Modern day thrash metal is perhaps one of the most expanded worlds when it comes to the new generation of bands, which are constantly coming and going as years go by, but there is some new blood which is on the verge of reaching their career peak, while still fulfilling their mission of keeping the sacred old school metal tradition alive. Not long ago, my friend Andjela Zrnić had the opportunity to meet the Swedish thrash metal band Xion from Dalarna at the contest "Imagine" in Brussels, Belgium, organized by JMI (Jeunesses Musicales International). Although the band was formed in 2018, they released their first single in 2022, with many more in 2023, and they also had the opportunity to play at the Gefle Metal Festival with a dozen of great and popular bands from every sub genre. Andjela was kind enough to do an interview with the band members on my behalf to get some basic info about the band, and some time after, I decided to reach out to Xion myself and dig a little bit deeper with the questions regarding their five singles that they released on digital streaming platforms, and also a bit about their debut album "Between Shadows And Gods". Please join us on this journey to discover a bit about Xion, a new generation in the world of thrash metal music.

Vladimir

Andjela: Who are you guys and might we know the name of the band?

Robin: Hi, I'm Robin!

Erik: And I'm Erik.

Algot: I'm Algot.

Johan: Johan!

Liam: My name's Liam.

Robin: And we are XION!

Andjela: First of all, hello, so for starters, what kind of music do you guys play?

Erik: A combination of old-school thrash metal and old-school heavy metal.

Andjela: That's very interesting, do you have any particular influences or source of musical inspirations?

Erik: Well, Megadeth, Slayer and all kinds of old-school thrash metal stuff and also old hard rock, like for example early 70's music like Black Sabbath.

Liam: And we also all have our own individual music inspirations, that's the big picture.

Andjela: We are eager to know, how did this band form in the first place?

Johan: Oh gosh, we've told this story so many times... So, five years ago, me and Erik knew each other and we kind of knew we listened to the same music, and I knew he wanted to start a band. So I played bass and we had another drummer at the time, we played a few shows. But then, in 2021, we met these guys (pointing at Robin, Algot and Liam) and we formed a group. It was great, they are really good. We've been playing since then, so it's about two years.

Andjela: Did you guys have any expectations when it comes to this project organized by JM International?

Robin: Well, a new experience, I guess.

Johan: Yes, I think we mostly see it as a fun experience. Yes, fun trip. But it's also really nice to meet people from different countries, different cultures and also the music from these countries.

Erik: It's been a long journey, like it's the end of the line. It's like the fourth last international finals, it's like closing a book, you know?

Andjela: We certainly hope it's not the last chapter of your very successful careers! Do you have any concerts or tours incoming?

Liam: We have two concerts in January planned right now. It's going to be two release parties, we're releasing our new album Between Shadows And Gods on January 19th. So, we have one gig in Stockholm and then one in our hometown Falun, where we'll release our new album. So that will be fun!

Johan: Don't miss it!

Andjela: Wonderful to hear it! So far, what has this trip brought you? What does this mean to you and the band?

Liam: We did get in touch with some people. We created contacts, helpful contacts, and this is actually the first time this band's been abroad. But every morning we woke up hung over so, the mornings were pretty tough.

Andjela: It's very difficult to get up at 8am indeed…Did you learn anything new about yourselves and other people during this competition?

Johan: We had this thing where we had to close our eyes and let the other person lead you around the room. But I was really afraid that I will hit something! I didn't think that that would happen and luckily, it didn't.

Liam: We also learned about the personality of our band from the presentation we had. We were focusing on something we could explore, trying to seek that a little bit.

Vladimir: From what I've heard of your five singles that you released, it is pure balls to the wall thrash metal with heavy metal elements, and your material shows a lot of potential that it can certainly achieve. What part of the songwriting process do you consider to be of key importance?

Erik writes most of the songs and he says that you have to be in a certain songwriting-mode and it takes a lot of time and trial and error. It's like playing the lotto, sometimes you win and sometimes not. Sometimes you come up with something good and sometimes something bad. You just have to spend the time so that you eventually come up with something great.

Vladimir: Does any of the five singles stand out as for you guys the best song to represent Xion in terms of the musical output and overall songwriting capabilities? If so, why have you chosen this song in particular?

