First off let me thank you for this opportunity to do this interview with you.
1)The new album sounds really great,how has the reaction been to it?
1)The new album sounds really great,how has the reaction been to it?
Its been overwhelming! We have got killer reviews from all around the world! You never really know what kind of reactions you will get when you release a new album, and especially now since there has been some lineup changes since last time. We ourselves are of course very pleased with the new album as well, i think the songs came out really strong and there is lots of variations in between the songs. The new stuff is also going down really well when we play live, and that is something that is appriciated from our side.
2)You guys recorded with nico elgstrand.How was this experience and did you guys do anything differently with this recording?
It was only a pleasure to be in the studio with Nico, he is such an easy guy to hang out with, he is really funny and laid back, plus he is very talented at what he does. We did the recording totally analogue wich gives the whole pruduction a very warm and living feel to it. On the last album the drums where recorded analogue and the guitar were digitally recorded but this time we went for it fully on. We are all very oldschool in our way at how we think a pruduction should be. To many bands these days sounds way to stiff for my taste, the drums doesnt sound like drums but some digital drum machine and everything is so over polished. So we where striving to get a more raw sound wich i think we achieved pretty well, haha!
3)This album is definately alot less melodic then THE GOD THAT NEVER WAS.Was it a concious decision to step away from that?
In a way it was a concious decision, David Blomqvist (guitar) who in the past has been responsible for a lot of the Iron Maiden influences said that he wanted to cut down on that for this album, but anyway there is a few very Iron Maden-ish melodies on the album. But we were not really thinking that we should do something different from the last album, it just turned out that way. We wrote a bunch of songs and the came out really good this time, with a good variation.
4)MASSIVE KILLING CAPACITY has been called the low point of your carreer. Do you agree with that statement.
It was not a low point at all, cause around the time when it was released back in 1995 Dismember was getting alot of attension from all around the world and did a successful tour together with Dissection as an opening act. But music wise it was different from before, more midtempo and the vocals where not as raw as on the previous albums. I rembember when it was released that i thought that they steped away to much from the Dismember that i liked. But there are some really good song on there like "On frozen fields" for instanse.
5)Would you say that anything has changed with the bands sound since inception almost 20 years agao,or is it a case of it anin't broke don't fix it?
Hehe! Yeah, thats pretty much what it is! Of course there has always been variations betwen the albums but all in all it has always been the same Dismember sound since the beginning. Members might have come and gone but you cant really hear that in the music. But if you compare the first two albums you can hear that we have cut down on the amount of riffs we use in the songs, especially on "Indicent & Obscene" there are lika a million riffs in some of the songs, you could have made maybe two-three songs out of one nowdays.
6)You guys recently lost founding member Fred Estby.How did this affect the band and how is new drummer thomas working out?
It was quite chocking when Fred left the band. He has always been a driving force in Dismember, but he couldnt continue to tour so much like we do. He has three kids and he didnt want to be away as much as we required. We all totally understand him, so there is no bad blood between us what so ever. And luckilly we found this crazy guy called Thomas Daun (ex. Repugnant/Insision) He fits just perfectly in the band, both on a musical level and as a friend. He is one of the funniest and craziest guys i ever met! And he is an awesome drummer!
7)Being that you are one of the few original bands from the original stockholm scene still doing it the old way,how do you feel about all the "NEWER" bands coming from there now?
There is not many new good bands comming out these days, and that is really sad. The only new band from Sweden i have heard reasently that i like is Tyrant, they sound totally oldschool. I think most of the new bands are crap and im not interested in following the new death metal scene anymore, I have my old bands that i listen to and thats good enough for me. Either bands are to wimpy and commersial or they just focus on playing fast and over-technical and thats just not my cup of tea.
8)How is the scene for death metal in sweden now?
Like i said, its basicly the old band that still play that has anything to offer, at least this is what i think. But there is not many new bands comming up. But like i said i dont follow the scene like i used to so maybe there is... at least i hope so. But we still play gigs around in Sweden and especially Stockholm and Gothenburg are good cities to play.
