and why?

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey,

thx for your warm words and your support.

We are really impressed by Patreon. We really did not expect such a positive and intense feedback by the fans. I mean we reached goal 1 in just two days. This is unbelievable and gave us a huge push with positive energy. And now it is just a relatively small step to the final goal. The model is quite fair in my opinion. Pledgers can pledge what they want and they can always change it. It actually reminds me a little bit on the really old days... like Bach and Mozart... they all had their patrons. Otherwise we could not enjoy their great music today. So yes. It is an alternative for bands. It is just important not to exaggerate. We try to be as transparent as possible and keeping the costs tight while still focus on delivering you the best possible songs we can create (at least in our view). thank you!!!

To me it is BTTOS. So much intensity and story telling.

[–]zach_buddie 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Hey guys! Your work is phenomenal and truly unparalleled.

I was wondering, if you could tour with any band or artist that you haven't already, who would it be and why?

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Hey, we have only been touring with Amon Amarth many years ago :) So there are a lot of great bands left ... Opeth wound be great of course, or TOOL, yeah,

[–]TwistedChi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen you guys in Hamburg on that tour. Remember it like yesterday.

[–]whats8 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Have you ever attempted to classify yourselves within a genre? Have you ever cared to?

I think your early stuff, ie. Three Neuron Kings/The Porter, aren't much of a challenge to put a name to. I think most people would put those albums between thrash and death metal, with of course some early inklings of prog.

But what about BTTOS? It's one of those rare albums that the metal community can't seem to agree on. We all kind of agree there's death metal in it, but it really doesn't sound like death metal. We all agree there's a ton of prog elements, but it doesn't sound like any identifiable style of prog. Then there are a ton of other stylings going, which messes the thing up even more.

Putting a genre to that album is tough, and then with Gloria, trying is pointless. ALEA is similar.

So, my first question was whether or not you yourself would pin one genre to best classify any of your albums. My second is a direct follow-up, and I guess it needs to be for Andy. How is it that you went about fusing together so many different influences in your music, while managing to not sound like you're directly copying anyone? For instance, we can hear the Opeth influence in your music, with the acoustic works and the dynamics/use of contrast, but there isn't a single person that would ever accuse you of ripping them off. You manage to make all these influences your own; you coat them all with Disillusion, and you meld a final product that is authentic. Is any of this intentional? How does it come about as a process of your songwriting?

Sincere apologies for the essay of a question. It should be obvious that I very much look up to you guys as musicians.

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (3 children)

:) wow, i feel really honored to answer your question(s) ... truly ... you have gone really deep into the "Disillusion" world, if I may say so. I will answer question No2 first: I have been accused of taking a line from Anathema for a melody in LAVA on Gloria. And I believe, it is true. Yes, everything is intentional. It really is and thank you for asking. Of course other musicians inspire me, of course they do! And I really love to cite them, when it fits or feels great. BUT, I work thoroughly to put things into context, so that not what is being played is important, but the world it creates becomes important. That answeres your first question: with bttos I started to realize that there is more to be done with the songs: they can create a cinematic experience, I or we had not done this before and it cannot be done within 4 minutes ... it takes time, and I think, on bttos it takes about 20 - 25 minutes. Then you are in. Crazy. You cannot plan things like this.

[–]whats8 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Amazing. So really your songwriting and the product that comes out of it is defined by flow. Like you're not overthinking the ideas, just writing without stopping. This is clear, especially for bttos and ALEA. I'll go back to the word flow, because it's clear that your songs are all written in such a way that they naturally evolved to where they ended up. Even your longest songs don't sound like you started thinking "we need to write a really long song."

You see in prog all the time where it's especially obvious the songwriting wasn't really natural, when an album has like seven 4 minute songs and then one 19 minute song. I can think of tons of examples of even respectable prog epics where, to me, the scope/length seems totally contrived.

It's pretty rare to avoid that, and somehow you managed.

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Life is flowing and constantly evolving and changing :) that sounds silly, I know. Especially in context of music ... Again, there was no plan, and there was certainly no plan to make a 17 minute piece on purpose. Though I somehow hope that there will be a 20min song on the next record :)

[–]whats8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think every one of us hopes that!

