“If you’re bullying people, just fuck off. We don’t want you in the room.” – Yannick Lehmann
Paleface Swiss recently dropped Cursed (The Complete Edition)—a release that expands on their already punishing and emotionally charged sound. Antihero Magazine has reviewed both versions of the album, and we had the opportunity to speak with guitarist Yannick Lehmann about the record’s deeper meaning, life on tour, the band’s growing fan base, and the recording process. We’re especially grateful for Lehmann’s openness and generosity during our conversation, and for the passion he and the rest of Paleface Swiss continue to bring to their craft.
Scottie with Antihero: Yes, thank you. Hey there, Lehmann. I hope you are having a good day. Of course, I appreciate your time as well. I guess I will just introduce myself. I’m Scottie with Antihero Magazine. Again, we appreciate your time today.
Yannick Lehmann: Nice to meet you, man.
Scottie: Thank you. Thank you so much. Obviously, we’re going to start off with the generic question, the basic one. How are you doing? I know you guys have been constantly touring. You’re getting a little bit of rest now, but you’re still, obviously, you’re doing this interview, so the grind never stops. How are you doing?
Lehmann: I’m pretty good, actually. This is my last day before holidays. I’ll go to the Wacken Open Air tomorrow. You know Wacken, the biggest heavy metal?
Scottie: Absolutely, yes. Yes, for sure.
Lehmann: I’m in the preparations for the holidays. I also did a little Ozzy Osbourne tribute tattoo later that day. Yes, day’s pretty good so far. I’m pretty good so far. Yes, that’s basically it.
Scottie: Awesome. Again, it’s a pleasure to have you. Obviously, I want to start off talking about the music. We’ll get to what you guys have got coming up. I know that you guys recently released Cursed: The Complete Edition. It has a new song dedicated to the fans. Seems like an ode to the fans for sure. That would be the I Am a Cursed One. The notable thing to me is the River of Sorrows, the unplugged version, because obviously, you guys are an in-your-face band. Lehmann, I know you’re heavily involved in the musical writing process.
Was there any challenges faced having to really– Because even though it was a ballad to begin with, you guys really did strip it down to its core. Were there any challenges presenting such a vulnerable presentation from the band?
Lehmann: Yes, it was challenging, of course, because it was the first song that we rewritten to an acoustic version. I was very happy that we had Marco Bayati from our management. He’s also a very good guitar player. He helped me a lot to rewrite that whole song into acoustic. Special thanks goes out to him there. The song itself is very, how do you call that, vulnerable?
Scottie: Yes, absolutely.
Lehmann: The original version is vulnerable as well. I think we made it more vulnerable, to be honest, with that acoustic track. In my opinion, we captured a lot more emotions with the acoustic version.
Scottie: Absolutely. That was one thing that I did note in my review of the complete edition is that I think not only did it give the chance a song to shine again, but it also, I think it really showed the true emotion that you could do with a bunch of distortion that you had to just strip it down. I think it was absolutely necessary. It turned out beautifully.
Lehmann: Thank you.
Scottie: Again, let’s talk about the album as a whole. Now, I’m sure you’re asked about this one a lot. To me, it’s the standout track on the album. That is Enough. The lyrics are very blunt. They’re very in your face. You even get the special callout. I just want to know what the writing process was like for that song in general. Because Paleface can be cryptic at times, and it can also be in your face. That’s one of the songs that are just in your face. You know what it’s about. I feel like the writing process must have been as fun, as chaotic, as the song itself. Is that the case?
Lehmann: It was, actually. It was crazy. I don’t even know how we came up with that hip hop track, to be honest. I think Ron, our other member of the management, who wrote the album with us, we wrote the album in his studio. He was all the time there. He gave his inputs. I think he already had the hip hop track. We changed some details, of course. We spiced it up a little bit. I don’t really know when it came to that point where we were like, “Let’s go heavy now.” I think we were just jamming around. One of us had the idea to just turn the whole song or give it a new face. You know what I mean?
Scottie: Absolutely. Yes.
