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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Vomitory (20.05.2007)
HH: Hi, how are you? Everything alright?
Tobias: Hi, everything is fine, thank you. A bit stressful with all the interviews, but it's fun to talk about the new album, Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize, since I'm very excited to finally have it out.
HH: Three years have passed since the last CD Primal Massacre. What happened during this long time?
Tobias: After the release of Primal Massacre we did only a few shows during the summer of 2004, and then nothing happened for us. We kind of lost the inspiration to do anything - either writing new songs or trying to get more shows. Nobody seemed to want to take the band forward, or in any direction at all actually. It was quite a discouraging period for the band. Then in September 2005, our long-time companion and guitarist Ulf Dalegren decided to leave the band after nearly fifteen years. He wants to keep the reasons for it private, but there was no bad blood involved with his departure. We are still very close friends. Ulf had to make certain priorities in life and this time, there simply wasn't space for Vomitory. We hated to see him go, but when Peter Östlund joined the band it was kind of a new start for us. The inspiration came back immediately, and then some. Peter came in with lots of cool ideas and a hunger to create some new brutal Vomitory death metal and that definitely made an impact on the other three of us!
HH: In your eyes, what are the main differences between Primal Massacre and Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize?
Tobias: I'd say that the first thing that strikes you is the production. Both albums sound incredibly good, but in different ways. Primal Massacre is a bit dirty and harsh while Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize has a more up-to-date sound, more modern and clean. But when it comes to the actual material, both of them are of the same high class, but they differ slightly when it comes to the variation and dynamics of the material. While Primal Massacre is a blast-fest, Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize is more varied and in a way, more interesting.
HH: The last CDs were produced by Henrik Larsson. Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize is produced by Rikard Löfgren. Why did you change? Any personal misunderstandings?
Tobias: Hell no, there is definitely no bad blood involved with the change of producers. We are very satisfied with everything we've done together with Henrik Larsson, it's great working with him, and he's a great producer and a good friend of ours. But after having done four out of our five previous albums together with Larsson, we felt it was time to try working with a new producer in a new studio. We thought that since Vomitory isn't exactly the most experimental band around, but more sticking-to-the-roots kind of band, having the band line-up recently updated, also changing producer and studio would be good ways for us to renew our sound. It obviously proved to be a very successful move since the production on new album sounds absolutely fantastic.
HH: What are the differences between Henrik Larsson and Rikard Löfgren? What makes Rikard Löfgren better?
Tobias: I don't think anyone is better than the other. Both are great producers with their own ways of working - that's what sets them apart from each other. I'm happy to have worked with both and we'll most likely work with both of them again in the future. Henrik Larsson is very experienced when it comes to producing metal, while Rikard Löfgren is mainly a pop producer and songwriter.
HH: Could you please tell us, from your point of view, a few words to each song of the actual CD?
Tobias:
Eternal Trail Of Corpses:
A true Vomitory blaster from the first to the last tone - a perfect album opener. This one was written in a quite short period of time and it was one of the first that Erik did the lyrics to. The lyrics deal with death caused by fanaticism and religious extremists.
Scavenging The Slaughtered:
This one consists of some really old riffs - one dates back to 1998 - and new ones of course. It has this wild and raw Carcass/Exhumed-vibe to it, and fact is that Matt Harvey (Exhumed vocalist) was supposed to do some backing vocals on this one, but due to communication fuck-ups it unfortunately never happened. It's a pity 'cause I know it would have turned out totally awesome! However, this is a favourite of mine and it's great to play. By the way, the song title is provided by our good friend Lord K Philipsson.
Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize:
One of my all-time Vomitory favourites! This one is completely relentless. It contains many typical Vomitory elements and I guess that's why I like it so much. You can hear influences from Grave, Slayer, Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death in this one. The lyrics to this one are actually done by me - the first Vomitory lyrics I've ever written. Producer Rikard Löfgren does a nice contribution with backing vocals on the choruses.
The Burning Black:
This is the first song our new guitarist, Peter Östlund, wrote for Vomitory. I was involved in it a bit too, but Peter did the majority of the song. It's a bit different from the usual Vomitory song, but it definitely adds some great, heavy groove to the album.
Defiled And Inferior:
Peter's third contribution to this album. Both music and lyrics are written by Peter solely. It's a fast and intense fucker with lots of blast beats and D-beats and on top of everything - a killer thrashy breakdown in the middle.
March Into Oblivion:
This one starts off with a sinister instrumental guitar intro and then bursts into a Bolt Thrower-esque double bass fest, to then continue into lesson A1 in old-school Swedish death metal. A heavy and sludgy D-beat carries most of this song forward, and just invites everyone to bang their heads! It has some nice twists and turns in the middle and it is well rounded up with the intro coming back, incorporated in the song.
Whispers From The Dead:
This song is the first Vomitory song that's made it on an album, that's entirely slow and heavy. There are absolutely some serious Slayer-vibes in this one, but one can also trace some Morbid Angel-elements here as well, which is strange since I've never liked Morbid Angel at all. I like this song a lot because it's a cool contrast to the usual Vomitory song and brings variation to the album, yet it sounds very Vomitory!
