Since forming in 2009, Austria’s Liquid Steel have carved out their own path through the heavy metal underground, evolving from a covers band into a respected force with three full-length albums to their name. In this interview, the band reflect on their journey, the lessons learned along the way, and the new material currently taking shape as they prepare for the next chapter of their story.
Interview
TheNwothm: For readers who may be discovering Liquid Steel for the first time, how would you describe the band and what you’re all about?
L.S: Hey there Nwothm geeks- hope everything is smooth. Congrats on your website. Some really nice stuff on there. Keep it up!
So, yeah… how would we describe the band? We are a Heavy Metal band, first off, haha. When we started, we didn’t think about genres and all that. We wanted to create our own music and that’s what came out naturally. We play the music that we all love, which is of course, traditional metal. Usually, our guitarists come up with a riff or with a finished song idea and I write the lyrics and then we’ll work on it in the rehearsal room.
TheNwothm: Liquid Steel has been active since 2009. What originally inspired the formation of the band, and what were your goals in those early days?
L.S: I mean, we started off as a covers band. We played some Purple and some Diamond Head, stuff like that and then we decided to write our own original music. We didn’t have any specific goals but we wanted to push ourselves to see how it goes. So, we wrote our first couple of songs which you’ll find on our Demo “Scream”. Those times were quite exciting as we were learning a lot along the way too. I think I recorded the vocals in some guy’s kitchen or something- it was hilarious, haha.
TheNwothm: Austria has produced some fantastic metal bands over the years. How has being part of the Austrian scene influenced your journey?
L.S: There’s so many great bands here. I mean, mostly extreme metal I’d say, but also there are some great heavy bands here. Has being part of the Austrian scene influenced our journey? Yes and no, because on the one hand we are from the west of the country and most bands / festivals, etc. are from the east of Austria. So, we are friends with a lot of bands and we stumble into each other from time to time- which is always great. But I wouldn’t necessarily say that being part of “the Austrian scene” has influenced us in any way.
TheNwothm: Looking back to the band’s earliest days, what were some of the biggest challenges Liquid Steel had to overcome to establish itself?
L.S:Learning to play our instruments, hahah. Well, you gotta start at some point, don’t you? You’ve got to write some good songs that people hopefully like. Then you got to get out there and perform. Every gig counts. Make it your best. We learned a hell of a lot along the way, because you try to get better every time. There’s a lot of bands out there and it’s certainly not easy to “establish” yourself. There’s a lot of ifs and buts. You gotta tick all the boxes. Try to make everything you do, the best you do. Also, being friendly, easy-going and being “professional” helps. Don’t get drunk before show, don’t cancel, only because you don’t “feel like it”, stuff like that.
TheNwothm: More than 15 years after forming, what do you think has been the key to keeping the band active and motivated?
L.S:Beer, haha… I dunno, we still get along well after all this time. Our rehearsal room “Cave of Steel” is like a time capsule. We still try and rehearse once a week. Some days are more productive than others, but it doesn’t matter, cause at the end of the day, what counts is, are you still enjoying this? Is it worth it? Is the new song we’re working on as good as our old songs? Hopefully yes. And also, I’d say we share a similar kind of humour, which helps, oh and beer too!
TheNwothm: Looking back at your 2012 demo “Scream”, what stands out to you about that early period of the band’s development?
L.S: As I said before, it was a big learning process. Learning our instruments, learning how to sing, how to write a song, where to put the hookline, etc. It was exciting!
TheNwothm: “Fire in the Sky” marked your debut full-length release in 2014. What were your ambitions for the album, and do you think it still represents Liquid Steel today?
L.S: We haven’t changed that much. Of course, we worked on our songwriting, and we still try to develop. I don’t think we could write another Riding High. I can’t speak for the rest of the guys, but I think the album still represents Liquid Steel. I am still proud of that album- it was a big step for me, doing my first proper album. Our producer Patrick W. Engel guided us through the songs and it was great to learn from him. My favourite song on the album is Samurai, which we still do live.
