Formed in 2023 in northern Germany, Dawn Rider is a rising heavy metal band inspired by legends like Iron Maiden and Night Demon. With their debut EP Back on the Road and a growing live presence, they share their journey, influences, and what’s next!

Interview

TheNwothm: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today! For our readers who may not be familiar with you yet, can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what DAWN RIDER is all about?

DR: Hey y‘all, we‘re Dawn Rider, a relatively new band from northern Germany. We love heavy metal, we love music and we enjoy being on the road together to bring good (live-) music to the people. 

TheNwothm: The band was formed in early 2023, but what was the spark that led to the formation of the band? How did the four of you come together to create this heavy metal powerhouse?

DR: Our singer Linda, her husband Chrissi on the bass and me (Tim, drums) are very close friends for decades and had been playing together in a couple of other projects before. We decided to try something new when meeting Manu, who was at that time looking to play in a new band again. After some talks we met at the studio for a few sessions to try things out and it felt great – then it all went pretty fast, Manu brought in a lot of song ideas and we started writing.

TheNwothm: The name “Dawn Rider” is inspired by a song from Night Demon. Can you tell us more about why you chose that name and how Night Demon’s influence has shaped your sound and style?

DR: We saw Night Demon live a couple of times over the past 10 years, for example at RockHard Festival, Wacken and in Oldenburg at MTS and the energy these guys had on stage was special and impressed us completely. During the first sessions we had with Manu, when we were trying to figure out in which direction we would want to go with this project, we covered Night Demons Black Widow and Full speed ahead. It felt great. The speed, the energy, the strength of these songs made us think „why not go in a similar musical direction“.. a few weeks later Manu came into the studio with riffs and we started jamming. And here we go – Dawn Rider was born. It was important for us to not sound like a copy of them and still find our own style, which I think we did in the end.  

TheNwothm: Your influences are a dream list for heavy metal fans—Night Demon, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, just to name a few! How have these bands influenced the way you approach songwriting and your overall sound?

DR: The way we write songs doesn’t really have an influence – its just our way of creating music. In a certain way these bands influenced us for sure.. I mean, influences always influence, right? (😅) But again, at the end of the day we are just fans of good, rocking music, fans of metal and we mix all the cool things we love into our music and interpret it in our way – that in the end creates our own style.  

TheNwothm: For someone who hasn’t heard your music yet, how would you describe the bands style? What can listeners expect when they dive into your tracks?

DR: Energy, emotions, stuff you can bang your head to. Modern but classic at the same time. Our goal has never been to invent something completely new and crazy – we just wanna rock and play good music. We do it our way though.

TheNwothm: What is the metal scene like where you are all from?

DR: Especially in the Ruhrpott (North Rhine-Westphalia) in towns like Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen (which is where Linda is originally from), the scene is pretty active and big. Bands like Kreator, Sodom and all those guys come out of that region. Where we live, in the north of Germany, its obviously a little bit smaller. But still, there are metal maniacs in every part of the world and we try our best to keep the scene active/alive. 

TheNwothm: Can you tell our readers a little bit about your first two singles?

DR: Well, Back on the Road was written right after the covid pandamic and it has two meanings. First, that we started with a new band and made music again. Second, that we were allowed to do that again after a couple of tough years for musicians and artists. Iron Sky is a song about strength even in hard times. Maybe it was also still influenced by the times we had before.

TheNwothm: You released your first self-produced record, “Back on the Road,” in 2023. What was the process like creating that album, and what was the inspiration behind the songs?

DR: As I already said our first EP is somehow a handling but also a payoff with the pandemic and its registrations. (Which were necessary by the way) On the other hand as a female fronted band there will always be a song about female power as in Queen of Hell 😉

TheNwothm: What has been the reception to “Back on the Road” so far? Have there been any moments or reactions that have particularly stood out to you?

DR: Funny story, first our local newspaper wrote an article about us and our EP. After it was published the pastor of a church in our town asked us to do an interview for their church magazine because he really liked our songs. So, we had a big interview in a church magazine as a heavy metal band singing about the Queen of Hell. 

TheNwothm: One of the major highlights for the band was supporting Night Demon on one of their “Outsider” tour shows. How did that experience come about, and what was it like sharing the stage with such an influential band?

