Authors of one of the finest self-produced albums to emerge from the True Metal scene in recent years, German outfit Riptyde have proven themselves to be a band deeply rooted in the great tradition of European Heavy and Power Metal. No coincidence, then, that this quintet, based in Essen, has chosen to build its musical identity by embracing the epic and combative spirit that made names such as Helloween, Blind Guardian, Running Wild and Manowar legendary, while still retaining its own distinctive compositional approach.
Their debut album, Of Conquest and Downfall, is an ambitious work, featuring seventeen tracks and running for almost seventy-nine minutes. The Crusades provide the central thread of a narrative filled with conflicts, historical figures, suffering and brutality. A musical journey alternating between galloping metal passages, incisive melodies, majestic atmospheres and instrumental interludes, evoking an era when Power Metal still knew how to combine passion, imagination and a strong sense of epic grandeur.
We caught up with Riptyde to discuss the origins of the album, the influences that shaped its songwriting, their production choices and future plans, while also uncovering some interesting behind-the-scenes details about the making of such an ambitious debut.
Interview conducted by: Beppe "HM" Diana
Hello guys, and welcome to our pages! Of Conquest and Downfall represents your debut album. How did the band come together, and what goals did you set yourselves when you first started working on this record?
Answer: Jan (guitar), André (bass and keyboards), Matthias (drums) and I (vocals) had already been making music together for many years, although we had never recorded an album. Back then, our musical style was quite different, leaning more towards bands like Sentenced, if anyone still remembers them!
While looking for a new rehearsal room, we met Sebastian (guitar) and moved into his rehearsal space. At the time, he was playing with a band called Interdiction, but he quickly became interested in joining us.
We soon agreed on a new musical direction. We all had a real passion for traditional Heavy Metal, so around 2019 we started writing songs with that sound in mind.
At first, we had no idea that this would eventually turn into a concept album. In fact, the songs didn’t even have proper lyrics yet. I was just singing complete gibberish over the music, haha.
Our songwriting process has always been the same: the music comes first, and only afterwards do we try to find the right lyrics to fit the songs.
The album explores the Crusades through an elaborate concept. Why did you choose this particular historical period, and which aspects of these events did you want to explore most deeply?
Answer: Matthias, who left the band shortly after the album was completed, and I have both been fascinated by this particular period of history for a long time. I’ve read several historical novels dealing with the Crusades, and I’m also a big fan of the movie Kingdom of Heaven. We did a lot of brainstorming and eventually he wrote the lyrics for all the songs.
Besides that, the Crusades have always been a popular subject in Heavy Metal, so it felt like a natural choice for us.
However, we never wanted to take sides or present one side as right and the other as wrong. None of us is particularly religious, either. Our intention was simply to cover some of the most important events and historical figures throughout the Crusades, while never losing sight of the terrible suffering and brutality experienced by both sides.
When talking about the Crusades, we inevitably think of Grave Digger and their celebrated Knights of the Cross. Were you inspired by that album while composing your own material, or did you deliberately try to avoid comparisons? Are you concerned about being compared to such an iconic Power Metal release?
Answer: Of course, we’re familiar with the album. Personally, though, I was more of a fan of Tunes of War. We used to listen to that record over and over back in the day!
We didn’t really have Knights of the Cross in mind when writing our own material. So no, it wasn’t a major influence on us, and we certainly didn’t set out to follow in its footsteps or deliberately avoid comparisons. But I’ve heard some folks compare my singing to Chris Boltendahl’s voice. There might be a slight influence there.
Your album features 17 tracks and runs for almost 79 minutes. Don’t you think this is a rather demanding length, especially considering that we live in an era when people’s attention spans seem increasingly short, even when it comes to music? Did you ever consider reducing the tracklist?
Answer: It really is way too long, haha! Apparently, we simply wanted to do too much. That’s definitely not going to happen again.
Of course, we’re aware that these days, hardly anyone has the patience to sit down and listen to an album for 79 minutes straight. You can consider yourself lucky if people even make it to the end of a single song. And to be fair, some of our songs turned out a little too long as well, haha!
At some point, we had all the songs, along with the concept that tied everything together, and simply didn’t want to cut anything. Besides, we still had enough room for a bonus track (Lord of Lies), after all! Haha!
