DORO PESCH: Metal Fans Are 'My Family, My Closest Friends'

Full Throttle Rock recently conducted an interview with German metal queen Doro Pesch. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Full Throttle Rock: Congratulations on what has been an outstanding career; could you have imagined when you started out singing that your career would last 30 years?

Doro Pesch: Oh no, no. It was, like, when I started I thought maybe two, three, four years. After thirty years, it has been great. It has been a hard fight, but it has been fantastic, touring around the world with many great experiences, many great friends. We toured with all the bands I love, that I would never have imagined I'd have a chance to talk to them, then we were on tour with all my heroes, Ronnie James Dio, JUDAS PRIEST, SCORPIONS, MOTÖRHEAD, and it has been a great amazing time.

Full Throttle Rock: Congratulations on the release of the "Raise Your Fist" album. You must be incredibly proud at how this album turned out?

Doro Pesch: Yes, yes, absolutely. I think, you know, what can be better than a duet with the man, Lemmy Kilmister. I love that song, it is called "It Still Hurts". It is very soulful and it is totally different to what people expect, but I think it is a killer song. And the title track, "Raise Your Fist In The Air", actually is our new anthem, almost like the same feedback like "All We Are", which is usually our big thing. We play "All We Are" as the last song in the set and everybody gets crazy, but "Raise Your Fist In The Air", you know, is totally doing the same. I always wanted to have another anthem. Then there are a couple of very fast, speed metal songs like "Revenge" and "Little Headbanger" and one song which I really love is dedicated to Ronnie James Dio which is called "Hero" and I play it at every concert and people are usually moved to tears. I know millions of rock fans feel the same and we had a great chance to tour with Ronnie and we actually became great friends over the last ten years.

Full Throttle Rock: I think "Raise Your Fist" and the last album, "Fear No Evil", have had a very strong WARLOCK feel about them. Do you feel that too?

Doro Pesch: Yeah, well, I think you could say that. Yeah, it is more the metal spirit, I feel the last couple of years that metal is getting so huge again, I think every record is a sign of the times and I think the last five, six years, it is bigger than ever. When I start writing a record, I do not think like that, I do not think about it, but in the end, when it comes out or it is finished, you think, yeah, it has a lot of old-school great things on it. I always love anthems, but stuff comes out when it comes out, you know. Sometimes you cannot even force it. When something comes out naturally, that is what you are hoping for, and I think on this album many things came out naturally.

Full Throttle Rock: A question I ask a lot of bands I speak to is about metal fans and their incredible loyalty to the genre. Do you have any thoughts on why they remain so devoted and loyal to their favourite bands the way they do?

Doro Pesch: I tell you that is why I have never been married; I love the metal fans. To me, it is like they are my family, my closest friends, and I would do anything for the fans and that will never ever change. They can count on me, because I know I can count on them. The fans worldwide have a heart of gold and they are great people with great spirits and I would totally trust them with my life, which I always do every day. I am so happy to belong to this great metal family, to be one with them, to be a part of them, and I am a fan myself. I think it is something special, something unique, and I am still a big metalhead.

Read the entire interview at Full Throttle Rock.