When it comes to Fab Regmann, calling him just a drummer would be like calling Beethoven "a guy who liked pianos." Whether blasting away with Décembre Noir, crafting melancholic atmospheres with Antimatter, or delivering crushing beats with Sacrifire, Fab has proven time and time again that his drumming isn’t just about keeping time—it’s about bending it to his will. Prepare yourself for a very serious and highly scientific (or not) interview with one of Germany’s finest drummers. Buckle up—this one’s going to get a little weird (or at least different).
INTERVIEW
OBNUBIL: Hey Fab! Thank you for taking the time to answer some out of the usual questions today! To kick things off, I’d love to hear more about your journey into music. Every superhero has an origin story, and drummers are no different. If we were making a dramatic biopic about your journey as a drummer, what would the key scenes be? Was there a moment of divine inspiration, like seeing a legendary drummer live and thinking, “Yes, that’s what I want to do”? Or was it more of an accidental discovery, like picking up a pair of sticks and realizing, “Wait… I can hit things in a way that makes sense!”?
FAB: Hey Jaqueline! It‘s a great pleasure talking to you. Well, at some point I found out that I am able to hit things - that’s correct. Let’s try to find out why…
I grew up in a family that was massively into music. Especially heavy music. So what I remember: there were always 3 VHS tapes rotating in our living room: Iron Maiden - Live After Death, Motörhead - Live in Canada & Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed (somewhere). I was like 2 - 3 years old. Believe it or not - what (or better, who) I really worshiped was (and still is) Nigel Glockler from Saxon. He had a super sexy headset microphone and a massive - massive drum kit. Of course he played like a god as well…I was more than impressed. I actually never really liked to play with the usual kids toys myself, but somehow I had plenty of them. I used something (and I really don’t remember what it was) to build my own Nigel Glockler headset, stole things from the kitchen and pretended to be Nigel in front of the TV that's how it all started in the very beginning.
OBNUBIL: Many drummers have stories of their first drum kit—sometimes it’s a shiny new set, and sometimes it’s a Frankenstein creation of household objects, pillows, and absolute chaos. What was your first kit like, and do you remember the exact moment when you felt like, “Okay, I’m a drummer now”? And if you had to build an alternative drum kit today using only objects from a kitchen, how would you set it up?
FAB: Haha, as I mentioned before, I stole some kitchen items, pillows etc… In the end my Grandpa found out that I was interested in hitting things - so (I think to punish my parents) he got me a Bontempi drum kit for Christmas. I don’t know if anybody remembers these little blue plastic kits with a Mickey Mouse Logo on the kick drum? This drum kit unfortunately didn‘t survive until new years eve (or even until the end of Christmas). Anyway, my parents decided that I needed something more reliable - so shortly after that I got my first "real" drum kit, probably at the age of 3-4. (side note: This kit also didn’t survive for a very long time, so then I got my first proper "Youth Hero" drum kit at the age of 5 (Christmas again, of course)). I still have this kit - it‘s hard for me to let it go… But someday it will hopefully find a new little drummer, one that can make his first steps on it ;-)
OBNUBIL: Over the years, drummers go through countless drum kits, cymbals, and gear setups. What’s the most tragic or hilarious way you’ve ever lost or destroyed a piece of your gear? Did a snare drum get sacrificed in the heat of a performance? Has a cymbal ever met an untimely end in an unexpected way? Or is there a legendary drum throne out there that still haunts you to this day?
FAB: Ohhhh, there are countless things and situations that still send shivers down my spine. Talking about "The Tour Grave" I think I have almost lost everything possible. Except a kick drum I think, or???… I am constantly losing drumsticks and drum keys. CONSTANTLY! EVERYWHERE. I don’t know how it is possible. I've had cymbals that have cracked in the first five minutes of playing, drumsticks cracked on the first hit. Double pedals - lost both beaters in one song. I have even lost several drum thrones over the years and still haven't found the perfect one for me. Oh Dear. Gladly, so far nothing has started to burn on stage, well - so far ;-)
OBNUBIL: If someone had to describe your drumming style using only food metaphors, what dish would best represent it? Are we talking about a complex, multi-layered gourmet meal with intricate details, or is it more of a raw, primal, and intense street food explosion? And if you could sit down for a meal with any drummer in history, who’s getting an invite to the table?
FAB: Okay, I think my style of playing is a typical Indian dish. Weird…maybe a Palak Tofu? Most of the time solid - if the chef has a good day it is very tasty, not too spicy, but still has a little bite. You can satisfy many tastes - but at the same time it always has a groove.
