interview by: Roberto Martinelli

He’s arrogant; he’s charismatic; he’s funny; he’s talented. He’s very German. He’s Michael Weikath, the guitarist of Helloween, the most important power metal band ever to come out of Europe. His band has just released one of their best albums (certainly their best in the post-Michael Kiske era) in the very curiously titled Rabbit don’t Come Easy. I chatted with Weikath about this weird name, but also about SUVs and being a square.

Maelstrom: You can totally take advantage of me, Michael. It’s 8 am and I just woke up. I’ve been sitting here, trying to shake away the cobwebs.

Michael Weikath: I can relate to that big time, because that’s usually the way I run things, so I understand you 100 percent. Don’t worry about anything, we’re going to give each other a very nice interview.

Maelstrom: Ok, thank you very much.

Michael Weikath: Take a coffee, or something. Have a smoke.

Maelstrom: Well, I’d have to go get it.

Michael Weikath: Have someone bring it to you.

Maelstrom: Hihihi... Well, this new record, man... I just love it. But it has a weird title. I’m sure a lot of people will say, “rabbit...don’t come easy”?

Michael Weikath: Yeah, and why not? What else would they want? I’ve read on Helloween message boards that they wanted “dragon don’t come easy.” But the thing is, you don’t pull dragons out of a hat.

We called it that way as we had a few too many difficulties going on. You know those days when your get hooked to the doorknob with the sleeve of your jacket? That’s what’s been happening to us. Our rehearsal room got flooded by heavy rains so we had to move. Cars broke down; you’d leave the room and not know where you left your car. Mark (Cross, drums) was standing there in the rain saying, “where did I put my fucking car?” (Laugh) You wanted to call each other, but the telephone didn’t work, or someone lost his telephone, or the card was empty. And that’s why rabbits don’t come easy in our case.

You are of Italian descent, I presume?

Maelstrom: Yes.

Michael Weikath: See, those are the people who add the chaos to the United States. That’s why the States won’t ever make it.

Maelstrom: (laugh) Thank you, I think.

Michael Weikath: Hehehehehe.

Maelstrom: You mentioned that people wanted dragons in the title. I think it’s remarkable that you’ve been in so many ways this template for countless other bands, but your lyrics are not cookie cutter. In fact, I can’t even think about a Helloween song that’s about killing dragons.

Michael Weikath: Exactly. Yeah, fuck, killing dragons has already been done. There are legends and myths about it. That’s been conveyed by someone else. We have such a view to always be "o-ri-gi-nal!" We did Master of the Rings and people would come up and say, “does it go with ‘Lord of the Rings’?” NOOO! It doesn’t go with “Lord of the Rings,” because somebody already wrote a book about it.

It’s like this: you’re ornamenting yourself with someone else’s laurels, as you say in German. Stealing someone’s laurels in when you take the success of someone else and claim to be the one to have come up with the basic idea for it. To me, that’s always been the basic problem of it. Why would I have to take “Lord of the Rings” and write something about it?

Maelstrom: I don’t know why. I think there are enough bands that do that already.

Michael Weikath: They do. And it’s ok, because you can say, ok, you’ve read the full book and you’ve been making yourself busy, and now you want to tell us something about it. That’s cool. But that’s not the way I do things. I want to be myself. I’m pretty arrogant on a few issues. I can’t read all the German philosophers, Schiller and Goethe. I always felt I wanted to come up with my own thoughts. I’ve always felt that if I read all these people, there won’t be space in my brain for my own thoughts.

Maelstrom: What do you think about being this template for other bands?

Michael Weikath: Ya, it’s honoring us. On the other hand, I can say I’m not sure if all the active members of those bands really have that much of a musical background. If they mention Helloween that much, that’s ok for us. Maybe they’re in awe. But where we’re coming from, that’s like ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘50s (music); we know those old artists: we know Perry Como, we know Elwis Presley.... ElVIs...

We know not to make that old German mistake of pronouncing every thing with a “v” as a “w.” I never commit that mistake. I don’t know why I just said Elwis just now. Sorry. I hate it. It sounds so fucking unprofessional.

Maelstrom: Wow.

Michael Weikath: It does! We had “Beauty and the Beast” on TV in Germany with, what’s her name? The girl who was in Terminator, Sarah Connor...

Maelstrom: Linda Hamilton.

