“Be like water.” That’s part of the philosophy of Bruce Lee.
Water has form and yet it has no form. It is the softest element on earth, yet it penetrates the hardest rock. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape in which it is placed. In a cup, it becomes the shape of the cup. Observe the adaptability of water. If you squeeze it fast, the water will flow out quickly. If you squeeze it slowly, it will come out slowly. Water may seem to move in contradiction, even uphill, but it chooses any way open to it so that it may reach the sea. It may flow swiftly, or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure. Adapt like water. Adapt and change to whatever life puts in front of you. Don’t be afraid to change.
If you think deeply about Bruce Lee’s philosophy, you will see that having a clear, formless-like-water mind allows you to approach reality in a different way and free from anything. At the same time, adaptation is about accepting the reality of the world you’re living in and the inevitability of change.
Max Birbaum, guitarist and songwriter of Lunar Shadow, is a person who isn’t afraid to change. He isn’t afraid to change because the world itself is changing and if the world’s changes are for the worst, then we should change against it.
Formed in 2014 in Germany, Lunar Shadow have released one EP and three albums, each one different to the other but all of them filled with emotions and enchanting creativity. A few days before one of their rare live shows, at An Club in Athens, Greece, on October 18, 2025, Max talks about Lunar Shadow, music and changes.
Hello Max! It’s been a while, and we’re happy that you will visit Athens in Greece for a live show. I believe you won’t find many more suitable cities to perform in, and also spend some time for night walks! Do you still work as a librarian at the Academy of Fine Arts?
M: Nice to talk to you again as well, Andreas! I agree, Athens will be special to us as a band, because right since the beginning of Lunar Shadow we had a unique relationship with our fans in Greece, who are really into this kind of music and are, in a positive manner, completely crazy. When Aris and his friends asked us about the show, I knew that I could not weasel out of this and say no, because it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. So we’ll be heading over to Greece for the first time in October!
I still work as a librarian, but during the last four years I was employed at Leipzig University. At the end of this year I’ll have to change my current position though, because my contract is running out and wasn’t renewed.
I think that this will be just your fifth gig in ten years? Why do you perform so rarely, and what made you perform live in Athens at this specific time?
M: Ah, it’s a bit more than five. Especially in our early days, we played a bit more, but I suppose it won’t be more than 15 shows overall. That’s true.
The reason is quite simple: I don’t like to play live. I’ve got problems with anxiety and I don’t really enjoy travelling, I’m more of a homebound person. My problems with anxiety would get worse over the years, so that at some point I wasn’t able to sleep anymore one week before a scheduled concert, thus I had to go for a hard break at some point and stop playing at all. All five of us never wanted to tour. That’s just not our thing, but we always enjoyed handpicking some concerts and getting the opportunity to play with bands that we are fans of. That was the idea from the start.
Yet there is also another point, and it took me some years to speak about that openly: live music just isn’t that important to me. For instance, I also don’t visit many concerts in private, maybe about five in one year. When I was younger, I think I already felt like that back then, but when you are surrounded by people who always give you the impression that live music, concerts, festivals are the most important things in their lives and “Hey, see the band XYZ is playing at festival XYZ, we need to go.” I wasn’t really able to say “You know man, that’s nice, but I don’t give a fuck!”, haha. So yeah, recording my music as an album has always been the important part to me. Playing it live to other people isn’t really my priority.
Now that I am old and wise, getting fatter and softer, I am able to speak about it like that, because who cares? I don’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore, right?
Let’s dive deep into the Lunar Shadow albums. The Triumphator EP (2015) was a good heavy metal first step. Then, you release three albums, one every two years, each album with a different vibe, created with a different mindset. Each one of them sounded unique, and at the same time, they had a deep emotional background. If you look back in your life during the creation of those albums, how were you emotionally during each one, and how did it affect your songs?
Far from Light (2017): Not a good time for me. I was in a very bad place mentally and you can hear that. All songs deal with death and dying. I’m glad it’s not like that any longer.
The Smokeless Fires (2019): Things started to get a bit better at that time. I was already living in Leipzig back then. Some good tracks on this one. I especially like “Hawk of the Hills” and “Conajohara No More”.
Wish to Leave (2021): Interesting album. The title Wish to Leave to me, meant to improve and move on and that sometimes means to leave certain things or people of your past behind so you can grow as a person. “Serpents Die” is a great opener. I also like “Delomelanicon” a lot, maybe Robert’s best performance as a singer.
I remember that you didn’t revisit your previous albums. Has that changed since you must rehearse for the live show? How did you feel revisiting songs created during a certain moment of your life?
