Tag Archives: blade

Interview: Oscar Carlquist – RAM

Swedish extreme metal band RAM return to the spotlight with their third full length album, Death, this year and it has already been met with much critical acclaim. The band creates a high-octane blend of heavy metal whilst still being conscious of their classic roots, something vocalist Oscar Carlquist passionately believes should remain in today’s metal scene. I interview the frontman to uncover more on the background of the new record and where they aim to take their music.

 

Daniel Aston: Are you pleased with the reception that the new album ‘Death’ has received so far?

Oscar Carlquist: Yeah sure, you prefer good reviews over bad of course, the fans seem to like the new stuff very much as well. So it’s all good, but I try to keep my head cool, I don’t want to have a ghost in my head when it’s time to make a new album.

 

DA: How did the creation of this album differ from previous releases?

OC: We had more fun making it, we put ourselves in a more relaxed state, and we worked the songs out really fast so suddenly we had songs for an album without really trying to write one. We wrote a lot of the material for Death in our rehearsal space mainly we will work in a quieter environment have a cup of coffee but this one was written with the adrenaline pumping.

 

 DA: What inspired the lyrical content of this album?

OC: Mainly the weakness of western man from a philosophical point of view, we have eradicated the threat of death in our environment and prolonged life to the extent that western man is acting as if death does not exist at all, this hypocrisy taints everything she does and through generations it has created a black hole, a philosophical void, the opens up for more lies and corruption.

 

DA: The artwork for the new record is very striking, what’s the story behind that?

OC: Well it is a modern take on the apocalypse, as I see it when the world does end even the laws of physics will be dissolved , this was what I was aiming to depict.

 

DA: For those out there who aren’t familiar with your music is there a particular track on the new release that stands out from the rest that they should check out?

OC: The album should be experienced in its full glory, it is a quite diverse and schizoid piece of work, one track is there to be in contrast to the other so I really do believe that it should be heard from first track till last.

 

DA:  What are the plans for touring this year?

OC: They are in the planning stages, too early to say anything yet.

 

DA: Who would you cite as RAM’s main musical influences?

OC: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Old Scorpions, MSG, Accept it goes on and but mainly stuff recorded in the 70s and 80s.

 

DA: How do you think the current metal scene compares with previous generations?

OC: It has its strength and weaknesses, for a band like us who are very influenced with the Old-School stuff it’s really nice to have a perspective and overall vision of what was really going on back then, we can go back and concentrate on what we feel was the strongest aspects of our influences. But a big problem with today’s scene is the aspect of decay, metal has been around for a really long time now and decay is creeping in, bands and fans have to be aware of and defend the original fundaments that metal stand upon, to curate the virus of mainstream contamination in how music is written and images are being handled. Metal has to stay subversive or it will die.

 

DA: What’s next for the band?

OC: Reaping the strange fruits of Death

 

Interview: Kirk Backarach – Iron Fire

Danish metal band Iron Fire prepare to release their seventh studio album on January 27th (Europe) and February 7th (USA) and it will be the third consecutive release for the present line up. The band has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years with shifting line-ups and clashes with record companies testing the strength of the group’s foundations. However, they now set themselves up to release what is their most anticipated album to date, Voyage of the Damned, via Metal Blade Records. I spoke to guitarist Kirk Backarach to find out more about the upcoming record and discover more behind the roots of the band and what the future holds for their fans.

 

Daniel Aston:  What can fans expect from your forthcoming album, Voyage of the Damned?

Kirk Backarach: With “Voyage of the Damned” You can expect an album like no other Iron Fire album before it. It’s an epic space adventure, with a horror twist, it is also the most eary and symphonic album we’ve done so far, as well as it’s the most well written, I think. And to top it all off we have guest appearances from legendary vocalists such as Nils K. Rue from Pagan’s Mind and Dave Ingram from Benediction.

DA: You’ve fought hard to get where you are today and have overcome many hurdles including consistent line-up changes, how did you find the making of this record compared to the ones previous?

KB: To me this have been one of the most calm and easy going albums, production wise, we’ve done so far, because for the first time we had a good amount of time on our hands to finish things before the different deadlines. Of course… Like always we did some arrangements and some rearrangements in the studio, in the last minute, but this is however how it always is.

DA: This is the current line-up of the band’s third consecutive record together, how does this line-up compare with previous ones?

KB: The current line-up is by far the most effective, when it comes to arranging. With the ones before we tended to choose the easy way out, or just to play it safe instead of going into long arguments about how we each would like it to be. With this line-up I’m sure you will hear on the new album, that we’ve spend a lot of time in rehearsals, to get a little extra detail in the arrangements and variations.

DA: Is there a particular song or moment on this record that the band is particularly proud of?

KB: As a band we are very proud of what we’ve achieved with the new album in its entirety. For my own personal part I’d like to mention the title track Voyage of the Damned. That track in particular have exceeded all of my expectations, because of its structure and the grandeur of the extensive arrangement / orchestral score. Very epic.

