.. . . . ..

Holy Mackrel it's HOLY MOSES!

Original German thrash outfit Holy Moses are gifted by having two legendary figures in their line-up - Sabine Classen on brutal feminine vocals and the awesome ‘Atomic Steif’ on drums, as such I couldn’t resist the opportunity to interview each of them in their own right rather than a combined ‘band’ interview!

-Shan Siva

So Steif, tell us about your amazing career as probably Germany’s most famous metal drummer!
Steif: ok, I started drumming in ‘82, just to make some noise at the time with my brother and cousin. I didn’t play any instruments at the time and so they suggested I play drums - because they didn’t have a drummer! That was the real inspiration behind my drumming because I didn’t have a drum kit and my parents didn’t want to buy me one until they were convinced I was pretty serious. In other words I had to take a month of lessons! The day after the last lesson I bought my first kit. Then I played with Violent Force and in 1986 moved to Living Death then various bands like Sacred Chao. Around 1990 / 91 I was also drumming with Holy Moses. In 1993 I moved to Sodom and made several albums with them until 1995 where I started my own band which still exists. I’m also involved with various bands in my hometown and in 2003 I was part of the reunion of XXX and today its again Holy Moses....so a short history ha ha!

When you became a drummer, did you have any idea what kinda drummer you would be?
Steif: At this time my main aim was to play faster than Philthy Animal Taylor (Motorhead). Thrash metal was unknown at the time but the speedier style had already begun with bands like Tank. My first kit was a really old jazz set up from Sonor which had ‘sizzle’ - I think that is the correct word but they had spikes in them - cymbals. Nothing like Phil’s ha ha! It had one bass drum, one really deep 18 inch floor tom, which I later tried to make into a second bass drum. Later I bought another kit with two double bass drums just like Phil Taylor.

Was Phil Taylor the first guy to play heavy on the double bass drums?
Steif: No, I think there were some guys in the 60s using double bass already. But the first guy to play heavy on them, really use them was Cozy Powell.

So what’s the current ‘atomic’ set up!
Steif: Currently I’m using 24-inch bass drums - two of course. 10 and 14 tom toms, 18-inch floor tom. 9-inch deep snare and Istanbul XX cymbals

Given your name and image, have you considered deep bass drums as favoured by fellow German Stephan Kaufman (Accept) or even the DIY approach of chaining two together a la Alex Van Halen!?!
Steif: ha ha, there just isn’t room onstage - at least the stages I play ha ha! There’s just too much to carry around. Those large bass drums are actually made by connecting two bass drums together but I really don’t know the reason for it especially in our type of music which is so fast and every centimetre counts so if you want to have a signal directly it seems too long for the sound wave to carry.

Ok, Sabina has now arrived so thank you Steif for your words and hello to Sabina! So what does the name Holy Moses mean Sabina?
Sabina: Ok, I joined the band when they already had the name. The guys told me that originally it was the name of their high school band and they also rehearsed at the school. There was also a church next to the school and one day the priest came over and was walking around with the director of the school. When they came to their rehearsal room the priest looked in and just said ‘Holy Moses’ ha ha! And that’s how it caught on.... I guess it’s better than ‘Holy Shit’ ha ha and that was 27 years ago.

How did you join Holy Moses?
Sabina: ah, I was playing bass in another band - Disaster. When the guitarist Andy - who was also my boyfriend and in Disaster - left to join Holy Moses they put out an ad for a vocalist. Then they saw me sitting around and asked me to marry myself to the mike. At the time I was shocked as I felt I couldn’t sing and to show them that I couldn’t I took the mike and made this deep growling voice which even shocked me. And they said ‘that’s it’!

So it was your natural voice rather than any training?
Sabina: yes, its me. No training at all. Same with my journalism and later being a TV host with RTL. I think that’s what the people wanted to see: they see a real person just like them. The TV show wasn’t like a typical show with a celebrity but it was more fans with fans. Its the same when I’m onstage communicating with the audience, they get my energy and give it back to me.

Would you say that you’re probably the first female singer with this type of vocal style?
Sabina: probably yes. Over the years I’ve met many girls and talked to them and they pretty much put it down to me starting this female vocal style. I remember meeting (the late) Dawn Crosby of Detente and she also started close to my time and also sounded a little like me but I still think I was the first with this kind of style. The first demo tape with me singing was ‘81, the first single was ‘85 and the first album came out in ‘86.

Were people shocked by your style at the time?
Sabina: maybe double shock ha ha! First that I am a girl but second that that kind of sound could come from a girl! Its actually a very emotional thing, all these aggressive emotions coming out of my body so yes, its shocking ha ha.

There were so few women at the time but now there at least seem to be more don’t you think?
Sabina: yes, there’s more now and its a great feeling that more girls have decided to become musicians and play metal so much so that for me I don’t see a difference between the girls and the guys. When you like something you can do it whether you’re a man or a woman. Maybe at the start the girls weren’t sure or didn’t think they could do it but that’s so stupid because they can. It was the same with football in the 70s, I used to play and people were shocked that I would do this. Then when my team went to the US, I saw there were girls teams playing the same as guys so anyone could do it! If you have something in your heart then get it out, which is the most important factor of life for me.

If you weren’t doing Holy Moses, what do you think you would have done?
Sabina: oh, that’s really hard for me to imagine because I’ve been doing this for 27 years y’know. But....but something I can tell you is that when I was 14, I had a feeling or an emotion that I would do something that was not normal. So then I did soccer and later became a football journalist working for RTL radio doing interviews with Pele, Franz Beckanbauer and later with RTL TV hosting my own show on a major channel. I remember the interview was in Munich and it took about 2 minutes ha ha but the show ran for a year and a half. Journalism still interests me, along with psychology and painting, and I’m starting to write my first book. So just to answer the question, if there wasn’t Holy Moses most likely it would be something in one of these areas - I’m not a person who can only do one thing ha ha! Right now I’m concentrating on Holy Moses but I have a lot of creativity in me. When I first started in the band I was only a shy girl but all these things, the journalism and other things allowed all these other things to be released out of me.

So what’s the real Sabina if you’re no longer just a shy girl?
Sabina: ha ha (slightly embarrassed)..hmmm (still embarrassed)...its hard to say but in terms of my character I need the stage, the stage is my home. I also have a need to bring something to other people. Its hard for me to explain but I like to tell people something, whether its through the music of Holy Moses, or my book or my journalism, or even my paintings. Its not like being a teacher because not all the kids want to be taught but in Holy Moses people are interested to come to the shows and want to listen.

27 years is a long time, has it affected your personal life like having a family?
Sabina: well, the band is family - look, I’ve got a bass player kid, a guitar kid ha ha. Holy Moses is a family but I don’t have children but maybe it has to be like that. I don’t think I’d be able to tour if I had kids but that’s the way it is. But metal is a family, especially when you’re on a tour bus with 15 other people ha ha! Its actually stronger than a family, more of a community y’know. I’m happy to go home for a week to organise myself, wash my clothes but after that I’m already thinking of getting into the bus and doing it all over again! Everyone has these feelings of what they want to do just like the other band members in the 90s like Andy my ex husband and guitarist who wanted to create a studio and the other members of Holy Moses at the time. And that’s why the band finished at the time, but I always had a feeling to carry on some day with the band. I was always Sabina of Holy Moses.