Bitter Price are one of those bands that feel carved out of real graft, sharp instincts and a genuine love for heavy metal. Their story starts in Berlin but isn’t defined by it, shaped instead by the musicians who finally found the right chemistry after years of searching. This interview steps into that world, touching on the band’s beginnings, their creative drive and the momentum building behind their next chapter.
Interview
TheNwothm: For anyone discovering you for the first time, how would you introduce Bitter Price in your own words, and what part of Berlin do you each call home?
B.P: Bitter Price plays traditional Heavy Metal which I’ve always wanted to play with a band, alongside musicians who to find was a long way. There´s no doubt that Berlin has an enormous count of musicians, but whether you can actually form a band together is another matter. For a long time, decent oldschool metal musicians were barely and hard to find here.
The strong US Metal influence simply emerged during the time of songwriting, especially with the voicings of Alban combined with the special kind of guitar riffings in range between Classic Rock til harder heavy metal, not to mention thrash.
The band is based in Berlin´s district Marzahn, more precisely the Orwohaus, a big band house and big home address for hundreds of artists, including rehearsal rooms, live locations, workshops, studios.
TheNwothm: What first brought the five of you together in 2024, and at what point did it feel like a proper band rather than a loose idea?
B.P: I had a good year as a member of the band Metall, and their rehearsal room was in the Orwohaus. There I met Paul and at some time we were talking about the possibility of forming a heavy metal band, and Paul has already started a somekind of little project with Alban. I wrote a bunch of song stuff during my time in Metall, which I was not really able to realize with them, by any reason.
And as I parted ways with Metall, Paul immediately invited me into his practice room in the same building. So I met Alban, and we were recognizing fast that we fit pretty well musically together. Within a half year, we found Marco and Daemorph to complete our line-up. I had the feeling that we had just caught a very opportune moment. From that point we were already talking about demo recordings.
TheNwothm: How did the name Bitter Price come into the picture, and what made it feel right for the music you wanted to create?
B.P: The name came to my mind as I was listening to Slayer once back then, I guess, although the name was not mentioned there, as I found out later. But it felt good somehow. At the beginning it was just a kind of draft name for some time, until we got used to it.
I like the philosophical aspect that leaves plenty of room for interpretation, whatever the “dark side” may be that is part of certain circumstances or is always part of your decisions. A hard reality and matter of light and shadow. A coexistence of these two mutually dependent aspects. A consideration of the balance between good and bad, win and lose, grow and destroy, life and death, and so many on.
TheNwothm: I have been to Berlin and there is so much to do! So when you are not working or making music what do you guys get up to in such a vibrant place?
B.P: I get that Berlin is exciting when you’re discovering the city for the first time. There’s so much to experience here culturally and historical. When I first moved to Berlin, I just took in everything I could. I’ve already explored all kinds of interesting spots in Berlin. But now, I don’t spend much time in the city anymore. Berlin can get pretty exhausting over time. But I don’t want to complain.
We all have our Jobs. And I guess we just enjoy the culture, the scene and the many concerts here.
Otherwise not much exciting. It depends on the season. In Summer times I love to ride my bike for hours, then reading in my magazines at the lake in the sun. In winter, I prefer to stay home, of course. I love my hi-fi system and my collection of CDs, LPs, tapes and magazines. Furthermore I have two little cats, and I love my little babies, hehe. But in general, my life really revolves entirely around music, the whole day.
TheNwothm: Berlin has a reputation for being creatively restless. What aspects of the city’s culture or atmosphere have shaped your writing or the way you operate as a band?
B.P: Berlin is both a curse and a blessing, and actually is a very good example for a Bitter Price, hehe. Of course, Berlin can be a huge source of inspiration. Many cultures come together here. So much is happening here and can be discovered. Everything is constantly in motion and changing, for better or for worse. There’s a lot of noise and stress, which makes it easy to shut yourself off from the crazy world outside and go anonym.
You quickly learn that it’s impossible to form lasting friendships because life in the city is so fast-paced. Maybe you can rely only on the chaotic city traffic, otherwise to nothing and noone. And even though it may seem like a cultural paradise given the multitude of temptations, the city gives you nothing for free. Gentrification is making the living spaces increasingly limited.
I’ve been living in Berlin for 24 years now, longer than I spent growing up in my hometown. I’ve fully developed and realized myself here. But that also took some hard-working and even painful years. I’ve walked a long path to figure out who I am and how to find my own happiness. And in the meantime I’m actually quite happy with my life now, which has an immense worth to me.
But I’m not such a convinced Berliner anymore. Looking back, Hamburg might have been a better choice for me back then..
TheNwothm: Are there any local venues, rehearsal spaces or scenes in Berlin that have been particularly important to your development so far?
B.P: We as the band have the Orwohaus, our home base, a huge building consisting of many rehearsal rooms. In the meantime there came some other band houses in Berlin, but I guess the Orwohaus was one of the first real big building that gave spaces for hundreds of bands since around 2000. Compared to the others, the conditions are relative fair and I like the friendly and strong community very much. There are also workshops which I still needed several times. And not to forget the many concerts. When it comes to Metal, Berlin is actually dominated by extreme metal. Classic metal is a bit rare here.
That aside, very important, especially to me, is the lively metal scene, mostly come together at the many concerts, where you can meet me often.