Lehmann: It’s a very nice little turn to bring that message to the people. You get the attention because there’s the little turn to the heaviness. That’s why the message comes. How do I say that in English? It brings the message over way better, way more.
Scottie: Comes across way more in your face.
Lehmann: Yes.
Scottie: Is that what you’re trying to say?
Lehmann: Yes.
Scottie: Yes, absolutely. Obviously, one thing that stands out is an overarching theme of the actual concept of the song is just bullies. People thinking that they can just bully people online or hide behind their giant muscles. I like the idea that you guys identify in the song you just don’t want them at the shows. If you’re going to be like that and you’re going to treat our fans like that, we don’t want you around.
Lehmann: We also tell that at the live shows. If you’re bully people, just fuck off. We don’t want you in the room because the room is here for fun, for emotions, for everyone can be himself. Everyone can be like he really is. That’s the whole message behind the band, I’d say. With that song, we make the message complete.
Scottie: Absolutely. Again, I just like the bluntness. Now, let me ask you because, was the album written to flow? Did you guys really take time? Because to me, compared obviously the EPs and the last time you guys put out, it did flow. To me, this one has a special flow. You guys really took the time to figure out the transitions between each song. Was there a little bit more effort in the composition of the songs?
Lehmann: Complete opposite, to be honest, because we just had two weeks to write the whole record, because we booked the studio for two weeks. After those two weeks, we immediately went on another tour. That was the only time frame. Luckily, everything went super smooth. Everything felt super natural for us. That was the whole process, like super naturally, super smooth. We had the album written in two weeks.
Scottie: Okay. You could have pulled me, Lehmannn, for sure.
Lehmann: I swear it was like that.
Scottie: I believe you. Man, it turned out to be great. Let me ask you, focusing on you for a minute. You have a particular tone in your guitar, with the type of music that’s played, heavier music, the distortion, the chugs, the tone, it sounds, it blends together. Paleface has this guitar tone, the way you chug, essentially, before the vocals even begin, you know it’s Paleface. What do you do to create that tone? What’s your gear?
Lehmann: I play with ENGL amps. You know ENGL?
Scottie: Yes.
Lehmann: A German manufacturer, they all build the amps by hand, no machine work. I don’t know. The amp distortion to me or the general amp sound feels so complete to me, and I don’t really use a lot of effects pedals to make the sound complete. I just use the distortion of the amp itself, and I also use a little gain booster to boost the gain, and that’s basically it.
Scottie: You just use pretty much the distortion itself, there’s no extra bells and whistles. You just plug it up and you play.
Lehmann: I always try to play. When I chug, I always try to have as much power as I get in the chug.
Scottie: Absolutely.
Lehmann: I almost chug a little bit aggressive.
Scottie: Oh yes, to match the tone of the violin.
Lehmann: I really punish that strings.
Scottie: Absolutely. That’s awesome, and I think that’s why the tone comes off– That explains why the tone comes off so natural.
Lehmann: It means a lot to me, thank you so much.
Scottie: Yes, of course. Let’s talk a little bit about the future. I know that you guys recently came over here and did a tour. There ain’t no pretty much to it, you sold out every date. I know some venues even had to be upgraded. It seems like with this new album, over here especially, it seems like the love has spiked. When you guys booked that tour and it started selling out and then completely sold out, obviously that’s the aim, that’s the goal, but how did that make you feel? Especially putting the album together in two weeks, but seeing such a spike in streams, videos, and just ticket sales with this new album.
Lehmann: I don’t even know how to describe that, but it feels unreal, amazing, especially because that album was a little bit of a challenge when it comes to writing and recording. It’s just crazy to be honest, and especially the UK, the last time before the last tour we were in the UK in 2022, so there were two years between our appearance. I think that made it way more special, and the people were super hyped for the tour, for us to come back. I think that was also a big part because we sold out every UK date, basically.
Scottie: That’s awesome.
Lehmann: Also, like the UK fans are crazy.
Scottie: Passionate.