I guess that the most common answer to this question is: BEEFY! Though I guess I can‘t say that as I have been a veggie for more than 30 years. Standing for Animal Rights 100%. So how do I play? Earthy? Planty? Rooty? You tell me…
Over the years I am getting better and better at cooking Indian dishes myself. So let me get one drummer on the table that I really love & I know he is an Indian food maniac himself - Dan Mullins from My Dying Bride! We finally met each other last year on the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, but we did not have enough time to talk about the essential thing: COOKING!
OBNUBIL: If you had the chance to go back in time and give young Fab Regmann some advice at the start of his drumming journey, what would you say to him? Would you give him a crucial piece of advice that could change everything? Warn him about the upcoming years of destroyed drumsticks and aching limbs? Or would you just hand him a double bass pedal and say, “Trust me, you’ll need this”?
FAB: As a "Big Brother" I should have told him: Fab - take serious lessons, learn how to read music and practise more!!! I missed everything about music theory. I never ever had a proper drum lesson. In theory - I actually don’t know what I am doing! But still, I would never warn him, or even force him to do something. That leads to nothing good. Oh wait - I would tell him: If there is a special offer, buy as many drum keys as possible and place them everywhere!!! You won‘t regret it…
OBNUBIL: If you could create the ultimate drummer by stealing the skills of different drummers, whose elements would you take? Maybe the groove of John Bonham, the speed of Gene Hoglan, the creativity of Gavin Harrison, or the sheer madness of Joey Jordison? And after you’ve built this unstoppable drumming machine… Do you think you could still beat them in a drum-off?
FAB: I really like your picks… But I have to add one of my ultimate heroes, Van Williams, to it. Can‘t wait to see him on stage with the new Nevermore line-up again. He is incredibly underrated imho, and a big influence on my playing. So take his power, the groove of Ian Paice, the feel of Phil Collins, the tightness of Charlie Benante, the feet of Thomas Harke, the coolness of Vinnie Paul and of course the maiden-ness of Mr. Nicko Mc.Brain and you have the ultimate super maxi drum- machine!!! Could I beat any of them in a drum-off? No! But could any of them beat me in an all you can eat pizza contest? I doubt it ;-)
OBNUBIL: Picture this: You’re about to play the biggest gig of your life, but EVERYTHING goes wrong at the last minute. Your sticks disappear, your bass pedal breaks, your snare drum vanishes into thin air, and the band is counting on you to save the show. What’s your game plan? Do you MacGyver a solution with duct tape and pure determination, or do you take the bold approach and convince the audience that the whole thing was an avant-garde performance art piece?
FAB: Don‘t tell me things like that. I have been through a lot of horrible situations during shows… Recently we have been playing to a fully synchronised video backdrop at the Antimatter shows. If I do one single mistake - the whole band, video and backing track synchronisation is f*cked… So, be MacGyver or die… Apart from that I always remember Night of the Prog Festival 2018, when I "only" fucked up in one song - but of course this one is the most famous snipped video on the internet…
OBNUBIL: If you could leave a single drumstick in a time capsule for future drummers to find 100 years from now, what message would you write on it? Would it be something deep and meaningful about the spirit of drumming, or just something completely ridiculous like “Warning: This stick is cursed”?
FAB: Easy: This is a drumstick to prevent you from learning / playing the drums! It‘s shit! You carry all the shit. Your back is f*cked. You are the one to blame. You are the one who will sit behind an acoustic shield (the worst nightmare). Even the bass- player is getting more girls than you… Noooo! Just learn the flute, or violin or be a singer. Learn something proper & enjoy your life! Haha ;-)
SIDENOTE: If you DON’T give a shit about all that: Keep the drumstick and become a drummer - because it‘s fantastic ;-)
OBNUBIL: You’ve collaborated with musicians from vastly different backgrounds—whether it’s the melancholic atmospheres of Antimatter or the raw aggression of Disbelief. If you had to act as a musical diplomat and introduce someone completely unfamiliar with heavy music to these bands using just your drumming, what would be your approach? Would you go full blast beat for a first impression, or start with something more gentle, like a carefully placed cymbal stroke to ease them in?
FAB: I think I would do the exact same thing that I am usually doing for sound-check. Just a wild mix of everything… I feel myself at home in so many genres, as you can see in my musical background. From blast beats to super slow, melancholic beats etc… I enjoy it so much, to dive into different spheres of music. That is why I am more than thankful to be able to play in different bands with different approaches. I was a big fan of Antimatter before I joined them. I was a big fan of Décembre Noir before I joined them. And the guys in Sacrifire are some of my long-term friends from Disbelief and beyond… They are all my family. - Priceless!