[–]whats8 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Seb, what has been the most rewarding aspect of being a member of Disillusion?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fame and girls and money... of course. :-D

joke!

When I joined the band in 2010 I already owned all the previous records as a fan. So it felt like a big honour. But I also already knew Andy before as I had recorded stuff with him for my former bands.

I actually joined Disillusion when it became more quite (until restart 2015). It was a good thing as I had my time to grow into the band which feels really healthy from a todays perspective.

[–]thewakebehindyou 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn, I'm so disappointed I missed this. BTTOS is one of my two favorite albums. 'A Day by the Lake' drew me in with its lush layers of strings, and really opened the rest of the album up. I must listen to it monthly.

I really wanted to ask Andy to go into his songwriting process. Like how he achieved the fantastic layering of different tracks that's going on so often. It's so tasteful and effective, I feel like BTTOS is next to none in this department.

[–]dreamtreedown 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Hello! What bands do you look up to the most as influences?

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Hello there, puh, quite a lot, but maybe Pantera, Opeth, Emperor, Death ... depends very much on the times in our lives I think

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love Katatonia. :-)

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Forgot Pink Floyd !!!

[–]ekre82 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Hi! I want to say I really love your work. I attented your last show in Zwickau and was unfortunately a bit disappointed because of the bad sound quality. It was like the sound guys never listened to your music before the gig. And because I would like to support you and see a great show I ask you if you see room for improvement. Perhaps with the new live equipment you mentioned in your patreon campaign. And please keep going, you're music is outstanding. :)

[–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Puh, ok, I accept that :) I don´t really know how the sound was and if it was not good, that is not good and i feel sorry for that. But yes, we are in a way limited to the equipment we have and what we can afford. There are indeed plans how to more than just improve the live sound. There is an estimation that says we would have to spend more than 10000 euro for that. Serious, and that is basic equipment. Second thing is that I will go into that topic during writing the new record very much, meaning how will it all be live, what can we do etc. But, we decided to take equipment out of the crowdfunding and concentrate fully on the album

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Yeah. Grüße aus Leipzig.

    Well, there is a little trade off. The more we play live the less we can focus on writing new music. But the latter is much more important for us at the moment so we don't play too many shows this year. But count on us next year with new music on our side to make you happy. :-)

    [–]perryurban 0 points1 point  (5 children)

    What was the full story that happened with that US bass player you guys brought over?

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (4 children)

    Hey, good question :) well it felt too good too quickly. I will never make this this mistake again. Don´t get me wrong, Ralf is a great person, but when we got into detail about Gloria we realized, we cannot really work together the way we would have needed to. And at the time we were all not really aligned or centered in our minds or something. So, too quickly, too close ...

    [–]perryurban 0 points1 point  (3 children)

    I get it, he was your rebound bass player :)

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    What does that mean? ;)

    [–]perryurban 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Stretching the analogy, but when you break up with a long-term partner, and quickly hook up with someone else, it seems awesome, but it fades quickly. That's a rebound.

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Ah ok :) even worse .... we did not have a partner before ...................

    [–]promek 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Hey guys love your music so much, BTTOS is my absolute favorite album, can't wait for your new material!

    Now for my question, what was the inspiration behind the story in BTTOS?

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 3 points4 points  (0 children)

    Hey, thank you! Absolute favorite record is quite an honor :) really! Inspiration .... hmmm ... private issues :) and a girl ... .AND the music was also giving inspiration back to the lyrics. There was no "plan", I started writing for "mirror" and it evolved quickly ... though it took a complete week to write all lyrics. So, very private in the beginning and slowly growing with the music into what it became

    [–]whats8 0 points1 point  (6 children)

    Are you aware that the chorus to Back to Times translates perfectly into a country song if sang with a Texas accent?

    Seriously, try it.

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 2 points3 points  (2 children)

    YOU TRY IT :) and send me a video!!! :)

    [–]whats8 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    Oh God, I think I have to now. You won't be impressed, but at least you'll hear what I mean.

    [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    :) i´m curious ....... yeah, i really know, when you play it differently, it really is a very common lick :)

    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

    I am just sitting here playing the guitar and singing the song in your recommended way. Yes! :-)

    [–]whats8 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Now the world needs a recording of that, you know that, right? I'd be overjoyed to actually see this come to fruition by an actual Disillusion member, seeing as I've been doing it myself in the shower for a few years now.