Heresy:
A great song with lots of different elements, for being Vomitory, which makes it quite interesting. This is Peter's second song he wrote for this album. We did quite some work on it before it ended up like this, but it was obviously worth it. Heresy is a fun song to play since there are many changes and variations within the song.
Flesh Passion:
This is another all-time Vomitory favourite of mine, and one of the first songs I wrote for the new album. It's pure blast and adrenaline from start to finish! There are some nice Terrorizer-inspired parts here and there and the breakdown in the middle has a salute to our heroes of Bolt Thrower. The vocals and lyrics are insane and show Erik at his best. ROTTEN CADAVER!!!
Cremation Ceremony:
The embryo for this song was created just after the release of our previous album, Primal Massacre, but it was one of the songs that we finished last for the new album. Peter's guitar lead on this song is my favourite on the whole album - it's just killer! The song is mainly fast, has some typical Vomitory elements, but also has some unusual riffing in the middle, and also a pretty unexpected, but very cool ending. This is a perfect album closer.
HH: Vomitory exists now for 18 years, which is a very long time in the music business, especially for extreme music. How long will Vomitory keep going on?
Tobias: Of course it's hard to say, but as it feels now, with the positive and hungry attitude within the band, I'd say that we will easily keep going way past our 20th anniversary.
HH: One of my favourite questions: Where do you see Vomitory in another ten years?
Tobias: I have honestly hard to believe that the band will be around for another full decade. Hopefully we'll have a couple of more albums in our back-catalogue and we can look back on all these years with great pride and satisfaction.
HH: If you look back to 18 years of Vomitory, I'm sure, a lot of things happened. What moments will be forever in your mind and if you should have the possibility to change something, what will it be?
Tobias: The moment I got the email from Metal Blade where they said they wanted to work with us in 1999, our show at Summer Breeze Open Air in Germany in 2004, when we lost two of the rear wheels on our tour bus at full speed on a French highway in 2002 and the very first Vomitory show in April 1990 are some moments that I will always remember. If I'd get to change anything, I whish that we should have been less lazy and worked a little harder since we began releasing albums - especially when we signed for Metal Blade in 2000 when things really began to happen for us. But it's easy to be wise afterwards, and after all I'm happy for everything we've done and achieved so far.
HH: As you started with Vomitory, Death Metal was something new, something different, a new extreme. Nowadays it's even harder to create a new sound, even lots of bands try to do so. Where will this journey end?
Tobias: Death Metal has definitely proved by now that it's a genre that's here to stay, and that it wasn't just a trend during the early nineties. Death Metal in its original form has also proven to be very important since so many of today's bands obviously have been very influenced by the style. I think death metal has much more to give for many years ahead.
HH: Please characterise Vomitory's sound as a stuffed animal.
Tobias: No stuffed animals here, dude. A live Tyrannosaurus Rex with a hard-on is a more appropriate description!
HH: With which artist or band would you love to share the stage and why?
Tobias: Lemmy. 'Nuff said.
HH: What is your opinion about the Internet? Is it a blessing or a curse in your mind?
Tobias: Saying that the Internet is a blessing are quite big words, but it has obviously changed our everyday lives. I love the Internet, the possibilities it has and I use it a lot myself. But I guess you're referring to the downloading aspect of it. I think that the Internet is a very useful tool for any band to use it to spread their music around the world without having a record deal. It's also a very good way to find new music and check out new artists and bands without having to spend money on a crappy album. But when it comes to downloading instead of buying the music legally, I consider that stealing, which is exactly what it is. But I believe that in metal, the fans are very dedicated and supportive and buy the albums of their favourite bands. I believe the moral among the metal fans is higher than in other, more commercial music genres, like hip-hop, pop and disco/dance. People simply need to learn what's right and wrong.
HH: 2007 will be your premiere in the USA. Why did it take 18 years to go there and what do you expect from this trip?
Tobias: Yes, we'll play at Maryland Death fest in Baltimore, MD, USA by the end of May. We're really looking forward to it, since it, as you said, will be our first show in the US ever. We've got several offers to play in the US in the past, but as usual it's a question of money. It's not exactly cheap to go there, and to cover all the costs, we need to get some money back on the shows, which we have considered too difficult and risky for us, being the band at our level and not having a name in the states. We haven't honestly been very determined to go there either. If and when it happens, it happens, has been our way of thinking. I think the festival show at MDF will be a killer experience. There are lots of cool bands playing and Vomitory has a great spot on the bill - Saturday night at 22:00! My friends in Sayyadina (Swedish Grindcore) played at MDF last year and they had a very good time there, so we believe it's gonna be great! Hopefully, we'll get a bunch of new fans there, who have never heard Vomitory before, and hopefully there will open up for more shows later in the US.
HH: Thank you for answering my questions. I wish you all the best and look forward to your last words.
Tobias: Thank you for the interview. I command everyone into brutal metal to check out the new Vomitory album, Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize, when it's out by the end of April! Keep your eyes open to catch us live in Europe during 2007. Check www.vomitory.net for updates. Cheers!