Swedish The Crown have released their 12th full-length album simply titled "Crown Of Thorns" (read the review here) in their almost 35 years lasting career (when you count Crown Of Thorns, too). After some drastic line-up changes, there was time for some significant changes not only in the sound but also in the cover art. I had the pleasure of talking with main composer/guitarist Marko Tervonen about this and why God should get no fuel anymore. Enjoy reading and check out the album!

Michael

Hi Marko, how are you doing?

I'm doing good. I'm still doing a lot of interviews and stuff so it's kind of a cool period to finally get some feedback on the album. It's been a couple of months of silence because nobody tells you anything (laughs) so it's interesting to get that feedback. And thank you for the review, it was really nice! Stuff like that is always great. I mean people say that they don't care about their own reviews but I say that's bullshit because they all read their reviews of course (laughs).

"Crown Of Thorns" has a slightly different sound than its predecessors. A lot of melancholy tunes are to be found on the album, for example, the opening riff of 'Martyrian' or the basic mood in 'Gone To Hell'. Does the actual situation in the world also affect The Crown?

I'm sure it does whether you like it or not. I'd say that a lot of the new sound and all that you can hear on the album are two things to it. There is an intention of decision we made to make things different and there were things that actually happened. One of the things that happened was that Magnus (Olsfelt; M.) left the band and we usually shared the song-writing about 50/50 on all the albums. He had a punkier rock n'roll style and I was always drawn to more melodic stuff. So now that he was removed it all became more melodic in that sense. But intentionally we decided to tune up the guitars and that added a bit lighter sound to it and we also changed the studio. It was a lot of this stuff but I think at the end it created something new and fresh and that was the main intention in many ways.

You changed the studio this time from Fredman Studio to Black Lounge. What were the reasons for that?

That was also one of these intentional decisions to do something different. We realized that "Cobra Speed Venom" and "Royal Destroyer" were quite similar in many ways and there was actually an early discussion about making a third one like a trilogy and also using the same art guy for it but with all the changes I got this urge that we cannot do this. I didn't feel right and we needed to do something fresh and just push it. The studio change was part of it and I recorded the album but then Kjellgren from Black Lounge did the mixing of it. There was nothing wrong with Fredman Studio which is one of the best ones, we just wanted something else. With that also came the cover artwork and all that, it just feels fresh and it's a cool thing when you decide to do something like that because this automatically forces you to get out of your comfort zone and do something intentionally different. You push yourself and I like that.

Coming to another not unimportant aspect of a metal album, the cover…was this sort of demo-style and the title which goes back to your very past when you were "Crown Of Thorns" kind of going back to the roots for you?

That wasn't actually the first suggestion that came from Giannis, the guy who did the artwork. What we knew was that we wanted to include this bridge in the cover artwork because it's a bridge from our hometown and basically where everything started. So in that sense, it's kind of looking back. But that wasn't the first artwork idea. When we mentioned the bridge, he came back and had a very colorful artwork. He is a fan of the band and his view is that we're some fans of the 90s. So it was a lot of Dan Seagrave-style and the bridge was way back there in the image. Nothing wrong with it but you just felt that this isn't the necessary step forward. So I raped his artwork (laughs), removed all colors and cut out this bridge, made it black and white, and sent it back to him. There was silence for a couple of days and I thought that we broke his heart but then he got back to me and said that this was something cool. So this was also a way of pushing him out of his comfort zone. I think where it ended was something very cool and unique; we haven't done a two-color artwork since "Deathrace King". For me, it looks like a photocopied old-school print or something. It's very classic and we're gonna have a fucked-up huge white backdrop and scare everybody with that as well live. It's very simple and it was also something totally different from an absolutely brilliant full-color cover artwork. We made a left-turn and created something else and you will see it on the gate-fold of the vinyl, it all makes sense then. You mentioned the title "Crown Of Thorns": when we had that cover artwork which was basically done two years ago and which was my guiding light to create the music; we had the bridge and the feeling that it made sense to name it "Crown Of Thorns" to sort of link it back to where it all started. It's definitely not a retro nostalgic album musically, it's just a feeling to it and it's cool to have a self-titled album. And it's cool because it scares people because they think that it's your last album (laughs).