9)You guys are getting ready to tour s.america.What expectations for this tour do you have if any,and who will be joining you on this trek?
We are all very much looking forward to tour South america, we are playing a lot of cool countries there like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil etc. I know it will be a tough tour in a way cause we will be flying everyday cause the distances are to far to travel in a bus, and then you wont get much sleep cause you will have to get up and catch a flight every day. But im very excited about the gigs there, i think its gonna be great! I have no idea about support bands for this tour, i guess it will be different local support bands, we were trying to get Mortem to open for us but they where not avalible now, i think the members live all around the world so it was not possible for them to do any gigs with us.
10)You tour alot in europe and do alot of festivals,but other then your upcoming canadian tour you don't seem to make it to the states very often.Any possibility of that happening soon?
Thats right, we toured europe this year in February and we have another one comming up in December or January again. And theres tons of festivals around in europe during the summer time, this year we have done, Pary san (germany) Summer breeze (germany) Agglutination (Italy) Hole in the sky (norway) and the Vader anneversary gig. But going to the states is difficult for us, there is not many bookers that want to takes us over that can offer us a good deal. I think we could get there and play for very little money, but thats not what we wanna do. I guess for a band of our size it is difficult. We did a tour on the east coast in 2006 together with Grave, Vital Remains, Demericus and Withered wich i think is a very good line up. But it turned out that there was a lot of problems with the booker, local promotors, food and the bus we got was not the one we where promised to get in the first place. And there was not so many people comming to the gigs either. We did a couple of really good gigs in New York, Boston and Chicago but that was about it. The conditions are way much better for us in europe, so there for its easier for us to tour there. But i hope the Canadian tour will turn out great, im really looking forward to go there - the home of Exciter!
11)You have been around for alomost 20 years now.How have things changed for the band since '88.Has doing the band become easier,for exp do you all have day jobs?
I have of course not been there since the beginning so im not really the right one to answer this one. But nowdays there is way much more bands around then lets say in the early ninetees. When we are out touring we always see that for instance the week after we played a certain city there is another tour package comming to the same venue, there is a constant flow of tours these days compared to before. But its easier to tour nowdays cause now you have cellphones and e-mail to comunicate with promotors and bookers. Some of us have day jobs, i for instance work spare time as a social worker. I work just like a couple of times per week so its okey. Right now i live just the life i have always dreamt of, so right now its just perfect!
12)With all the lineup changes the band has had especially in the last 3 years,has this made it harder for the band to continue?Seems there is a massive amount of metal musicians in sweden.Something in the water there maybe?
There has been quite a few changes lately and im also one of the new guys, i joined in september 2005. But i think it has been like a vitamin injection for the band. And when Thomas Daun joined on drums in May 2007 it was really a lift for the band, he fitted just perfectly as a person and as a musician. So i think changing members made it possible for the band to continue like we have done lately with lots of touring and recording.
13)What are the plans for dismember for the rest of 2008 and what is in the future for the band?
We still have lots of tours comming up in 2008. In late sepember we are going to South america for a two week tour, i think we do like 10 gigs there and then we come home, and we are doing a gig on a cruise on a boat. Its a 24 hour cruice between sweden and finland and we play together with Candlemass, Demon and Evergray among others. Then we will do the Canadian tour with Augury. Then we where supposed do a tour in December but i think its pushed ahead a month, but im not sure yet. And that will be together with Flotsam & Jetsam, Onslaught etc. I think that will be an awesome tour! Im really looking forward to everything comming up this year. Then for next year, i dont know yet. I think we will take it easy on the gig front for a while, then we will see what is comming up for us.
14)Well this is the conclusion,thanks again for taking the time to do this interview with us.Any final thoughts or comments
Thank you! Its been a pleasure! Well... Keep supporting the metal scene. Go to the shows, buy the records, grow your hair and drink beer!
Cheers!
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