Lehmann: Very passionate, almost the same as the US fans, to be honest. The energy in the rooms were unreal.
Scottie: I’m sure you’re aware that, especially with social media and that aspect, heavy music is starting to get a lot more exposure.
Lehmann: Definitely.
Scottie: People are just blowing up. Look at all the bands including yourselves that are headlining festivals now, millions of streams, selling out tours, so it’s awesome to see, and it’s great. I feel like you guys, we needed Pelface at the perfect time, and you guys are really delivering. One thing you mentioned about your tour is you mentioned hype, and one thing that I’ve seen watching interviews and personal reviews of shows is that you guys bring the same energy every time. You guys really play the songs.
Lehmann: Cool to hear.
Scottie: Do you just live off of adrenaline when you’re like three-fourths of the way through a tour, or is it just you can always just go deliver? How do you guys always keep up to the challenge is what I’m getting at.
Lehmann: We just try to have a good time on stage, and that’s the outcome. If the energy comes from the people or the audience, we can give the energy back. I think that’s basically it. We just try to have a good time, and if the energy is coming to us like a fucking tidal wave, it’s way easier for us to bring that energy back to the people.
Scottie: Absolutely. I know that you guys have some stuff under wraps that you can’t talk too much about, but I do know that you guys have a hell of a 2026 planned. Is there anything in the future, because I know I don’t want to take up all your time.
Lehmann: Oh, we’re fine. No worries.
Scottie: I just wanted to ask, is there things coming up in the future that you guys are excited about that you could touch on?
Lehmann: Of course. There’s the big headline tour again with Stick Your Guns and Static Dress. Of course, there will be some new material coming with that tour, but I can’t say much about that. We are always hustling. We are always working. I think it’s going to be a great year. Maybe a way better year than this year.
Scottie: I even saw on a Bus Invaders, I think it was, where you guys had notebooks and stuff where you’re writing even in between shows.
Lehmann: If we have an off day on tour, we always try to write at least a few riffs or a few song parts, so we never stop grinding.
Scottie: That’s the way to be. Again, I want to appreciate your time. I think on the record, the last question that I want to ask is a two-parter. The first part is, overall, if Paleface Swiss had a tombstone, what would be the headline? What would be the message? Maybe not necessarily a tombstone, but an overall theme, if you could put it in one line.
Lehmann: I know what you mean. Just be yourself. Don’t cover your personality. Don’t cover your face. Just be as you like to be.
Scottie: That’s awesome, man.
Lehmann: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Scottie: You guys pull it off.
Lehmann: That’s what keeps us pushing, to be honest. Feedback like that is the most important thing for us when it comes to keep on working, keep on hustling.
Scottie: That’s exactly why I took a few minutes off work to get this interview, because I wanted to make sure it got done.
Lehmann: Thank you so much.
Scottie: Of course. Before I let you go, back on the record, I just want to say, is there anything that you want to say, you want to present, you want to mention that maybe I left out before we part ways until the next time?
Lehmann: I just want to say, I’m very excited to be back in the UK. First of all, in the Bloodstock Festival, because I heard it’s a very nice festival, especially for heavy metal people. You know what I mean?
Scottie: Yes, absolutely.
Lehmann: Of course, I’m super, super excited to be back in January with that huge tour, and I hope to see everyone there. That’s basically it. I love the UK, we love the UK, and hopefully see you soon.
Scottie: Yes, hopefully. Lehmann, thank you again, dude. It was an honor and a privilege to talk to you.
Lehmann: Nice. I hope to see you in January.
Scottie: Oh, yes. I will be there for sure. Maybe we can follow up. We’ll have more to talk about.
Lehmann: Yes, sure. If there’s time, just message me on Instagram, and we’ll see if we can make it work.
Scottie: Absolutely. Lehmann, you have an awesome day. If you’ve got more press to do, I hope that you have just at least 25% as fun as you did on this interview.
Lehmann: Of course, I have very much.
Scottie: All right. You have an awesome day.
Lehmann: You too. Thank you.
