Necrophobic pour l'album "Hrimthursum"

Hi! A boring question for the beginning : Can you introduce briefly your band?

Necrophobic was formed back in 1989, Stockholm, Sweden. The band has since then been an important band for the Swedish more black death metal scene.

What are your main musical influences and inspirations?

We take our inspiration from dark and evil sources and it can be anything in that matter that can give us inspiration to write our music. When we started this band, most of the Swedish scene were influenced by the American and/or English underground death metal scene, with bands like Master, Carcass, Napalm Death, Repulsion and such. We were more influenced with concepts and thinkings for music like our native band Bathory and European bands like Destruction, Sodom, Celtic Frost. The American bands for us would be Slayer and Morbid Angel. These bands made us create the concept and sound we liked for our band.


Why did you leave the mythic Sunlight Studio for this 5th album ?

Because we felt it was time to take things further and develop our sound with new inputs to make it all better. We’ve worked with Tomas and Sunlight Studio for so many years and it has been great, but we never really found the place to record until now, that could make this development, the way we want it. Today, we have the result in “Hrimthursum” and it proves that we have made a great sounding album in true, yet developed, Necrophobic style.

Can you explain to us the meaning of "Hrimthursum" ?

The word Hrimthursum means “The Frost Giants” and it’s a Icelandic word.

Can you say to me a little bit more about this artwork?

It describes what the lyrics are about. The Frost Giants destroy the religion, in short. The lyrics are close to what can be described as a concept, but there’s no actual story that starts from track one and ends on track twelve, but the concept is “changing the history”, so to speak. Destroy the religion that came to our country some 1000 years
ago.

I have listened to "Hrimthursum", to my mind i think that is the most ornated album of your discography with some compositions more complex than before. You worked with vokda/redbull (beer/redbull also works)? How did the composition of ""Hrimthursum" progress?

All pieces fell into place as we came up with the title. We then knew the concept to write the music within. The first finished track was “Blinded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness”, which also set the standard for how the rest of the material should be like. The working progress was a little different this time, also. We presented finished songs to eachother, rather than just bits and pieces. All we then needed to concentrate on was if a song was finished or needed some other arrangements or if some music should be dropped and other pieces of music should be there instead. A working manner that we all felt was very easy to deal with.

Why a such difference between the singing of Tobias to "Spawned By Evil" until now? Did he take syrup?

What do you mean? The difference in my ears are that he is older with more singing experience and have found the many ways to use his voice to be able to deliver raw death metal in many ways.

Can you give us your advice and anecdotes for each album of your discography?

Do you think my mind is a computer hard drive with all things “saved”?

The Call: 3 track vinyl EP, released in 1993, limited in 1500 copies.
The Nocturnal Silence: Debut album, released in 1993, took the world by storm and is today considered as a death metal classic.
Spawned By Evil : Mini album, released in 1996 as a teaser for the upcoming second album. Included covers on Bathory, Slayer and Venom.
Darkside: Second album, released in 1997. A much darker sounding album that the debut. The production suffers a bit, but still carry the true Necrophobic blasphemy style.
The Third Antichrist: Released in 1999 and it’s from here that the band really find the ultimate way to do the best crossing between death and black metal, which is the band’s trademark. A style we are quite alone to do at this high level and quality.
Bloodhymns: Released in 2002 and for the first time we got the opportunity to back it up with a European tour.

Why did you leave the label Black Mark then Hammerheart for Regain?

I hate the years we wasted on Black Mark. We were foolish and young when we signed the deal with the. We thought we had signed to one of the four biggest death metal labels and would be able to tour, but hell no. The fucking label didn’t do any tour support whatsoever! We were stuck there for 3 albums. The we signed to Hammerheart and we could tour and start build up what we lost of all those years on Black Mark. Then that label couldn’t handle their business and reformed into Karmageddon Media. We didn’t want to continue on yet another looser label, so we had to waste time again with business that made our music writing suffer. Last year, we signed to Regain Records, a very professional label and now we will conquer!

You lose one lead guitarist per album, did you shut Sebastian in a cell this time?

Sebastian has been in the band since 1996, so I looked Johan in a cell to be able to have the same line up on two albums, he he…Seriously, this line-up will hold forever, I guess. I see no reason why it shouldn’t.

Have you some news about Blackmoon?

No.

Why didn't you have some side-project? why just only one band until 1989??

I don’t do “side-projects”. I get what I want and need in Necrophobic, because the music we create is what I think death metal should sound like. However, since one year back, I also play in Souldevourer, a band formed by ex-Dismember guitarist Robert Sennebäck.


What is your opinion about the new commercial side of bands like In Flames or Soilwork (for US teenagers)?

My opinion is that they do what they do, but I am not interested in that type of death metal and image. I think death metal shall be more dark and primitive and I don’t think that kind of clothing belongs in this style. A personal view. If I see them on the streets, they don’t look like people into metal. I may be narrow minded by thinking like that, but I’m damn sure that you will not just find metal music in their collections, therby they’re not metal! On the other hand, they are most likely able to live off their music, because they have compromised to make it sell more. That is something I wouldn’t allow and couldn’t feel proud of, but again, that’s my personal view.

If you could organise your own metal festival, whose bands would be invited?

Death and black metal bands that are true to their style.

What is your end result about the year 2005?

A year of album preparation and recording of the new album.

What is your playlist at the moment and your last musical revelation?

I don’t have a play list and I recently attended the Close-Up Magazine festival and I saw Bolt Thrower for the first time and it was killer. Last time they were here was 13 years ago and I missed it due to a show we had in another city.

Have you listened to the new Dissection?

I’ve only heard it once, but I guess it’s ok, even though I prefer the old style.

A European Tour (including France) is scheduled?

The European tour will happen in the autumn, but it’s not booked yet. I don’t know if it’ll include France, but hopefully. We haven’t been there before, so do you want Necrophobic blaspheming the French cities, or what? In June, we will play 4 shows in Spain, so if you like to do some travelling to your neighbour south country for some vacation, I suggest you do so between June 15-18…

What do you do apart from Necrophobic?

Nothing for the moment. I’m an educated graphic designer…

What do you think of our stinky cheesy country?

Couldn’t say, as the smell doesn’t reach all the way up here to the cold northern regions, but ask your friends in Belgium, he he. Seriously, as I just said, we haven’t been there before and I haven’t been there personally either, so to speak. Are you any metal or do you just romantic, drink wine and eat snails?

To conclude the interview, I leave you the ending word...

You better improve your record collection on May 22, by buying our new album “Hrimthursum”, or continue to eat snails and be romantic!

Thanx!

You’re welcome!