EXUMER: Mem reveals why the band disbanded & reunited

#exumer #thrashmetal #interview 

#interview #symphonicmetal #xandria 

THAT METAL INTERVIEW presents Mem Von Stein of EXUMER (recorded August 2026). The explosive frontman speaks of the band's separation in the early 90's & why they reunited in the 2000's & what happened in bwtween. Stein reveals how the band functions with members living in three different countries.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's up guys? It's a man from Exumer and you're watching that metal interview.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

That metal interview. So uh first question. Uh where are you? What part of the planets?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I've been living in uh New York, specifically Lowale, since 1999, 98. So that's where you where you're getting me from.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Alright, nice. But you're from uh Turkey, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Yeah, I was born in Turkey, grew up in Germany and then immigrated to the States uh in the late 90s.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Uh yeah, I went to college here and then grad school and yeah, and you know, to just stay. So I mean I grew up I I mean I I I have always had American relatives, so and I grew up in like this cultural triangle between Turkey, Germany, and the United States.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

So yeah, just ended up being here. Very cool. So I'll start with uh a new video. We'll get to the album in a bit. Uh Mask Messiah is also the title for the video of the song. I've noticed what I've noticed, uh man, every time I see you guys on YouTube, anywhere, you have tons of energy. How do you maintain over the how do you maintain that over the years?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

I mean, that's what uh the mission statement is, right? Is like, you know, to match the intensity of the music with our live performance and you know what we do, and like I think when that stops to happen, that's when we can call it clips. I don't think, you know, we're worthwhile if we can't, you know, match the energy of the music with our stage performance. And you know, you'll go through like I mean if you play like a 15-day tour, a 20-day tour, obviously not every show is the very same exact thing. Also depends on, you know, what kind of energy we get back from the fans. But there is this like a standard that we adhere to, so and that standard, you know, we just kind of try to maintain to the best of our abilities. So and I think we're doing a pretty good job.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Oh, very, very good job. It's just a great a great thing to see a front man that energetic up there, right? I mean, why would you want a guy just sitting there uh singing all these uh thrash lyrics and just sitting there?

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah, no, that'd be that'd be quite um disappointing. And um, yeah, I mean the whole the whole um idea of thrash metal is to be intense, right? Right. So that's that's why, you know, I think I think um that's why we maintain like a certain level of aggression uh on and off stage and like not offstage, but you know what I mean. Like we just try to keep it as heavy as possible. Um and I think uh like when we do a job, people respond very positively because of that, you know. I mean, it's really difficult to play our music with zero participation, you get what I'm saying. I mean, it's really, really it becomes quite painful for us, and I think for the audience too. I'm like, it's not like I went to see Rush the other day, right? Um a couple weeks ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah, here at the garden. And even they had like crazy crowd participation and um for what they do. And you know, I mean, if they can get a level of buy-in, why wouldn't we? You know, I mean, uh the whole show is based on people, you know, coming on board and doing, you know, doing what we done, you know, what we invite them for, you know.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

So right. So speaking of rush, what is your take on Annika Niles uh Neals uh as far as as far as the replacement goes?

SPEAKER_01 5:07

I mean, she's not a replacement. She, I mean, the guy passed away. So I think in terms of she's great. Like she's freaking amazing. Like she plays really well. But I mean, she I think she played with Jeff Beck and you know, people that are already like, you know, she's like up there. So they didn't just get someone who's just a person, you know, they got probably one of the best people that they can. And I mean, I think they know what they're doing because, you know, they could have gotten like some cat, you know, well-known cat. Um, but she's also a female that brings a different energy, you know, like and a different level of um interest. Because, you know, you would think, you know, it brings a level of surprise too, because you'd be like, wow, there are actually folks, you know, on from both sexes that can play like that. That's amazing, you know, like um it's just a level of surprise. So I think it's done with it's done with intent on on various levels, not just um playing. Obviously, there are great female drummers out there. I'm not saying anything, but you know them uh, you know, picking a female, I think it is really cool. And then, you know, somebody who's that good of playing, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

