We are a german Thrash Metal band from Schweinfurt, Bavaria. It's always hard to find a name for your baby. We wanted a name that expresses the message in our music and gives you an idea for what it's all about. Further should every metalhead know what's going on by just reading the name of the band. So we helped ourselves by leaning on to one of the greatest Thrash Metal bands who have always been a huge influence to us all. “Lesson in Violence” was born in summer 2019, named after a song by Exodus. It is our aim to deliver fuckin good Thrash Metal without any triviality that goes straight through the heart.
Violence in music ... and nowhere else!
If you like it fast and straight and you prefer some old-school-thrash-riffings without any cosmetics or compromises, then lend us your ears until they bleed! In February 2022 we signed a record deal with Iron Shield Records Berlin and released our first album "The Thrashfall of Mankind" to bring the violence to your home and play shows to expand our range and fuck shit up! In the meantime we played some awesome shows and made many new friends along our way and had some great changes in our lineup to become even more thrashier. In the result the second album 'no need for death' is scheduled to March 2024 to be released. It will be even more aggressive and violent so all of you should risk to listen to this finest piece of thrash-passion. Again Iron Shield Records is our partner in crime.
-Interview- (9/12/24)
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? How did the name "Lesson In Violence" come about and is there any meaning to it?
Some of us have been making music together for several years and in the year 2019 it was time for us to team up to do what we love: Thrash Metal. Roland Schäfer (bass), Florian Negwer (vocals) and myself (Florian Helbig/guitar) were together in a band called "Brain Damage" but we wanted to start something new and so we made the change. Many names have been discussed and we tried to find one that was expressive enough for everyone to know what it was about. We all love Exodus and many other bands of course. It just happened by chance that we named our baby "Lesson In Violence". It could also have been something like "Angel of Death" or any other song title on any album by any Thrash Metal-band in these times.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
We want people to have a good time with our music. We want them to forget the daily grind and just clear their heads. We don't claim to deliver anything profound. It should just bang and be fun.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
The sound clearly is Thrash Metal, because it is fast, raw and full of alternate/tremolo picking. We wanted to keep it simple by focusing on the essentials and not adding too many effects and bells and whistles. In our lyrics it is generally about our love to Thrash Metal, social themes and a bit of horror-like stuff, but we do not follow a certain line with our lyrics.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Oh, there are a lot of bands we would love to tour with, but to name three I would say: Exodus, that must come as a surprise. Overkill and to name a German band, Tankard.
5. What's your thoughts on AI generated music?
I think purely AI-generated music is absolute bullshit. There's nothing creative about it, no heart, no soul. Of course you can use AI as a tool. There's nothing wrong with that. But AI will never be live on stage and make the audience sweat. At least not in the foreseeable future and I hope I don't have to experience that.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Thrash Metal?
I think the current state of Thrash Metal has become stronger in recent years because there are a lot of great bands that were formed after the year 2000 that deliver really good Thrash Metal. We want to play our part in this development.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Germany?
I don't know if the music scene in Germany is that different from the rest of the world. The radio only plays pop chart crap and metal is largely absent from the public consciousness. But the metal scene itself should not be underestimated. There are a lot of great bands out there, young bands putting on a decent show. There are still a lot of small, really cool festivals that attract large audiences. Unfortunately there have been a few less of them in the last few years, but I think you can still get your money's worth.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
If you're not one of the really big acts, streaming generates next to nothing. The opportunity to reach many people worldwide with your music is great, but unfortunately it's not enough to cover your running costs. Playing in an underground band is quite an expensive hobby. But an awesome one!
9. What’s next for Lesson In Violence?
We want to be on stage this year to increase our reach and take as many people with us as possible. We're also already working on our third album and I can tell you one thing: it's going to be even heavier and we're going to keep doing what we've been doing. And we're working on new merch stuff to improve our offering. We can't look much further than 2025 at the moment.
10. Any shoutouts?
It is always time to thrash, so if you need some new thrash material go to our website, go to our bandcamp store or buy the CD directly from Iron Shield Records! Also have a look at our whole merchandise stuff!
