Opeth. There is not a lot that can be said for Opeth that has not already been said, they don't care for the limelight, in fact Mikael himself said that he is not good with interviews at all. Quite a statement from a band sweeping all before them; grammy nominations, top placings in many metal magazines, they are the toast of many a town in fact. I have a little chat to Mikael about rap/hip-hop, how much metal in 2001 disappointed him, the new double CD and heaps of other crap. It is quite an interesting read. Dear readers, please do read on.

Jack 'Odel'


Hello and thank you Mikael for taking the time out from your busy schedule to answer these few questions for me. Firstly, are you happy with how things turned out for "Blackwater Park", nearly one year after its release in 2001? In terms of fan and media feedback?

You could probably say I'm happy with how the album's been received. We got #1 of year or top placings in most metal magazines, we got nominated for a Swedish Grammy, we sold almost the double amount compared to "Still Life" and stuff like that. In the eye of most regular people this is what success is. For me, I don't care at all about "flashy" things. I've got a good life right now, that's what counts, "Blackwater Park" is a fantastic record and it has done us a lot of good. It has put us in a different spot than before, so yeah, I'm pretty happy!

"Blackwater Park" was certainly a venture into a more progressive field, than what Opeth and certainly death metal has been previously associated with. More so than "My Arms, Your Hearse" and "Still Life"; "Blackwater Park" was less 'hard' and perhaps more melodic from an Opeth viewpoint, are forthcoming albums likely to stay in that frame of mind, or will we see another musical shift from Opeth? Into perhaps rap or hip-hop, for example?

As I'm writing for 2 separate albums right now I can say that next release(s) will definitely be the most melodic + most disharmonic we've ever recorded. It's gonna take the listener through singer-songwriter stuff, through psychedelic stuff, to rock and hard rock and through to extreme metal. Rap? Hip-hop? Are you insane?? No, those elements have nothing to do with Opeth! We have a pretty wide range to our music already and we don't really need anything else than we already have. We will continue with our style, which is a style in itself but also a very kaleidoscopic one. Rap/Hip hop?? That'll be the day...

Speaking of new and forthcoming albums; you guys are scheduled down to a record a newbie sometime this year, including a double CD package with a serene half and brutal half. Why the split? I always felt one of the cool aspects of Opeth was that many songs were spliced with hardness and softness.

It will be 2 separate CD's, not a double CD. We take everything into consideration with a release like this. It has to look great, exclusive as we don't want the fans to think that we're trying to milk 'em for money. It's all about our artistic taste. We want two separate albums whose artwork runs in similar themes, like a black and a white CD. Our goals with these CD's cannot be reached by putting out a double CD disc. However, people will never understand what we want anyways, so fuck it! I don't really care if they can afford to buy 2 or whatever...this is for us, if the albums don't sell, fuck it, I don't care! It has always been a case of us recording for ourselves...we got signed doing that, we didn't need to put on masks or suits to be more "accessible". Let's make one thing clear right now. I hate the industry and I don't care for anyone else's opinion than my own and the other guys in the band when it comes to take this band to where we belong. That includes the fans, their opinions wouldn't get us changing a original "plan". Don't get us wrong, we love the fans we have, but they are fans of us because of our integrity and the fact that we're deliberately taking distance from the scene and from what everybody else is doing. This 2CD thing is a dream of ours, and we're gonna make it happen, that's where our job is done. It's up to the label to sell it, and it's up to the listener if they're into it and if they wanna buy it.

In regards to the new, yet untitled album, are there going to be strict guidelines when recording songs, i.e. "This song is pretty hard, lets chuck her on the first CD. No wait a second, it's a bit too mellow, definitely belongs on the second CD"? That sort of mentality?

