James talks to Keule and Slash from German band REPTYLE about their new album and their take on modern goth rock:

When did Reptyle start, and where did you get your name?

Keule: REPTYLE was formed at the end of 1998 - we had no singer at that time so we started to write and rehearsel the first "instrumental" songs. When Zulu (vocals) joined the line-up nearly one year later we completed this stuff and had our first gig together with PASSION PLAY in November 1999. We took the name REPTYLE from a NINE INCH NAILS-song and also (as you maybe assume) from THE SISTERS OF MERCY`s Reptile House e.p.. There is also the mythological association to the snake as a symbol for temptation.

Critics of goth rock have often called the music derivative. Do you think this is a fair assessment, or more applicable to guitar goth than other genres? How do you feel about this issue of innovation in the genre?

Slash: Thatīs what weīre pointing at in our info sheet - many people think of gothic rock as something antique made from musicians that canīt get rid of old schemes, for listeners that wonīt accept new influences. And thatīs not true, if you look at the new bands coming up - in fact, "old school" or "trad" goth (what seems to be our task if critics are right) has changed as any other genre in dark music. If you play rock songs combining guitars with deep vocals, youīre soon to be called the next Sisters of Nephilim clone. Thatīs why weīre saying that there have been MANY different acts over the decades that have been called "goth rock", but musically The Doors had not too much in common with bands like Paradise Lost and we try to open new doors in this tradition. We hope that critics will be able to honour this fact, on the other hand we will always write songs that we are satisfied with, not depending on what someone else says or wishes.

The bands that stand out are always the bands that contribute something unique to their sound. Reptyle has done this with the "Descent to Heaven" single. How do you manage to keep things fresh?

Keule: First of all thanks for the compliments ! And it never was our aim to "copy our heroes" - of course some bands had (and partially still have) a big influence on our sound - but we`re influenced by so many different bands (and not just from the "Goth-style") and still have so many ideas which we try to realize in our songs so that we (hopefully) managed it to create a kind of own sound / style. Nobody needs the seventeeth copy of "First and last and always"…;-)

Where do you turn to for inspiration, especially for your lyrics?

Slash: 95 per cent of the lyrics are written by Zulu, and as far as I know, he gets his inspirations from personal experiences and dreams (mainly nightmares, I suppose... ;-). Which means that the words are not spoken and written to influence the listener in any way, in fact the lyrics are mainly descriptive. Or as Depeche Mode would describe it, "Let me show you the world in my eyes". I like his narrative style very much. The title song of "A high and lonely place" is based on a true and sad story, the rest is the result of Zulu thinking, watching and dreaming.

Reptyle are first and foremost a live band. What is it you enjoy about playing live? What is the best gig you've played?

Slash: Itīs true that we enjoy playing live. Itīs always thrilling to see if the new songs are accepted by the audience, and the feedback is closer to the output compared to releases on CD. Looking back on our live history it seems that the small club gigs have been the best ones, perhaps because of the simple rule - the less people, the more enthusiastic. Playing in front of a big crowd is more frightening than on a tiny goth event, thatīs another point, but we hope that the future will bring us more festival gigs with the second official release. I think that the time is right now.

You have shared the stage with a lot of great bands, among them Ikon, The Cruxshadows, Passion Play, and The House of Usher. Is there any band active at the moment you'd like to gig with? Of the new and emerging talent in Europe who are some of your favourite acts?

Keule: We enjoyed the gigs with this bands a lot (Funhouse should also be mentionend here - good friends!) Bands to gig with? Hmmm, as you probably heard one of our favourite Bands FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM will release their new album at the end of this year - and although itīs not the original line-up we`d really love to support them (if they`ll gig in Germany). But of course there are a lot of other bands we`d like to gig with - it`s useless to list them cause we generally enjoy playing (and drinking) with other bands (of course preferentially if we like their music). Concerning "new" bands I personally recommend FORMFLEISCH (also from Germany) - I would describe their style as "progressive Death-Rock". Go and buy there stuff (if you`ve money left after your Reptyle-Order…he he)

Prior to the album "A High and Lonely Place" all Reptyle releases had been independent. With darkwave music now big business, do you think there's any room for small labels and independent bands?

Slash: I think you have to seperate between the few big acts with regular MTV rotation and the majority of small bands without even a label or an independent one. Iīm sure that the real Underground will ALWAYS take place on independent labels to develop new sounds and soundscapes. There are many different nuances of dark music for a still growing audience and many independent labels concentrating on few different styles, so I hope and guess most of them will be able to survive,

Your latest album is available through Sonorium. Are you signed with that label for any further releases? When can we expect another release from Reptyle?

Keule: The contract contains only the release of our debut "A high and lonely Place". So in the near future we`ll deal with that theme (and of course we`ll also speak with Sonorium about a possible release). Let`s see which label will make it at the end…;-). I think about Easter 2006 is a realistic release date for the album.

Reptyle has appeared on a number of high-profile compilations in the past. Can you tell us something about the Nomadism label and your inclusion on their compilation?

Keule: Nomadism is a new gothic-label from Italy with the compilation "Nomadism Records Vol. 1" as their first release. In the beginning of this year Max from Nomadism told me via email that he likes our stuff a lot and that he has plans to release a goth-compilation and would like to include a REPTYLE-Track on it. Of course we (and also our label) were interested to take part. I personally don`t have any further information about that label - apart from the fact that they seem to like the stuff which we also like a lot cause the other bands from the sampler are really great ! Max is also already planning Vol. 2 and asked for a previously unreleased Reptyle-track….and of course he`ll get this from us!!

What's next for Reptyle?

Keule: Besides presently playing regularly gigs at the moment we`re in the studio to record our second album. As I told before we hope to finish until the end of 2005 so that it could be released about Easter next year. We also work together with a new booking-agency since some months and therefore hope to play a lot of gigs in 2006 (especially the "big" festival in the summer) to present our new album….