All of our songs represent a different part of us and the album will give you the whole picture. But out of our singles it will probably be 'Men Who Play God' because of it being very consistently good and the power and melodies represent us very good.

Vladimir: Do you guys stick to a certain mindset when writing new material? If there is one, do you believe that other metal bands of your age should stick to that mindset as well?

We don't really have a special mindset. It comes down more to what sounds good to us. When writing new songs we always try to come up with something original, don't stick to a certain pattern.

Vladimir: Many bands usually release a demo or an EP before going out with their first full-length album, but you went with a different approach by releasing singles before the album comes out. Do you think that singles on digital streaming help better to push the band to a wider audience than a demo or an EP would?

Yes, because when you release several singles we always have something new for the audience. If we were to release an EP people would maybe listen to it for one month but when releasing 4 different songs people will have Xion in their minds for a longer period of time.

Vladimir: Do you have any exemplary modern-day album, be it from a Swedish or non-Swedish metal band, to which extent you would like to achieve the same level of greatness with your music?

"Great War" and "The Last Stand" by Sabaton is a great example. These are modern albums that have become very big and Sabaton are very active right now and they have achieved a lot. They actually come from our hometown Falun, Sweden. It would also be fun to write an iconic album such as "Slaughter Of The Soul" by At The Gates.

Vladimir: Coming from a powerful and respected country such as Sweden, the big advantage is that you are constantly surrounded by metal enthusiasts and excellent bands that make the scene richer. Does the fact that you are a Swedish metal band play a big role in your overall creativity, as well as your passion to perform and make music?

Yes we are constantly surrounded by metal and music enthusiasts overall which helps us keep our spirits up. And also being able to see that there exists many other bands our age that can accompany us on our journey is great.

Vladimir: I've seen that you had the opportunity to share the stage with some popular bands at the Gefle Metal Festival. Did you get the chance to exchange words with any of the bands that were part of that lineup? Have you managed to form new friendships along the way?

Yes it's fun that you brought that up. On that festival we actually met both Amon Amarth and Kreator. We also drank beer with Abbath and orbit culture on separate occasions. We got to meet new people our age in bands which was very fun to make a connection with them.

Vladimir: Are there any of the bands which weren't present at the festival that you would really like to share the stage with someday?

Yes, how long should we make the list? Megadeth, At The Gates, Anthrax, Sabaton, Avatar, amongst others.

Vladimir: Have you received any encouraging words from some veteran musicians in the Swedish metal scene and what advice did you get?

The drummer, Johan Reivén, of Swedish band Lok has produced our album and he thinks we are great. Also the drummer of At The Gates has said that we are very promising.

Vladimir: I would like to know what is the origin behind the band's name? Who came up with the idea and how does it connect to your music?

It's just a word. It doesn't really have a meaning. I, Johan, came up with it just out of the blue.

Andjela: Last question that I have is: If you could give any advice to the young musicians and artists, what would you say?

Robin: Do what you like!

Erik: For every genre of music, do what you like. Find that passion through music, your legends, your heroes and do what you do. Don't try to do stuff that you don't want. Go! Listen to your heart!

Liam: Don't listen to what anyone says, don't let anyone bring you down. Just keep going!

Johan: And remember to Rock 'n' Roll! More action that's important! Well, there isn't so much action now, but for us, we had a lot of action yesterday, so we were kind of tired…

Andjela: Well, I want to thank you guys for this opportunity and I wish you good luck!

Vladimir: Thank you so much for doing this interview guys! Best wishes to everyone of you from the MetalBite community and I hope that your new album will be a blast. Any final words before we wrap this up?

Thank you for writing to us, we hope to come to Serbia one day and we hope you like the album.

If you're thinking about how you could spend 7 months productively - sit down and write some sick riffs and solos, remembering to throw in some inspiration from your favorite death metal and classical music, spice it up with some old movie themes and remember to write the lyrics that listeners can relate to (as death metal's godfather Chuck once said "I don't see Satan coming out, I don't see hell bubbling beneath me, I see reality"). And then hope you can come up with 4 tracks as good as Imperishable. If you don't succeed, you can always hope to have Robin Holmberg on your team when the questions about Morbid Angel's "Covenant" come up on your pub quiz. If that happens, you can bet your life's savings and you should be good. But before you come across any of these two scenarios, enjoy few minutes spent on reading the interview with one of the guys responsible for Imperishable's "Deathspawn" EP below.
Your fellow metalhead,

Maciek

Hi Robin, could you please introduce the band to us a little?

