On April 9th, 2017, the third metal festival organized by Roman Alexander Hödl, STOCKHOLM SLAUGHTER, will take place for the very first time. The busy promoter informs us about the relationship between his three festivals, bands that will play at the STOCKHOLM SLAUGHTER, and explains what it takes to work in the field of organizing festivals.
How did you and your working partner get to know each other and what was the idea behind your joint festival project?
Well, that’s a tricky opening question. Basically, the idea is an older one. In the past, I already had the idea to start festivals in several countries, as there was a certain demand for it. Like, in summer, there is always a lot of action, but in winter and especially in certain cities there was not much to do. I’m talking about the year 2005 now. So I bought several festival name web domains and also visited Stockholm several times. Back then, I worked with Entombed and became friends with some people in the scene like Anders from Unleashed, MR. Isberg and the guys from Mother Misery and Necrophobic.
I even had a business meeting with Debaser to talk details about a Stockholm Metal Meeting, but this plan stranded and died as the costs and risks were much higher than in the Netherlands. Besides, a Swedish business partner was necessary to make things easier. A few years later, I met my business partner when he was playing with his band. I had booked them for a couple of shows before, and during that evening in Vienna this subject came up again. If I remember right, I shared the idea with him, without the direct intention to start this together, but more like: “Hey, there still has been no larger indoor metal festival in Stockholm for years now; maybe it’s about time you start one.”
Just a few months ago, it was my nowadays business partner who asked me if I would be interested in doing this together. His initiative, so to speak. Stockholm Metal Meeting was again the working title, but as I already own the Eindhoven and the Vienna Metal Meeting and now several copycats popped up, I came up with the name Stockholm Slaughter. It sounds brutal and covers my idea what Metal should be about. Also, it has a certain catchiness which makes it easy to remember. At least I hope so…
I guess that most of our readers have no idea how it is even possible to become an organizer of festivals. Could you please explain the typical things to take care of?
The goal is to organize events which I would like to attend as a guest. That might sound very vague: in short, these should be parties with brutal music and a great vibe. A gathering of international soulmates, celebrating with all ingredients a wild party needs. In the past, they called it sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Nowadays that’s subject to individual preferences with good and especially seldom seen live bands in the centre of all seductions. As for the organizer bit, one must know what musicians and their crew expect from a local promoter; by either having played in a band before or at least having organized club shows before starting a festival. I did both, and besides that, some tour manager experience never hurts. To sum it up: Know all costs before you even think about booking bands. Have at least a guess what the people want to see live. Note: these should not always be your personal favourites, as, with all respect: you might overpay them. You should have a financial buffer in case things go south. You need some negotiating skills, also towards venue owners, tech rental companies and so on. You must promote the hell out of it, like doing interviews! You must think big. If you are worried about your money, don’t start huge business projects. This means: Don’t enter a casino if you don’t have the balls for some serious gambling as well. And that’s the short version of it…
I’d like to ask you some questions on the Vienna Metal Meeting. Why did you choose Vienna as a place for a metal festival?
I picked Vienna because I’ve lived in this beautiful city for three and a half years now, and like in Stockholm there are many festivals and a lot of action culture-wise, but a larger indoor metal festival was missing, strangely enough. Only recently, some others popped up, but I see them as colleagues, not as competitors.
How did you come up with the concept behind these festivals?
The concept and inspiration for both Vienna and Stockholm comes from one of my other projects: The Eindhoven Metal Meeting, the follow-up of the Arnhem Metal Meeting, which started in 2004, and that one was basically inspired by other companies‘ fuck-ups. Back in the days, often great band packages were announced and often some bigger bands did not show up in the end. Usually because of poor logistics or simply fraudulent concepts. So in 2004, I started organizing that festival in Arnhem with bands like Samael, Unleashed, Suffocation and Entombed. I did this with the help of Harold Oddens and volunteers from the Goudvishal venue, but without a proper backup-plan, which was just naive and let’s call it pure stupidity. Good thing I never needed a plan B, as there wasn’t any.