I have rehearsed with some very well known bands with a much bigger background in the past. But I never went on stage with them. If it doesn't feel right, OR even worse: If you are about to be on stage with someone who is very far away from what you believe in - don’t do it!!! And that's the main advice I would like to give every musician in this world: If you don‘t feel comfortable with the people inside of the band - just don‘t do it! Don’t put any more effort in it. Its not worth it. You will only perform good when you are feeling comfortable with them! Big bands may be big - but they also might be big a**holes… ;-)
OBNUBIL: Drumming in extreme metal is arguably as physically demanding as being a high-performance athlete. If there were an Olympic event for metal drummers, what would the categories be? Blast beat sprinting? Double-kick marathons? The longest uninterrupted polyrhythm? And which event would you personally take home the gold medal in?
FAB: I think those are all very good events. But I wouldn't even think about taking part in any of them. I like my sofa, a good movie, pizza and beer. So bring me Mike Portnoy and lets see who can get down more beers in 7/8 rhythms ;-)
OBNUBIL: Let’s say you wake up in an alternate universe where you never became a drummer, but instead, you’re still part of the music world—just in a completely different role. Would you be a frontman, belting out deep, sorrowful ballads? A producer, obsessing over every tiny snare tone? Or maybe a merch guy, designing the most ridiculously over-the-top band t-shirts ever made?
FAB: I think I would do the catering! I’d always bring a huge variety of spicy sauces to make the artists jump nervously on stage ;-)
OBNUBIL: Playing with bands like Décembre Noir, Disbelief, Antimatter, and others means shifting between very different moods and energies. But what happens when those drumming instincts leak into your everyday life? Have you ever found yourself instinctively tapping a complex rhythm while waiting in line at the supermarket and confused everyone around you? Or have you ever tried to explain a blast beat to someone completely unfamiliar with metal and watched their soul leave their body?
FAB: It‘s a curse and a blessing. Isn’t it? But more a curse… I think most of the people around me don‘t even recognise that I am a drummer. I try to make them believe that I am a serious musician. Sooner or later they will find out that I play drums on my steering wheel, and the masquerade will crumble…
OBNUBIL: Let’s say you suddenly find yourself stranded in the wilderness, completely alone, with nothing but your drum kit. What’s your survival strategy? Do you use the bass drum as a shelter? Signal for help with an aggressive snare roll? Or do you simply start playing the most epic drum solo ever, summoning a cult of forest creatures to worship you as their new metal overlord?
FAB: I am easy and would hope to become one with nature. Apart from that I would sacrifice to the goddess of eternal fire my 12“ Tomtom that never, ever gets into perfect tune.
OBNUBIL: If you could time travel to any moment in music history and secretly replace the drummer of a legendary band for one night—who would it be, what song would you play, and how do you think history would remember that performance? Would you go for something classic like Led Zeppelin, or would you take the absolute chaos route and bring extreme metal drumming to a 1950s jazz club just to watch everyone’s reaction?
FAB: I am gonna get slapped by everyone right now. And I deserve it. BUT: I LOVE Black Sabbath. They are probably my biggest heroes of all time! And I love what Bill Ward did on their first records. It is still mind-blowing. Way ahead of most drummers at that time!!! But I am very curious of how these tunes would sound with the drumming knowledge of today…
OBNUBIL: To finish off, I’d love to hear about what the future holds for you. Are there any exciting projects, collaborations, or upcoming releases that you’re currently working on? Anything followers should keep an eye out for in the near future?
FAB: Oh yeahhh, there are a lot of exiting things coming up! New Sacrifire single, new Décembre Noir single, the 3rd, 4th (and maybe 5th and 6th leg) of the Antimatter 25th Anniversary Tour. But also one very personal thing that I have never ever mentioned in public so far: I have started working on my first solo Album…
OBNUBIL: It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to learn more about you, Fab! Thank you so much for sharing your time and thoughts. Before we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to share with the readers or a message for your followers?
FAB: Are you really still here??! Honestly - that was pure joy to answer all these questions!!! Jaqueline, probably the weirdest, most unusual but coolest interview I ever did. I really hope for another one in the future ;-) Thank you!!!
Interview done March 2025. Photos by Marc Auger, Alexander Dietz & Sergey Chupis.
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