Thursday, January 15, 2026

Despondency - Konstantin Interview 2026



Hello!  Who are we speaking with?  How are you doing?

Hi, what's up?

I'm Konstantin Lühring, vocalist for Despondency.  I'm doing well, I hope you are too.

Can you tell us the story of the beginning of Despondency?

The full, long version can be found online... but I'll summarize it briefly.

In the mid-nineties, Steffen Ilm (guitar) and Dirk Janssen (drums) started jamming together, playing brutal stuff in the style of bands like Suffocation, Incantation, Monstrosity, etc....and since they were looking for a vocalist, and knew my work with my band Gallery of Darkness, and because I was looking for a band that plays really brutal stuff, we rehearsed together a few Times and the rest is history .After several lineup changes, I am now the only founding member in the band.



Is the band currently working on new music?

We're gathering ideas and such, but we're not actively working on a new album at the moment. However, Keiran, Eduardo, and I have recorded an album with Flo's other band, "Mastication of Brutality Uncontrolled," which will be released soon. It's incredibly brutal!!!



Which album would you tell a brand new Despondency fan to listen to?

Since the band has existed for almost 30 years and we've released relatively few albums during that time, each one stands on its own. My favorites are "Womb of Shit Promo 2002," 

 "Excruciating Metamorphosis EP 2019," 

and our current album "Matriphagy"... 

our most well-known album is probably "God on Acid" from 2003.


Who are some of your biggest influences and favorite bands?

We were obviously influenced by bands from the early nineties, such as Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Gorguts, Immolation, Sinister, etc. Later, of course, also by bands like Internal Bleeding, Deeds of Flesh, Embalmer, etc.

I could talk for hours about my favorite death metal bands, but that would take days. There's so much great music from Death, Autopsy, Sadistic Intent to Suffocation, Monstrosity, Immolation to Disgorge, Malignancy, Gorgasm, etc.

I also listen to at least as much other music as traditional metal, hardcore (from the eighties/nineties), jazz, prog rock, and much more. However, this has no influence on Despondency's music.

Is Despondency still on New Standard Elite?  How has that relationship been?
So, since we didn't have any big plans with Despondency, we signed the deal for just one album... But I could imagine releasing another record on NSE. Working with Ryan went great.

What record label will the new MoBU album be on?

The Mastication of Brutality Uncontrolled album will be released by Show no Mercy Records and is called "The Epoch of Anthropogenic Deities".

How old are you guys?  Do your families support you making such brutal music?

I'm 46 years old, Flo is a few years younger but also over 40, Remo must be 37, Eduardo is 28, and Keiran should be about the same age as Eduardo.

Yes, absolutely. At least my family has always supported me. When we started Despondency in 2015 after the hiatus, the condition was that we would only play shows if it worked for everyone. As you may know, I was the vocalist in Defeated Sanity, and DS is a band that tours constantly, which unfortunately no longer fit into my life plans... even though I love the guys and the band, and Lille will always be one of my best friends...Anyway, I wanted to continue playing death metal, but I now have a child, a wife, and a house, and that wouldn't have been possible with Defeated, so I continued with Despondency, but under the aforementioned conditions. So it was my own decision...no argument, no musical differences, and no pressure from my wife; she always supported me and even encouraged me to continue with Despondency.

Konstantin, I love love love your vocals!!!  Your vocals in Resection were some of the first vocals I really got inspired from!  Can you speak a little about your journey with extreme vocals, when you started, and who are your favorite vocalists?
Thank you so much, I'm honored and really appreciate it. The Resection album isn't exactly one of my favorites; at the time, I didn't even want reverb on the vocals so they would sound as natural as possible. That's why I find them sound a bit dry (the same goes for Revelation IV).But I'm glad you like them. Around '93, I started my first death metal band with a few friends... (that band evolved into the black metal band Funeral Procession in 1995).Of course, I wanted to sound as brutal, deep, and sick as Chris Barnes, Frank Mullen, etc., and let's just say... that didn't quite work out, at least not at the beginning.I have been influenced, in one way or another, by: Chris Barnes, Frank Mullen, Mike van Mastrigt, Ross Dolan, Craig Pillard, Rick Fleming, George Corpsegrinder Fischer (Monstrosity), Joe Ptacek, Martin Schirenc...Some of my favorite vocalists are Danny Nelson, Fernando Avila, Matti Way, Erik Lindmark, Rich Lipscomb, Johnny Paoline, and many others.

Alright, I guess that is the end!  Thanks for taking the time!  Any last words???

Thank you so much for your support and the interview. Keep supporting the death metal underground!!!

Cheers. Konni


LINKS

Despondency

Mastication of Brutality Uncontrolled

New Standard Elite

Show No Mercy

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