Michael Weikath: Right. Her. In the German dub, she’s always saying, “Wince! Wince! Come help me! Wince!” There was “wince” all over the whole thing, and it’s not supposed to be “wince,” it’s “Vince.” It killed me, I tell you. (Laugh)

Maelstrom: You know what’s really funny, Michael? I’ve found that European metallers tend to be better speakers than European non-metallers.

Michael Weikath: Did you just say “shpeakers”? (laugh)

Maelstrom: (laugh) ...No, I don’t think so, but it’s 8 o’clock in the morning.

Michael Weikath: The Swedes and the Danish don’t have an accent. When they speak American, they speak American. I couldn’t make myself acquire a particular dialect. It gives me goose bumps if I’m sounding too American.

Maelstrom: Oh, no, it’s charming when you have an accent. The only accents that aren’t charming are American ones (in other languages).

Michael Weikath: Yeah, I don’t like it. You actually speak a nice American, that doesn’t give me shivers. There’s those New Jersey ones... what I hate most are the Los Angeles people who want to give everything a French touch. God damn it! Like Priscilla Presley. The way she speaks English, it gives me the twigs. I’m like “aaagh!” I couldn’t be with her if she spoke like that all the time. But she’s so cute.

And getting into the car is against the law! I don’t like that.

Maelstrom: Right, getting into the car is against the war.

Michael Weikath: No, not the war. The law. The lauuww.

Maelstrom: I thought you were talking about it being against the war. We have the whole tiff about the SUVs (sport utility vehicles).

Michael Weikath: Yeah, it’s those things for the army, right?

Maelstrom: Yeah, but we have them all over the place. Anyway, there was a movement that said if you drive SUVs, it’s anti-American and that you’re supporting terrorism. Basically, it’s because SUVs take up more gas.

Michael Weikath: ..... So then Bush is supporting terrorism as well, because he’s using more gas.

Maelstrom: It’s pretty hare brained.

Michael Weikath: That’s what it is. To me, what’s being done now by so many people in the States is not far from being Nazi. You just impose different things on other people, and make other issues, but it’s the same fucking behavior. The people who do that seem to feel backed up by their democracy, but only because they’re citizens. I once referred to them like shitizens. I keep inventing these catch words.

Maelstrom: And you can get away with it because you can say it’s your accent.

Michael Weikath: Yeah, yeah. All over the States I would say things like this. But as long as I don’t sound like a stereotypical German, I’m ok.

Maelstrom: Speaking of English and German, English is the traditional language of rock and of metal, to a great extent.

Michael Weikath: Yeah.

Maelstrom: All of your songs have always been in English, except for “Laudate Dominum” on Better than Raw. Is writing in English ever a challenge? Have you ever wanted to just write in German?

Michael Weikath: No. To me it comes along quite naturally. I’ve been speaking English since I was 12. I’m still not 100 percent fluent. How could I? I’m pretty sad that I couldn’t get raised in an environment that would have give me more idioms I could have needed to bring across my lyrics in a better way. On the other hand, they come across kind of square. Like, yeah, your grandma would have talked like that. It’s not cool. There are so many American bands who use those square idioms. Why? Because it’s cool? No, it’s not cool. Even to me, it’s not cool. I know where they get it from. They want to appear so super jovial about things like, “ah, you know, where we come from, we know how to talk.”

It’s like the Scorpions when they go, “in the zoo...ba-baba...we’re in New York...42nd Street.” Oh, you’ve been there? Wow!!! Wow, that impresses me a great deal. You’ve been to New York. You must be a great band. Some of those bands had American song writers. And what did they do, they put in all those fucking freaky idioms that made the German bands appear like dicks. There were a few [such] lyrics of Bonfire or Warlock; how would the singers deliver this?

There are song writers behind this. Ok, possibly the song writer has short hair. *He’s* a fucking square. Why have bands sing that? Where’s the metal connection? Where’s the rock? It’s not real. It’s forced.

What we certainly don’t do is write lyrics in German and then translate them. I always postpone doing the lyrics. If I do a really bad mistake, I’d rather hide somewhere in the dark than admit to my mistake. But it happens and I’m not particularly glad about it.

Maelstrom: What’s been your fondest memory so far associated with Helloween?

