Underground Metal Blog since 2013

2017. október 27., péntek

Pontus Norman of CON

Interview with Pontus Norman (CON)


Hail brother Pontus, you are very welcome to Archangel’s Lantern. Firstly tell the readers when and how did you connect with the underground movement? What were your very first tapes/vinyls/CDs? Which live show of a metal band you visited first time?

What made me come in contact with the underground world was by my brother. At age of nine I got the Promo-CD of "Storm of the Light´s Bane" by Dissection. I really don’t remember my first live show really, haha! I think it was In Flames or some other band. 

What was your very first band? When did you start to play the drums and guitars? Which musicians and bands influenced you back in time and in our days?

- My first real band was named Excessum.
I started to play drums when i was 14. I bought a used drum set from a friend that was really good. My influences back then was Dissection, Morbid Angel, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and many more.


Tell us more about your past bands, like Blut, Excessum, Holocaustia, Human Death and The Bloodlust. Unfortunately I could listen to Excessum only, other bands I couldn’t find. Where can we find some music from these hordes?

- Excessum is the only one of those bands that are available online. 
Rest of them are on tape that I have.The time I was with Holocaustia never got recorded, but it was the best Black metal band I have ever played with. Its a shame that we never recorded something when I was a member.

When I’ve talked with Carl Gustav Karlsson of Protector (who played live with you), I’ve mentioned to him that as for me CON is a Dark Essence… Now let’s talk about the beginnings of Con. Share with us all the important information about this brilliant horde.

- Carl Gustav Karlson was asked to be playing drums if we were going to play live. I started CON by myself. I have written all the music and on the first demo I programmed the drums and the vocals were done by Carl Nordblom. On "In Signo Draconis", Jimmie Oloausson played the drums and Master of her Temple did the vocals.


When do you plan to release “In Signo Draconis”? I must say the teasers I’ve listened to so far are just amazing.

- It's so hard for me to take credit for my own work, and I’m amazed that so many though its not release yet are longing for it. Internal conflict has stand it the way, but I’m going to release it. When is still not decided yet. It´s a production that I’m really proud of, maybe the best production I have ever done.

After its release do you have some plan to play live in Sweden and perhaps in Europe?

- Right now I don’t think that there will be any live-shows. 
But of course if wish that it will be, but I’m a really busy right now with things around me, life in general and if there is gonna be a live show it should be spectacular or else it´s no idea. The estetic and the performance is hard to recreate with all the emotions that is contained in the songs. 


Would you be so kind to recommend us some small, unknown by us, Swedish hordes? How do you see and estimate the Swedish scene of the past and nowadays?

- The Swedish scene has many serious and good bands, but unfortunate there is no money, no support and that leads to that every band mostly has to manage everything  themselves for a gig. That’s an enormous project. More and more clubs and venues are closing down, so the live culture in Sweden are slowly dying out. Sadly. If you’re not a more famous band with a lot of money in your pocket.

Archangel’s Lantern is eternally dedicated to the memory of Jon Andreas Nödtveidt. Did you meet him ever and shared the stage with Dissection? What are your favorite tracks and albums from his heritage? (And not only from Dissection.)

-  I have met him two times at their final gigs.
He used to spend time at our house where I grew up together with my brother and everyone in the local metal scene there. He has always been a kind and thoughtful person from what I have heard and the impression I got when I´ve met him with extremely skills on whatever he plays. He was a person with the heart in the right place.


Alongside CON you are playing in another band, in another style. Please share some important thoughts about it.

- Right now I’m producing a EP together with a very talented singer, it's a mix of pop/electro/indie. That’s the music that feels right to play for me right now. Of course Black metal is something I will always will be devoted to. I mean CON is my lifework.

What kind of literature do you like to read? Name us some books and movies.

- No comment on that one.

What is your daily job? Which museums, concert-places are your recommendations from Göteborg? What kind of food and drinks would you recommend us to try?

- My daily job right now is Musicproduction on a high school here in Gothenburg.
If you like burgers, go to ”Butchers market” Best burgers in town! I recommend the drink Margarita on ”Lilla London” on Avenyn here in Gothenburg. Taste´s incredible good!

Tack så mycket brother Pontus! Wish you all the best in all your musical activities and in personal life as well. Send your message to the readers of Archangel’s Lantern from Leviathan’s Grave.

- Thank you so much for this interview!
I want to thank you all out there for the devotion to CON!
It means more than you ever could imagine.

BTW, Heineken is the greatest beer!