DR: Night Demon announced their European Tour and we saw that they would play a show at MTS Records in Oldenburg again. After a session at the studio we thought, how cool would it be to play a show with them as support and ended up sending them a message on instagram. It didn‘t take long for them to respond and I think they liked the idea and maybe were curious about these maniacs naming their band after a Night Demon song“.. they told us to get in touch with their booking Agency to make it happen and in the end we got to open up for them, before Traveller took the stage. It was an unforgettable evening. The guys were cool, we had great conversations and I think it was something special for them as well, seeing the influence they have on musicians like us. Hopefully we‘ll do it again someday. 

TheNwothm: How have your live shows been received by audiences, and what do you enjoy most about performing live as a band?

DR: So far I think people enjoyed our shows.. in Oldenburg for example, Linda was pregnant in the 8th month, so that was something special for the people obviously. I believe everyone was impressed by the dedication and they could tell how special it was to us, sharing the stage with Night Demon and Traveller that night. Not only as a band but as extremely close friends, we just love spending time and making music together. This is not “just another band“ to any of us – it is more than that. I‘m sure people can see that when we‘re on stage doing our thing. 

We hope it continues that way in 2025 and 2026 – we want the audience to enjoy our shows, dance, scream, bang their heads and party with us.

TheNwothm: You have a new album on the way! What direction are you hoping to take with the new album? Are there any exciting changes or new elements that fans can expect?

DR: We‘re still a relatively new band, so after finding out what kind of music/style fits us during the first 12-15 months together, we now feel like we’ve found our path and will continue to write songs in that direction. We have a lot of motivation and the process of writing and arranging new songs is something we all deeply enjoy. Our singer and bass player are parents now obviously, Linda gave birth to a beautiful little baby girl in November, so obviously we took some time off recently but I‘m sure you will hear something from us in 2025. We try to keep everyone updated on our socials (Instagram/Facebook), so keep an eye on those if you don‘t want to miss out on any updates. We feel like we are still just getting started and have loooots to come for you all.

TheNwothm: When can fans expect for the album to drop?

DR: We haven‘t set a release date because of the circumstances; for now Linda and Chrissi are enjoying the first months with their newborn as a family and to be fair, that is the main priority right now. But we are working on some stuff in the background and I can promise, it wont take longer than necessary. We love what we do, we love playing shows and we love making music together, so we are gonna get going again in the studio as soon as possible. 

TheNwothm: The music video for “Rock’n’Roll Night” was released in January 2025—what was the creative process behind that video, and what was it like to finally bring one of your songs to life visually?

DR: We had a lot of ideas at first, for example a story line, actors and all that. In the end everything went a different way. We shot a few scenes in our rehearsal room with a chosen audience (friends, family) and had a great time playing kind of a private show for them and party together after the shoot. Most of the video is footage from the day we played at MTS Oldenburg with Night Demon though. We had our videographer with us all day, filming pretty much everything (the travel, the packing/loading, get-in, sound checks and even the show itself), so that was something really cool. We love how it turned out in the end – now we not only have the memories of that day in our minds but also in our video. The outtakes were excellent too. Insanely funny shit. Maybe we should do a „Dawn Rider“-Sitcom at some point? I see potential in that idea after what I‘ve seen 😂

TheNwothm: Looking ahead, what are the band’s biggest goals for this year? Any upcoming tours, releases, or events we should be keeping an eye out for?

DR: Most likely you wont see us play festivals in 2025; eventually we‘ll do some shows in autumn or winter if there is a cool possibility, but we will use the time to write new stuff! In 2026 we wanna play as much as possible, so yeah, end of 2025 and for sure 2026 we will be back on stage 100%. 

TheNwothm: For fans discovering Dawn Rider for the first time, what’s one thing you hope they take away from listening to your music and following your journey?

DR: A good feeling! Positive energy. The times are hard with all the shit going on almost everywhere in the world these days. Music is something that brings people together. It is important to keep it that way and its important to not let all the negative things drag you down. Go to concerts, Festivals, talk to people, listen to music! If we motivate people to do so, we are more than happy.

TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?

DR: So far we only sell our merch at the live shows, since we don‘t have an online shop or a distributor. Maybe that will change later this year. If you can‘t come to a show and still want to get your hands on some merch, feel free to get in touch by messaging us on instagram for example. We will send you something then. 

TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?

DR: Follow us on Instagram (@dawnriderofficial), Facebook and Tiktok.  

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

DR: Thanks again to the guys from Night Demon and Traveller for the opportunity and all the positive feedback and support. Thanks to everyone who came to our shows and shared some nice words. Stay positive, don‘t let shit get you down and don‘t hate! 

And last but not least – support your local concert venues and support the bands by going to concerts! 🤘🏻 

Facebook: facebook.com/dawnriderofficial

Instagram: instagram.com/dawnriderofficial