Wolverine pour l'album "Still"

1. Hi! At first, could you present the band and sum up your carrier so far for those who don't know you yet?

Stefan: Well, we’re a metalband from Sweden that has existed since 1995. We started out playing melodic deathmetal but as our influences changed so did our music. Nowadays the music is pretty melodic with progressive influences. People have described us as a mixture between Fates Warning, Anathema and Pink Floyd amongst other things. We have released three albums so far and are just about to release our forth one, “Still”, through Candlelight Records on June 26.


2. How would you define your music and what are your influences?

Stefan: As I mentioned above we’re pretty melodic with a touch of progressiveness so to speak. I don’t really feel comfortable describing our music in terms of genre or by comparing us to other bands and artists but if I have to mention any bands it would be the three I listed above. Personally I’m very influenced by Queensrÿche. Kiss is another favourite band of mine. I also listen a lot to melodic pop, preferably with a pretty moody approach, like for example A-ha’s later albums. Maybe a strange mix but it works for me. I don’t really know what the other guys are into but it’s safe to say that our musical influences are pretty different from one another.


3. You're about to release your third album "Still". Can you tell us more about your previous albums first and what do you think about them today?

Stefan: In 1999 we released an EP called “Fervent Dream”. It was heavily influenced by Fates Warning. I like the songs in a way but I really hate our performance on that one. In 2001 we released our first full-length album, “The Window Purpose”, and I’m really proud of that one. I think our performance is really good and it holds a lot of great tracks. Finally, in 2003, we released “Cold light of Monday” which is a concept album dealing with a young and abused woman called “Sarah”. It’s a different album and it really has the tendency to make people either love it or hate it. I’m proud of the album and our performance and some of the songs on it are the best material we’ve ever written. My favourite one would be “The Window Purpose” though since I have very fond memories of recording that one.


4. How has evolve the band between "Still" and the previous album?

Stefan: To start with, “Still” is not a concept album. It simply holds 9 tracks that we are damn proud of. I love the album, from start to finish. I have such a strong feeling that this album will mean a lot to us as a band. We have already received some amazing reviews for it and I just hope we’ll be able to get out and play live a lot this time around. We’ve never really been on a real tour in support of any of our albums and to me it’s a must else I don’t see the album has much of a chance to sell more than the previous ones. Anyway, no matter how things turn out I know that we have created something really special. To me, cliché or not, “Still” is our finest album to date.


5. What can we expect from "Still"? Can it be compared to your previous release?

Stefan: Wolverine will always be Wolverine so you can definitely hear it’s us. I’d say it’s a mixture of “CloM” and “TWP”. It has a higher pace than “CloM” just like “TWP” has but at the same time it has the emotional impact that “CloM” have in my opinion.


6. What do you like in it? Do you have a favorite song?

Stefan: I like the songs. Every song stands perfectly fine by itself but at the same time they all fit really well together and create something unique as a whole. I love all of the songs, I really do. Well, if I had to point out my least favourite it would be “Liar on the mount”. It’s not bad in any way, it’s just that I like the other ones better. I’m also really satisfied with the production and our performance. We owe a great deal to Oliver Philipps and Moschus at Spacelab. Oliver especially acts as a producer and he really brings out the best in us. I love working with those guys.


7. How spent the writing process and how long did it last?

Stefan: The writing process took about a year or so as it always does for us. However, the last two or three months are much more intense than the rest of the year since we work a lot better under stress. Usually it’s the rest of the guys that jam and bring in ideas to rehearsals. When they are done I simply write melodies and lyrics to the songs. It’s the way we’ve always done things and it works great for us. “Sleepy town” is however written entirely by Marcus (our drummer) so it’s not always the songs are a result of teamwork but most of the time they are.


8. Why did you choose this title "Still"? Can you tell us more about the lyrics?

Stefan: The band has been around for 11 years now so still came from the point of view that the band is still going strong. At the same time it’s also a hint at the frustration we feel that we’ve never really been able to take off commercially even though we’ve existed for this long and, in our opinion, released a lot of good music. Things are simply very still for us in a way. The lyrics deal with stuff that’s been on our minds for the last three years since we released “CloM”. It felt really good to write lyrics that deal with our reality instead of a made up story like “CloM”.


9. Where do you find your inspiration to write such melancolic songs? How are you in the everyday life?

Stefan: Melancholy has always been very natural for us as a band. We listen to a lot of moody music so of course that has something to do with our own material. I simply find melancholic music beautiful. We’re a bunch of very happy guys in our everyday life though. Of course everyone have their problems from time to time but so do everyone else on this wonderful planet. As I said, in our writing melancholy always comes very natural.


10. Is there a tour planed to promote your new album?

Stefan: Nothing as of yet but I certainly hope we’ll get out and play a lot. Playing live is definitely the greatest part of being in a band. It’s so great to meet new people and the songs always get a life of their own in a live-environment.


11. What do you do for a living apart from the band?

Stefan: I work as a coordinator at an adult educational association called Bilda. It’s really hard to explain what it’s all about since adult educational associations only exist in Sweden but I help various local bands out with what they need to develop as a band and individuals.


12. What are you listening to these days? Any good metal (or not metal) albums to recommend?

Stefan: Unfortunately I haven’t much time left of my days to listen to music. I spend most of my spare time playing Xbox 360 or watching movies. Since I both play in a band and work with music all through the days I tend to want to get away from it when I can. A recommendation would however be “Revenge” by Kiss. It’s the album they released right around the time Eric Carr died and it’s simply amazing.


13. What is your position about downloading?

Stefan: I’m pretty much in favour of it but then again I think people should buy albums they download and like. I wasn’t too happy when “Still” was leaked several weeks in advance but that’s just because I want the album to be available in stores when it’s available for download. If someone downloads the album and like it I want him or her to be able to buy it right away, else there’s a big risk they will simply be satisfied with having downloaded the album and that’s wrong to me.


14. Thanx for the interview. The last words are yours!

Stefan: Thank you yourself. I hope that people who read this interview take some time to check out “Still” and Wolverine. We take pride in only releasing albums that we ourselves love and “Still” is no exception. If you like metal with a touch of progressive spice then this is an album for you. Take care!