So anyway, that's that's a whole uh a whole other subject, a whole other interview. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh so to speak about your band, Exhumer and yourself, ma'am. Uh I noticed 1985, give or take, Immortal and Black demo came out, right? How long before that? Had you guys been doing the circuit before this uh demo came about?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Ah man, we we just got started, bro. So I started the band with Ray in 1985 in the summer, like late spring, early summer, and um the whole idea was like I already had a band before that. Uh, so I was like, you know, I was in the scene. I knew everybody was a writer, I knew people, you know. I just it was a smaller scene back then, so everybody knew each other who was doing things. So I was like working for Metal Hammer. I started working for Metal Hammer in 1984, late 84, and I knew all the people with the zines, and like, you know, one of my friends uh she actually said, Hey, why don't you start a band? Because, you know, you look the part. Started the picture. And you know, shortly thereafter, we did um we did the demo in the winter of 85, and we didn't start playing until like summer of 86 or late spring of 86. So, yeah, that's how all that came about. So we were, I mean, we're having like rehearsal room shows. We invited all our friends, and my dad would buy us a taste of beer back in Germany. It was perfectly normal, right? So, and all my friends would come out and uh my uh raised friends, and we would have like little shows at the rehearsal space for 20, 30 people. But yeah, um playing in earnest didn't really start until mid-86. And at that point, I mean, we got signed to our record deal um right um during our second show. Yeah, we played we played one club show, and then it was the next one was like a semi-festival got signed that day.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Wow. Also, I want to point out your guitar player Ray. Yeah, he's been there since beginning. Almost day number one, huh?

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Yep, him and I, day number one. We started it. Yeah. So when this band is no longer, it's both of us won't be.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

What's the secret there? I mean, because a lot of band members argue and they have fallouts, and I quit and this kind of thing, you know?

SPEAKER_01 9:08

Yeah, I mean, we had that when we were like little kids, but like, I mean, he's been my friend since 1983. Like, we met during like uh um we both went um on the train to uh see Monsters of Rock in '83 in K-town. And we were hanging out back then, and in '85 we got reintroduced to each other through um we were both uh local road crew at a Slayer show, the first um Slayer show in Frankfurt. Oh wow. And yeah, it was um uh our friend uh Matthias put he was the uh head of the Venoms Legions, and he would put on uh these shows um locally. So he asked us to do uh local road show road crew. It was us, the tanker guys, like everybody who like, you know, friends. And that's when we got re-inquented, and um, yeah, and I mean he's he's one he's he's like my brother. I mean, like Ray and I like we played in this band, we played in uh a rap metal band through the 90s, were signed to Noise Records, then signed to Sony music, and like then you know I moved here, then we kind of quit, you know, then we had the Vacken show in 2001 with the Zoomer, and then in 2008, I called him and said, Let's do this again, but for real. And uh yeah, it's I mean, he came to my dad's funeral. I mean, uh, you know what I mean? Like, that's how tight we are. So he's my brother. Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

If I don't know if you noticed, you two things you pointed out, uh working for Metal Hammer and uh doing that Slair Road Crew show. Uh you've been uh in the scene in the right places, I think. Yes. Ever since your start, if I could say that. Yeah, you think it's meant to be like this, or are these just coincidences?

SPEAKER_01 11:04

I mean, you know, you gotta remember, um early 80s, Germany was half the size. It was West and East Germany. East Germany was totally cut uh cut off from West Germany. So just geographically, the size was smaller. So everybody who was active in the scene and you know involved knew each other. We all knew each other, bands knew each other, writers knew each other, you know. I grew up speaking English the way I do, and then I got approached by one of my friends who was writing for Metalhammer, and um he introduced me to uh the chief editor, and he was like, Hey, why don't we do this? You do the interviews and make people feel comfortable, and then um your homie over here transcribes them. And I'm like, Yeah, sure, let's do that. And um, that's how I got involved in that whole scene, right? So everybody was doing things, and yeah, I mean, in the sense it was meant to be because, you know, we were all, you know, carrying the flag, if you want, you know. So uh, you know, and we're active. So and and if you were, you know, you went, everybody went through the same shows, everybody saw each other, and then after a while, you know, I remember when I got my first backstage pass, it was for Maiden in '84, I think Power Slave. And uh Motley Motley crew was opening up, and it was my first backstage. I remember it. And um I got there, I got my first, it wasn't a laminate back. I had access everywhere, but it wasn't like a lamb. It was um, but it was a press pass. And um and it was cool. Like, and then from there on, it was just you know, uh every show and hanging out with bands, and just kind of like and it just took off.

SPEAKER_00 12:49

And then obviously I had my own band, so talk about uh things uh happen for reasons. I noticed on uh the different critics here you start playing bass, you stopped recording babies about the two thousand or so. What happened there?