I guess when I come up with a part or section it pretty much makes it's way to it's "home" by itself. The heavy CD will be pretty "normal" for being an Opeth CD, maybe a bit harsher and sicker. It will still have mellow parts. It's the other CD that's the real experiment as we will drift off into psychedelic domains with that one... it will not only consist of mellow songs such as 'Harvest' or 'Face of Melinda', but also dark calm music and space rock elements.

Any tentative titles yet for the 2 CD new album? Is each CD going to be titled separately to reflect on the mood of each album or is Opeth going to stick with one overall title for both CDs?

Nothing as of yet. I haven't made up my mind whether I will write concepts again or what the fuck I should do. What I know is that the CD's are going to be between 50-60 minutes each. There will probably be two different titles, but titles connecting them with each other. I haven't started with the lyrics yet, I'm a "last second" kinda writer anyways.

"Blackwater Park" was beautifully illustrated by Travis Smith (also known for doing cover art for Iced Earth and the new Winds album), will we being seeing a repeat performance from him for the new record[s]?

We've talked and he wants to do it. I love Travis work, especially the new King Diamond album is great! We hope to work with him again, and I think he's pretty psyched about doing artwork for these two CD's.

Steve Wilson did some great vocal work on 'Bleak', was this a one off for Opeth or are you looking to perhaps have some more guest vocals in the future for new tracks? Or was it the fact that Steve Wilson worked with you guys mixing that enabled him to do some guest vocal work?

We are avid fans of his, I've been into Porcupine Tree since 1995 and just to work with him was great. I think we connected in a great way musically. Me and Steven plan to do some recordings together in the future too. Well, as I said we, or mostly me and Peter are huge fans of Porcupine Tree... we had a wish for him to sing some lines on the album, but we didn't dare asking. Luckily we didn't need to... there was this part that was too high for my voice, so Steve did it instead! It turned out great I think! We won't bring in any other guests I guess. Steve's one of the very very few fellow musicians we actually admire, so he's the only one we'd be interested in incorporating. I saw somewhere that Dave Vincent is singing on the Satyricon album. That's pretty fucking cool! I've never been into Satyricon really, but this I gotta hear! He's the fucking best when it comes to screams + I've been wondering what the hell he's doing these days.

With all the great CDs that passed through my hands this year from the metal scenes around the world, it was extremely hard to pick favourites. What caught your attention this year, metal release wise?

Man I'm sorry; I think it's all shit! Katatonia's new disc is awesome, but it's obvious I'd say that right? I am not impressed with metal bands anymore in general. I guess I was a bit excited about all these reunions of old bands, but it turned out to be predictable bollocks music (Iron Maiden). I have problems with new bands...it's so shallow and predictable... Porcupine Tree did a B-side compilation and wiped the entire musical scene clean... with a B-side!! That's only my taste, and I guess I haven't heard it all. No, I'm not excited about anything put out in 2001 really.

Is Opeth ever going to release a keyboard driven album? Personally I think it would be pretty interesting...

We are going to use some piano and maybe some vintage keys for the next albums. But we won't have the big choirs or cheesy string sounds, hell no! I like the stripped down sound of a grand piano, I like mellotrons, especially if they're a bit out of tune, I like Rhoads and Wurlitzers, I've grown very tired of Moogs since all the so called progressive metal bands use it all the time. I like Hammonds too... we did one rehearsal with a keyboard back in 1992, and it did truly sound like shit! Lately we've learned a bit more on how to use instruments properly and perhaps our taste have improved with the years too...so I'm rather excited about giving it another try.

Opeth has been a band that from "Orchid" has constantly blown fan and media away time and time again. Do you have any idea why that is? The fact that people don't get bored through 20 minutes of 'Black Rose Immortal', the fact you have brutal death one second, and harmonious music another. People should be raising eyebrows, and saying 'How in God's name does that music work?' but they don't and they love Opeth. Why?