Contact: pontusnorman@icloud.com





2017. október 26., csütörtök

Nocturnal Overlord

Interview with Nocturnal Overlord
(Nibiru, Heartworm, Necrochamber, 
Crimson Moon, Temple of the Dreaming Serpent, session bass player/backing vocals of Melechesh)
Questions compiled by Cornelius of Encomium 'zine and 
Georgius of Archangel's Lantern 


Ave brother, Nocturnal Overlord! You are very welcome in my anti-cosmic metal blog Archangel's Lantern. First of all, tell the readers, when and how did you join the underground movement? What were your very first hard rock/metal materials? Which metal-show you visited first time? What kind of experience do you achieved back then?

- Greetings and thank you for your interest and time! 
My father and uncle used to have vinyl records, 8 track tapes, and cassette tapes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, and others. I grew up in the 80's and listened to a lot of 80's pop and rock as well. But I was about 5-10 years too young for the 80's heavy metal movement. My first hard rock/metal cassettes I owned were probably Iron Maiden, Guns N Roses, and Bon Jovi. First concert I ever saw was Metallica in 1992 in San Diego, California. The show they recorded for the Binge and Purge live release. It was a great experience and they played for maybe 3 hours. Very inspirational for me. 
Both my grandmothers used to own organs when I was a child. The old electric church organ type. So I started making music at a very young age. I used to be fascinated with pressing different combination of buttons, making my own sounds, and taught myself how to play. My father used to have an old nylon string classical guitar too. And I used to love to pick it up and pretend I knew what I was doing. Then when I was 12, my Jr. High School had a drum/percussion class that I took. There was two drum sets and some other percussion instruments and I really learned a lot about rhythms and timings. I enjoyed the raw energy and sounds from the drums a lot and always wanted to play them. But living in apartments all my life, it was really impossible to have my own drums and practice them. At the same time period, my neighbor got an electric guitar and I remember picking it up and somehow just started playing it. It just came naturally to me. So when I was 13, I bought my first guitar thanks to the help of my family. I used to come straight home from school every day and do nothing but play my guitar. It was all I did. I was always a kind of loner. I didn't care about school, girls, sports, or any of that stuff. I just wanted to play and make music. 


Which was your very first band back in the time? You are a multi-talented musician. Tell us, which musical instruments you can handle with ease and are able to play and what bands/musicians influenced you in the past as well as in our days?

- The first band I played in was in 1993 when I was 15 years old. We called ourselves Infested and played a darker kind of death metal. We used to rehearse almost every day. Then girls and drugs and typical teenager things came into the picture, and in 1994 Infested broke up and me and a couple of the other band members went on to form a new band, which eventually became Crimson Moon.  
These days I play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and various percussion instruments. I also went to school for producing and recording music, and have been making recordings since 1994. I have a small recording studio and sometimes records other bands and do live sound for bands as well. And I also started my own record label/music distro in 1997. 
When I first heard Metallica's Master of Puppets, my life changed forever. The heaviness, speed, and intensity was new to me and I really liked it. Especially how they mixed acoustic guitars and melodies and solos with such crazy and aggressive music. That was probably the moment I decided I wanted to play the guitar. Then I get into other bands like Megadeth, Sepultura, Slayer, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Kreator, etc. Eventually I heard Death's Spiritual Healing in 1990, and it was just so fast, heavy, and dark, and the vocals were like nothing else I'd ever heard before. I was hooked. Then I found Morbid Angel, Carcass, Napalm Death, Deicide, Immolation, Entombed, Carnage, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Nocturnus, and the rest was history. Around 1993-94 death metal started to kind of change and it all started to sound kind of the same to me. So I started to get more into black metal. I was always more attracted to the darker music. I heard the demos from Emperor, Gehenna, Gorgoroth, Zemial, Manes, Behemoth, Ancient, Carpathian Forest and bands like that. And when Osmose had their albums licensed in the US through JL America, I was introduced to bands like Immortal, Marduk, Beherit, Necromantia, Impaled Nazarene, Thone of Ahaz, and all those early 90s classics. I also enjoy a lot of atmospheric and ambient music as well as some classical, dark wave, and other genres. These days, I would say some of my top favorite bands include, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Rush, Dead Can Dance, and Devil Doll. 


List us all the instruments you own. I've noticed the B.C. Rich bass and some custom Moser guitars as well. Pick out your beloved ones and talk a little bit about them too. How and when did you become an endorser of the Moser Custom Shop guitars?