SPEAKER_01 13:12

I kind of like I mean I was never uh you know I was never uh a specialist or you know aficionada on on bass. It was more like you know, I'm gonna play bass because nobody else played bass and I was singing at the same time. And the minute I was like able to just sing and perform, I was like, well as a as a singer, I was like, yeah, somebody else play bass, you know. And um that's how that happened. And um, I'm happy for it. Like, I don't miss it at all. I mean, I you know, pluck around a little bit, but I can you know I was never it was never like bass is my instrument, and like I'm gonna like play beta. I was never a Getty Lee. I was always more like Henry Rollins, who had to happen to have to play bass. And the minute I wasn't I didn't have to, I was like, here, somebody else do it. Great.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Bye. Yo, you're a front man, yeah, yeah. So between 89, let's say 90, between 90 and 2008, eight, yeah, there's like a gap there, right? Uh no activity almost.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Uh was there some live shows there, or I mean, Ray, Bernie, and myself, so the two original exhumer guitarists and myself, we had this band called Humongous Fungus, which was like a rap metal thing with three other dudes. And the the last drummer was an exhumer, was also is it was basically exhumer in the last form of existence, uh, transitioning into like a rap metal thing. And like I said, we got signed in '84. '94, we toured Europe like five times around. Like it was it was quite a thing. And um, so we did that, and then late 90s, I came here because I wanted to go to college. Well, it was already too late, I was like 30. And I was like, Yeah, I need to get my uh act together, you know, like let me just go and do that. And um, and then you know, it took me uh I had like a project here called Sundays, which was like a thrash, old school thrash thing, which is kind of to keep me busy. And Ray was doing something with Bernie, like a rock project in Germany. But when when that won wound down wound down for him, I was like, you know, let's just do Exuma. Let's stop messing around, you know. And then at that point, you know, technology was way advanced, and you know, we weren't able to write songs the way we wanted. I mean, we still like to this day, when we start writing music, I travel over there and we, you know, we write, if you notice our our albums don't sound contrived or kind of made up like uh a project uh on that exists on the internet. I mean, these songs are written by us, you know, we rehearse them together, like it's all organic, and that's what we want to do. But let's say if I have the riffs and we already know how the song goes, I'll go home and then start tinkering around with uh vocal melodies and you know lyrics, like all the stuff that you can do easily now today from the comfort of your home, where you're back in the day you'd have to go rehearse four days a week in order to get that kind of tightened up. You don't have to. So when we work on live shows, we come prepared, we rehearse for a couple of days, and then the set is is the set. We have a we have a headlining set and a festival set, and that's that's the set, you know, and the same we do the same with um when we um rehearse for uh records. We get together, we write songs, and then everybody goes home. I mean, you have to do some work at home, but you know, you can do it. I can live here. Those dudes live in Germany, they don't even live in Germany, and you know uh Ray lives by Frankfurt, the other three live in um in uh Essen and Dortmund. I mean, those are like really, you know, three, four hours away, and then with me, it's a continent away. So you know, technology makes it possible, and I'm really grateful for that. And we can still sound like a real band.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Right? Wow, you know it is a complicated situation as far as rehearsals, but you guys are doing it.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Yeah, I mean, it's I don't need to re like you think Slayer rehearses every week, they do the same exact thing. Any any band of like creators, same thing. Miller lives in Berlin, one guy lives in uh Finland, the other guy like you know, people you know when you grow older, that's the thing when you're young, right? So you all live in the same place, you start the band, there is a different kind of energy, and you do that. As you grow older, I mean people have lives, you know. So but I always say, you know, when we do Exuna, we do it 100%. Like there is no, like it's not like one foot in, one foot out. Like it's both feet in and it's full steam ahead. Which I think which I think translates into the records and into the live shows with what you just started earlier, you know, asking me about how we maintain that level of intensity.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Yeah, for sure, for sure. So this masked messiah dropping August 28th, Metal Blade, if I'm correct. Yeah, like all our records. D did you guys uh take a different approach with this album?

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Uh maybe different than Hostile Defiance or Yeah, I mean, but yeah, we did, but it wasn't like um it just happened that you know it got to a place where we felt like you know, it it was an organic type of way to what how those songs progressed. I mean, we have a whole new rhythm section. Those dudes are like at least 20, 25 years younger than us, and they can carry certain elements of our music really easily because of their vigor and technical prowess, but also just like their energy. So, you know, the bottom end uh in a thrash model band is really everything you need. If the bottom end doesn't carry the top, then you got problems. So that's that's really the issue, and um yeah, we got like an infusion, and so now we can like write riffs the way we want them and not even think about whether we can play them or not, you know, or if they're gonna be played the right way or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

So who kicks off the writing process, man? Is it uh you with the lyrics or is it uh maybe Ray? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

