Line-up:
Alex Kraft – Guitars & Vocals
Alex Weigand – Bass
Markus Kullmann – Drums
All songs written & composed by Alex Kraft, except “25 Minutes To Go” written by Allan’shel Silverstein & “Riders On The Storm” written by The Doors (Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek & Dansmore)
Produced by Thomas Lichtenwalter, Dennis Ward & Alex Kraft
Strings & violins by Ally Fiddle
Artwork by Yvonne Güntzel-Lingner & Alex Weigand
Photos by Martin Häusler
Promo photos by “Papayans” Michael Wiersch & Harlad Weigel
The Wild Bunch:
Alex Kraft as Hank
Tom Angelripper as Frank
Yvonne Güntzel-Lingner as Rosie
Berndt Güntzel-Lingner as Pablo
Daniel Reed as Prison Officer
The Story
“An Eye For An Eye” tells the story of Hank, a young man on death row in 1901.
While sentenced to death by hanging, he is waiting in the cell and narrates his
sad and antithetic life. He was born in 1878 on a farm somewhere east of the
Great Plains. His father, a strict and devout man, used his horsewhip and his
hand to educate his son and wife. After his mother died in 1894, Hank ran away
to begin a new life and he joined a bunch a cowboys. The craziest was Frank, a
young gunslinger who didn’t know fear or mercy. Both became close friends and
made plans to earn some money with small felonies. While they were playing
cards in a saloon one August night in 1897, Frank introduced Hank to Rosie. She
was one of the saloon’s hookers. After she did her job, Hank was overcome with
his emotions. He wanted her to quit work and become a family together.
Everything went well for Frank and Hank. Shortly they got more power and
control in their area as they grew stronger in numbers. They were known as the
“Wild Bunch”, a syndicate of young gunmen. Frank was also a punter of Rosie,
while Hank “bite on the bit”. On December morning in 1899 when Hank walked into
Rosie’s room, he found her, nearly dead, whispering Frank’s name before she
passed away. Frank had fled hours ago because he knew Hank and his rage very
well. From this point on Hank had only one thought: To hunt and kill Frank. His
soul was filled with hate and the desire to avenge Rosie, to cleanse off sins
and to praise the Lord. Early next morning Hank saddled up his horse and went
on his way. He knew that Frank’s family worked at the west coast circus, near
Sacramento. This ride through deserts, coldness and rain forced Hank to face
his own demons which day after day chewed up more of his sanity. The country,
villages, towns and cities seemed strange compared to Hank’s “old wild west”.
All the tall buildings, automobiles, clothes and different languages were like
an unknown world to Hank. In this abstract scenery he finally reached the signs
of the West Coast Circus. A freak show and funfair with “wild west shows”,
cowboys and Indians, an elephant man, absurd attractions and the madness of new
ideas in times of change. It was the year 1900. On a bright lighter crowded
place, in front of a big colorful circus tent, Hank espied his rival and shot a
bullet straight between the eyes. Frank’s body hit the floor before the
cartouche was cold. While the crowd cheered and applauded, Hank lifted his hat
and took a deep bow. The audience considered it as a part of the circus’ show
until the police applied the cuffs on his hands and took him away. Back in his
cell, in 1901, Hank, still waiting for the headsman, remembers the words long
written down in Exodus 21:23-21:27, but also the words in Exodus 20:13, the
fifth commandment: “You shall not kill”. He was sentenced to death in the name
of God. During the work on my last album “The Legend And The Truth” I saw an
old letter from a young gunslinger in a museum. His story was mostly similar.
He was on death row and wrote it to his dead mother. Revenge is a weakness, an
never ending story. A nation and its justice must be considerate and confident.
Isn’t all the experience of the human race enough to know this? For me it is
unbearable to see people who kill each other, trying to force their opinions on
others in the name of religion, ideology, a “holy war”, God, justice, insanity,
politics or different races. Killing is unholy in every religion! |