Is it difficult to organize and coordinate the festival from this distance?
Organizing festivals from a distance is no problem. Sure, it’s important to check out the venue first, and the promotion and production side of things also needs its focus. But the planning can be done from everywhere with a proper Internet connection. Thanks to Skype and Dropbox et cetera, the job is a lot easier nowadays. Still, you need the skills mentioned earlier.
What are your future plans with the Vienna Metal Meeting? How huge should it become in time regarding its duration, number of visitors and such?
There is no plan for anything in the long run. A lot depends on the availability of certain bands. I quickly found out that some of the bigger agents are not interested to cooperate at all when it comes to providing possible headliners. The good news is: We don’t need them to be successful. And for sure, I would not mind at all having Danzig, W.A.S.P. or even a band such as Laibach on my festival; but if that’s not possible, we can invite others that have not played for a while or perform special set lists if they want.
You’ve been organizing the Eindhoven Metal Festival, and also the Vienna Metal Meeting runs successfully – now comes the Stockholm Slaughter. Why another festival?
Well, I was asked and liked the idea. Especially Sweden has many talented bands which seldom play in their own country. I have no clue why they don’t play more often, to be honest. Furthermore, at least in my opinion it never hurts when a festival is easy to reach by plane and public transport. Last but not least, a trip to Stockholm or Vienna can be combined with sightseeing. There’s a lot to do and a variety of hotels and quality restaurants. The good life, so to speak!
How would you describe the relationship between these three events?
Well, when it comes to booking there always should be a certain balance. Like, when you work with different stages and especially with possible overlaps, a variety of musical styles is needed. Also there is not enough budget to book six headliners, so for sure there always are a few playing positions for bands that are talented but do not ask for the jackpot – yet. It goes without saying that those bands often do not mobilize huge crowds either. Especially in the often not very innovative metal scene this is a tough subject and thus a challenge.
Personally I would love to have more new talents or hidden gems on stage. But the dark side of the story is also that the venue and overhead costs are that high that a, with all respect, so called no-name band will not cover the sky high production costs, also for staff working per hour.
The commercial side of things must be in balance, since we are not talking about a private party here. The main goal is to organize an unforgetable event for both fans, bands, crew and us, the organizers.
Moreover, the work should simply pay off as well. Nobody can work several months for zero payment unless it’s their hobby. This might sound a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge, and favours can be done now and then, but not if they cost a shitload of time and/or money.
Do you consider your festivals as events for fans, or is it rather your intention that the visitors discover bands they haven’t known before?
Bands should basically be good live bands. Some might not like this term at all, but we are talking about the entertainment industry here.
What is extremely important to you when it comes to festivals and under which conditions do you choose the bands for the line-up?
All bands are handpicked by us. A certain synergy never hurts.
Where do you see the biggest differences between the Netherlands, Austria and now Scandinavia when it comes to festivals?
Stockholm Slaughter sounds brutal. As metal should be. And if it’s not brutal, then it should spread an authentic vibe. I don’t know how to say that in English. Atmosphere is everything and being dangerous does not hurt. In case your band is more commercial or mainstream: fine, but maybe apply at other festivals then.
Okay, the name of the festival sounds quite brutal and raw. In how far do you think that fits to the concept of the Event?
I don’t expect there will be much of a difference, as we are focusing on an international crowd here. For sure, Eindhoven has its unique vibe and I hope that Vienna edition will bring additional visitors from, for example, the eastern parts of Europe as well. Besides, Vienna is a classy bitch city with an old-school classical image, but with a great metal and nightlife scene as well. Comparable with Stockholm maybe, as the ”gals and dudes” from Sweden are not to be underestimated either The same goes for the often hidden and always changing nightlife spots for the people that are into extreme metal.
In the press announcement you call Scandinavia the place of birth for many metal genres. Which impact will this have on the festival?
The way things are going now, more than 50 % of the line-up will be of Scandinavian origin. Scandinavia has a lot to offer music-wise and as mentioned earlier, some bands play very seldom in their home countries. We’re about to change that.
