As previously reported, German metallers ATROCITY are counting down to the release their new cover album, Werk 80 II, the follow up to their original Werk 80 cover album from 1997. The following is an interview excerpt featuring frontman Alex Krull discussing the catalyst for the project:

Q: How did you actually get the idea to make a complete album with covers from well-known pop songs of the '80s as a metal band?

Alex: "The whole thing actually started out of a mad idea how those songs would sound like if we played them. There were never any commercial ulterior motives or suchalike to do it. We already did a metal coverversion from a Demosong by DEATH called 'Arch Angel' on the Todessehnsucht album. But the idea to do a complete album with non-metal songs occurred as we made good experiences by working together with musicians from completely different, musical backgrounds. A first step was definitely the acoustic Ethno-Metal album Calling The Rain with my sister Yasmin which was really something extraordinary for a death metal band. With Werk 80 another aspect arises as well, which appeals to us by setting completely different songs to our music. One metal band covers another metal band is actually nothing special anymore, and to look at it from the musical side it is a much greater challenge for us to attain a new and good outcome from a song which is stylistically different to what you normally do.

In 1995, we recorded covers and new versions of our songs on Die Liebe together with the Dark Wave band DAS ICH. On the one hand it was a big step to show that the metal and gothic scene was growing together, on the other hand it showed to us musicians that it worked very well if a band like Atrocity can do something in this way. It is funny and significant that we together did a cover from LAIBACH which are very well known for their covers too. Anyway, shortly after that we did a successful cooperation with the Gothic band LACRIMOSA and the Synth band SILKE BISCHOFF. It was a lot of fun and suddenly there was an amount of people from the Gothic scene that caught attention to us and wanted to work together.

The idea to Werk 80 was in our heads much earlier than that but we didn’t feel that time was right to do it. When we entered the studio the next time to record an album with some kind of project character (after we did the 'regular and mighty Willenskraft album, which contains some real heavy songs like 'Scorching Breath', 'Bloodstained Prophecy' or 'The Hunt'), a lot of people started puzzling what comes next. As it came out that we will record Werk 80, a complete album with hits from the eighties, a lot of people said we went absolutely crazy without even listening a single note from the album. Many of them asked themselves why the hell does a metal band do a cover album of eighties Pop and Wave classics? But this is IT, this adds zest to it, man! Many ignorant people didn’t get it until now. It is guaranteed not the case that we wanted to become a pop band and to dissociate from metal music. This is complete nonsense and in princinple we do the exact opposite of it! We transform pop and wave songs into metal songs and not the other way round. We do our thing and we are not a band that wants to record the same thing over and over.

I know a couple of musicians who really envy us for doing something like Werk 80. As Werk 80 became a real seller and entered the charts besides all the prophecies of doom and killjoys, a lot of people suddenly came up to us completely enthusiastic, the same people who once threw their hands up in horror! I got inquiries from all different places if I’d like to do similar projects with other bands and producing it. And many bands have tried shortly after that to do similar coverversions, as nowadays, when it got clear two years ago, that we work on another Werk 80 album again. Who cares, it doesn’t matter to us now as in the past. In fact we think it’s much cooler that for example in Wacken, thousands of raised fists from Metal heads from all over the world scream along 'Shout' and the other songs. Or as we cleaned up as headliner of the biggest Gothic event in this world, the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig! Who would ever had thought before?”

The tracklist for Werk 80 II is as follows: 'People Are People' (DEPECHE MODE), 'Smalltown Boy' (BRONSKI BEAT), 'Relax' (FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD), 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' (SIMPLE MINDS), 'The Sun Always Shines On TV' (A-Ha), 'Hey Little Girl' (ICEHOUSE), 'Fade To Grey' (VISAGE), 'Such A Shame' (TALK TALK), 'Keine Heimat' (IDEAL), 'Here Comes The Rain Again' (EURYTHMICS), 'Forever Young' (ALPHAVILLE), Special Edition bonus track: 'Feels Like Heaven' (FICTION FACTORY).

Werk 80 II is due out on February 8th in Europe and March 4th in North America via Napalm Records.