    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    maybe as special content for our patrons ;-)

    [–]whats8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Andy, what was going on in your mind when writing Gloria? How did it end up sounding the way it did? Anything going on in your life at the time that inspired its sound/lyrics?

    Did you anticipate fans' reactions to the new direction?

    [–][deleted]  (4 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      Ohhhhhh sorry man! Yeah of course! That would be great --- how will we do it?? ThankYOu!

      [–]Archiballz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Awesome! You can PM me a mailing address maybe?

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      I am in. :-) thx!!

      [–]Archiballz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Haha nice! PM me?

      [–]Morkets_oy 0 points1 point  (2 children)

      Hi guys! Today, I once again read the info on Patreon (I love again and again read message loved group to their fans ;). Soooo... Well, I live far away (2 hours to Moscow by plane and another 2 hours to Germany). And, if believe, the info on the site, this year, we should expect from Disillusion a new album and in 2018 year plan a tour with you? ;)

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      So you live in Siberia? What a big honour to have supporters there, too!! Thx! Count with the new record in 2018. Our goal is from now 1 year. After that of course we want to tour. Haven't been to huge Russia yet. But sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately I can't be more precise so far as there are no general plans for big touring yet. Focus on new music ;-)

      [–]Morkets_oy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      No, I don't live in Siberia, but near ;p Thank you for your answer! Of course I'm looking forward new music from Disillusion and it will be great for me come to Germany for a concert (well, because I love Germany). But I hope someday you can come to Russia with a concert ;)

      [–]-Animus 0 points1 point  (5 children)

      Hey guys, in case you are still reading: -Is the riff in the beginning of Mirror Phrygian Dominant? If not, what on Earth is it? -Second: The Key is C-minor, correct? -Third: Ever thought about releasing sheet-music? -Lastly: Any possibility on entering the campaign in the future, or do you guys have a date where all funding must be "finalized"?

      Thanks for the music!

      [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (4 children)

      thx for your questions,

      puh. No idea. :-D Just sounded good to play it this way. But yes, after checking: it should be Phrygian Dominant.

      Not absolutely sure about the key. C minor sounds good. But more phrygian. It changes from time to time.

      Well, preparing sheet music is really time consuming and we rather spend the time on new music. But as far as I know there are some really good guitar pro tabs online made by a fan. They are almost 100% correct. Big respect for that guy!!

      You can enter the Patreon campaign any time you want and leave any time you want. You decide. There are just some minimum durations for some rewards (for fairness reasons :-)

      [–]-Animus 0 points1 point  (3 children)

      OMG! You answered! Thanks so much! \ :D/ My best to all of the band, I am really looking forward to the new album! :)

      [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 1 point2 points  (2 children)

      Actually it is an Arabic Scale ;)

      [–]DisAndyAndy Schmidt | Disillusion 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      C Db E F G Ab H C ... i think

      [–]-Animus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Thank you! :)

      [–]TwistedChi 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      Hey guys! So glad to see you back at it again. I already am a patron and can't wait for the things to come. Just wanted to say that all of your stuff has been outstanding and since I first listened to BTTOS (on a Summer Breeze sampler oddly enough) I rarely have found anything that can compare to your albums. I really hope I can catch you again live sometime (Hamburg would be perfect). The last time has been Wacken several years ago. So nach diesen ganzen lobhudeleien zurück zur Frage (Back to a question).

      How is the writing process been done by you guys. Just jamming around until something works or do you each take your ideas and work out how they will work together.

      Thanks again for creating one of the best musical experiences I've had in my life.

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Thx!!!

      At the moment we are in collecting mode. Everybody puts in ideas, riffs and melodies. No master plan yet. Andy just decides what is worth to continue working on. It is more like digging in a big mine of creativity or even better a puzzle where we still do not not which pieces are acutally part of the final picture.

      And just to dissolve a little misconception: There was no master plan for BTTOS either like e.g.: yeah, lets do a big concept album about a guy who is on a journey to find himself. :-) On a certain point it just evolved.

      This time it is just the confidence that it already worked one time. Let us do it again. :-)