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SIX REASONS TO KILL – Perfect Metal Architects?
Anthony Morgan
January 2011


Forming in 1999 in Koblenz, Germany, Six Reasons To Kill’s discography includes the following to date; Kiss The Demon (December 2000, Alveran Records), Reborn (July 2005, Bastardized Recordings) and Another Horizon (June 2008, Bastardized Recordings). On December 11th, 2010, it was revealed that the quintet had inked a record contract with Abstatt’s Massacre Records.

“We had a prior record deal with Bastardized Recordings which lasted two albums,” explains drummer Florian Dürr. “When our deal with Bastardized Recordings was fulfilled, we searched for a new label. We had some recordings done, and sent them to Massacre Records. Everything else is history. Bastardized Recordings was a small but very, very good indie label in Germany and we had a good time with that label, but Massacre Records is the next step for us. We think that we will reach a new audience with Massacre Records.”

Fourth full-length Architects Of Perfection marries extreme death metal and hardcore music yet again, as was the case with past material. “People should expect something in-between harsh death metal sounds, blastbeat / grind stuff, and more sophisticated elements. It even has a ballad called ‘My Poison’, sung by Kurt Ebelhäuser from Germany’s indie band Scumbucket, also the guitarist for Blackmail. We have a wide range of styles on this record, the biggest range of styles we’ve ever had on an album. The rest of the band except me has a strong hardcore background, and if you hear the record you’ll hear that strong hardcore background. We even tried to have even more of a hardcore style than before.”

During the album’s songwriting process, who contributed the most ideas? “The main ideas came from our guitarist Loc, who’s from China. He wrote some riffs, and even some drum parts using the computer. He sent us mp3 files via email so everybody could hear his ideas at home – our bassist has to drive a 100 kilometres for practising, so it’s easier to use a computer for songwriting purposes. When we came together for practising, we talked about trying some things out. Most times I’m working on my drum parts because when you have a guitarist writing drum parts, they’re sometimes a bit inappropriate (laughs). Everybody has good ideas though, and the structures of the songs have become better and more sophisticated. Sometimes, our ideas are a bit spontaneous, whereas some others undergo a long process.”

Architects Of Perfection marks the inaugural Six Reasons To Kill album to feature vocalist Lars Tekolf, replacing the departed Thorsten Polomski. How has that affected things in the lyrical department? “Thorsten left the band in early 2010 unfortunately, so we had to get a new singer. Lars is doing a very good job. He writes some personal lyrics as well as socially critical lyrics. The title refers to the fact that we are architects of perfection; society has ideas about what perfection is, and we have to deal with these ideas which are shaped by the media. Everybody has their own ideas about perfection – what is perfection? A song like ‘False Absolution’ deals with insanity in some facilities of the Catholic Church here in Germany. In some of their children’s homes, so-called childcare workers violated and raped many infants. That was a big affair last year in Germany, and this is something which inspired Lars lyrically.”

At Kohlekeller Studio in Seeheim, Germany, Another Perfect Day’s Kristian Kohlmannslehner / Bonifer produced and mixed the record, having previously worked with Powerwolf, Crematory, The Burning, Benighted, Agathodaimon and Sieges Even among others. “He’s a great inspiration for us, and a really great guy,” Florian says of the outfit’s longtime collaborator. “When we entered the studio, we had about ten songs which were more mature and grown up. We then started recording, and it was such a wonderful process. It was great to work with Kristian. He just gave us a bit more; we had 95% when we entered the studio, and we left the studio with a finished album, we had 120% (laughs). Kristian put the final touches on Architects of Perfection – he’s almost the sixth member of Six Reasons To Kill.”

Six Reasons To Kill have toured with acts like Hatebreed, Caliban, Maroon, Hatesphere, Deadlock and Burning Skies, with lone show and festival appearances pairing them alongside groups such as Testament, The Black Dahlia Murder, Shadows Fall, Bleeding Through, God Forbid, Napalm Death and Heaven Shall Burn. Having said that however, how does the Koblenz five-piece plan to appeal to the English speaking world, a potential audience beyond their native Germany? “Firstly, I’ll try to improve my English (laughs). I guess we’ll try to play shows as much as possible. We toured the UK back in 2005 with Burning Skies from Bristol, and without question we’d come over again if there were any shows. We’ll try to get onto a tour this year, and maybe we’ll play outside of Germany and play in England, and maybe even the rest of the world if there was enough time and enough money to make that happen.”

Architects Of Perfection was released on January 28th, 2011 through Massacre Records.

Interview published in January 2011

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