Nevertheless, you have the typical The Crown death-thrash songs like 'I Hunt With The Devil' or 'The Agitator'. Did you have in mind to write the most diverse album you ever have?

I knew when Magnus left that I would be the main responsible person for it. Now in the end we recorded 13 songs, Matthias did two of those also completely alone but I knew that most responsibility would end up on me. For the first time, I had an opportunity to end it in a sense like how should it open and how should it all end. What was really important to me was to capture that diversity. I think I wrote about 19 foundations to songs and if two songs reminded me too much of each other I deleted them. I really wanted every song to be based on something unique like tempo, melody, groove, or feeling. In the end, I think it's cool that you can't really point to one song on the album and say that this is a typical song from it. From the marketing point of view, it's a nightmare but I don't care. I believe in the power of the album itself. So it's one of our most diverse albums and I guess you need to go back to like "Hell Is Here" to find that diversity on an album and I like it.

When I read the title 'Churchburner' the first time I had in mind that you refer to the things that happened in Norway in 1993 / 94. When I hear words like 'Nosferatu' or 'Freezing Cold' this reinforces my thought….

Haha!! It was a discussion in the rehearsal room. Johan (Lindstrand; M.) said that he got that title 'Churchburner' and first of all I was like "No man! I'm 48, I'm not gonna go there discussing to fucking burning churches!" (Laughs). But he explained the lyrics and what we're trying to emphasize, also in the video, is that it is about a cult, summoning and they create the person that is the "Churchburner". It's not about lighting a match and burning up a church. But it was actually fun to read on social media people freak out (laughs).

Haha, yeah, and it's in contradiction to 'No Fuel For God'!!

Oh yeah, but that's a different thing. Let the people dive into the lyrics. I think that people who are used to our music usually know that there's a bit more to it than the title. I mean we have had some weird titles in the past with 'Satan' or 'Witchcraft' where people ask "What the hell is this"? But they have to get into the lyrics and there is usually a better meaning behind it. 'No Fuel For God' had to be for business reasons a bonus track that was originally intended to be on the album. It is basically about people abusing their rights and power to do wrong things.

And with 'Fear Him' as a refrain on 'Churchburner' you have a wonderful Deicide homage from "Once Upon Cross", don't you?

Oh, absolutely! We never even tried to hide it, man. When Johan came up with it, I said right away "Yeah, let's do it!". We go way back with this, that album I think we have collectively drunk to, maybe had a thousand beers with that album. It's an amazing album.

'Where Nightmares Belong' even has some female vocals that are a really crass contrast to the rest of the music but match really well to that song. This even gives the song some gothic flair but is something that you didn't do before. How did you get that idea and didn't you fear that the fans might dislike that?

Yeah, I mean when you come up with something that evokes some strong reactions like 'Gone To Hell' with the mid-tempo or already with the first album "The Burning" where we had some weird songs like 'Candles' or 'Of Good And Evil' which are hardly death metal songs – it is what it is and people like to write shit on the internet. The female vocals on 'Nightmares' were a very early idea. My initial thought was to open the album with that song actually. That song originally had an acoustic intro and then the drums would come in and it would close with the female vocals. I felt the chorus melody was kinda catchy and saw how friends reacted to it so I got the idea to close the song with just the guitar and Johan basically first sings á capella. He just screams the chorus and when you think it's over this beautiful female lullaby voice comes in and ends the song. When I come up with stuff like that you get that good feeling. I don't think twice about how people react, the only thing I might think twice about is how the guys in the band will react (laughs). You would be surprised which weird stuff I send to them because The Crown is the only outlet I have and I write music basically every day and almost all kinds of stuff. Sometimes I scare the shit out of the guys when I send them something that can be completely different. There is always this filtering process going on but the thing with the female vocals was really good.