I don't know, my taste is always gonna differ, even from my own fans opinions...they say "Morningrise" I say "My Arms Your Hearse"... it's never gonna change. Since the first record we have done music for ourselves, we were a mature band even back in 1993, so our CD's sounded "real". I compare to whatever other bands there is out there I think most bands really have that urge to become something...like rock stars. I had those dreams when I was a kid, and since I let go of that ideal, I have understood that it don't make no difference in the end. We are a proud band, we've had some success lately and that is strictly due to the fact that we don't really give a shit about anything.

Does Opeth (or any one of the individual members) ever get sick of composing metal tracks?

Since that's not all we do, no. I do most if not all the writing in this band, so I wouldn't say I've ever gotten tired of it. For me it's a great challenge to do something that will impress me, I'm the best judge for my own music, past and present. I've had side projects, I have some now, I don't really need 'em since Opeth basically don't care what musical style a riff or part is as long as it sounds good. I play with other people as I like to challenge myself and maybe learn something new. Right now I'm doing a thing with the keyboardist from Spiritual Beggars. He's a very experienced musician, he's been playing in bands since the early to mid 80´s, so it's a joy playing with someone who immediately understands what you want or who can get you into playing something you've never played before. This "project" sounds almost like a krautrock band playing soundtracks...

What are your fave Opeth track from each of the five albums?

Tough... 'Face of Melinda' & 'The Drapery Falls' are good...

Are you ever going to write happy lyrics with Opeth? It tends to be depressing a little, but I guess that is Opeth to a point. I thought "Still Life", lyrically, was extremely sad. You guys need to have some more happy moments.

[laughs], yes maybe we do. I can't write about happy stuff, basically I don't know how... "The sun is shining today, I'm having a stroll in the park, feeding the doves with crumbs of bread"...is that it? I get more satisfaction out of writing in a darker manner...but hey, everybody else is doing it within the metal scene. I understand we don't deviate from the pack because of my lyrics, but that's just my taste.

Any big and upcoming tours for Opeth or are you solely working on the new album and then promoting it afterwards?

It's basically only work from now on until the summer. We have a string of festivals booked this summer, but no tours. We will probably record in the summer too...

Well Mikael, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you again for answering these questions and wish you the best of luck with Opeth and whatever other ventures you are currently involved with! Any final words to the many fans that you have acquired over the past years?

Well, all I can say is thanks for the interview + thanks you to any fans reading this. I'm not good with stuff like this...feels like I'm holding a speech or something.

Polish band Chainsword is a pretty hot contender for the Bolt Thrower successor throne. Recently they released their debut album "Blightmarch" and attracted a lot of attention (the review here). I asked the guys a few questions about the history of the band, influences and also private things and Mr. Brummbär (Voc.) and Sarin Spreizer (Git.) were kind enough to answer my questions very quickly. Have fun!

Michael

Hello everybody, how are you?

Sarin Spreizer: I'm great thanks for asking.
Herr Brummbär: All good.

You are still a fairly new band; can you introduce yourselves to our readers?

Sarin Spreizer: Chainsword is an old school death metal band from Warsaw, Poland. Our brains are soaked in war stories, Warhammer 40k and buzzing guitar riffs. I'm Nerv or Sarin if called by my Chainsword name. I play the guitars and try to manage egos. Joined the band when it was quite well formed musically.

Herr Brummbär: Riff worship all the way. I'm the band's voice and main lyricist, on board nearly since the beginning.

Your debut album "Blightmarch" has impressed me quite a bit. I've read only positive feedback about it so far and also in my circle of friends the corresponding people found the album pretty cool. Did you expect such a good response?

Sarin Spreizer: We knew that the music was good enough to release it! There are so many great bands competing for everyone's attention that we just didn't know if it would cut through. We are very satisfied with the response so far and mobilized to do more. These weeks are really intense with all that positive social buzz that's happening.

Herr Brummbär: Exactly, we like the stuff, find it entertaining, but never would I even think about so much praise. It's quite overwhelming. Still, let's not hyperbolize. We're no Metallica, I know how many albums were sold, how many people stream Blightmarch, yet, the moment we realized where those people are, it just struck us: "shit, the stuff's all around the world…".