- I own various guitars and basses, a drum set, a really amazing keyboard, as well as various other gadgets, amps, pedals, rack effects, mixers, recording equipment, etc. I'm a big fan of 80's and early 90's pointy metal guitars/basses, equipment, and sounds. I love that old 80's analog sound. So I have my own little collection. I prefer to have good tone and sound right from the equipment being used and not through computers and simulators. So I try to record and make music the old way. The only way if you ask me!
I was endorsed by Moser Custom Shop guitars in the past yes. Neal Moser is a master luthier and has been making and working on guitars since the 70's. He even worked on Jimmy Hendrix's guitars and did some work with BC Rich during the late 70's to mid 80's. During those old 80's metal rock star days. One of the luthiers that was working for him was a fan of my bands and music. And after some talking, I become an endorsed at MCS, which was a great honor for me. I met Neal and his wife Earlleen a few different times including at NAMM, and they have always been extremely nice, great, and real professional individuals. He now runs his new company in Arizona called Neal Moser Guitars and solely does custom American hand made guitars. 

When did you meet Ashmedi Melechesh for the first time? How did it happen and where? How do you felt yourself at the recent European tour with Azarath/Melechesh/Immolation? It was a great experience for us to see you playing live with Melechesh in Humenné/Slovakia. Would you be so kind to share any memories from that particular show?

- I've been in contact with Ashmedi from Melechesh for over 10 years now. I can't remember exactly how or when we started talking, but I've been a fan since "As Jerusalem Burns" album came out. I was always interested in Sumerian mythology, so it was natural that we came in contact and became acquaintances. Melechesh played a show here in San Diego once some years back and we had a chance to speak in person. And have been in contact on and off ever since. It was an honor playing the recent 2017 European tour with them as a live session bass player. Both as a musician and as a friend of the band. Good tour and all the other bands and crew were good people. The show in Humenne was better than expected and went quite well in my opinion. Good atmosphere, energy, and interaction from the crowd and the bands. It was great to meet so many fans and people too. Memorable indeed!

Nocturnal Overlord in Humenné/Slovakia, during Melechesh show, 23.IX.2017)

How about your nice city San Diego? What places would you recommend us to visit there: museums, botanic gardens, parks, historical locations?

- San Diego is a big city close to the Mexican border and about 2-3 hours away from Los Angeles. Many people visit and move here for the weather. Right now in the middle of October the weather is 105 degrees Fahrenheit's (40.5 C). It's basically summer all year long with sometimes light rain in the winter. There's many beaches here as well as the famous San Diego Zoo. And also the first Spanish mission built on the west coast USA. There's also some mountains and desert lands within a few hours drive if you want to get away from the city. If you only had a weekend to spend here, I would recommend going to the historical Old Town, Balboa Park (where's there's lots of museums and gardens), and of course to the Pacific Ocean beaches and trying out some great Mexican food. If you have a little more time, I would also recommend taking a short day trip to Tijuana, Mexico as it's so close and a different experience. 

(Cornelius of Castrum/Encomium and Nocturnal Overlord, Humenné/Slovakia, 23.IX.2017)

I've seen among your posts some of your self-made meals. Are there any recipes of your own that you would recommend us? Something that we should definitely try out as you seem to be a good cook? 

- I like to cook, yes. Mostly to relieve some stress and because nothing beats a home cooked meal. One of my favorite things in life is good food. As far as specific recipes go... I don't really have any. I'm more of an experiment and trial and error kind of guy, than a mad scientist/perfectionist following formulas and rules. I just use what ingredients and ideas I have and just go from there. Mostly depends on how much time I have and my mood. 

Archangel's Lantern is dedicated to the eternal glory and memory of Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.C.). Did you ever meet Jon? What do you like and prefer to listen to from his heritage (Dissection or maybe some other bands with his participation)?

- I never had the opportunity to meet Jon. I saw Dissection live twice though. Once in 1996 near Los Angeles, and one other time in Tijuana, Mexico on the Rebirth of Dissection tour. Both shows were quite memorable and inspirational as I've been a fan since "The Somberlain" and "The Priest of Satan" came out. I respect his ideas and decisions. And he made some excellent music. 

Nocturnal Overlord and me in Humenné/Slovakia, 23.IX.2017

What kind of literature and movies do you read/watch with pleasure?

- Preferably I like books and documentaries about different cultures and places, as well as ancient history and mythology, science, occultism, nature, etc. I've never been so much into fiction. Though I do enjoy the occasional horror or science fiction film to just let my mind free. As far as movies go, the 80's flicks are my favorites. These days everyone just copies each other. Not just in film, but in everything it seems like. Individualism and creativity has disappeared, and corporations and marketing have taken over. Which I hate. So I do my best not to keep up with it. 

Which historical period(s) do you prefer? If there would be a single chance for you to teleport, which time plane would you select and why?

- There's a lot of interesting time periods and eras through out the ages. But I've always felt more connected to the ancient Mesoamerican, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian civilizations. I've had many dreams and visions about them. Including dreams of ancient temples and pyramids and times with other worldly beings and advanced technology. Dreams of old wars and portals to different dimensions and times. If I could go anywhere in time, I would choose to go maybe 10-20 years in the future. I have a good idea of what the past was like. It's the future that's been on my mind and wondering how the choices and decisions I make effect it. 