Michael Weikath: Those must be things like the Monsters of Rock in ‘87, when we played for 110,000 people. Or you go to Poland and play that Spodek, that bowl that looks like a UFO has landed. Spodek means like, bowl or saucer. At the time, we still had the Iron Curtain, and to see a fan cry in the middle of a solo because he likes it so much.

Or at Donnington, not getting any shit but then seeing Guns ‘n’ Roses, who went up after us, get the shit. That was fun. We only got the occasional bottle of piss, but it was closed. We got some dirt. The people saw us when we did the sound check, in ‘87. We were doing “Eagle Fly Free.” We woke a few people up in their tents because it was 10 in the morning. We were given sound check because people were so nice. Because we were Helloween. We had a lot of fun with it. People already knew us from the sound check. They sure didn’t know Guns ‘n’ Roses when they went on stage. We were lucky. We only got two bottles of piss, and that was it. You should have seen when Guns ‘n’ Roses entered the stage. You could barely see them.

Or you play Japan and the promoters say how big a response you got and how they want to build a huge tent for 10,000 more people.

Maelstrom: And you know how much those people pay to get in? It’s legendary.

Michael Weikath: It’s around $110. And the first rows are a lot more expensive.

Maelstrom: Yeah, I lived there, and even going to local shows is so much money.

Michael Weikath: Wow, you’re kind of...how’s that magazine called for the modern woman?

Maelstrom: (laugh) Cosmopolitan?

Michael Weikath: Yeah, you’re a cosmopolitan.

Maelstrom: Yeah, maybe. I really like Better than Raw quite a lot.

Michael Weikath: It’s one of the best records we’ve done. I’m really proud of it. It went down really well. I can’t remember a better production than that one.

Maelstrom: I think that one’s your best one so far. The new one is comparable.

Michael Weikath: It is. We had as much of a good time coming up with the material. Master of the Rings was a lot of fun. We were laughing a lot, but we were under a lot of pressure to record something and hope the fans would like it.

Maelstrom: How about Time of the Oath?

Michael Weikath: It was a solid thing. We had just come back from tour, and Helloween knew what Helloween was. A little sad aspect was when I left a few parts open on “Mission Motherland” for the band to interact and do some teamwork. Later it was said that “Weiky was too lazy and didn’t finish his stuff.” When I heard that I was sad. It added to things I saved up in my mind that led to the firing of Uli and Roland later on.

Maelstrom: That’s quite a bit later.

Michael Weikath: Yeah, so it shows you how many chances I give to people. Me being the fucking dictator of Helloween, as people say. Me being the arrogant dick, I give people three years before I finally fire them.

Maelstrom: A big deal has been made about the two records after Keepers. What do you think about Chameleon? It has a few nice songs.

Michael Weikath: There’s many things on Chameleon that I like.

Maelstrom: I like the “Windmills” song.

Michael Weikath: Yeah, but it’s too much of a country thing. I wanted it to be like “The Long and Winding Road” of the Beatles. But that’s not the way it is. Michael (Kiske) was getting very consumed coming up with classical things. I think what he wanted to come across was that he was the classical guy with all the knowledge, and Weiky possibly not. So I went boneheaded and said, ok, ok, have your fucking orchestra. There’s an mp3 on the Helloween site of me when I was 20 doing a piece with an orchestra, so I don’t need proof to show I know how to do it the right way.

Maelstrom: You brought up Michael Kiske. There’s been a lot of mud slinging between the two of you through the media in the past few years.

Michael Weikath: ...though I didn’t really say much.

Maelstrom: Really? Well, anyway, do you think you could ever be friends?

Michael Weikath: I don’t mind at all. If he stops bashing me all the time for things I’ve never done. I’ve hurt his pride somehow, and I don’t know how. On the other hand, I’m not easily dealt with. It takes a lot of humor. I’m serious and I’m honest about a lot of things.

I read a thing that a fan wrote on the Helloween message board that I thought was mega sensitive. He said, “Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske are pilgrims. They’re very good musicians, but they were not good enough for Helloween. They are still on their way; pursuing, looking.” I would never had called those people pilgrims, but I was impressed with what the fan said.

Maelstrom: What do you think about Gamma Ray (Hansen’s band)?

Michael Weikath: Gamma Ray is a good thing, but to me sometimes there’s a strong aspect of under achievement.

Maelstrom: Not to put words in your mouth at all, but I don’t get what the big deal is about Gamma Ray. It sounds like music from other bands...