Do the lyrics on the album belong together in a certain way?

No, I think we continue on the album like we always did. We never had a strong theme going through the whole album in that sense. Maybe a couple of songs here and there belonged together but usually what we do is try to capture what the individual song needs. In the end, when you look at the album you have maybe ten songs with all kinds of themes going on. For me, the important part is to capture the essence of the song. If it is a melancholic, melodic one they usually tend to be a bit more personal because they need to have a bit more emotion but when you have a song like 'Agitator' or like on the previous album 'Baptized In Violence' they need to be about death and murder. I try to hear what is going on and try to capture that feeling, I usually do that on those songs where I write the lyrics. If I feel something, I'm pretty sure there is someone in the world that thinks the same. They feel connected and that the words and the music go hand in hand. I can't be that unique.

The video for 'Gone To Hell' is also in black and white – is this some stylistic device to catch the melancholic feeling a little bit better?

It is actually a quite simple but scientific trick. If you look at the colored photo you experience a bit more like something is documented. If you look at the black-and-white picture you automatically create feelings for it. That's just how the brain works. I personally love a bit melancholic black-and-white videos like 'Forever Failure' by Paradise Lost. So we decided to do that right away. We shot 'Churchburner' and 'Gone To Hell' the same day, just changed the lights, scenery, clothes, and things we added to the video. I wanted to have that black-and-white feeling so you see something happened and automatically start to think about it. It's one of my favorite songs and a different type of song. I hope it evokes some feelings.

You mentioned Paradise Lost – what are your personal influences when you write songs and what are your favorite bands?

Paradise Lost is up there, man! I've been a huge fan of the band since the debut album and have followed them like a fanboy ever since. I was lucky enough to meet them a few weeks ago when they played in Sweden. They always meant the world to me and I'm always attracted to more melodic stuff when we go back to 1990 or ´91 when the death metal explosion came, the first time I heard Entombed with "Left Hand Path" I thought that this sounds brutal. It picked my interest when I heard the outro on the album and all the Paradise Lost outputs with shitloads of melodies. I would say that without Paradise Lost there wouldn't be a song like 'Gone To Hell'. Metallica, you can say about them whatever you want, but the impact they had on my life is unbelievable. Most likely the strongest. Musically I love Morbid Angel, maybe not the latest ones (laughs) but the impact is also there; Danzig when Danzig was good. I guess you and I are probably the same age so you're knowing the 90s when you got all this amazing music and you just felt that this is the best shit ever! I think that's the time in your life when you just sucked all that music in on all levels. Obviously I can hear good music today but it's not the same. It doesn't feel the same in your heart. So I think it's a sort of age thing as well.

Yep, totally agree!

I mean all those amazing albums I've heard in the 90s, they have left the mark in me. Also, Edge Of Sanity I need to mention. But all the things are melodic and I am also a huge Scorpions fan. When I write songs nowadays, I just don't think too much about it, it's just a part of my DNA. In the past, you thought about how it might sound but now the inspiration is more about trying to do something that I haven't done before (laughs). We have done 11 albums so it becomes more and more challenging.

What about some gigs? I couldn't find anything on your homepage, guess it feels quite lonely, haha!

Yeah, it's quite lonely. We're a bit late with the whole planning of touring and shows. We are in the middle of it and will start to announce some stuff. We also want to reach out to new territories, countries we never played before. There is always a cool bucket wish list from the band. My ultimate goal in touring is that we reach out to new people. Of course, it's cool to play in clubs, we have our mega cool fans there but I would really like to open up for another band, play to a new audience maybe so that we become the underdogs and have to prove that we kick ass. I like that thought and obviously festivals are the best thing for that. I wouldn't mind opening up for some cross-over or us and Kreator would be really cool. But we'll see, we're in heavy discussions about 2025.

