EMQ’s With Child Of Caesar
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Child Of Caesar. Huge thanks to their founder, guitarist, main songwriter and producer André for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m André Marcussen, founder, guitarist, main songwriter and producer of Child of Caesar.
I started the project back in 2011, originally playing Gothic Metal. Our first album, Love in Black, was still rooted in that style, but my musical interests and the project itself evolved quite a bit over the years.
With Spirit & Liberation, more Punk, Hardcore, and Extreme Metal influences found their way into the music. Today, Child of Caesar is a rather different beast, combining aggressive Hardcore/Punk with melodic elements of Black and Death Metal. I usually call it Blackened Hardcore/Punk.
How did you come up with your band name?
There are two answers.
Metaphorically, the name reflects something powerful like a pre-Christian Caesar and something apparently less powerful – a child. But in the end, a child can be the most powerful thing to exist because children are naturally born free from oppressive morals, religious dogma, and social conventions that adults later impose on them.
If they were raised with evolutionary humanism, instinct, intellect, and reason instead, they could become the new Caesars. Or, to make a reference to Nietzsche, become masters instead of slaves.
The second answer is that I came up with the name while watching the awesome Spartacus series back in the day and simply needed something that sounded cool, haha.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re from Germany, with our live activities mainly focused around Cologne and the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia.
There’s a pretty diverse scene here, covering everything from traditional Metal and Extreme Metal to Punk, Hardcore and all kinds of crossover styles.
Child of Caesar doesn’t really belong exclusively to any of those scenes. We combine elements of several genres, which sometimes makes it difficult to put us 100% into a particular category. But that’s perfectly fine with me.
What is your latest release?
Our latest single is “Alive”, released on September 30, 2026, together with an official music video.
It’s the first single from our upcoming album Nightfire, scheduled for release through Combat Records in 2027.
The album is already recorded, mixed and mastered, and there are more singles and videos on the way.
Who have been your greatest influences?
My musical influences come from quite different directions.
In the beginning there were more goth bands like Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Moonspell. Today we’re talking about bands like Bad Religion, The Resistance, Wolfbrigade or Cradle of Filth and Necrophobic.
I like combining dark and melodic atmospheres with the raw energy of Punk and Hardcore. To put it somewhat strangely, you could describe the current direction of Child of Caesar as Type O Negative in reverse, haha.
What first got you into music?
When we are specifically talking about heavy music – then it was Rammstein with their “Sehnsucht” album.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Don’t know. Maybe Ronnie Radke. He is a multi-talent and cooperations are his second name. I wouldn’t mind if he pushed us in front of his millions of fans, haha.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Probably Hellfest. For Child of Caesar, I’d prefer a festival where the audience is open to both Hardcore/Punk and Metal. I think that’s where our music would work particularly well.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
There have been no gifts so far, haha.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Send us gifts, dammit!
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Jon Nödtveidt. He probably would have hated being brought back from the dead, but Reinkaos is one of my favorite albums. So it would be interesting to hear what else he might have created if he had lived longer.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
What I enjoy most is creating music, developing a song from an initial idea into a finished production and eventually hearing everything come together.
What I enjoy considerably less is the amount of administration and coordination that comes with running a musical project. Booking, social media, scheduling and all that stuff can sometimes consume more time and energy than actually making music.
I also have a regular job and other responsibilities, so Child of Caesar has to remain something that gives me creative satisfaction rather than becoming a second full-time occupation.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I’d probably reduce the obsession with social media algorithms and constant content production.
These days, musicians are often expected to be permanently visible, produce endless amounts of promotional content and spend more time marketing themselves than working on their actual music.
I understand that promotion is necessary, but it sometimes feels like the priorities are completely upside down.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums.
I could name so many from different genres, but let’s go for “Blessed Be” from The 69 Eyes. This made a big impact on me on how I view music apart from extreme metal.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
I appreciate physical releases, especially when there’s interesting artwork and a proper overall concept behind them.
On the other hand, digital music is incredibly convenient, and I use downloads myself as prime medium. Ultimately, the format is secondary to the music.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
Looking back I would say the show we had with EyeHateGod and Ten Ton Slug in 2025. Really nice bands and a nice crowd.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well, music isn’t my full-time occupation anyway, so I already have a professional life outside the band.
And to be fair, I actually like that situation. It gives me a certain independence and allows me to make musical decisions without depending on Child of Caesar to pay my bills.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Shall we make it edgy? Nietzsche, Hitler, Marx, Stalin and Gandhi. And then let’s see what happens, haha.
What’s next for the band?
Our main focus is Nightfire, scheduled for release through Combat Records in 2027.
We’ve already released the first single, “Alive”, and there are more songs and music videos planned.
We’re also reorganizing our live setup and looking into selected shows and possible touring opportunities. I’m not particularly interested in turning Child of Caesar into a permanent touring machine, but a few good shows or short tours could definitely be interesting.
The main priority remains writing and producing strong music.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? Please include any links.
Official website: https://childofcaesar.com
So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
I’m German, so I’m probably not qualified to settle one of Britain’s greatest cultural conflicts.
My instinct says biscuit, but if it says cake on the packaging, I’ll go with cake. Unless there’s some deeper philosophical truth behind it that I’m missing, haha.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thanks for having me!
If you enjoy short, aggressive songs, dark melodies and a bit of attitude, give Nightfire a listen when it comes out in 2027.