It seems to me, you are pretty involved in the fields of astronomy/astrology and other topics beyond the space and time. Do you believe in the existence of other civilizations, species, i.e. aliens dwelling beyond our milk pathway?

- I think there's more to this world and universe than we will ever know or could ever understand. Even this planet and our existence is pure luck and coincidence and a chaotic balance of nature. To think we are the most intelligent beings and only advanced species would be foolish. I'd like to think there's more to life and this world than just being human and being part of society. 

Let's talk now about your old school Death Metal band, Heartworm. Share with us all the important information regarding this horde.

- Heartworm is a throwback to the early 90's metal days. Traditional metal, thrash metal, and death metal is always in my heart and what I grew up with. And I just miss the old guitar driven music, riffs, harmonies, solos, and feeling of that time period. For a while I had some old Jr. High School friends that I grew up with and even ex-Infested members join Heartworm. But with age comes responsibilities and it came to a stop. I've been working on finishing the songs I wrote and at least try and record a demo. Even if I have to record all the instruments myself. It's some of the best riffs and songs I've ever written. And it would be a shame to let it all go to waste. I'd really like to get a full line up and band going. But it's not so simple or easy to get people together these days. So we'll see. 

You are a shaman and a sorcerer in the ritualistic occult band, called Temple Of The Dreaming Serpent. Which themes influenced or motivated you to create this ritualistic musical entity?

- TOTDS was inspired by natural and unnatural forces and the chaos and balance of nature and space-time. I wanted to get back into the alien synth experimental type stuff I was doing when I first started doing Nibiru. The people who have heard Temple of the Dreaming Serpent say it makes them feel uneasy or like "something is wrong". Mostly just different sounds, moods, effects, sound waves and noises. Not something to play at a party, a bar, or live. I have two albums that are basically finished. I just need a new logo that represents my vision and sound-scapes. I've also been considering adding some various acoustic and ancient instruments to give it an even more eerie and desolate feeling and add a bit more balance to the chaos. 


I've listened to the fresh Necrochamber promo a few days ago and I must admit it is damn excellent, raw Black Metal material with awesome occult lyrics. Please enlighten the readers more details about Necrochamber and its activity.

- I started Necrochamber in 1998. It went through a few different name changes since then, but the main idea behind the band was always to create raw, aggressive, hellish, and in your face black metal. I recorded 4 songs for a demo in '98 and at one point had almost a full line up. But once again, things and people fell apart and I put the project on hold. In 2005 I brought the project back to life and came up with the name Necrochamber. This time I wanted to add some horror type of elements to the atmosphere, music, lyrics, and image. And in 2008 I started to write some new songs for a debut album. Right now in 2017 we are a three piece band including Tyson "Wotan" Jupin (from Vile and Condemned) on drums. The first album called "Ceremonies for the Dead" is already recorded, it just needs to be mixed and mastered. We're searching for a good record label to help us release it. We've played a few select shows around here in San Diego and looking to start playing in other areas and open up for bigger touring bands in the future. We have a second album  already written as well and will start working on recording that one shortly. 

You are the owner of Mythos Occultus. It deals with Musick, Occult Merchandising & Distribution. I assume it mostly supports with merchandise the bands your are involved in, such as Crimson Moon, Heartworm, Necrochamber, Nibiru, Temple of the Dreaming Serpent, am I right? Reveal us all the forthcoming news in respect of Mythos Occultus?

- I've had a small record label and distro since 1997. Mainly to support my own releases, as I got tired of constantly having to buy my own music from the record labels when I ran out. Around 2006 I was ready to put out some other bands releases, but life got in the way and the label and distro pretty much ended. In 2014 I decided to bring the label and distro back under a new name, Mythos Occultus. The plan was to release some albums as in the past, but I also wanted to turn it into a merchandising company instead of just a distro. Making t-shirts and other merchandise for other bands, not just mine. A sort of US merchandising company for overseas bands. It's still an idea I have and not sure if I'll ever be ready to do it full time. So in the meantime, I'm just concentrating on releasing music and merchandise for solely my own projects and bands. It's a lot of time and money to invest. And I've been doing it for 20 years now. I don't make anything from it. I do it just for the art. 


You are handling all the instruments in Nibiru. It was formed quite a long time ago, to be precise in early 1996, and its style was defined as astral occult metal. How it all began? I mean what led you to start an atmospheric, dark, ambient project back then? There was only an 8-song demo out in 2004. So the question arises, when can we finally expect its continuation or the debut album to be released?