How would you explain the fact that there aren’t so many festivals in Sweden although it’s a country where lots of metal bands come from?
Costs in Sweden are simply sky high. It seems like other countries, certainly not all of them, have funds to promote live concerts a bit more than others. I’ve never used any government money, never even asked for any. Either a certain idea is good and people buy it or you can go straight to hell with it. Subsidized bands and concerts often aren’t good in the long run anyhow. Sure, if you have a band and get some cash for recordings, video shoots or for financing a tour, do it, but in the long run there must be a financial justification at some point; otherwise, the project is doomed. For my job, 100 % independence is important. Also, I don’t like long discussions about things or being very democratic. In business, you have to be flex and make decisions quickly, if needed. Without third-party-opinions, as this slows you down, demotivates you, and in the end maybe a competitor steals your ideas while you are bitching with the ones that finance your project. Not an ideal situation at all if your business depends on others.
How useful are your experiences and the contacts from the Eindhoven Metal Meeting now to get the Stockholm Slaughter started?
Experiences and contacts are key. I never networked at all, as I hate slimy salesmen who ask everyone’s contact data and call you the next day for their good cause. So it’s more about experiences and getting to know the people you work with. Being in the front lines, so to speak. You won’t conquer the world from behind your laptop or sitting at home on your comfy couch. As an active supporter of the scene you have to be where the action is and meet the ones you maybe like to work with. Maybe the interest in music and how to deal with certain situations is mutual. If not, no problem either. Also call people if needed. If you don’t, then your competitor will for sure.
Watain will perform their full album „Casus Luciferi“. What’s your opinion on album sets and do you think that they work better at festival or at single shows?
Performing special sets is 100 % up to the bands. If offered and unique, I tend to book such shows. I have no problems at all with a unique theme or setlist, especially if we are talking about a real classic that I like as a fan and that I as the organizer expect to draw more people to the show.
It has been announced already that many international bands will play. Will there also be less popular local bands?
As I am organizing this festival in cooperation with a business partner, we have the deal that both of us must agree on the bands to be booked. If one does not agree, there won’t be a confirmation. Needless to say: We disagree sometimes.
Then compromises are needed, not my favourite subject, but in the end it can be a good aspect as well. Like, the popularity of some bands differ a lot per country; so a band that pulls a full house in, for example, Austria might not be known yet in Sweden or the other way around. Also the popularity of certain music styles simply differs per country. It’s always positive to get a second opinion. Even when I don’t like to get overruled at all.
Can you confirm already more bands? And will there be also some special shows?
We’re working on some atmospheric metal candidates as we speak. Furthermore, a few death metal bands or even doom and/or grindcore bands never hurt, knowing that the availability of well known bands or their financial expectations often is a real problem. Also the bands that want to play should not have played a few months before or shouldn’t play shortly afterwards. Exclusivity is an important subject.
April is a quite untypical time for festivals. Why this date? And did you also consider to have the festival take place in summer?
April was chosen as there is a bit less competition than in other months. Moreover, there are no plans to make it an open air. The weather forecast should not become an important factor, and Sweden is not known for having the best weather.
I’d like to finish the interview with a little brainstorming session. What comes to your mind regarding the following terms?
Wacken: No Comment
Austria: There is Austria and there is Vienna. Both can be great if your timing is the right one.
Black Metal: Pure evilness in all its forms. Love its nihilistic charms.
Lords of Chaos movie: Not a good idea
Merchandise: Necessary because the music itself unfortunately does not pay the bills anymore. Some more hand-drawn and thus unique designs are always welcome. Counts for bands but also festivals.
Metallica: Self-destruct, please, in my opinion you are damaging the scene and your own reputation.
If there’s anything you’d like to add, the last words are yours:
Thanks for your time, and I hope to welcome many of you at one of the festivals!
27. November 2016 Bernhard Landkammer, Markus Frey und Pascal Weber