What is your full name?
Dennis Strillinger
Do you have any aliases?
I have one moniker I use for anything internet related. It’s Strilli Vanilli. With this you can find me gaming on Instagram or playing the drums on Youtube.
What bands are you actively involved with?
I play the drums in two bands: Black Drone Metal outfit [ B O L T ], which includes me on drums and two bass players; Thomas Rosen and Andreas Brinke. And instrumental atmospheric / post rock band Magma Waves.
What was the first instrument that you played?
Drums. My dad’s a drummer so that came naturally.
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
It’s probably either my mom listening to Gary Moore and Elvis Presley or me watching my dad play the drums in my grandma’s basement where my dad had his drum set. I was afraid of the HiHat opening and closing. But the real connection to music was listening to it really early on. Michael Jackson comes to mind, and some soul/funk my dad put on a mixtape for me. Michael Jackson and German acapella band Die Prinzen are probably the first artists I genuinely loved. But from then on out it was electrical guitars all the way. Aerosmith and Van Halen first and then Iron Maiden and anything metal.
What was the name of the first band you were in?
We had many names. The first name we had when we played our first gig in 1999 was Prophecy. Later on we cycled through a few names and stuck with Chainheart until we split.
Tell me about the genesis of [ B O L T ].
The band originated in 2012 in Bochum where Thomas Rosen and Andreas Brinke met and decided that prog, punk and grindcore needed to make way for a new kind of music. So they decided to play monotonous atmospheric sounds with two bass guitars. Quite unique for the time.
What inspired the name [ B O L T ]?
The name written in brackets used to be more of an audible presentation of a visual name. If you leave out the letters the logo looks like this [ ] which represents a regular steel bolt. As a band without song titles or lyrics the music should ultimately represent itself with little to no room for interpretation stemming from band names or song titles. Thus, records are called ( 0 1 ), ( 0 2 ) etc., songs are called [ 3 8 ] or [ 2 2 ] and the band name is simply necessary for people to pronounce the band and to be found.
So, [ ] became [ B O L T ].
How long did it take you to write and record 0 5?
First riffs were derived from ideas left over during other recordings or jams but the biggest part of the record was written in early 2022 and finished by the recording date in November 2022. The recordings took place in the studio of Bastian Lindenau (Shipwrecks) during one weekend. Mix and mastering was done by December.
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
I think I would join Louis Cole’s band so he can concentrate on other instruments and I would play together with a lot of incredible musicians.
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it? If so… What was the song and artist?
Videotape by Radiohead is such a beautiful song with such a minimalistic approach. The progression is so brilliant I wished I could have come up with that.
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
Almost all of them. I love Hip Hop (Aesop Rock is the most creative rapper with words and the late great MF Doom had a unique style and certain atmosphere which could never be reproduced). I love 70s soul like Barry White. I love retro- and synthwave or vapor wave like The Midnight, LeBrock and 猫 シ Corp. I also love cheesy rock like Journey and Van Halen. I love Japanese Pop music like Ayumi Hamasaki. I adore video game soundtracks the most though as they represent so many of my interests at once plus they don’t ever need to stick to genre specifications. You are able to find the most obscure sounds and style crossovers in video game soundtracks.
What’s a non-metal song that you'd like to do a cover of?
With [ B O L T ] we are fans of so much music and so many different artists. One we always come back to is probably Lana Del Rey. So one of hers probably.
What band have you played with that has really impressed you with their live show?
GGGOLDDD - I played with Magma Waves together with them at the Kiel Explode in 2018. Milena Eva has a haunting stage presence and incredible atmosphere in her voice. Their live show is something else!
Do you have a favorite venue to play at?
Not really. I love playing in the tiniest DIY garage but I also love to play a fully fledged festival audience on a huge stage. All gigs have their benefits as long as the people enjoy your music.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Neither personally nor with the band, no. I just warm up a bit and force myself to pee. So annoying when you’re on stage and you gotta go.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Playing live is one of my favorite things to do ever. But being together with my band(s) plus meeting new people is also always a lot of fun. In front of the stage or the ones who let you crash at their place, the people from the venus or planners of the show.
What is your least favorite thing about touring?
The waiting. Long drives and waiting to start playing once you’re done with soundcheck can be tedious.
Is there a city that you love to hit while on tour?
Exploring new cities is part of the experience as well. So I’d rather play new places than the same ones.
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on the road?