There are some good clubs and bars for metalheads, especially in Friedrichshain. Even though it’s always tough to organize concerts, sometimes you just should not expect too much. On the one hand, it’s hard to stand out and survive amid the sheer number of competing events. On the other hand you cannot really count on a steady audience. But I think the club scene is very lively, and metal concerts of all kinds are celebrated.
TheNwothm: Germany has a long history with heavy metal. Has growing up within that environment influenced your approach to riffs, production or attitude?
B.P: There’s a big metal scene in Germany and a correspondingly large market for heavy metal. But spoken for myself, I never had a big environment related to classic heavy metal, I’ve often been on my own, there were even times when I was the only one into that style, which is why I often felt like an outsider. I’ve had only a very few friends, who share my taste in music.
But over the years, I’ve also broadened my horizons quite a bit and have actually explored all kinds of metal styles, more or less.
Unfortunately, I never really had a big group of friends who shared my taste for old-school sounds, or to put it another way, I’ve always been lucky enough to carry that old-school spirit within me and never stopped my musical journey.
TheNwothm: What would you say is your favourite metal festival on the calendar and which ones do you hope to play in the future?
B.P: I visit many festivals and one of my favorites is the headbangers open air, where I enjoy almost each playing band. I already played there with Metall and of course it would be awesome to play there with Bitter Price sometime. Other Festivals I would love to play are Keep It True and Rock Hard, and like all the other traditional Heavy Metal Festivals in Europe.
TheNwothm: Your first release, The Orwohaus Tapes, was recorded between January and June 2025. What do you remember most vividly about those sessions?
B.P: What I mostly enjoy looking back on is working with Alban. While we were working on the vocal arrangements, there were moments that bordered on magic. For example, when we were working out the vocal structure and chorus for “Meadows,” we both felt like kids jumping around the room with excitement, as if we were putting on an Iron Maiden record for the very first time.
The collaboration was both productive and a ton of fun. I love working with him because we have a similar musical understanding and a big passion, what mostly leads to a big creative stream of our ideas and so we complement each other perfectly.
TheNwothm: What guided the production choices, and how did you decide on the sound you wanted for the release?
B.P: I made my experiences in some studios, and some of them kind of disappointing, therefore I’ve become increasingly skeptical about who I work with. When it comes to production, nowadays, almost everyone takes the easy way out by overusing digital tools and plugins. And my goal was to sound it as real and organic as possible, with strong analog aesthetics. Therefore I chose the old school way of recording everything by decent microphones and carry about an authentic and warm mix, which should sound like a good band session in its own rehearsal room.
TheNwothm: With two guitarists, how do you decide who takes which parts, and do you write with specific contrasts or harmonies in mind?
B.P: So far, I’ve written all the songs in advance and presented them to the band. When I write songs, I focus first and foremost on the riffs, then I work out the song structure in detail. I see myself more as a rhythm guitarist, the riffing comes very naturally to me, whereas I struggle a bit with solo parts. With Marco, the second guitarist, it’s a bit the other way around—he plays high-speed solos with ease and clearly enjoys it a lot. That’s why I divide the guitar parts so that Marco gets the slightly easier rhythm parts, and I take the heavier ones.
When it comes to solos, I’m happy to leave the wilder stuff to Marco, while I’m content with more relaxed solos that serve the song. A good melody and harmonic progression are more important to me than technical highspeed shreds.
TheNwothm: The artwork by Ron Schaffer has a striking presence. What conversations or ideas shaped the visual identity of the demo?
B.P: I really like this artwork, even though it’s actually a byproduct of another project I’ve been working on with Ron for a long time. I’m currently toying with the idea of using that other artwork for our debut album. But it still needs a little tweaking.
For me, heavy metal artwork should be hand-drawn in a comic book style. I’m also currently thinking about other designs featuring a mascot that’s already visible on “The Orwohaus Tapes.” I’ve named him Helrik.
Furthermore, I would like to incorporate elements from industrial history into the paintings. I am still collecting some ideas.
Thenwothm: What are your plans for future gigs, and are there any cities or festivals you are especially keen to reach?
B.P: I’m looking forward to future shows, even though not many are planned yet. When it comes to bookings, the lineup with other bands really has to fit our classic metal style. A tour would be great, but a lot of conditions have to be met for that to happen. On the other hand, it won’t be easy to find dates, since some of us also have side projects, including me. But that’s just a matter of good organization. I’m definitely open to all booking inquiries. Feel free to reach out to us via email.
TheNwothm: Looking ahead, what can listeners expect from your next release, and are you already shaping new material?
B.P: The next release will be a full-length, our debut album. The songs are already 95% written. And the pre-production shall start very soon. The goal is to finish the master at the end of this summer. Depends on how the process will run. It’s absolutely important to have a good constructive mood while recording. So, maybe it will take more time, to avoid stress. But I’m very looking forward to the release, the song stuff is great.
TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?
B.P: All stuff can be ordered at our Bandcamp site. The CD is available at many distributions and at the Witches Brew Shop.
TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?
B.P: Bandcamp, is the most important, in my opinion, including quality sound and our merch. Then facebook and instagram, although I am not a fan of insta. But we have our principles by not posting that much clickbait shit, only good and useful infos.
TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?
B.P: Thank you very much for the opportunity to present Bitter Price.Our journey has just begun, but will hopefully move forward with wide steps. I’m looking forward to the next steps and hope to see many of you at our shows someday.
Bandcamp: https://bitterprice.bandcamp.com/album/the-orwohaus-tapes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bitterprice