It seems like Naglfar doesn't spoil its fans with too much music. Since their outstanding debut "Vittra" in 1995, they've released only one full-length album, "Diabolical," and one EP, "Ex Inferis." That is until now. After five full years since their second effort "Diabolical," all fans of intense, dark yet melodic death/black metal can finally unite and stab their teeth into Naglfar's most complete work to date, "Sheol." I won't go into details since you can read my review, but just keep in mind that if you haven't give this album a chance you're missing one of the best releases of 2003. After getting this out of my system I think it's time to give the voice to Jens Ryden (vocals) who explains long breaks, the new album and gives some more insight on his side project Dead Silent Slumber.

Chris


First of all congratulations on an outstanding new album, but why the hell did you make as wait for it so long?

[Laughs] There are tons of reasons. Simply lots of small problems, lots of small and big delays and all of them resulted in one huge delay of 5 years. Actually recording of this album was finished last year but than we had some delays due to problems with front cover pictures and layout and release date was moved to 2003.

In 2001 we've heard 'Of Gorgons Spawned Through Witchcraft' on "Ex-Inferis" and it still took additional 2 years for the world to see the rest of the album. Why, I won't give up...?

We put that EP out just for the fans to let them know that we're still around. That EP was delayed quite a while too but like I said, since then there were lots of small problems like finding a rehearsal place and shit like that which delayed the whole process. When we recorded that EP we had many songs for this album finished but... then we did some shows for which we had to rehearse and it took time from completing the new material. It all might sound like some lame excuse but all those small elements that took time off from the songwriting ended up being a five-year delay.

I'm sure you're aware of the fact that such long breaks don't help bands preserving their status among the fans. No matter how good and successful your previous album was fans tend to have short memory if not reminded in timely manner. Weren't you afraid of losing a good part of your crowd with such a long break?

Well, yeah of course we were aware of this fact. We were very frustrated too. Like I said, this album was recorded and ready last year and then new problems arose, like problems with the cover took which took way too much time... but we always take our time with stuff, I mean from the first to second album it took us like 3 years and that's a pretty long time too, but that's the way we work. We don't want to rush things just to put out an album every year; instead we work on every song until we're totally satisfied with it. If it takes a year or five it doesn't matter because we want to put out the best album we can do and that's the most important thing for us. Of course no one wants to lose fans because of big breaks but I'd rather make one good album than five shitty ones and at the end only the good bands will be remembered and we want to be one of them [laughs].

Speaking of long breaks, what's up with Dead Silent Slumber? It's getting close to 3 years since your solo debut.

[Laughs] Well, it's this same thing... no, just kidding. I don't have enough time to work full time with Naglfar and Dead Silent Slumber at this same time so I have to work with one at the time and since Naglfar is my main band, my top priority I've been busy with Naglfar for a long time and that's why I didn't put new Dead Silent Slumber album yet. I mean, I have like pretty much half of material done but I have to wait until I'll have more spare time before I can sit down, relax and really work with new album. I don't want to rush anything with this project either cause it's like my spare time hobby...

Dead Silent Slumber is a project where you do and control everything. How come in Naglfar you only handle vocals? Are you happy with a singer role only? Have you ever though of grabbing a guitar or any other instrument?

Well no, not really. It was me and our bass player Kris that formed this band in a first place and since day one I've always been a vocalist and that's not a problem. Of course I play guitar and write songs for Naglfar as well but the point of forming Dead Silent Slumber was that I wanted to try out to have full control over everything but that doesn't mean that I'm dissatisfied with my situation in Naglfar. We try to write songs together as much as possible, arranging the songs and so on and I want to keep it that way because that way we get the best of us all. I write some music, guitarists write their music and we mix the best parts and that's what at the end becomes Naglfar in its best form.

Plus there're other positive sides of it... you don't have to carry all those cases, amps, you can concentrate on banging your head.

[Laughs] of course, but remember that the voice is the most fragile thing and I'd rather carry three guitars than one sore throat.

Does Naglfar work as a team regarding writing music and lyrics or is there a one person handling most of the work?