Robin Holmberg: Greetings Maciek! Well, in this early incarnation of Imperishable, we operate as a trio with myself on guitar, my brother Niklas Holmberg on drums and Henric Skoog on vocals. It is yet to be decided whether or not we will add more members, but I would see it as most likely. Right now, it's not an issue, but my guess is we'll feel compelled to add at least a bass player whenever a live show comes up. As for now though, we have every tool within the three of us that we could possibly need to continue writing music and find our own voice, so to speak. So, at this point, I'm more than satisfied with how things have turned out thus far.

How did the idea of the band appear?

Me and Niklas have been playing and writing together, only the two of us, since we were in our early teens. As time went by, we also began playing in different bands together and joined other temporary projects while always maintaining our own thing on the side. Over the years we have done pretty much everything we felt like doing, no genre limitations whatsoever. Write, record and keep the material to ourselves, for our own listening pleasure, kind of. Then do it again and again. This time around the only difference is we thought we might share it with others. So that's how it all went down. And then we added Henric on vocals, of course. He was actually an important part of this band coming to life.

Is it planned to be a full-time band or just a side-project between Vampire albums?

Full-time, no doubt. We're both still in Vampire, I might add, but that won't affect Imperishable, and vice versa. Like I touched upon earlier, me and Niklas would have written music together anyway, so we might as well focus our effort on another band instead.

How long did it take to write the material for the EP and how do you share songwriting responsibilities with Niklas?

It didn't take very long. The first rehearsal took place in May of last year (2021), after I had been toying around with some song ideas in the week prior. Since then, we have rehearsed a total of four times. And while I write the majority of music, Niklas plays an integral part in arranging and pointing me in the right direction, you could say. So, we're both depending on the other, which has always been the case. In the gaps between rehearsals, we sent each other demos back and forth, and the finished songs were all recorded properly in October. Had we kept on going with the writing process instead of shifting focus and releasing Deathspawn, I assume we would have had more than enough material to record a full-length album by now. But we figured we would need to develop the sound a bit before doing it all at once, and I have no regrets about that. It all comes down to time and effort, and while the effort surely was there and still is, time is still not on our side. When the time comes to record an album, I want the possibility to include all of the songs from Deathspawn, or some of them, or none of them. It all depends on the direction our sound is heading with the newer compositions and if the old ones make the cut.

How did the writing process look like?

The standard procedure is I start writing the riffs at home. Sometimes I will program some drums to accompany them, sometimes it's just a click track, all depending on the mood. Then I send the best riffs to Niklas, and when he has listened to the riffs, he arranges them and record his drums on top. Back to me, I suggest some alterations, then back to Niklas, and that way it continues until we feel good about the arrangement. Lastly, I write lyrics, and if necessary, we adjust or add something to the music to make it feel more "complete". This time around we were already too far into the process for Henric to contribute with ideas, but I'm sure he will, both musically and lyrically moving forward.

What are the lyrics about?

Addiction, to sum it up in the shortest way possible. It has plagued both myself and my brother for at least the past decade, and it still does. Somehow, music is the main reason things haven't gotten worse. I won't share any details, but it's mainly related to alcoholism. The desire to drink and the pain that comes along with it is always present in our lives. So basically, the lyrics are autobiographical, only disguised and hidden behind a wall of metaphors. Reality shrouded within a more suiting repertoire of words, you could say. That this concept or overall theme came to mind, other than the fact that it's constantly a part of my day, is not as thought-through as it might seem though. I just felt the need to express something other than the usual gore/slasher/horror/monster themes. Not that I don't enjoy bands that write songs about that stuff, it just doesn't affect me in any deeper way. I mean, Cannibal Corpse can and should do it. I love them. But I'm not any good at writing those kinds of stories myself. It's better for the listener, and more rewarding for me, to write about things I live and breathe. Addiction is real.

How did you find Andreas Sandberg to do the logo and who came up with the band name?

