Ladies and gentleman, this is FAUST. Well, after this year`s Brutal Assault edition, I decided to have a little chat with them, a truly enjoyable band from Czech Republic as they`re surely are. Read on.
Well, I won’t deny this year`s Brutal Assault edition was the first time when I heard your music. That was a good show, no doubt! So, let’s start the interview, shall we?
Kryštof: Thank you! Let’s dive right into this, kurwa!
You guys formed FAÜST in 2020…but your music oozes of old, archaic 80s vibe, all right. Why did you choose this primordial kind of old school metal?
Kryštof: Well we formed the band already in 2014 under a different name though. First we were called “Coldblooded Fish” and had two different members than we have now. And back then we all loved thrash metal in all forms, so we wanted to be part of it too. Then in 2018 we released our full length album called “Malvarma” under the shortened name “CBF”, but 2 years later, we finally realized that the name isn’t working, so we decided to change it and with it we also started to play more dirty, blackened/rock’n’roll-ish/punk-ish thrash metal.
Well, before the internet era, there were many bands who shared the same name. Like SLAYER, NECROPHAGIA, NIGHTMARE, HOLY DEATH to name but a few. Kind of uncommon these days, huh? So, the question is why you chose this quite popular band name since there must be at least 8 other FAUST`s out there? So why FAÜST? Was this Johann Wolfgang von Goethe`s tragic play of any importance to you when picking the very name?
Kryštof: We picked this name because me, Jenda and Honza were born in a maternity hospital, which is 2 blocks away from a building in Prague that is called a “Faust’s House” which is tied to a Prague legend very similar to the Goethe’s play. And yeah of course we looked at metal-archives and found that there are like 14 other bands called Faust, but no one had the umlaut above the U in the name, so we are distinguished at least by that haha.
Rudolf II, count of Habsburg (who ruled Czechia in 1576-1611) wasn’t too fond of the Roman Catholic Church. He, at some point, renounced Roman Catholicism and perhaps that’s why he opted to be surrounded by enlightened people at his court including astronomers, astrologists, magicians and alchemists. He was also interested in sorcery…and there were more persons like him in your (Czechia`s) history. Is this person inspirational in any way to you guys?
Kryštof: Not yet, but he might be in the future. This definitely seems like something I would be interested in making lyrics about.
You hail from the city of Prague, which is considered the world`s capital of occultism by many people. Does it have any meaning to you?
Kryštof: The history of occultism here is very interesting, but I haven’t given it much interest so far.
Devil and metal music are a truly explosive blend, aint it? This sort of music is really charming and can possess its listeners really easily. And this is why I can sense this devilish element in your speed/thrash music, huh?
Kryštof: I don’t think it needs to be connected with the devil so be charming and easy to catch the eye of the listener, but it definitely still works well with it. More the music sounds evil, the more devilish it can get. People can take it any way they want and if they want to praise the devil with it, then by all means, go for it.
As I can see you like CELTIC FROST, BATHORY and DARKTHRONE. You have their tee shirts, you play their cover songs live (like Into the Crypts of Rays by CELTIC FROST at Brutal Assault). How much are you guys inspired by these bands? What bands/albums do you listen to on a daily basis?
Kryštof: We all listen to something a bit different, for example Jenda (bass player) enjoys listening to grindcore/noise/crust and many more, I listen to heavy metal/thrash/punk and whatever I find interesting. On a daily basis right now at the moment I listen to a band DOOL which I found on Brutal Assault and I love their gothic rock/metal vibe.
Ok, this year your “Tinnitus Inquisition” was out through Witches Brew from Germany. Can you please elaborate on how this album was composed, rehearsed and recorded? How many days did it take you to get it recorded and mixed? What studio did you use?
Kryštof: The writing for the album started in the early 2021 mainly with the joining of Teodor to the band and we still were finishing up some lyrics to 2 songs when we were already in the studio in the first week of August 2021. Rehearsing the songs was sometimes a bit difficult, cause in our rehearsal room we can’t hear every little detail everyone plays, so we had to play one song the whole day so get it right. Which gets annoying even after the second time you play it in a row. But in the end it’s always worth it. Anyway the studio we picked was Hellsound Studio, which we already recorded in our previous album “Malvarma”, that came out under the CBF name. And I believe it took only 4 days to record and then maybe about a month for the mix and master, which was done by the same guy from the studio Honza Kapák (Bohemyst, Gride, ex-Master’s Hammer)
At this year`s Brutal Assault fest, there were plenty of good bands to watch. Which ones did you like most?
Kryštof: I personally enjoyed Mercyful Fate, D.R.I., Pentagram, Dool, God Mother and Hentai Corporation the most.
Where and when is FAÜST going to play live in order to promote “Tinnitus Inquisition”? Poland perhaps?
Kryštof: We actually just finished our little tour which took place in Warsaw – Poland, Dresden – Germany, Budapest – Hungary, Bratislava – Slovakia and Kovanice – Czechia, so we are getting back into our normal lives right as we speak, but we will be touring around Czech on the weekends until the end of the year. You can see our upcoming shows on our facebook page for sure!
Ok, time to wrap up, I guess. Thanks a lot for your time. Good luck with your shows and I do hope fans will enjoy and appreciate your Tinnitus Inquisition.
Kryštof: Thank you so much, we wish you well in your life and thanks to anyone who finished reading this! Cheers & Beers!!
Regards
Necronosferatus