You make no secret of your influences. This is primarily Bolt Thrower. Do you want to become their legitimate successor band?

Sarin Spreizer: Forces within battle hard to form our unique style. This album is exactly what it is supposed to be. Rough, straight praise to the sounds of our mentors that inspired us to bash guitars and turn the gain to max. We want to keep it simple and pass the energy that fuels us to our listeners. Bolt Thrower made us do it.

Herr Brummbär: I have just one thing I think is mandatory for us - all has to be primitive and carry a punch. The rest is the effect of a melting pot of ideas. Some of us treat Bolt Thrower as religion, others would rather thrash it up a notch, etc. We don't really want to be heirs to any big metal band. We'd rather do our stuff and claw our way up. As for comparisons - they're inevitable.

What other influences do you have?

Sarin Spreizer: In the metal genre I love Slayer and Entombed, the polish band Abused Majesty. Besides that, Raketkanon, Rishloo and many more that caught my attention over the years. This answer for every musician could be endless talking and bringing up all the bands that made us.

Herr Brummbär: I've been feeding mostly on speed/black/thrash bands over the past couple years. Apart from that, I go with everything that currently suits the mood.

Lyrically you walk between fantasy and the topic of World War II. Why didn't you treat one continuous theme, that would have been much more conclusive?

Sarin Spreizer: That's what everyone expects! So just no. Accept things the way they were made.

Herr Brummbär: It's everything that keeps us rolling. We wanted to keep the lyrical side of the album open, with just one thing in common for all the songs - war. We'd much rather release an album that is complete music-wise, rather than waste time on a bigger concept behind the record. The latter would be, at this point, a bit forced, as we had different priorities.

Can you tell us a little bit about the lyrics and the process of creating them?

Herr Brummbär: I wrote most of them. Herr Feldgrau and Wutender Ente added their stuff as well. As for me, I listen to the new riffs till' something clicks in my head. I'm really into the history of the XX century, so there's plenty to choose from. Thanks to the guys, I also dove deep into the WH40K lore and found a ton of awesome stuff I'd like to yell about there.

Speaking of lyrics, what is 'Daemonculaba'?

Herr Brummbär: It's the most vile, disgusting and revolting thing in the WH40K universe. Too keep things short: imagine a planet turned into an industrial chaos warrior's factory. Add the fact, that they are being born from disfigured living women in great halls. Oh, and they do it on a pile. And the children are sometimes born without skin. Or with their organs outside the body. Or absolutely mutilated. And they all go to the pile. Seriously, read about that shit. It's the definition of "something metal".

You have made the recordings in two different places. What is the reason?

Sarin Spreizer: The year was messy, and our recording process was messy as a result. First we weren't fully ready to record guitars on the drum day then came the pandemic so it's kind of slowed down our progress.

Herr Brummbär: On the upside, two places meant it would be much easier to find time and space to further the works on the album. It worked for me, when I decided to stop the recording on one day, just cause the performance wasn't up to par, and was able to easily finish everything the very next day without interrupting anything, nor anyone.

How did the recording process go?

Sarin Spreizer: Like stepping on a cute little kitten with a disease that could lead to extinction of man. It had to be done.

Herr Brummbär: I gave myself two days to work on all the vocals. It actually took two and a half, like I said a minute before. We learned a lot working on this album. Most importantly, we now know how every one of us works and what needs to be done to improve their performance and speed up the work in general.

Who actually had the idea for the cover? I think the pentagram as a bra is pretty funny. What was there first? The five breasts or the bra?

Herr Brummbär: I know a guy I used to work with - Wilson Arietta. He's an old-school metal maniac from Argentina and a very talented painter and visual artist at the same time. I knew he would be perfect to prepare the artwork for us. His works are dark, violent, disturbing and, at the same time, full of detail and violently primitive. I introduced him to the band and then he and Herr Feldgrau had a brainstorm over the concept. Then Wilson came up with this quantitated monstrosity.