Having your tour bus break down in the middle of bloody nowhere having to wait until 2am until your rental sorted out something to bring you home - 4 hours from the place you left your van. In which we had to leave some equipment because it was too big for the ride home. So we had to trust the van rental that they would meet up with us to give us our equipment back that we had to leave in the van. That sucked and was weird.
The year is 1998. Where are you at and what are you listening to?
At home playing Nintendo 64 while listening to a shit ton of Iron Maiden. I was 15 in 1998. ;)
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Be persistent and do your own thing. The last thing the industry needs (and wants) is bands that sound alike. Try to find a sound that suits you and that has a spark of uniqueness. And then just go for it, play live a lot and do your own thing. Don’t try to fit into any molds. That only leads to frustration because your creativity will be censored in the process.
What is an absolute band killer?
Alcohol. It can break any band at any moment. Too much of it at least.
Have you ever recorded a song that you really didn’t like, but somebody else in the band really did?
Not particularly, no. There’s the favorites and the ones you don’t listen to a lot after you recorded them but I generally stand behind the music I play and record.
If you were to start your own music festival what would be the name of that festival and who would be the three headlining bands?
If I were to conduct my own festival I would love to have The Midnight there, The Night Flight Orchestra and Holy Fawn. I love a good audience interaction and thick live atmospheres. And those bands have it all. I would call the festival Jasmin as it’s a gorgeous name and my favourite tea.
What’s the longest time you’ve gone without bathing?
Couple days on a festival. Maybe like 5 days or so.
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I get emotional very quickly over fictitious things like movies or music. If I sing along to a song with deep or sad lyrics I’ll tear up immediately.
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
Not yet but I need to give it a try. My high time of consuming podcasts is over. Maybe Fistful of DOOM will change that.
Do unicorns sleep standing up?
Never watched a unicorn sleep.
Give me three albums that I should listen to immediately, if not sooner.
( 0 5 ) by [ B O L T ]
…and who will take care of you now by Magma Waves
Death Spells by Holy Fawn
You’re driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time. What album will it be?
King of the Road by Fu Manchu. Perfect road trip record.
You are writing a book about your life thus far. What is the title of that book?
Who would want to read this?
(both the title of the book and my answer to this question)
What is your favorite song by David Hasselhoff?
True Survivor from the Kung Fury soundtrack!
Slipknot or Rammstein (if you had to choose)?
Slipknot. I’m not massively into any of them and I respect them both as a fellow musician. But as a kid I liked both because they were crass and controversial but I listened to Slipknot more. IOWA remains one of the most aggressive records I have ever listened to.
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
Doobies.
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Pancakes. Blueberry with cashew spread and maple syrup.
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
Star Trek in the long run. Star Wars for a quick retro fix (as in my universe there’s only the original trilogy).
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
My Kvelertak debut album shirt. John Dyer Baizley’s artwork with the women and the owl keeps washing out and cracking but it adds so much to the flair of that shirt and the artwork itself. It looks like the Jugendstil painting that it is.
Favorite meal?
Vegan burgers or sushi.
Favorite book?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I also don’t get why A. Lee Martinez is not way more popular or well known.
Favorite movie?
That’s a very difficult question. I can only narrow it down to a top three (without particular order):
Leon The Professional (by Luc Besson), Old Boy (by Park Chan Wook), Princess Mononoke (by Hayao Miyazaki).
If you need to press me on one it would be Mononoke though I think.
Favorite album?
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son by Iron Maiden but there are many more that I couldn’t live without like The Mouse And The Mask by Dangerdoom, Welcome To Sky Valley by Kyuss, Masters Of Reality by Black Sabbath and Last Fair Deal Gone Down by Katatonia.
Favorite video game?
Many. Many many video games in my life have had the title “favorite game of all time”. Thus it’s hard to pinpoint one. My favorite franchises are The Legend Of Zelda and Resident Evil (Link’s Awakening and OG Resident Evil 1). But one game… Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Pure nostalgia for me so I always keep coming back to it.
Favorite Professional Wrestler?
I have been a huge fan of the Ultimate Warrior when I was a kid. I also liked The Undertaker though which, in hindsight, probably was my gateway drug to death and doom metal (aesthetics) after all…
Massive thank you to Dennis for taking the time to answer my questions. The fifth full-length album from [ B O L T ] is available April 21 courtesy of dunk!records. You are going to want to wrap your ears around it immediately, if not sooner. Fortunately for you, there is a link to the single [ 3 2 ] below and a link to the video for the same track. Enjoy!
~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson from the Fistful of DOOM show)
https://open.spotify.com/track/5q9OL7dPdsCsMAh5t3bl5N?si=4319e258506a4c17
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