Michael Weikath: YES!

Maelstrom: ..sewn together. It’s blatant. People don’t seem to get this point.

Michael Weikath: That’s been the main issue between Kai Hansen and me. I didn’t want to do anything like that. I’m rather like the original entertainer. You’re not putting words into my mouth, but if you say it, we have to talk about it, and Kai Hansen has to deal with it when you mention something like that. There’s young people who don’t see it.

I listened to Powerplant of Gamma Ray. There were people who said it was the most genius thing they’ve ever done. I thought, God damn it, what else, then?

What I’m not so proud of with “Nothing to Say “ (the last song on Rabbit don’t Come Easy) is those similarities I put in there. I thought I could then do something like “Nothing to Say.” The fact is there wasn’t enough time left for this. I enjoy playing that shit, but the riff is very near to “Black Dog” or “Still of the Night,” but it’s my own riff.

Maelstrom: Now, you’re talking about the song that has the reggae bit in it?

Michael Weikath: Yep. It’s a complimentary thing. You have to do it the right way, but I have no clue. This is what I thought would be good to deliver. A real reggae composer might say, “you don’t know what kind of crap you did.”

Maelstrom: There’s been a real surge in popularity of European power metal. We’ve got that Prog Power festival, where bands who have never played in the US before are coming and people like it. Generally, the stuff has been perceived as too “gay” to be able to take off here.

Michael Weikath: Did you say “gay”?

Maelstrom: Yeah.

Michael Weikath: That’s a nice way of putting things. I think so, too. I’ve watched a show of a major power metal band (which will not be named here - Roberto) that went on before us at (a major festival, also not to be named here - Roberto). I was there with my girlfriend at the time. She was so cute. She came up to me and said, “you know what? I couldn’t fuck to this.”

Maelstrom: Have you heard Kiske’s new band, Supared?

Michael Weikath: I’ve only heard two tracks. I’m waiting for Nuclear Blast to send me my copy.

Maelstrom: How about Masterplan?

Michael Weikath: I’ve heard the record. There are a few things I like and a few things I don’t like. The better things are written by Uli. I already know them because those things are on his demos for The Dark Ride. They didn’t make the record so now they’re on Masterplan. I’m pretty curious to see what they come up with on the next record.

Maelstrom: How about Stratovarius?

Michael Weikath: I’m not firm on the subject, but I like most of the melodies they come up with. To me, personally, they are sometimes a little too exact and cold, maybe, but someone in there really knows how to write good melodies. I can appreciate Stratovarius quite a lot, but the bad thing is when I do something like “Salvation,” not listening closely to the records Stratovarius has put out, and Roland tells me that the melody is like “Father Time” of Stratovarius. Then I get angry. I didn’t listen to that song; I didn’t know it. When those template bands come up with something real good I could have written, I get angry. It’s still my work, and I didn’t know “Father Time.” I have to change my melody a little bit because of that. If they read this they might cheer up and say, “ha, got you!” But to me it’s not much of a pleasant thing.

Maelstrom: I want to talk to you about the remasters Sanctuary Records put out.

Michael Weikath: What about it?

Maelstrom: I imagine that it doesn’t have much to do with you, but on the re-releases of Master of the Rings forward, they put a sticker on the front that says, “remastered, bonus tracks, new artwork.” And all three claims are wrong. I don’t know how much you had to do with it, but it’s pretty outrageous.

Michael Weikath: Nothing. Nothing. That’s treacherous. That’s lame. The “tastefully restored artwork and remastering,” that’s crap, because the masters we had were already digital and already as good as can be. It’s not that those records have been done in the ‘60s or ‘50s. They’ve been done by Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios. He’s one of the best mastering guys around. That sticker is mere crap.

I didn’t know about [that particular case], but there was a similar [situation] when Pink Bubbles... got “remastered.” No, nothing’s been remastered. That’s a mere lie.

Maelstrom: Tell us about your next tour.

Michael Weikath: We’re going to do 8-10 dates in the States. We’re also going to go to Canada and Asia. And now look at the SARS thing. We’re supposed to play in Hong Kong! I want to play in Hong Kong! And Shanghai as well. And look at the shit. We probably won’t go there.

Maelstrom: Alright, Michael, thanks for your time.

Michael Weikath. Ya. Bah-baaiiii.....

Michael Wikath (right) with singer Andi Deris

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