The Gauntlet: How old is each member of the band?

Felix Papp: We're between the ages of 15 and 18. The youngest member is Devin, who is 15. He's followed by his big brother, Tim, who just turned 17. Then there is me. I'm 18, as is Alex. He's about a half year older than me. The oldest one is Phil, who is a few weeks older than Alex.

The Gauntlet: When did you first start playing your instruments?

Felix: The instruments we play in Hackneyed are not necessarily the instruments we first started playing. I've played the drums for about 12 years, and started playing guitar and bass about 5 or 6 years ago. Alex played the guitar for about 10 years before he joined the band and picked up the bass! Tim has been playing the drums for about 10 years now, but also plays guitar and bass, while Devin started to play the guitar at around the same time as me. Phil has screamed around as long as I've known him, but the first time he called himself a singer was with Hackneyed! We started playing together without any thoughts of a record deal, and when I started to play guitar I never thought it would be possible that a band could get a deal with me playing guitar! At last a deal with Nuclear Blast!

The Gauntlet: When did the band start practicing together?

Felix: This line-up has been together for about 1 1/2 years. From the moment we got together, we started to write songs and play some small shows. We are still writing new songs now, but not for about 20 drunken friends in a location here in the town where we live, but for our next album. We are looking forward to recording it like little boys in a toy shop!

The Gauntlet: How didyou get noticed by Nuclear Blast so fast?

Felix: After we played on the Winter Freeze festival, the organizer, Achim Ostertag, who is now also our manager, started to help us get a deal. About two weeks later we went to the studio and started to record our album. We introduced our music to several labels, which of course included Nuclear Blast. When they offered us a deal, we just couldn't resist.

The Gauntlet:Are youworried about facing any resentment from older bands for your early success?

Felix: That would not be nice, but it's something we cannot deny, so we've got to deal with it. So far, so good. We only speak well of everyone else!

The Gauntlet: Who are your main influences as a band?

Felix: Of course we listen to bands like Hypocrisy, Nile, and Suffocation, but our music is influenced just as much by the fact that everyone in the band listens to very different kinds of music besides death metal. Everyone brings a lot of different ideas. We do not want to cover anyone; we are playing our own music. Sometimes when we write a song we will play it several times, and almost always there is a riff or a part wich sounds similar to the style of another band! We don't really want that. If it's too close, we'll take the riff and switch it with another one or play it a bit different.
The Gauntlet: Do you have any touring plans for the US?
To go on tour in the US is a very big dream for us. At the moment it's not worth it yet, though. I'm looking forward to the day when the dream comes true. When we come to America we will make sure that everyone will know about it.

The Gauntlet: Who is the best German metal band of all time?

Felix: A real legendary band is Sodom, I think. The great thing is that we have been able to play together with them. It's something we are really proud of.

The Gauntlet: What is your favorite release of 2008 so far?

Felix: My personal favorite so far is Meshuggah's "ObZen." I was never a big Meshuggah fan in the past, but the album is really great! It is something that not everyone can play!

The Gauntlet: Why do you love David Hasselhoff so much?

Felix: It's just great to look at a drunken guy lying on the floor trying to eat a hamburger.