Your sound recalls important names such as Blind Guardian, Helloween, Manowar, Iron Maiden, Gamma Ray, Savatage and Riot. Which influences have contributed most significantly to shaping your musical identity?
Answer: The bands you've mentioned are pretty much exactly our main influences. We could probably add Saxon to that list as well. They're all part of that generation of legendary bands we grew up with.
Personally, Blind Guardian and Savatage have probably influenced me the most. You might be able to hear a bit of Blind Guardian in my vocals sometimes. When it comes to Manowar, I especially love their three classic albums Into Glory Ride, Sign of the Hammer and Hail to England. For me, those records still define Epic Metal.
There are also some more recent bands in that genre that I really enjoy, such as Visigoth and Dark Forest.
Jan is also into epic songwriting, but he listens to a lot of progressive stuff as well, whereas Sebastian tends to prefer more straightforward songs. All in all, we found our own musical direction pretty quickly.
What we don't particularly like, though, are the many polished and overproduced albums that have been released in the Power Metal scene over the last few years. Everything seems to be designed to be catchy and danceable, complete with singalong choruses and a constant tongue-in-cheek attitude. Somehow, I think the scene could do with a little more seriousness.
How important is it for you to maintain a connection with traditional Power Metal without necessarily chasing modern sounds and current trends?
Answer: We definitely want to preserve that traditional sound. Authenticity is something we consider very important. And at the level we're operating at as a band, that's still quite easy to achieve. After all, there's nobody around telling us what to do or trying to influence our musical direction.
That doesn't mean I don't appreciate modern sounds, though. There are plenty of modern productions that I really enjoy. I recently listened to the latest album by Mental Cruelty, for example. That thing sounds absolutely massive! A really outstanding production.
Your music alternates between aggressive passages, melodic sections and epic atmospheres. How do you approach songwriting, and how much room do you leave for the individual ideas of each musician?
Tracks such as Warbringers, Fear No Evil and The Oath highlight a strong melodic component. When composing, do you usually start with a guitar riff, or do you immediately try to build a memorable vocal melody?
Answer to both questions: Basically, our two guitarists Jan and Sebastian and also our bass player Andre usually come up with their own fairly complete ideas, which we then refine together in the rehearsal room.
Sebastian tends to bring in more straightforward, simpler ideas that get stuck in your head pretty quickly. Jan, on the other hand, prefers things to be a bit more epic and intricate. Andre is all about melodic, galloping songs in the vein of Iron Maiden.
Once the song structure is in place, I start working on the vocal melodies and arrangements. I usually come up with melodies pretty quickly, and most of the time they already fit the music quite well. Still, I often re-record certain passages because I'm never completely satisfied with the result. That can get on the other guys' nerves from time to time, haha!
Everyone contributes their own ideas, of course. That also means there are occasional disagreements and friction along the way. But so far, we've managed to survive as a band.
The album also features instrumental passages and atmospheric moments, such as Blood in the Sand. How important are these elements in maintaining the narrative coherence of the concept?
Answer: We included these instrumental and atmospheric passages because we wanted the album to have some dramaturgy. Albums like Virgin Steele's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell are a great example of how music itself can create a narrative atmosphere.
We have a carefully arranged sequence of songs and musical interludes. These passages are meant to add some variety, create interesting transitions between the songs and give the listener a bit of breathing space.
We wanted the album to feel like a journey rather than just a collection of individual songs.
Of course, all these additional passages didn't help to keep the running time down, haha!
But we believe they make the album something special, and the positive reviews we've received so far seem to confirm that.
André Zwierzina has to interpret a story full of characters, conflicts and historical imagery. How challenging was it to find the right vocal expression for such an ambitious and elaborate album?
Answer: To be honest, it wasn't particularly challenging, mainly because I didn't overthink it too much, haha!
My primary concern was simply to get all the vocals recorded reasonably well. I'm still relatively inexperienced when it comes to melodic singing. In the past, most of my vocals consisted of growls and screams.
Of course, I tried to bring the appropriate intensity to the harsher battle scenes, while taking a more emotional approach in the more dramatic parts of the story, such as Leper King. Well, at least I tried to sound a little more emotional there, haha!
