First, however, a look at their magnificent new album (their second full-length to date and first released in North America) ‘Endorsed by Hate’(Century Media/Abacus, out February 8, 2005), is in order. Basically, Maroon are masters at oscillating between blistering thrash and devastatingly oppressive and heavy hardcore breakdowns without it sounding contrived at all. Great metal guitar leads – take, for instance the exaggerated, theatrical opening sequence of “Watch It All Come Down” (until Maroon let all hell break loose with an ungodly aural onslaught of full-on speed and aggression); rapid-fire, double bass drum work; pulsating bass lines; and the angry, guttural growl of Andre Moraweck grace (almost) every track of the album.
The great anomaly here is “The Omega Suite”, which is slow and intricate, melancholy, depressing, affecting, and, all right, I’ll say it – just plain beautiful, as it begins and ends with a lone acoustic guitar and in between, is a gloriously exquisite metal instrumental. Of this composition, Tom is extremely happy to say that the beginning of the song has been compared to Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”. On a side note, when writing this particular song, he looked to that band’s instrumental pieces for guidance, as they “made the best instrumental songs ever.”
When these crushing metal bands like Maroon incorporate songs of this nature into their catalogue (as A Perfect Murder did with the delightfully dreary dirge “No Pulse in My Veins” on 2004’s ‘Unbroken’), it adds much to their records, for how great the contrast it is when a band known for creating sheer sonic brutality lay off the madness for a song and showcase their ability in a different realm? It aids in diversifying the record, as Tom will attest. He explains that every track on ‘Endorsed by Hate’ was “very hard and aggressive.” Though of course they all sound different, “you can always hear that they belong to this one record, so there is always the danger that [the] record [could] get boring.” As a result, they wanted to switch things up by adding a composition “that doesn’t really fit in the record.” But, as he says, once you listen to it, “it makes perfect sense.”
But now, in nonmusical terms, it’s time to discuss what this band from Nordhausen, that also includes Sebastians Grund and Rieche on guitar and drummer Nick Wachsmuth, are all about… At the forefront of Maroon’s ideology are three main beliefs: animal rights, veganism, and a straight-edge lifestyle. Their music and lyrics are angry for a reason – basically, all the shitty things humans do to each other AND to helpless animals who have no recourse but to suffer at our collective hands. “I can feel nothing else than contempt for people like butchers, vivisectionists, or hunters. I hate them all!” emphasizes the bassist, “and this hate is reflected in our lyrics.” Also what this band hate is ignorance and hypocrisy. Tom cites a prime example – people like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer, serial murderers whom no one suspected of committing such heinous crimes because in daylight, in their everyday manner, they lived rather normal lives, but then had alter egos and could rape and kill. This subject is breached on songs like “Without a Face” (about Jack the Ripper, in particular) and “Suffer or Endure”.
“We use heavy topics that we write lyrics about because that’s what we see every day,” Tom stresses – not to mention it complements the brutality and visceral nature of the music so well. ‘Tis true: “Heavy music needs heavy lyrics.” And what heavier topic is there than Armageddon, of which they sing on the feral “The Worlds Havoc” – not to glorify it, but rather to act as a warning. “Everywhere is violence and injustice, and if we don’t change our behavior against mother earth, more and more catastrophes will appear and more and more suffering will come along with that,” urges Tom.
No, these are not “pretty” topics. But brutally honest the lyrics are, exposing the ills of the world succinctly but articulately (this, from “The Worlds Havoc”: “Pestilence, the black medieval death/Skinned alive by acid rain falling from the sky” - powerful and to the point). Nevertheless, the bassist says in his own country, some people think the new record’s all about hate and violence. “They don’t see the very positive lyrics of ‘Chosen Fate’, they think we just sing about death and murder. We definitely do, but not the whole time.” Maroon try to infuse even the bleakest lyrics with some hope. “Chosen Fate”, according to Tom, is the most positive song they’ve ever written – something astounding to the band, as he reveals, “It is so full of faith, and that is special because we all lost faith in almost everything. It is about hope, about not giving up, and fighting for what is important to you.” He keeps this discussion about hope in check, though, adding, “Of course I know that it isn’t always that easy, and so most of the other lyrics on this album [deal] with this desperation.” This is all understandable when also realizing that Tom and Andre have “lost faith in this world” and taking its place is “resignation and anger.”
Yet, for their staunch beliefs, something major to note is that they’re not intolerant people. Says the bassist, quelling rumors, “We don’t beat people who are smoking or eating meat. Everyone is welcome at our shows, no matter if he is straight-edge or not.” And of their live show, Tom says it’s full of “intensity, passion, and blood, sweat, and tears.” Hopefully Maroon will come over to the U.S. soon to tour and show us some hell.