“We all experienced Summer Breeze as a guest and now we’re on the main stage” – interview with League of Distortion

German band League of Distortion played on the main stage at the Summer Breeze Open Air in August, and we chatted with them about festivals, collaborations and future plans of the band.

I’m here with the wonderful League of Distortion. How are you doing?

League of Distortion: Really good. Yeah. We’re literally on fire. We are bringing the heat.

If I’m not mistaken, it’s about one year ago that you released Galvanize. How has the press and the fans welcomed the album?

League of Distortion: Really good. Yes, we released the record in November 2024, and our big highlight was that we were on our first headline tour during that time with this album. This was really, really special for us. And right after that, let me say, we actually also had a lineup change because it did all go quicker than we thought with playing gigs, having many festivals. And two of our band members, they weren’t able to participate with this energy anymore. So, you’re the one of the first to meet our new lineup. And people who have seen us live, they’ve already seen them on stage because they’ve accompanied us as a sub on several gigs and festivals and tours already. We’re kind of coming back again and this is a real new feeling for us to experience this show in our new lineup that’s gonna be here today.

Awesome. So, after playing Summer Breeze, what are the plans for League of Distortion for the rest of 2025? 

League of Distortion: No, it’s not a secret. We will join our colleagues from April Art who are also playing on this festival. We will enjoy their show later on and have a chat with them. We will go on a weekend or tour in like autumn 25. So, it’s a couple of weekends with some breaks in between. But we will join them on the tour supporting them. And I think that’s the main big thing. Meanwhile we will be gathering inspiration for new music of course. And we have a fun end of the year show planned too. We’re gonna support Kissin’ Dynamite in their big Dynamite Nights gig after Christmas. And that’s gonna be like a family get-together. Our old guitar player, previous guitar player is playing for Kissin’ Dynamite.

Have you ever been to a festival, not as artist but as audience? And if so, which one was it?

League of Distortion: From age at least 16 every year. We all experienced Summer Breeze as a guest. We’ve been here watching bands playing big stages and now we’re here on the main stage. It makes it even more emotional and special to us. Really, it’s like a dream coming true and a big honor to play here.

If you had to pick an artist for a collaboration, which one would you pick? 

Anna “Ace” Brunner: I saw Papa Roach the first time a few weeks ago and I was so amazed by this amazing show, the amazing energy. I would like to catch them again and see that show as often as possible.

Anna, you’re in Exit Eden also with Marina, who left Phantom Elite recently. Do you have any sort of thoughts or comments about this?

Anna “Ace” Brunner: I can say that Marina is one of my closest friends. We met through Exit Eden, and meeting these girls was really, really great for me. And especially with Marina. Sometimes we call each day. Marina made our artwork for the “Galvanize” album, so we work together as much as we can. She’s a great graphic designer. Of course, I knew about this whole situation before everyone else, and I know it’s always hard to make a decision like that, but she thinks things through, and I think this was the only way to deal with everything. It’s a bit sad, obviously. We love concerts, it’s so wonderful, so much energy, and I don’t want to break the vibe of everything, but being a musician and being a touring band is so much fucking work. And sometimes we really get to our limits, and then you have these shows, and they make you know question why you’re doing it. You want to be at the top, of course, so we’re working for this, but it’s not easy.

Do you think that it’s harder to be a woman in the metal industry, in the metal business?

League of Distortion: The cool thing about this band is we are all super empowering and also equalized on these thoughts and ideas. There is still a chance, for example, if you have a female vocalist, a front woman, that it kind of comes along as something special. But I think and really hope that the metal community more and more just ignores it in terms of it’s getting way more normal. At the beginning of these changes there always has to be some a phase that you go through. It cannot be from day to day. There is a certain amount of time that has to be lived through so people get used to certain things. In the bubble where there is really not a difference between men and women, and that’s kind of the bubble we are in, but of course, we still have a long way to go for this equality. And that’s why everyone can start. We can start as a band. We try to also have women as crew and as camera, etcetera. They’ve got to be good, but they are, you know. And to really see that in a male-dominated business that we try to get females in helping us being part of the crew, earning this with us. That’s also a reason why I want to be up there with us because I want to be an inspiration for women and girls to see you can do anything. You just have to work hard for it. We talk about this a lot, sometimes men don’t even see it because they haven’t experienced it themselves, but we are fighting for this just by being a strong front woman and inspiring young people, young women and girls. And I think having the back-up 100% from my boys here who are absolutely brilliant and great, shows me that we can make a change. We can change something. Back then you didn’t see that the girl could be playing in a band, you know? I think we were lucky enough to start at a time where it was seen and normal that women also are in a band. This whole music thing is very much work. And this moment where it plays a role or not, whether you’re female or male, it’s so little. Because we are in a good environment, but out there there are so many places where a girl doesn’t even get the chance to do something for a woman. Tthe metal scene is pretty old. I mean, in some ways it’s like an elephant. It has its advantages and disadvantages. And I think we can be part of moving the elephant forward. We can take this with pride and say, we’re the new kids around the block and we’re gonna do things this way. We just take the confidence and say, hey, thanks for bringing so much inspiration to the metal scene. But now it’s also kind of our turn to bring something new to the table.

So guys, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. Is there anything else that you want to add? 

League of Distortion: For the people who don’t know League of Distortion yet, go check us out. Check our two albums that are out there. Also check our music videos on YouTube because we put so much into them to back up our message and our songs. And stream our songs. Feel the empowerment we want to give you guys. Read the lyrics. And don’t give up. And join the League.