The twin-guitar work of Sebastian Wronker and Jan Imalis-Powalla plays a fundamental role in your sound. How does their musical interplay develop during songwriting, and how much importance do you give to guitar solos?
Answer: The way Jan and Sebastian work together during songwriting is actually pretty natural. Most of the time, both bring their own influences and ideas to the table, and it's really about finding what works best for the song. Sometimes that means classic twin-guitar harmonies, sometimes different rhythm parts or little melodic details that make a riff more interesting. There's no strict formula. They just try things out and see what feels right.
When it comes to guitar solos, Jan and Sebastian see things a little differently. Jan definitely puts more emphasis on solos, while Sebastian is more focused on riffs. In fact, Sebastian wouldn't have any problem leaving a solo out completely if the song doesn't really need one.
That doesn't mean solos aren't important, of course. This is heavy metal, after all, and a great guitar solo can really take a song to another level. But at the end of the day, it should fit the music and add something to it, rather than just being there to show off. And that's actually where Jan and Sebastian complement each other really well. They might have slightly different priorities, but in the end, they both want the same thing: to write great songs that kick ass!
Releasing the album independently through Hackflesh Records allowed you to maintain control over the project. Was this decision driven by necessity, or did you simply prefer to manage every aspect of the release yourselves?
Answer: Releasing the album through Hackflesh Records gave us the freedom to make our own decisions and maintain complete creative control over the project.
Of course, being independent also means taking on a lot more responsibility and handling many aspects of the release ourselves. But for us, that freedom and independence are worth the extra effort.
That doesn't mean we're opposed to working with a record label in the future. If the right opportunity comes along and we find a partner who genuinely believes in our music and respects our artistic direction, we'd certainly be open to it.
For now, we're happy to do things our own way and let the music speak for itself.
David Jansen’s artwork is also particularly important for a record like this. How involved were you in its creation, and how closely does the cover reflect the themes explored in the lyrics?
Answer: We worked together with David Jansen on this long before generative AI became such a common thing. We are actually quite proud to have found an artist for our album artwork, as we believe this gives the whole project a certain value and character.
David provided us with pencil drawings, which we then coloured ourselves. We also added a parchment-like texture to give the artwork a more historical feel and tie it in with the concept of the album.
Looking back, we're really happy with how everything came together. It was a great collaboration, and we're grateful to David for helping us give the album such a distinctive visual identity.
As a German band, do you feel part of the great Heavy and Power Metal tradition that gave us Accept, Helloween, Running Wild and Blind Guardian? How much does this musical heritage influence your work?
Answer: We feel privileged to be part of this great tradition and hope to contribute something of our own to keeping it alive and developing it further.
Of course, every one of us has been influenced by these bands in one way or another. The sound of Helloween's Keeper albums, particularly their songwriting, is still something of an ideal for us today. You couldn't ask for better musical influences!
How important is it for you to bring Of Conquest and Downfall to the stage? Have you already planned any concerts, or are you currently looking for opportunities to share the stage with other bands from the European scene?
Answer: Of course, bringing the album to the stage is something we'd really love to do. Unfortunately, since Matthias left the band after the album was completed, we haven't found a suitable replacement yet. As a result, we've already had to turn down two festival offers, which was really disappointing for us.
At the moment, we're focusing on writing material for our second album, but we'll also be actively looking for a new drummer.
So, if anyone reading this happens to know a drummer in or around Essen, Germany, who might be interested in joining us, please get in touch! We promise we don't bite. Just a bit of sword fighting and beer drinking! Haha
Looking ahead, have you already started working on new material? Will your next album continue to explore historical themes and elaborate concepts, or are you planning to venture into completely different musical territories?
Answer: We're definitely sticking to traditional Heavy Metal. We've already got five songs written, some of which are a little more epic than anything on the debut album. But epic in a good way, not in an overblown, hyper-bombastic kind of way, haha!
This time, there won't be a full concept album, although some of the songs share similar themes. Overall, the new album will be much more compact. No interludes this time, no 79-minute marathons. Just powerful Metal anthems!
You've got something to look forward to!
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