DISMEMBER
Dismember are a decent
Death metal band and the guys from Sweden recently have released a new
album called “Where Ironcrosses Grow”. Matti Karki is the vocalist of the
band and answers to the questions of Behind the Veil.
1.YOU HAVE
RECENTLY RELEASED YOURNEW ALBUM “WHERE
IRONCROSSES
GROW”, CAN YOU TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT THE“SOUND” OF THIS ALBUM? WHAT
CAN EXPECT A METAL FAN FROM THIS ALBUM?
-
Its not very different from the previous
one, you can say it’s a back to the old school of Death Metal/ The fans
can expect rough music, some solos and great enthousiasm.
2.WHY
DID YOU CHOOSE THIS ASA TITTLE, WHERE IS IT REFERRING TO? ARE
THERE POLITICAL REFERENCES TO THIS ALBUM?
-
There are not political referencies
about this album. We avoid writing political songs. The Tittle refers to
Battlefield, you know the crosses that rise on the cemeteries after great
battles, the crosses of the people who died in this battlefield.
3.IS
IT A CONCEPT ALBUM? OR THEREARE
INDEPENDENT SONGS WITH COMMON REFERENCE?
-
It’s not a concept album but they are
some songs with common meaning in their lyrics. Some songs talk about War,
some of them are anti-religious. This time we left the Gore part behind.
WHY DID YOU
DO THAT?
-
I was bored about writing these kind
of songs, we wanted to do something new, to focus on the dark side of the
human mind rather than the violent acts.
4.WHAT
IS YOUR FAVOURITE SONG FROM“WHERE
IRONCROSSES
GROW” AND WHY?
-
I cant say why, but my favorite songs
are the first song (Where Ironcrosses Grow), Tragedy and Faithful and Chasing
the Serpent. I think they are the best songs from this album and I like
the sound of them most.
5.YOU
HAD MADE THE MIXING OF THERECORD
IN SAMI STUDIOS? DID
YOU USE COMPUTERS FOR THAT PURPOSE? DID
YOU EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS ?
-
We did both analog and digital mixing
and we had problems with the storage devices. Some of them cracked
and we had to start all over again. Constantly he had to make backups for
safety.
6. YOU
ARE THE VOCALIST OF A DEATH METAL
BAND, HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO KEEP YOUR VOICE IN SHAPE?
-
With a lot of cigarettes and drinking
whiskey (laughs). I’ve never had some vocal lessons from a professional
teacher. I just scream loud and I have developed a certain technique and
a singular voice. I don’t know how, that’s what I do.
7. ARE
YOU A BAND THAT CHANGE CONSTANTLY THE STYLE OF MUSIC THAT YOU ARE PERFORMING?
-
We actually don’t know. That depends
from the period of time and our feelings. We have now a new guitarist (David
Blomquist), who is very talented and we might play different. But sincerely
I don’t know if we will change our style.
8. ARE
YOU SATISFIED FROM THE CORRESPONDENCEOF THE FANS TO YOUR ALBUMS?
-
Definitely! The people like our albums
and lately the press is also interested about the music of Dismember.
9.WHAT ARE
YOUR FUTURE PLANS WITH THE BAND AND YOUR PERSONAL GOAL?
-
That's hard to answer..., I can say
that we like to play music, make records and play lives.
10.DO
YOU SEE LIFE, OPTIMISTICALLY?IF
YOU HAD A CRYSTAL BALL AND YOU COULD SEE THE FUTURE IN COLOURS,IMAGINE
WHAT COLOUR YOU SEE NOW?
-
I always see future in black you know
because black contains all colours. It’s a mixture of all colours
11. YOU
ARE NOT A NEW BANDIN THE GENRE, WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO THE ROOKIES, NEW
MUSICANS, WHAT DOTHEY HAVE BE AWARE OF?
-
That consists of the band members.
You must be democratic with all the members and treat them equally. They
are different persons, they have different cultures and maybe they like
different kinds of music. Secondly they must PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
never leave themselves without practice. They must also believe in their
music and don’t be disappointed if the success don’t come fast. Dismember
were formed in 1988 and we had our first record deal 2 years later. They
must be confident, keep trying to develop as musicians and believe in what
they do.
12. WHICH
ARE YOUR HOBBIES?DO YOU HAVE
ANY SPARE TIME?
-
I do have some spare time lately and
I like to read books. My favorite books are novels about the World War
II, Tolkien Books, Steven King’s Books and I also like to watch the documentaries
on the Discovery Channel. I think that none movies channel is better than
Discovery.
13. BACK
TO THE MUSIC, HOW ABOUTLIVE SHOWS? WILL
YOU BE PLAYING ALONG WITH OTHER BANDS OR SOLO? WILL
WE SEE YOU PLAYING IN GREECE
SOMEDAY?
-
We will not actually go on Tour, travel
on busses or staying in hotels. We will have some gigs in Sweden, we will
go for two shows in Italy and we wlll play in summer at some festivals.
I think that we will come to Greece on May, it not confirmed yet, but I
look forward to play in Greece. I have heard so many thinks about the the
Greek metallers. You guys are maniacs!
14.WELL
IT MUST BE THE MEDITERRANEANBLOOD
THAT WE HAVE IN OUR VEINS….WHAT
IS THE WEATHER IN YOUR COUNTRY TIGHTNOW?
-
Well, it’s fucking cold outside…let
me check the thermometer…..oh it’s -1 , it’s nothing compared with other
days. You know, they are four seasons on Sweden. During the winter, people
go to their work and then they stay at home. When you hear about Swedish
people drinking, then you must know that the weather is warm and we are
having a good time.
MATTI, THANK
YOU VERY MUCH FOR THEINTERVIEW, I
REALLY ENJOYED OUR CONVERSATION ALL
THE BEST TO YOU AND THEBAND, HOPE TO SEE YOU PLAYING HERE.
-
Thank you Costas for your time and
the interest about our band.
Costas “C.O.B.” Meidanis
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