- Nibiru began as an alien synth type project. I started recording some pieces on my grandmother's old church organ which had a portable cassette recorder hooked up to it. Eventually I started adding acoustic guitars. And eventually electric guitars and bass, and drums came into the picture. Which became what I now call Astral Occult Metal. It's a very dark and atmospheric project with absolutely no vocals or blast beats. The songs can be very epic, spacey, depressing, moody, dream-like, and ethereal at times. Almost like an unfolding story. The idea and influence behind it is the ancient Sumerian theory of there being another planet in our solar system called Nibiru. And it's influence on our tiny planet and human civilization. Usually when I write the songs, they just come to me. Like they're already written and I just have to learn them and try to recreate the feeling and mood of the vision. There's two full length albums that are almost completed. And a third album I've been writing songs for. Hopefully they will be released one of these days! 

Crimson Moon is a melodic and occult Death/Black Metal band. Like Nibiru, it's a pretty old one. Talk us a bit about the beginnings. What is the current situation with this horde?

- Crimson Moon was formed from the ashes of our previous death metal band, Infested. It was the mid 90's and we were tired of the typical death metal stuff coming out at the time. And wanted to do something darker and different than what the US was known for. Of course we were influenced and inspired by all the early black metal stuff from Norway, Sweden, and Greece. We always had issues with the band line up since the beginning, but we released our first album in 1997 through Abyss Productions. There was a also a bootleg recording of a rehearsal demo we recorded going around (Under the Serpentine Spell), and eventually decided to release this recording through Total Holocaust Records in 2005. The plan was always to record this album properly, but it never happened. Then in 2006 my own label, Kthulu Productions released the third CM release called The Choice of Spirit. It was our first real recording in my opinion. Though it consisted mainly of old songs re-recorded along with some newer material. I have more than 10 songs written and recorded since 1997 for the next untitled releases. Only time will tell what happens with them or if they will ever be released. Right now we're concentrating more on properly re-releasing the first 3 albums on vinyl. And we may or may not have a new band line up under way for the future. We shall see. 


During 2009 you've been the guitarist for the German Black Metal band Endstille. How did you join them? Share some memories & experiences from those times, please.

- Endstille and Crimson Moon did a tour together in Mexico in 2008. It was the first time I met them and we got along quite well and I enjoyed their music a lot. They have a similar riffing style as I do, and after playing some shows together they asked me if I wanted to play some European Summer festivals with them including Wacken, Baden in Blut, Meh Suff, Kaltenbach, Suffering Life, and a few others. I ended up staying with them in Germany for 6 months and played as a live session guitarist on their 2009 European tour along with God Dethroned and Hollenthon. It was my first time in Europe and overall it was a great and pleasant experience.  Playing at the Wacken Festival was probably the most memorable as there was so many people there. I suppose it's every metal musicians dream to play there on the main stage. So I was grateful for the experience, fun times, and for making some good friends. 


Do you have any special hobbies besides the music? Name us your top 10 favorite albums.

- I like to travel, see new places, cook, read, nature, and just try and enjoy the simple things really. That's what matters the most to me. 
Top 10 albums? Well that's a difficult one! I don't know if I could pick just 10 albums, but maybe I could pick some of my favorite bands and influential albums by them. In alphabetical order:
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Carcass - Necroticism
Death - Human
Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
King Diamond - Conspiracy
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Mercyful Fate - Melissa
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Rush - Hemispheres
Sepultura - Arise

Thank you very much brother for the interesting conversation. Last mythological occult thoughts are yours!

- Cheers and respect to you, your comrades, and the readers! Thank you all for your time and interest. Hails!











2017. október 23., hétfő

Johan Jansson

Interview with Johan Jansson 
(Interment, Dreadful Fate, Asocial, Parasit, Moondark)


Hail Deathking, Johan! You are very welcome to my small blog again! First of all, I’d congratulate for your awesome Interment album, called “Scent of the Buried”, brilliant old school job and it is definitely one of my fave releases of the last year.

- Thank you very much and I’m glad to hear that you like our latest album!

Tell us some important info about the circumstances of this Death Metal pearl. How went your last live shows with Interment?

- Well, we’re quite satisfied with the latest album and the reviews and the support have been awesome! The last shows with Interment went very well! 

I have a huge respect to legendary Swedish producer, Master Tomas Skogsberg, since the early 90s, would you be so kind to tell us about your co-operations with him? When and how you met him first?

- We actually haven’t been working with him since we recorded our first demo “Where Death Will Increase” in February 1991 until Summer 2015. So it’s was great to work with him again after so many years. He is a great guy and the recording went very smooth and relaxed in his studio on the countryside.

I’ve listened through YouTube to Dreadful Fate’s “The Sin of Sodom” demo, it’s an excellent work, I must say. Let’s talk about it, Mr. Death Ripper! 