Andreas has been a friend of mine for a long time, and we have collaborated many times before Imperishable was formed. He was the first one that came to mind when we realized we soon would be in need of a logo and some artwork. Very talented guy, and this will not be the last time we work together creatively. Regarding the name of the band, Imperishable, I remember stumbling upon a verse in the Corinthians of the New Testament that caught my eye. I'm not in any way a religious person, I just happen to read whenever I have time to read, and I just froze when I saw the word 'imperishable'. I instantly realized that this was us.

How did you get in touch with Peter Ericsson to do the mixing/mastering and what studio did you use?

We have known Peter forever, and this was a quick, spontaneous way of getting things done while still staying in touch and having fun. He liked our material and offered to help us complete it, that's it. We recorded our parts separately at our homes and then he performed his magic. I don't know. He's the professor. I love him.

How long did it take to record "Deathspawn"?

One weekend for the music and one evening for the vocals.

What were the musical inspirations behind the material (did I miss any in the review)?

That's a very good question, and a hard one at that. I listen to a lot of different genres, and most of it inspire me to compose. But besides the more obvious ones you've already mentioned, I believe Death and Morbid Angel are always present in the mix. Not that there are particular parts of the songs on Deathspawn that I would say were consciously inspired by any of them, but on an unconscious level, most of our material certainly owes a lot to those bands. Not unexpected at all if that's the case, we've listened to those albums hundreds of times and it's part of our musical DNA. I know "Covenant" better than most of my relatives, ha ha. Other than that, film composer Bernard Herrmann is a constant inspiration, as well as the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. I listen to a lot of orchestral music these days, and I think that will be more apparent in our post-Deathspawn compositions. The trained ear will hear it.

Are you a fan of old movies (like "Jason and the Argonauts")? Or was it just the best fitting to open the album?

I love old movies, horror and film noir in particular! I rarely have time to watch movies nowadays, but in my formative years I always watched older stuff. Why stick to whatever new crap is presented to you, when history is loaded with quality? Anyway, we grew up watching the old monster movies from the 30s and 40s ("Wolf man", "Dracula", etc) but the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion films were the ones on repeat, including "Jason and the Argonauts". The old VHS tape of that one must be in such bad shape… Still one of my favourite films, for sure. The scene in where Talos is brought back to life still sends shivers down my spine just by thinking about it. It's monumentally more horrifying and scarier than the effects used in modern horror films, at least to my ears and eyes. Why we chose that sample is no coincidence either, as it's closely connected to the lyrics of that song. And, at the same time, whenever you get the opportunity to do a subtle homage to Bernard Herrmann, who composed the film score, you don't pass on it.

Any details you would like to share about the songs chosen for the EP? Do you have more material (apart from "Scream Bloody Gore" cover, which I hope we will be able to hear at some point)?

Not much to share actually. The ones you hear on Deathspawn are the first four songs we ever wrote as Imperishable. They came to life almost by themselves, and by that I mean there's no "forcing it" or "overthinking" anything. The rawness and the spontaneous vibe were something we sought after right from the start, and I'm satisfied with the end result.
The "Scream Bloody Gore" cover will be released sometime in the future, I promise you that. It's a shame we couldn't release it as a tribute to Chuck on the 20th anniversary of his death, which was the original plan. But sometimes shit happens, and I have chosen not to dwell on it. It will be released someday, that's the only thing that matters to me.

Should we expect more to come from Imperishable in near future?

Most definitely! I work on new material almost every day. It's still in a very early stage, but I think it will sound somewhat different to Deathspawn. The songs I'm working on right now is a bit more technical, faster and "daring". We'll see where we end up, but the working process will not be rushed as was the case last time. Therefore, I can't tell you a release date or anything, but the goal is to be finished with recording before the summer, for a possible late 2022 release.

Do you plan to do some live performances? If yes - what would be the line-up?

Not at the moment, no. I would love to play these songs (and newer stuff) in a small, sweaty club, but apart from focusing on writing new songs I have a lot of other obligations in my life right now that's taking up a shitload of time. So that's the main reason. Then there's the pandemic to take into account, with all its restrictions and insecurities. I don't want to come across as a total shitbag here, but I would not want to play in front of 20 people sitting down on chairs. I have better things to do.

Thanks for your time and hope to hear more tunes soon!

Thank you for having me and take care Maciek. Na zdrowie, from the three of us.