Machtklang, Herrin’s latest project, embodies defiance and resilience, drawing from personal battles with discrimination, trauma, and religious institutions. It fuses raw black metal energy with profound, introspective themes for a bold, uncompromising message.
Herrin: Sure! Earlier this year (2024) I began a new job at the city hall in my birth town which lies between Munich & Passau, Germany.
Well... The coworkers there disliked me for being trans, so they tried to bully me out by holding back significant informations to make it impossible for me to pull off my job correctly. (Little did I know, because I was inexperienced in that field.)
Anyway. They didn't talk to me the entire day except a quick "hello" in the morning & a short "bye" in the afternoon as they left.
This discrimination lasted 5 months as my team leader confirmed to me, that they disliked me for just being a trans woman and because of that they treated me like shit.
At the same time (earlier this year) I sued the order of the catholic church in which the nun has belonged to who s*xually abused & molested me back when I was in elementary school, because of she disliking my feminine kind.
Dealing with these two scenarios, (suing the catholic church plus the discriminatory of my coworkers who always claimed to be "good god devoted christians") led me to continuing what once was "Finsterort", now more clear & defined under the new name Machtklang.
This wasn't planned at all, because originally I shifted my focus onto my upcoming blues & stoner rock music which I dream of doing since 2017...
But 2024 had other plans for me & now I hope that I can be able to release my real actual music in 2025 then. But back to your question & back to Machtklang.
Machtklang to me represents sheer willpower in the middle of total devastation, because I tell my story using the music as a vehicle to transport my message how heretic those so called "good christian people" truly are & that one should never bow to their injustice.
Machtklang shall remember everyone who isn't welcomed, and is gatekept away by religious institutions, political organizations or a larger group, that you alone as an individual are not powerless & on the other hand, that they are not allmighty!
Never forget, that a mosquito is pretty fcking mighty...
This small animal has the power to fck up your entire night!
Machtklang is that "middle finger" into the face of the church/religion & its (often) very heretic followers.
2. Your new single “Herbsthymne” is the closing track of the upcoming album. Why did you choose this song to represent the album before its release? What does it symbolize within the larger narrative?
Herrin: The lyrics to Herbsthymne are about a post-religious world in which big real estate - institutions like the christian catholic church is just nothing more than just a dead fossil in the minds of the entire population.
"Herbst" means autumn in german.
Things have to die in order to grow new.
I found that a fitting thing to dream and to manifest on for a world in which the mental bondage of religious institutions has just no effect in people's psyche anymore.
I chose this song to represent the album, because this song isn't the best, nor is it the worst song.
In my humble opinion I think the song makes you wanna listen for more, because either you are excited for the other songs on the album, or you were just disappointed from the song Herbsthymne itself and wanna listen for more.
3. You’ve mentioned that Machtklang is a vehicle for addressing your experiences, including childhood trauma. How has channeling these themes into music impacted your healing process?
Herrin:That is a great question!
Well. I haven't found a patent formula for trauma healing yet. I think that it is a process and that each & every person's trauma is very individual.
In my healing process I have had setbacks, but on the other hand I have became stronger, too.
I have written down my "so far" knowledge in my first book and I will release my 3rd book next year, as well as I constantly try out alot of new ways to see if it works out for myself.
With Machtklang I do a thing called "Shadow Work". - Shadow work is working with my dark side. (Every person has a shadow or a dark side, BTW)
Denying the shadow can lead to that, that a person runs amok or goes on a rampage, because of all that held back anger from trauma years ago just exploding like a volcano.
Through shadow work you can learn to embrace your dark side & to release your anger in a healthy way without causing harm to innocent people.
That's why I use Machtklang as my "vomit bucket" for anger & releasing it in an healthy, maybe inspiring way if you will.
4. The anti-religious stance in your lyrics is bold and unapologetic. What
do you hope listeners will take away from your message, especially those who
have faced harm from religious institutions?
Herrin: That the mental bondage by selling you the concept of sin early on in
childhood to mentally enslave you later on in life when you grew up just fails
to work, because you realized, that this fad is just a sick century long
"tradition" held up from outdated medieval times just as a tool to
control you and you now can stop abusing your children with religion, because
you dumped the whole preposterous ideology.
You know, telling children about sin, a vengeful god, talking snakes and that
virgins can get pregnant is mental child abuse to me, which leads me to say
that religion should be only allowed at 18+ or completely banned from the
public.
5. Black metal often embraces themes of rebellion, but your work adds a deeply personal and philosophical dimension. How do you balance these elements to create such a unique sound and message?
Herrin: Well. Machtklang is a rebellious act, but it isn't just as blind as burning down churches for example or ripping a bible or the qur'an.
Burning down churches only just leads to that the government will rebuild the churches again using our tax money. I don't like that.
I figured, that storytelling my experiences in the songs combined with my life philosophy of satanism could work out more than just screaming "death to the christian god! Aaaaaargh!" & burning down churches.
Well. Alot of bands have their "satanic attitude" just for shock reasons with no real substance behind it which is pathetic.
Machtklang is different. I am a Satanist since 19 years & I do have alot of substance in my lyrics from life's often brutal reality & personal life experiences wrapped up in fast guitar riffs.
I am real & authentic. That's just my way.
Speaking of the sound, Machtklang's sound just came naturally out of my fingers. It just happened the way it did. Like a steam train running on it's tracks it kinda went for alone.
6. As a multi-instrumentalist and solo artist, you have complete control
over the creative process. What are the biggest challenges and rewards of
working alone on a project like Machtklang?