- Thanks a lot! Yeah this is a brand new band that play old school Thrash Metal in the veins of old Sodom, Sadus, Kreator, Destruction etc... Just simple and aggressive fast stuff that will make you headbang! Songs for a full length is in the works and will be recorded in January 2018. Expect pure hate!

Dreadful Fate 

Share with us some thoughts about your other band, Asocial. I’ve listened to a few great ones from Asocial, all of them just awesomeness. Tell us please about your upcoming shows.

- Well, Asocial is an old punk-band since the early 80’s that I played drums with, in the 90’s. We decided to make a reunion last autumn and did our first gig since 1997 in February this year and after that we have continued... We just released an LP with ten songs and have some upcoming shows in Norway, Sweden, Greece, Belgium and Czech...

Asocial

I’d ask you about Die Hard. Tell the readers more about your drumming and about up-coming shows as well.

- I’m not a member of Die Hard I just did two shows with them in Paris and at No Compromise Festival in Belgium. So we’ll see if they need me on drums in the future again...

What is the current situation with your other bands, like Dellamorte and Moondark?

- Dellamorte is still on ice but with Moondark we hopefully can start to rehearse the songs for the upcoming album soon!

Moondark

I’ve listened to the latest Parasit album, just amazing one again. Tell us more about it!

- Thanx a lot! Well, we will also start to rehearse new songs for our third album that we will record during the winter I hope. Which label that will release it we don’t know yet.

Parasit

You are a multitalented one. Share with us briefly some important stuff about your past hordes, as Gluttony, Fulmination, Hatred, Regurgitate, Uncanny, Beyond, etc. (I hope I’m not mistaken with the bands.)

- Well, Beyond was pre Interment and did only a porta demo tape. In Gluttony I was doing the vocals on the first demo and EP. In Fulmination I played guitar the last year they existed and recorded ten songs that was released on a demography album. In Regurgitate I played bass two years before we put the band on ice. We did one recording that became three 7” EP’s that was released. In Uncanny I played guitar some years ago and we released a 7”inch. Hatred was my first “real” band that played Thrash Metal in the late 80’s. I released two demo tapes and an unreleased tape with them before we quit. Then I have played with a couple more bands as well... 

Interment

A bit sad question right now… My blog, Archangel’s Lantern is eternally dedicated to  to my bride Kate’s memory (She was a huge fan of your bands);  and I additionally put a dedication to my Polish metal sister, Kasia Grobelska, who died last year. She was at the Entombed A.D.-show in Gdańsk/Poland in 2014...

- I’m sorry to hear about your bride and also now Kasia! It’s an honour to support your blog in the name of the passed away, loved and missed ones... RIP.

What do you think about the heritage of Dissection or other bands of Jon? Did you meet him ever?

- I’m actually not a Dissection fan at all and I never met him. I saw them live once anyway... I was on a tour with Dellamorte with his brother in Swordmaster back in the days.

How was the Entombed A.D., Grave and Implode show in Gdańsk back in 2014? Any experiences?

- I remember that all three shows in Poland were very intense! Grave have a huge fan base there so they ruled the shows there!

You've visited and played on an awesome show of Svensk Dödsmetall legends last year. Tell us more about that amazing performance.

- You mean the Close-Up boat I guess? Well, it was a killer trip with great bands and people from all over the world! It was really awesome and you surely missed something! Missed bands that should have been played were Dismember, Afflicted, Crematory, Carbonized and old Therion!


What are your current fave hordes and LP-s?

- Right now I listen to Spectral Voice,  Alterrage, Disfuneral, Coughdust and Torture Rack etc...

Tack så mycket, Johan! It was a pleasure again to talk with you. Please send a message to the readers of Archangel’s Lantern…

- Thank u very much for the interview Georgius! Please support my bands and of course the whole  Death Metal underground scene!
Cheers from Sweden!
/Johan

Important facebook links: 

Johan Jansson Artist-page: facebook.com/johanjanssonofficial/





















2017. október 15., vasárnap

Ronnie Ripper Olson

Ronnie Ripper Olson 
(the old days of Svensk Dödsmetall)
"28 years in Satan's service - 
a sober retrospective of drunken Chaos"

Questions compiled by Cornelius of Encomium 'zine and Georgius of Archangel's Lantern 


Ronnie Ripper Olson

(Cornelius and me, July, 1996)

Hail brother Ronnie! Tack/thanks a lot to you for the great idea about telling us your experiences regarding the Golden era of the Svensk Dödsmetall. First of all, in your opinion who was the very first pioneer after BATHORY and Quorthon? (Someone says MEFISTO, some ones MORBID and some others GRAVE and NIHILIST, etc.)

