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Interview – Ferdinand Rewicki of Deadlock

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September 12, 2013

German metal band Deadlock have endured many changes over the years. After 14 years writing lyrics and singing for Deadlock Joe Prem departed from the band. John Gahlert (originally bassist 2009-2011) took Prem’s place as the new harsh vocalist in the band in 2011. As if this change was not enough, earlier this year guitarist of almost a decade Gert Rymen decided to also part ways with Deadlock. This departure downsized Deadlock to a 5 piece band for the first time in their career. With the downsize this shifted bassist for the last 2 years, Ferdinand Rewicki, to rhythm guitar. Change is imminent in life and Deadlock has rolled with the punches. Recently we sat down with Ferdinand Rewicki for an in depth look at the changes in Deadlock, their new album The Arsonist , and how he became a permanent member of the band.

Crypticrock.com – Deadlock was formed back in 1997 and you joined the band in 2011. Tell me what it was like joining a band which had already been established with 4 full length records at the time?

Ferdinand Rewicki – I was into Deadlock since 2009. I did tour management, was a merch guy, and stuff like that. I knew the guys pretty well and they asked me if I could play the bass because John couldn’t do live shows because of his problems. So John was singing and asked me to do the bass and I said yea ok why not.

Crypticrock.com – You actually played guitar on The Arsonist in 2013, your record with the band. What was your first experience recording with the band like?

Ferdinand Rewicki – Our former guitarist Gert left Deadlock in December, so I changed over to the guitar. I had 1-2 months to practice all the songs for the new record. It was kind of hard but I did it.

Crypticrock.com – So there were a lot of changes from the time the record was being made. Founding vocalist and song writer Johannes Prem was still part of the band and in 2011 left after 14 years. Was it an overwhelming change for the band and how did everyone feel about it?

Ferdinand Rewicki – It’s always not nice and no one is happy when a long time and founding member leaves a band. Johannes wasn’t able to do Deadlock anymore because he moved to another city, he wanted to concentrate on his job and his family. We had to find a solution to the problem and I think we did pretty well. We found an internal solution. We chose John as the new singer because he’s a excellent singer and has sung in other bands for 10-15 years now. We think we did well and everybody was fine with the solution we had found.

Crypticrock.com – I think it worked out well too. Deadlock is definitely a band which has progressed their sound since their inception. Being a more melodic death metal band in the beginning and slowly experimenting with different elements over the years. Tell me what the mindset was going into the writing and recording of the new record The Arsonist?

Ferdinand Rewicki – We didn’t want to record a 2nd Bizzaro World (2011) or a 2nd Wolves (2007) album. We wanted to develop the band, our sound, and expand the boundaries of our sound and ourselves as musicians. On guitars we chose a lot of 8 string guitars for The Arsonist. We did a lot of experimenting with different scales to create a different sound. A sound that fits the feeling of the songs of melancholy.

Crypticrock.com – Yes and it’s going in a great direction. The new record is an excellent album filled with strong tracks. Now you say everyone in the band wants to progress. Do you think that Deadlock has transformed their sound to where all contributing members are satisfied with the direction?

Ferdinand Rewicki – Absolutely. We love the record, everybody is totally satisfied with it.

Crypticrock.com – Being in Deadlock full time, I know you were also in Fall Of Serenity with John, how is this going to affect Fall Of Serenity?

Ferdinand Rewicki – It doesn’t affect Fall Of Serenity that much because with Fall Of Serenity we live closer together. In Deadlock we live in different places in Germany. John and I live in the middle, Sebastian and Sabine in south Germany. We can’t do a lot of rehearsal with Deadlock because of that. With Fall Of Serenity we can do it more because we live closer together. With Fall of Serenity we can meet during the week and during rehearsal have a beer or something. With Deadlock we can have more structure (laughs).

CrypticRock.com – That is good that you can work on both the projects. Deadlock will be touring Germany in the fall. Is there any other extensive touring plans outside of Germany and most of all does the band have any plans on making the trip to North America to play some shows here?

Ferdinand Rewicki – There are not any plans for another tour yet. We are hoping for a European tour in spring 2014, but there is nothing concrete yet. There is also nothing planned for North American tour but we’d be happy to do it.

Crypticrock.com – I imagine, how would the band feel about crossing over and playing in North America?

Ferdinand Rewicki – It would be a great experience. We have never been to North America, it would be a great experience to do that. Maybe it’s possible.

Crypticrock.com – It would be great to see you come across and further expand your music to the North American fan base. I’d like to know what some of your musical influences are?

Ferdinand Rewicki – I listen to a lot of German thrash metal like Kreator and Sodom. Also Swedish death metal like In Flames and Dismembers. That is my metal history. I also listen to a lot of punk rock and hardcore music. I’m pretty open minded, we are all open minded in the band.

Crypticrock.com – That is evident in the music that you are all open minded. The sound of Deadlock is very dynamic. You said you like punk rock. What are some of your favorite punk bands?

Ferdinand Rewicki – I listen to old English punk rock like Sex Pistols, Blanks 77, and stuff like that. Also lots of German punk rock, mainly from the 80’s.

Crypticrock.com – There is definitely a raw energetic aspect to punk rock. My last question for you is regarding films. Crypticrock.com is a rock/metal and horror news site so we like to focus on all genres. Are you a fan of horror films and if so what are some of your favorite horror films?