Herrin: Rewards?
Musically: The biggest reward is when every instrument, every layer comes
together and the sound is morphing more and more into a real punchy wall of
sound.
I love that.
Personal: I have no one with me, so I can decide every direction of the song
& lyrics
The biggest challenge?
Musically: I record the old way. No digital plugins & stuff. If I fck up
the riff, I have to start recording the track from the beginning.
But I like that challenge as well.
Personal: Doing everything on my own & working a regular 8 to 5 job is
often super exhausting I must say.
7. Your music blends raw black metal energy with atmospheric and
doom-inspired elements, even incorporating Megadeth-influenced solos. How did
you develop this distinctive sound?
Herrin: I play guitar (as my main instrument) for 24 years. I am very
influenced by bands like Megadeth, Pantera, Motörhead, ZZTop, Black Label
Society, Testament, Kreator & Goatwhore when it comes down to guitar solos.
On the other hand, my favourite black metal bands are Gorgoroth, Watain,
Sargeist, Tsjuder, Baxaxaxa and Immortal (to name just a few) who have really
inspired me in my guitar riffing.
At the beginning I wasn't sure if I should add any solos, but I gave it a shot
and I found that my attempted Marty Friedman'ish solos really
gave Machtklang a unique edge to it.
So I went with it.
8. December 24 is a significant date for the release of your debut album,
given its anti-religious themes. Was this timing intentional, and what message
are you sending with this choice?
Herrin: No. It
wasn't planned out in a big way. I just found it blasphemous & funny to
release my album on that date where christianity celebrates the pagan yule
fest.
I don't know what message it may send if I release my anti-religious metal
music on christmas eve & really, I don't care.
I don't waste my energy on that.
I just hope to make alot of people happy with new music and I wish everyone a
happy winter solstice plus a nice yule fest!
9. “Herbsthymne” is accompanied by stunning visuals. How important are visuals in complementing and enhancing the story you tell through your music?
Herrin: The color scheme in Machtklang is Black & Red, because these are the colors which represent the devil. The word "satan" is an adjective word and stands for adversary, BTW.
Alot of folks believe in a literal Satan which is partially true, because I represent that satan-figure with Machtklang.
With Machtklang I am basically the one who is standing up against the gods, churches & ideologies of the right hand path & to dismantle them to show, that a satanist is actually more christ-like than these christians in DRAG & radical christo-fascists ever will be, because of me fighting evil by raising my voice against the true evil people in christian disguise.
Speaking more specifically of the visuals, I think the visuals blend in very well with the music, yet having my personal style of classiness in it, because I am not wearing the typical band shirt type of thing which everybody does.
As I am not a sheep (and not even a black one), I wear my elegant satin blouses & fitted skirts paired with bullet belts and spike gauntlets according to one major satanic rule, that aesthetic has key importance in the life of a satanist.
To me it would be very disrespectful when representing Satan & me being dressed like shit. This is a respect & a self respect thing I live by since years.
10. The themes of freedom, individuality, and resistance resonate strongly
in your work. How do these ideas align with your personal philosophy, and how
do they manifest in your daily life beyond music?
Herrin: Satanism equals freedom from impotent gods and it's followers frauds to
me.
Satanism means rightful revenge instead of showing the other cheek to be
slapped.
The left hand path is a whole different lifestyle than the right hand path is
in which enslavement of the body & mind is necessary to be rewarded with a
lie called "heaven" later on after you die.
We all already live in heaven here on this planet, but each day, the
sleepwalking majority and some mighty greedy few who control the masses choose
to make hell out of this lovely place called earth day by day.
How it manifests you ask?
I encounter alot of people who think that I am a weird person for being non
existing in their weird "drink coffee-work-sleep-repeat-matrix".
I have a strong feeling that I don't belong anywhere and I embrace it, because
I only belong to myself.
Life is a do it yourself project.
11. The black metal scene has historically been male-dominated. As a trans
woman in this space, how has your experience been, and what changes would you
like to see within the genre and community?
Herrin: I cannot answer that great question in any satisfying way, because I
don't care about scenes or people in groups with certain interests.
I like the music, but I am a lone wolf with none other than other few lone
wolves near me.
I don't give a shit if it is male dominated or female dominated scene. My
experiences are, that small men, big men, fat men & other kinds of men
(same as women) either give me hell or support me for me being who I am.
Me being me is as trivial as being a black haired women or a brown eyed guy.
However, many folks feel entitled to have an issue with me for just existing as
a trans person, because they heard some anti-trans political propaganda they
buy in out of a deep frustration with their own life basically.
What I try to say is, that people fight over trivial bullshit which bores the
hell out of me & so I don't care about scenes or people in general.
12. Your debut album is a deeply personal and bold statement. What do you
hope Machtklang will achieve, both for yourself as an artist and for
your listeners?
Herrin: Oh I never thought of achieving anything with Machtklang. I just
wanted to do my Shadow Work using the music and Machtklang as a
vehicle to channel my anger.
However, at the same time I didn't wanted to do it the generic way, like
screaming "Aaaarht! Hail Satan! Death to god! Aaaaargh!"
I wanted to do it the smarter way, as I am not the satanist the media has
warned you about.
Thank you for doing that great interview with me!
⸸ 𝕸𝖆𝖈𝖍𝖙𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖌 ⸸ (@machtklang.official) • Instagram photos and videos
(28) Machtklang Official - YouTube
Post a Comment