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Interview with Lacky (drummer of Darkness) about the Defenders of Justice
Lacky, prior to the recording sessions of Defenders of Justice, you had a member change: instead of bassist Detlef „Reaper” Bartfeld joined Thomas Becker the band. What happened?
Bruno, as we called him, had to leave the band because he was becoming a little unreliable. When he wasn’t available for concerts either, the decision was made. That’s what you call personal differences. We played some shows with a temp. Back then it wasn’t an easy breakup because we were friends too. I am glad that we have gotten along really well again for many years.
What about the musical past of Thomas?
Thomas was a half brother of our then manager Boggi Kopec, who also recommended him. Tom probably knew us better than we knew him. But he enjoyed Darkness and we became friends very quickly. After the Defenders release we played a few more shows with him. Then he was poached by Holy Moses. A good thing for him, not so much for us. So we had problem with the bass player position again.
Did he also take part in the songcomposing for the new record or was the material complete and ready, when he joined? At which point did you start to write the new songs?
We already had some ideas for new songs ready when Tom joined the band. But he also settled in quickly and I still remember well when the two of us rehearsed the beginning of „Battle To The Last”. He was an exceptionally good heavy metal bassist for the time.
Did the label ask you to hear new material? Did you record any pre-production stuff(s)?
No, the label didn’t want to hear any songs before going into the studio. We made some cassette recordings for ourselves so we don’t forget what we just created.
You entered the Zuckerfabrik Studios, Stuttgart, 16. – 31. 01. 1988, what do you recall of the recording sessions? How did it go?
As always, we arrived at the studio with lots of beer. But we were in good spirits because we knew that we had good songs in our luggage and that we were very well prepared. Since we got more studio time this time, we could go to work with peace of mind. What was new was that we had promised some magazines and metal fans to visit us. And so there were a few studio evenings with up to fifty people present, which was more of a party than serious work. We got into trouble with the studio owner, that was foreseeable. Olli then had difficulties singing in and had to re-record all the songs a second time. But luckily we had the time. Our label GAMA let us do it because Death Squad had sold so well before.
Were you prepared, by the way, when you entered the studio?
Yes, we were actually relatively well prepared. At that time we spent five days a week in the rehearsal room. Drank a lot of beer, but also collected a lot of ideas. But some didn’t make it onto the album. Much to Pierre’s chagrin. He would come with finished songs and then sometimes we just didn’t like a part or two and then he would throw the whole number away. That even happened a few times.
Do you think, that the music is made up of quite basic elements, but the outcome is surprisingly fascinating?
In fact, the songs turned out to be a bit more complicated than we initially thought. But we also wanted to show that we’ve gotten better as musicians. The guitar work was leagues ahead of the first album, Tom did a sensational job on the bass and I think I’ve thrown in some crazy twists on the drums too.
How do you view, that the music is catchy, raw, barely without compromise, strongly satisfying and this is primarily due to the fair amount of variety and hooks included in songs, without sacrificing heaviness or speed in the process? Did you develope a lot compared to the first album?
There has already been a big advancement in terms of songwriting and musical ability. Otherwise songs like „Predetermined Destiny” or „Caligula” wouldn’t have been possible.
Did Defenders of Justice have a more polished and a marginally more technical sound?
We tried to get everything that was possible out of the studio. For the Death Squad recordings we worked with the producer Tom Krüger, who had never had anything to do with thrash metal. It was similar with the second album, this time Robert Baumann was the producer. And he was also a newcomer to our genre of music. But maybe that’s why the records sound the way they sound now. You can still hear them today, they’ve aged well.
Do you agree with, that somehow this refined formula made Darkness sound a lot better and effective than many other better-known German bands?
Yes, it certainly made us sound different, even if there wasn’t any real plan behind it.
Were all of you satisfied with the end result after the recording sessions?
In any case. We had made a giant leap. Now we wanted to conquer the world 
Is Defenders of Justice a fine representation of Darkness at their peak?
We had a lot of self-confidence. That’s why we created this funny intro, for example. It was supposed to be a speaker killer, that’s why it’s produced so quietly. Then when the first song kicks in, it should be like a bomb hitting the record player.
Were there any live gigs/tours in support of the record?
Unfortunately, no. Tours were planned, but unfortunately none worked out in the end. So, as before, only single shows remained. This is guaranteed to have prevented our big breakthrough. A tour was something really big back then, and therefore extremely important. And we didn’t have any!
Singer Oliver „Olli” Fernickel passed away February 9th, 1998, how do you want to be him remembered?
Olli was a completely different kind of front man. Unfortunately, his lifestyle was designed in such a way that this could not go well for long. When I found out about his death, I was really exhausted. He only wrote one lyric for Darkness, which is „Faded Pictures” from the Death Squad album, so we re-recorded that song in memory of him on our last mini-album, Over And Out. Bruno and Pierre also supported us vocally in the studio, which made this recording very emotional. There is even a video clip on YouTube.
Darkness belonged to the second wave of the German thrash metal scene. how do you remember those times as a whole?
It was a great time. Because we were friends with Kreator, we were also able to see the first thrash metal league up close. We certainly haven’t always done everything right, especially when it comes to the music business, but I would probably do it this way again and again. We definitely had more fun than many people in our circle of acquaintances.
Lacky, thanks a lot for your answers, anything to add to this feature?
Even if we only belonged to the second wave of thrash metal, I’m glad that the fans haven’t forgotten us until today. We’ve come a long way. And since the reunion album The Gasoline Solution, we’re stronger than ever. With First Class Violence we have consolidated our standing and in autumn we will be back in the studio for another album. And we’re still young enough to deliver a few more highlights. So watch out, we’re still here!