- Hey brother, glad you are still interested in my lunatic ramblings! Well, it’s hard to say who were the second generation of pioneers in extreme music, there were a lot of brilliant minds paving their own path at this time and I became part of it a bit too late to judge chronographically who invented what really. Where I live it’s quite isolated if you don’t know the right people and the word underground was still connected with the partisan movement during WW2, ha ha!
Jokes aside, we started out with Vomitory not knowing about this rumbling underground movement in metal and it wasn’t until I met this girl in another town that was closely connected to the guys in Macabre End/God Macabre that we all got our share of Swedish Death metal. The metal scene has always been alive in our small village of Forshaga, spanning all the way back to the early 1970:es when a band from here called Autumn Breeze even released an LP which was more or less the same thing as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple did at the same time, so we were raised with the old classics like Venom, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Judas Priest, Saxon, etc and then moved on to heavier acts like Bathory, Sodom, Destruction, Kreator, Sabbat (UK) and so forth. 

First ever Vomitory shoot when I and Urban was still a duo (1990)

We knew our shit so to speak but we had no idea where it came from before it made it to actual LP’s and cassettes, there was no connection to the true underground. When getting in touch with it eventually we quickly got the letters going and travelled far and wide to see gigs and bought demos, fanzines and found ourselves bombed with flyers from the whole world. All you had to do was to send a few bucks and wait for a month and you received a handwritten letter and a tape from whoever was at the other end. There was of course rip-offs out there but those never made it very far since the word of mouth spread faster than they could ever compose a decent letter. 
All this is probably common knowledge but I’ll just go along with pops into my head here. But yes, back to the question you actually asked, there were a lot of undiscovered diamonds out there who were just waiting for the big break and some made it and some didn’t. I’d say some of the best stuff didn’t make it to LP before they disbanded for some reason but I reckon the demos has come out as proper releases by now, I am still to catch up with all these fancy packages released lately. 
One band that always was and still is unique in every sense is Merciless, they were pioneers for sure and for me they will always be a major part in who invented real aggressive metal in Sweden and no one ever came close to copy their style.  

First ever photo of the original lineup, still before Tobias actually joined the band (1990)

In our personal conversation you told me an old story about the special Swedish sound from the viewpoint of Sunlight Studio. Please tell more about this to the readers. Thanks a lot for your photo about Master Tomas Skogsberg, please share some thoughts about Him. (I have a Big and Eternal Respect to Him, as my collection mostly richer by his brilliant works, i.e. NIHILIST, ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER, CARNAGE, GRAVE, etc.) How the old Sunlight Studio looked like and how it is nowadays?

- Well, the story goes that Tomas had this old desk that spewed out pure SWEDEATH metal on demand as we all know and that he decided to clean his calendar for a few days and have it cleaned up by a technician. The guy showed up and disassembled the desk and saw that the soldering schematic was not correct so he asked Tomas if he wanted him to correct it. Tomas said “Sure” and so the guy corrected the “faulty” connections. Then a few days later the studio was up and running again and as usual the band wanted the classic Entombed/Dismember sound but it was nowhere to be found! Tomas called up the guy and asked him to come back and change the schematic back to how it was in the first place and so he did and there was the sound again. Conclusion: The whole Swedish Death metal sound was based on a faulty connection!
What the studio looked like? Well, it was in an old bomb shelter under a high-rise building they called “The women’s house” I believe and it was quite crammed and intimate which was totally awesome. There were two studios there, one full scale studio with two connected recording rooms and one with only a small booth for recording vocals and such which was used mainly for the final stages of the production. The recording rooms in the main studio was placed one behind the other so the setup for us was: Studio first, then amps and then at the end the drum room. When we came to the vocals we put the microphone in the room where the amps were. There was a small entrance where you could drink coffee and all but you had to suck your belly in if someone tried to leave or enter the place. Intimate and totally awesome! Now I have only seen pics of the current setup but I believe he has the studio in an old barn in the countryside and he is totally hippie and can’t be rushed to finish a production on a deadline. This is just hearsay though so take it for what it is, this is merely a rumor that floats around so I might be wrong.



Entombed - Left Hand Path 

Dismember - Like An Ever Flowing Stream

You told me in our first interview the VOMITORY beginnings. Now I would be really interested to know more about the circumstances of the recordings of the old demos, the EP and the first LP. (How the recording processes looked like, old line-ups, producers like Björn Kjellgren and Living Skull, cover designers as Peter Wallgren and Volcanic Wolf?)

- The first demo was funded by our parents really, ha ha! We found this guy who was sitting in a house in the woods and made radio jingles and he had never heard brutal music what so ever but still, he had a studio and thought it would be cool to have a band recording in his house. 
We came there and set up our gear and all was fun and games until my time for vocal recording. He had some struggle to get the guitars sounding right but he nailed it. Then I went up to the mic, put on headphones and he said “Sing something”. I did and he was just silent for a few moments and then I heard in my headphones a worried voice asking me to repeat myself. I did and once again he sounded a bit sceptic and asked if this is really the way I am singing. I said “Yes, this is it” and he was like “Ok, let me adjust the level down a bit”. 