So Ray will have riffs, he'll have ideas of riffs, he'll send them around. Now, Mark does the same on this record. We gave him, he wrote two songs by himself. Um first time ever in our in our history, where we said, all right, you know, we you've been with the band since 2013, you're a full-fledged member, great guitar player. Go ahead, see what you can do for a couple of tracks. So usually the music comes. I I have uh ideas about the album concepts and the lyrical direction, but everything has to match. So if the vibe of the riff um matches an idea that I have for, let's say, you know, allocated savagery, that's a really aggressive riff. So I had that idea about writing about, you know, the standoff with uh the ATF and um uh branch dividians. That riff and the atmosphere of the track perfectly captures what I wanted to write about. And then I matched the intensity of my vocals on top. So music first, lyrical concept, vocals, and lyrics, you know, they all have to blend into each. So when you listen to the track, you don't have anything that's disjointed. Like I don't kick back with my vocals or the delivery, nor, you know, with the content matter. Because if you listen to it, you're like, holy shit. Yeah. You what I want you to do is almost like rap lyrics to picture, you know, a gunfight, you know, like except it's not street gunfight, it's Waco, Texas. And you know, you know, so that that's what the idea is, and that's with every song, right? So um Sinbleeder is about politicians raping us, you know, people at the land just for profits. So, you know, I match that intensity, you know, just kind of creepy, you know, where I, you know, give this like dirty politics time. type of vibe to it, you know. That's how the riff, that's what the riff um that's the riff's why vibes to me and I've just built on that.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

Yeah that that was one of my questions. Uh do you watch a movie? Do you read a book? Or do you I do ever I do everything. Yeah. Yeah. I do inspired for lyrics, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I do all of it.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Oh, very cool. That's tough. I mean I can't I can't write lyrics so that's a whole other world right there. Writing a whole paragraph, a whole verse.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Yeah, I've been doing it since I was a little child so.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Wow. I mean I've been a teenager so you know so yeah I mean it's been a hot second so the title uh ma'am Death Mask Messiah sounds like a movie to me it sounds like a movie or maybe a badass uh Transformer uh character what's behind the title here it's badass though yeah so um uh around the 30 year anniversary mark of uh Waco they had uh this guy um Jeff Clint or whatever I forgot his name um he uh he uh was on uh on the radio and was talking about um uh the whole incident um and um he uh uh was describing how uh David Koresh the leader of the branch dividians was almost acting like you know he was trying to be a messiah but also he was like a false prophet he was t he would tell his followers oh you gotta be celibate don't sleep with your wives while he was banging their wives so um and so yeah the idea was uh I got the insp title inspiration from thinking about it and the guy the the the the writer was saying you know like Koresh was almost like wearing a mask yeah and then but you know he was promising salvation but then in the wake of all that it was just death and destruction. And then I was taking that I was like oh wow and we have a mask that's our mascot. So I was like that's a perfect idea. So I took the death I took the mask and then I was like ah he's a messiah so death mask messiah that's how I put it together. But it's also a fitting title for like people who are um you know uh politicians anybody who you know who wear they they all wear masks they tell us oh here's some policies that's gonna be really beneficial for us and then they never implement them you know once they're in office so that's how I spun the whole thing. So that's where the title comes from. How about the the Nasty Savage cover with that cool song though uh Unchained Angel Yeah so we toured with them in the late 80s and we remain friends and obviously social media is easy to keep up with your buddies now from all over the world and um I always loved Wage of Man that was one of my first demos in the tape trader trading days early 80s and um when it was time to you know find a song that would make sense I told Ray I said look dude let's let's let's cover that song but with the vibe and the intensity of the demo not the re-recorded version that they recorded in the later 80s and then I brought the idea to to to Ronnie I said Ronnie would you be down to lay down some vocals on that track and it was like hell yeah once I explained to him what I wanted to accomplish and that's how that came together. So it's a track about you know paying homage to our friendship and you know both bands legacy in a sense we're both legacy bands you know and we both survived all of it and uh you know uh they do their thing we do our own thing and I think it's a nice tribute to them and to us to our friendship so that's how that's how that whole thing came together.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

Legacy of course you guys have been around since the mid 80s early 80s awesome you guys are still out there doing it out there for the people thank you guys for that uh last question ma'am uh when can we see you guys in the US? When will we we're shooting for March so there are gonna be some announcements quite soon so I want to see you when we roll from Texas for sure I'll see you guys in Texas uh so people listening Death Mask Messiah pre-order pick it up so thank you ma'am to the shows of course all right all right there he goes ladies and gentlemen Mr Mem von Stein lead vocalist and front man for exomer here to present their sixth full-length studio album Death Mask Messiah dropping august 28th of this year 2026 so pick it up pre-order support the guys metal blade records presents and don't forget to catch them on tour look them up on their socials exhumer e x um e r a great band from different parts of the world as he said uh ma'am is living in the US and there's some guys in one part of Europe and another guy in some other part of Europe but they are from Germany I believe based out of there so anyways thank you ma'am for being a part of the show thank you guys for listening and subscribing pressing the bell for notifications blah blah blah right so that metal interview presents thank you guys on behalf of your friend James from the state of Texas we thank you for your support don't forget to keep it metal That metal interview