CRIPPER on Ditching being a DIY band to sign for a big label


Cripper_Promopics_Hyena_band_005 by Steffen Flugel

In Part 2 of our Cripper feature, Christian and Gerrit talk to Ghost Cult about how they left the world of DIY and pitched in with one of the world’s biggest metal labels, Metal Blade, for the release of their new album Hyena

You’ve just signed to Metal Blade – how did that come about and how does it feel to be on such a big label?

Gerrit: At this point? Very good! We were comfortable with Metal Blade right from the start. We’re pretty lucky to have such a renowned and strong partner for our album and hopefully the following ones. They took notice of us at the Metaldays festival in 2013 and sent an e-mail afterwards. First we were thinking someone is kidding us. Then we realized that this is the “real” Metal Blade company and that they are seriously interested.

Cripper put out their last 3 records out through SAOL (Service for Artist Owned Labels). They provide promotion and distribution, two things you cannot do yourself beyond a certain extent, so signing to Metal Blade doesn’t make that much of a difference in that business area anyway. To help us bring Cripper to a next level, we think Metal Blade is a real good partner for us.

We bust our asses for Cripper, and there will never be a way around it. Artistically, every little thing is still in our hands, no compromise. Metal Blade is a good label for us and I hope we can reach more people out there with their help, travel farther and make new experiences.

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Around the time you released The Antagonist you were saying in interviews that you weren’t looking for a label. What changed?

Christian: During the time we released Antagonist we were working together with our partners CMM marketing and SAOL. That was in 2012 and it felt good for us and our partners. For this time we were interested in having feedback on Cripper’s possibilities out there. Maybe there is an international market where to place our stuff and reach an even bigger crowd – who knows?

When Cripper played the 70.000 Tons Of Metal in 2011 and 2014 there were an international audience that was really interested in getting Cripper’s stuff. Unfortunately there was no chance to get your hands on our music because there were no stores in North or South America that sell the CDs. Some of the fans asked for albums and shirts by ordering in our webshop. We thought it would be great to give these guys the chance to buy our stuff.

How has signing to Metal Blade changed day to day life in the band?
Gerrit: Having signed the deal doesn’t change much of the processes within the band. I know Cripper right from their beginning in 2005 as an extremely disciplined and hard-working band. So in my perception there was not such a big change. Well, all the things around creating the artwork, all the filming for the 45-minutes Live-DVD, all the music videos, trailers and Making-Ofs were created by ourselves.

But the point is that we all didn’t want Metal Blade being disappointed in Cripper. They came with deadlines and we all had to hustle fulfilling plans. So we all did our best! It’s a great pleasure to have Metal Blade on our side. It’s really great that they spread the Cripper stuff around the world, haha!

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DAN SWINHOE