TheNwothm: Two years later, “Midnight Chaser” arrived. In what ways had the band grown or evolved between your first and second full-length records?
L.S: I’d say we mostly evolved by playing live a lot. You learn from every gig. At some gigs we wouldn’t have any monitors or sometimes things just don’t work out as they should… You analyse things and redo them again. We took what we liked from our first album and tried to improve. I think it’s always hard to say, whether an album is better or worse than another album. I think, certainly songwriting wise, Midnight Chaser was a step-up.
TheNwothm: In 2015, you participated in the “Austrian Heavy Metal Alliance” split release. What did being part of that project mean to the band?
L.S: It was just a lot of fun nerding out with some of our fellow Austrian metal geeks at that time. Long story short. We played Vienna, got hammered and got friends with all the bands there. Did a compilation which got some very nice reviews and they sold out pretty quick too. Some of them were shipped to Japan and to the US- which was crazy at the time!
TheNwothm: The singles “Traveller in Time” and “Victim of the Night” arrived in 2021. What inspired those tracks, and what did they represent for the band at that point in its evolution?
L.S: They were the singles for our new album Mountains of Madness. Traveller in Time is inspired by H.G. Wells’ book “The Time Machine”. In the song there is a guy travelling through time and space and all these amazing places but eventually he finds out that there’s no place like home. Victim of the Night was inspired by a quote I read somewhere. You can only grow if you jump into the unknown and see what happens. Don’t be afraid to fail, cause whether you’ll fail or you won’t, you’ll never know, if you don’t try.
TheNwothm: “Mountains of Madness” marked another chapter in the band’s catalogue. What inspired the album release, and what do you remember most about the writing and recording process?
L.S: I think MoM is our most varied album. There are our typical trademark songs like Traveller In Time or Heavy Metal Fire but you’ll also find new elements that weren’t there on previous albums. There were more intros and acoustic passages, stuff like that. Everything was a little more refined, a little more detailed, a little more worked out if you like. I think the solos and the vocal harmonies were more prominent on the album, too. So yeah, a lot of work was involved but it was fun too. We recorded the album at Jay Hundert Studio in Reith-which is such an idyllic place. We had a great time there!
TheNwothm: When putting together a setlist today, how do you balance material from across your discography while keeping both long-time supporters and newer fans happy?
L.S: You play stuff that works for both the band and the crowd. We know which songs work best and whenever we have a longer show we try to put in some songs we don’t always play. I’d say our setlists are pretty much balanced between our 3 albums. It’s nothing intentional tbh, it just feels right.
TheNwothm: What does the remainder of 2026 and beyond look like for the band in terms of live shows, festival appearances or touring plans?
LS: We’re actually taking some time off from playing live shows at the moment. So, we don’t have any shows on the horizon.
TheNwothm:Are you currently working on any new music, and if so, what can fans expect from the next chapter of Liquid Steel?
LS: Indeed. Well, as always we try to write the best music we can and make a proper album. We just like it that way- we’re old-school. We still think in albums, haha. As of now, we’ve got 5-6 songs in the pipeline and we’re working on them. There’s no rush, we’re taking all the time that’s needed. When we’re done, we’ll think about recording and all the rest of it. I can’t really tell you much about the new direction or anything but you can expect a Heavy Metal album, that’s for sure!
TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online and buy your merch?
LS: We’re on Instagram, Facebook and what not… Check us out there and buy our merch from our own webstore: liquidsteel.at or on bandcamp.
TheNwothm: To close are there any final thoughts or things you would like to say to our readers?
LS: Thank you for supporting our music and keeping the flame alive! Support real artists who make real music, don’t believe in all the fake stuff that’s swirling around. Make up your mind and decide for yourself what’s good and what’s not. Also, go to underground gigs and festivals and be excellent to each other!
Photo Credit: Lina Mascher