DA: You know how hard it can be for a band to get a record deal, with the state of the music industry
today how do you think new bands will be able to cope and achieve their dreams?

KB: Maybe they should try to think a little more out of the box… And I think that in this day and age you have to be extremely persistent and devoted to achieving your goals. This is where the most bands nowadays fail. Otherwise the possibilities of exposure are almost limitless, with the help of the social medias and networks we have today you really can achieve a lot.

DA: What are your plans to tour the new album?

KB: Currently we don’t have any decisive plans, but something will happen, that’s for sure.

DA: There’s no disputing Iron Fire’s dedication and hard work ethic with your string of consecutive releases over the past few years, when and where does the band find time to write new material?

KB: At the moment we are two songwriters in the band, Steene and me (Kirk), I don’t know what Steene does to make things happen.
For me in the early days music was always like an addiction, so I didn’t have any second thoughts about spending a lot of time writing or practising. Nowadays we set a time frame… Let’s say one month, then we both agree that when this month has passed, we both will have to bring two new songs to the table each.

DA: What is your view on today’s metal scene?

KB: I find it more exciting than ever. Never have there been such big variety of different bands and styles like there is today. Any thing you can think of is available. I think that’s very exciting and inspiring.

DA: Has the band ever contemplated a live release?

KB: This is something we’ve never discussed and we have no plans about doing it at the moment.

DA: We look forward to hearing the new album, is there anything you’d like to say to the metal masses?

KB: Look out for the new album, it will really be worth wile, otherwise I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all out there, hopefully within the next year we’ll be playing a venue near you.

Cheers
Kirk Backarach

Interview: Jon Rossi – Pilgrim

 

The almighty doom metal trio Pilgrim are set to release their debut album ‘Misery Wizard’ via Metal Blade Records later this month and I interviewed member Jon Rossi to find out more about their upcoming release and how they intend to resurrect the Doom Metal genre. The American group intend to revive the classic sound of doom whilst entwining it with their own intriguing personality that fuses imagery of sorcery, secret societies, aliens and tyrants of evil! A definite band to watch out for in 2012.

Daniel Aston: What can metal fans expect from your upcoming debut?

Jon Rossi: The reinvention of doom metal for a new generation of rock and metal fans.

DA: How did the band get together?

JR: Me and Krolg have been playing together since our freshman year of highschool. We bonded over the music we listened to. Over the years we had many bands and musical phases. After a while we stopped playing together because we had no musical direction, no influence. During this musical recess we discovered bands like Sleep and Acid King and Electric Wizard. We were really inspired by these bands. Eventually, as we delved deeper into music, I stumbled upon Reverend Bizarre’s very first 4 song release. It changed my life. It was then we decided we wanted to carry the doom metal torch.

DA: How would you describe the sound of your music?

JR: Heavy. Powerful. Triumphant. Unyielding. Aged. Huge!

DA: You want to bring true doom metal back to the masses, do you think that modern bands have misshaped the classic genre?

JR: Absolutely. Naming your band after an Electric Wizard song and ripping off Sleep riffs is not doom metal. Wearing funeral suits and crying about how sad you are is not doom metal either. Grow up and write some real music! Be yourselves, not someone else!

DA: What inspires you to write lyrics?

JR: Swords and sorcery, demonology, secret societies, aliens, our fucked up country and planet, and defeating the tyrants of evil.

DA: What is the song writing process like within Pilgrim?

JR: It takes us a very long time to write songs. We’ll only use a riff if it’s very unique and original, and sometimes it can take months to produce something like that. I’ll present the riffs to the guys and they’ll write their parts to it at practice. Our song structures are simple and blocked together in a classic ‘song’ style, we like ‘verse chorus verse’ style songs. I feel like most bands are trying to move away from that. Blasphemy!

DA: Is there a particular song off the upcoming album that you’re all particularly proud of?

JR: I like Adventurer a lot. I came up with the riff when I was about 16 or 17 while I was walking through a field with my guitar. It makes me happy that this old song finally got recorded and it came out amazing. Also, it’s very much like a theme song for us. It’s a short story about the band.

DA: Who are your main influences as a band?

JR: Reverend Bizarre is huge to us. They are my personal favorite band. Pentagram, Earth, Acid King, Saint Vitus, the Melvins, Electric Wizard, Sleep, anything dark, huge and heavy.

DA: The artwork for your upcoming album Misery Wizard is rather unique, what’s the story behind that?

JR: It’s a beautiful piece done by Paul McCarol of Unhinged Art. We wanted a renaissance style painting of the Misery Wizard for the cover and he did it. Different elements of the cover mimic the content of the songs on the record.

DA: Are there plans to tour after the album is released?

JR: Yes, we have a short east-coast US tour in the beginning of March with Windhand and NATUR, and later that year we’ll be playing the Heavy Days in Doom Town Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark

DA: How did your individual stage names come about?

JR: They are our Dungeons and Dragons character names.