UNLEASHED INTERVIEW |
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Since the late 80's Swedish Unleashed has spread destruction upon the world with their true old school death metal. They have stayed true to the genre, and their latest album - out on SPV - "Midvinterblot" is no exception. Vocalist/bassist Johnny kindly answered our questions ...
Interview by Mads Jeppsen |
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1) First off I would like to congratulate you with an awesome album, that has given me many a banging moments in my small apartment. Let's start off with the classic questions of you telling us about how you guys got started?
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Thank you very much! Always nice to hear some fine words on the new album. Unleashed was formed in November 1989, after the split up of Nihilist.
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2) Which bands/artists inspired you musically, and how can this be heard in your music?
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I think in the early days bands like Venom, Slayer and Celtic Frost were some of our first influences. Now days I think we don't really get influenced by other bands anymore. At least not intentionally since we have our own style and sound within the Death Metal style so to speak.
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3) What is the "high" of your career?
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Haven't yet been there……..but I could name countless of fantastic moments on stage…..the summer festivals of 2006 for example were all just fantastic.
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4) What is the "low" of your career?
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Not understanding we needed better business skills back in 1991 when signing our very first record deal.
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5) In a world of many death metal bands, what makes Unleashed stand out from the crowd in your own opinion?
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I think we are one of few bands that have very memorable songs in our business. Classic structures with vers-chorus-vers-choruse is not so common within the death/black metal community. There are some others though off course. We are also one of few bands that you can easily hear the lyrics in the vocals. At least easier than some…..and we work very hard on this every new album we make.
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6) Concerning the new album, how do you feel about it?
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I feel just great thank you. We have gotten some of the best critics ever. We are dying to get out on tour and meet all the warriors again!!!
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7) What makes the new album different from the others? And do you, in the band, feel any difference from before you split up?
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We never had a split up. You mean that we took a break in 1998-2001. That's true. And a much needed break. I think this album just have stronger songs than before, and the production is the best ever in my opinion. The vocals are my best and I think the guitar work has taken an all time high compared to all previous records.
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8) When digging a bit into your lyrics, I see that these are not run-of-the-mill death metal lyrics. What inspires your lyrically?
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Many things, that's why we don't do one-type-of-topics. As long as it fits to death metal music the topic could be anything between life and death really. Lots of Viking tradition type of songs and warrior-spirit kind of songs of course. Some anti-christ type of songs and also some political stuff. We even go so far as to make a song inspired from the lord of the rings….so it's a wide range of lyrics alright.
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9) Do you feel that Unleashed has a specific image? If so, which? And is this intentional?
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We are what we are. Death Metal is a way of life. Not just a musical style. Therefore I couldn't call it an image. It's our reality right there.
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10) Describe what Unleashed is all about in 3 words.
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Swedish Death Metal.
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11) All your previous albums have been released by Century Media. Why is it that you now decided to change to SPV?
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We came to an end with C.M. after many years of good friendship. We needed a new partner who believed in the future of the band and Death Metal in general. SPV have a professional crew and the right attitude for the coming years. That was…. and is extremely important.
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12) Your upcoming European tour doesn't include any Scandinavian gigs. I would expect Scandinavia to be your biggest market, so how come this gets ignored?
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We haven't had a good distribution at all in Scandinavia until now with SPV/playground. So things will start to happen now for sure. We will likely tour with the masters of death package in April/May I Scandinavia.
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13) Last, I would like to thank you for your time and wish you good luck with your upcoming tours, and your further career. Is there anything you want to say to your fans and the IntroMental readers?
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Thank you for the interview!! Check into our website www.unleashed.se occasionally for updates on Scandinavian tour….I think we will start booking it in a few weeks. We count on meeting up with the warriors of Denmark in April/May 2007!!!
Hail Thor! Johnny |
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