I know from some bands that they use the whole pandemic as an opportunity to write and record a lot of songs. What about you guys? Are you guys on it again?

Sarin Spreizer: We have many ideas stored in our phones and drives but we usually finalize the song at the rehearsal so we will gradually show up with new material. We are definitely pumped and ready to go. So, fasten up.

Herr Brummbär: We just finished working on the album, so there was not much time to fully switch our minds on a new track, but alas! We already have two new songs ready. As for now, we focus on promoting the album, try to play some pandemic gigs online etc. There's still plenty to be done with Blightmarch.

Are there any further plans, any split CDs, EPs, merchandise or tour plans when the whole thing gets back to normal (so around 2049...)?

Sarin Spreizer: We have a split forming and watching closely the situation on the touring front. But the truth to be told is that this can be another pathetic year gig wise. We will focus on bringing more of our music to light in any way possible.

Herr Brummbär: We have plenty of ideas in store, but it would be unwise to unravel it all here. We'll surprise you guys.

When you think of the death metal scene in Poland, Vader, Hate or Behemoth immediately come to mind. But there are a lot of other cool bands in your country. Which ones are you in contact with or can you recommend them?

Sarin Spreizer: Well some of us have other projects going on like Virulent Scourge, Lunacy and others. We look forward to our online stream gig with Panzerfaust. Besides that, definitely worth checking out are bands like Martyrdoom, KOIOS or Coffinwood.

Herr Brummbär: Definitely check out Azarath, Damnation, Revelation of Doom, Deep Desolation, Deception.

To come back to Bolt Thrower - what is your all-time favorite Bolt Thrower album? And which is the weakest?

Sarin Spreizer: For me "Those Once Loyal" was an instant drug and there is no sense in focusing on or picking the weakest. Someone could choose to spend that time to take heroin, drink or be just useless. Instead chose to record music. I admire that. You be the judge.

Herr Brummbär: "War Master" if a piece of beauty. I admire the sound of "Those Once Loyal".

Why did you use such strange pseudonyms that don't really make sense in German?

Sarin Spreizer: If I recall it right, the moment I joined the band, guys wanted me to pick something in pseudo-german warish theme just to dive into the zone where tanks, guns and dismembered flesh was my new reality. It worked a little but at that time I was like "I'm here to play the guitar and record music". Pick something. Do not care. Were those names made to make sense. No. So they don't.

Herr Brummbär: Check out Anima Damnata if you want to find some entertaining pseudonyms. Ours don't make much sense, don't need to.

Another topic - I know that two of your band had Corona - what do you think about all these deniers and belittlers?

Sarin Spreizer: Herr Feldgrau and I got infected. We were in masks when talking and keeping our distance, but the thing is really contagious. We had a chance to freeze the spread a year ago but that attitude everyone's an expert has led us to this day. We can only hope that the vaccines will be enough to normalize the situation. Every sick person raises the probability of creating a mutation that will be more deadly and of making the current vaccines obsolete. The media are too to blame. For so long fear was their weapon… to be continued on an endless internet rant.
Take precautions. Don't spread it. Soon enough someone you know will be sick. Let's hope he or she will not die.

Herr Brummbär: Everybody, stay safe and keep an eye on yourselves. The quicker this mess ends, the sooner the music industry will come back with full force.

Finally, do you have some words for our readers?

Sarin Spreizer: Congratulations you made it to the end. It was longer than 280 characters. Listen to Blightmarch till' the last song. You seem like just the human being for the job.

Herr Brummbär: Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Thank you very much for the interview.

If you are interested, the band will play live on the 23rd of March (7 PM CET) on the internet. Here's the link to it: https://www.songkick.com/live-stream-concerts/39781063-chainsword