M: Not really. True, I need to rehearse, but I do that with my ancient Guitar Pro 5 tabs of my songs (I still write music with GP5 up to this date!) so it’s not really the album versions. I still don’t really revisit my own music. I suppose this will never change. It just feels odd to me. Also, because I don’t really want to, to be honest. The past is the past and I’m not one to look back that much.
Do you know that while you will be performing in Athens, during that week, there is going to be the release of the book Far Beyond All Light — The Life, Death and Legacy of Jon Nödtveidt and Dissection? Is Dissection still an influence on you? What’s the biggest changes in your music taste, and why?
M: Interesting that you mention Dissection, because I have recently covered and blacked out my tattoo of that band. Without going into too much detail about that, I have become a very political person over the last years. I am also an active member of a socialist left-wing party here in Germany and have become an avid antifascist. Back then, my position was “What Nödtveidt did was awful, but he did his time and that’s that.” That’s how I thought and dealt with this persona. But now is now, people change, ideals can change, how you look at certain things can change, and I just didn’t want to have a tattoo anymore of a person’s band involved in a homophobic murder. But that’s just my thing. Anyone else can listen to Dissection if they want to. I don’t care. I just don’t want to anymore.
My taste in music has changed a lot, I think that’s true. I have distanced myself a lot from the Heavy Metal scene in the last years because there are many things that bother me, be it a general openness or indifference towards fascists (f.e. Black Metal), blatant sexism and antifeminism (f.e. Heavy Metal) or just white middle-aged men getting drunk out of their minds and not having control over themselves anymore.
I’m Straight Edge now for several years and it’s been the best decision for me personally in a long time. These days, I like to surround myself with people that think alike, so a lot of Punk and Hardcore people, where it’s not about drinking yourself senseless or doing speed. People with a positive attitude, that are antifascists and create safe, inclusive and diverse surroundings and I feel the Metal scene (for most parts, I know it’s not fair to generalize) isn’t like that.
What do I listen to? Old and new sXe-Hardcore like Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Straight Ahead or Torso, but I also like stuff like Interpol, The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile or The Strokes. Plus the classics like Rush, Toto, Rainbow, Deep Purple, CCR and Judas Priest. Not that much classic metal anymore I’m afraid. I really loved the latest Hällas album. That was great and I loved the new Deafheaven, I’m going to see them in November.
We have done three interviews in the past (for different media), one for each full-length album you have released. That’s the fourth one, but there is no album and we’re ruining the tradition. Do you believe there will be another Lunar Shadow album again?
M: Ah, I feel like there’s some music left in me. Can’t really tell you about the what and when unfortunately, because I don’t really know myself. Unsatisfactory answer, I know.
If someone convinced you to write a concept album, what would be an interesting story — true or fictional — to dive deep and explore?
M: That’s an interesting question! Maybe something about a shady politician brainwashing one of his followers, who is also a drug addict, into becoming his personal assassin who then becomes saved by a prostitute. I call it… Operation: Braincrime!
While the world is changing, do you believe that art (in all forms) should also be political, or just be a form of escapism?
M: Back then I used to say (also in interviews!) that I only do music because of escapism and that I don’t want to be bothered by the outside world in my music. My position has changed a lot here. I don’t want all bands to start writing political songs. But I want bands to speak out. In Germany, a far-right fascist party is on the rise. Eastern Germany, for instance, Saxony, where I live, has become a place, where it has become downright dangerous to walk through certain areas as a left-wing, alternative or queer person. The time to be silent and indifferent is over. Once and for all. Just because you’re not a priority target of Nazis as a middle-aged white man doesn’t mean that you can chicken out and be indifferent, because you only care to hear songs about smurfs fighting fantasy battles. The times we live in are dangerous and we’re on the brink of something even more dangerous. It’s important to make clear that racists, homophobes, sexists and other scum aren’t welcome at shows, festivals and venues.
I am sure that the live show in Athens will be a wonderful experience. Once it is finished, will you feel a kind of relief similar to the one you feel every time you deliver an album to the record label, or will it be like sharing emotions with the people of the venue?
M: Well, most certainly a lot of pressure will fall off me once it’s over, it’s always like that with me after shows. From that point on, I will be able to truly enjoy my stay in Greece. Before the show I will probably be a nervous wreck haha. I’m looking forward to meeting some old and new friends afterwards and chat!
And finally, what do you expect to find and feel during a night walk in Athens?
M: Feeling calm and just enter the streets without any expectation, open to the unexpected.
The Lunar Shadow live show will take place at An Club, in Athens, Greece – October 18, 2025.
A Ten Out Of Ten Productions event. Tickets available HERE.
Lunar Shadow line-up will be: Robert Röttig – Vocals, Max Birbaum– Guitars, Kay Hamacher – Guitars, Sven Hamacher – Bass, Jörn Zehner – Drums.
Lunar Shadow will be supported by Leatherhead and Crimson Fire.