When it comes to music we work as much as possible together. On this "Sheol" album there are two exceptions, the second song called 'Black God Aftermath' was entirely written by me and 'Unleash Hell' was written by Kris but rest of the songs were written together. When it comes to lyrics it's me, Kris and Andreas, one of our guitar players, who's responsible for almost all the lyrics. We try to work as a team.

Why did you choose Hebrew as a language for your new album's title?

Oh man, that's a good question. Actually, it was Kris who come up with this title in a first place, it was his idea and I don't exactly remember what was the idea behind it. I remember he presented it to the rest of the band and we thought it was a great title... We wanted to keep the album's title really short, with one word like our first two albums and with word that fits the lyrical concept of the album. "Sheol" accomplishes both; it's an easy word but at this same time it's different from all other album titles nowadays and still fits great with both the music and the lyrics.

The album starts with not very optimistic verse 'Humanity, what have you ever done for me?' Are you so disgusted with the world around you?

This world, humanity, whatever... it's no secret that mankind are fools. We'll put an end to this world sooner or later, count it as a fact and that's why we're not very optimistic. Every once in a while we all get very pissed off about it and Andreas was very pissed on that day when he wrote 'I Am Vengeance' [laughs].

How much do you think Naglfar changed over the last 5 years? I'm sure each member are more mature musicians, but is there same enthusiasm as when you started it in 92?

Well, of course we matured and progressed as a band, you have to do that [laughs], but I think we are still this same band since our first demo. We're not the best musicians in the world we just do our thing and we don't really care what the rest of the world thinks about it. I mean, if you compare all our albums you'll see that we progressed through the years but we still have the same sound that we had at the early days. What we basically are trying to do is to play music we live for but you have to develop as a band because it's boring to do same album over and over again yet still we don't want to lose our basics.

...But is there this same enthusiasm as it was 10 years ago when you formed the band, practiced for the first rehearsal, played the first show?

It's not exactly the same thing, it's not, because it can never be. When we put out our first demo tape or our first album it was really exciting, now we're on our third album and we've done it before, we know what's going to happen, we know how it works so, that kind of feeling is gone and we can't get it back but we do this thing because we live for it and we love music and that part will always be exciting. So, it's a yes and no answer.

One of your interests outside music is graphic design. Why than did you hire Niklas Sundin (Dark Tranquillity) to do artwork for "Sheol"?

Yes, I have graphic design interest in my spare time, but I know what I can or cannot do. I know that I can do a great layout and design for a booklet, but personally I don't think I'm good enough to do a front cover, even though I did a few of those in the past.

With Century Media representing you in States is there a chance of finally seeing Naglfar on a proper tour on this side of the ocean?

We'll see, hopefully yes but we haven't been able to take this discussion properly with Century Media yet. We'll see how "Sheol" sells because it's always a financial question. We live in Sweden and it's very expensive to go to North America.

What are you long term plans and goals? Do you see yourself living from music only?

I have no such plans at the moment. I know only very few bands that can entirely live from the music today. Death and black metal as a style is very difficult to sell in amount that you can live from; only few bands can do it nowadays. As I said before we do this because we love what we do and I'm satisfied with what I have right now. I mean, of course it would be great to release albums, tour and live from it but I don't have any plans for it at the moment.

What recent album made the biggest impression on you? Are you pleased with the quality of today's releases?

To be honest I don't listen to the new releases that much and I very seldom buy any new albums. When I was younger I was very into new bands and I was checking out all the new releases all the time but today I'm satisfied with my collection of my favorite albums. Of course I'm always interested in listening to new, good, quality music but I don't have that urge to check out all those new bands.

Not to mention that there're way too many bands to even dream of checking them all out.

Exactly, I know what bands I like and when they release a new album of course I check them out and in between there are many good bands too but I don't search for them personally. If I have a chance I get them otherwise I'm satisfied with what I have.

I know is way too early to ask but can we count on more regular releases from now on?

[Laughs] hopefully yes. Well, I can't make any promises but we all in a band agreed that 5 years if far too long and we'll start working on the new material for the upcoming album as soon as possible.