Vomitory live on tour in Poland, Wroclaw if I’m not mistaken - Ronnie Olson(1995)

And well, that’s basically Death metal history by now, ha ha. We were pretty pleased with the demo and couldn’t believe that was actually us playing on it, it sounded far better than we hoped and when it was time for our first EP we decided to hit the same studio again. That time we had a major struggle with guitars falling out of harmony I remember, Ubbe and Ulf apparently pressed the strings so differently that there was no way in hell we could make it sound right. The solution was for them to play both guitars on half the song each and that fixed it. The old line-ups were quite steady once we got going and the only one worth mentioning is Bengt Sund who played the bass on the first recordings, the rest are already accounted for if you have the first album. I am back in touch with him these days and we are actually planning to make some music together again but it will come in due time due to lack of proper timing. 

Crowd and Vomitory in Poland (1995)

Björn who produced the demo and the EP is probably living his life as a common man now and I find it hard to believe that he still makes recordings. 
Peter Wallgren and Volcanic Wolf are one and the same guy actually, we just gave him a stage name for the Gehennah stuff which became the one he used. He was a friend of ours who experimented with photo and he was an artist making paintings. These days I am not sure how much he makes in art but I know he has some work out there within mainly the stoner scene, making layouts worthy a 1970: es psychedelic band as it should be.
Living Skull is actually Tobben from Vomitory, the name was invented during the old Gehennah recordings once again, just like Volcanic Wolf. We said “everyone must have a stage name on our albums, do you have one or should we give you one?”. Both these names were their own ideas so I can’t explain why they were made up or what they actually mean. It’s basically shits and giggles that became bigger than we ever thought it would be.

First five piece lineup L-R: Ubbe, Bengan, Ronnie, Tobben and Uffe (1992)

You are from Forshaga. I checked out on the map, it is close to Karlstad, where VOMITORY from. How were the old shows? Which was your very first VOMITORY performance and when it has happened? Tell us more about the feeling of the old shows near you, regarding the Stockholm ones and perhaps about the Gothenburg area.

- Actually, both Vomitory, Gehennah and Dawn of Decay were from Forshaga, all in the same small village and closely connected to each other. Most gigs were in Karlstad though and sometimes we had some cool bands passing through from both the Swedish and the Norwegian scene but mostly it was just local ones with above mentioned bands over and over again. Again, it used to be a quite isolated area when it came to music and we created our own scene to play live and we travelled far and wide to see the other bands on stage. Well, a stage was a luxury at that time, we went out in the middle of nowhere this once to see some Finnish bands play on the floor in a summer home too! Sometimes we travelled a few hours with only those hours to spare just because we were not supposed to go but realized we didn’t want to miss it. Some other gigs we planned to attend for months. 

With label bosses of Primitive Art Records during the release party of “Hardrocker”, drunk as hell and seconds from passing out (1995)

It was easier back then since no one had kids or duties as a family man, this is probably what made it all so magic in hindsight, it was always DIY and low key as fuck. You didn’t have security in the same manner as you have today, there were of course guards keeping the peace but they let you stage dive and whatever without trying to kill you first.

The feel of the gigs were probably the same as for everyone up to date when it comes to local gigs, the only difference was that people attended them in larger numbers since it was always friends promoting friend’s bands for friends who liked the music. Everyone supported everyone as a difference today when you have different camps of different people trashing each other for petty reasons. I think the scene again has returned a bit to the roots and the bad shit is weeded out or changed to something else but it’s not the same as the early days, it’s an updated version of it. Good enough if you ask me but you still have the folks that cross their arms on their chest, pushes out the lower lip and says it was better back then, I’d say they should get into it or get out. This is now and we are still the same idiots having fun and there’s no room for grumpy old farts.

First Gehennah lineup L-R: Cpt. Cannibal, Rob Stringburner, Ronnie Ripper and Mr. Violence (1992)

You told me about Jon Nödtveidt (R.I.C.) a few interesting and new information. Jon was handling the Swedish branch of Helvete Records and you've been a very frequent customer back then. How can you describe those crazy times? Do you ever met Euronymous personally and any other Norwegian guys of different hordes at the shows or other places? Abbath and you are old friends. When did you meet him the first time? (Since 20 years ago I’m a proud member of the IMMORTAL fanclub). Jonas Lindblood of PUTERAEON (ex-TAETRE) is an old friend of yours as well, if I’m not mistaken. Please share with us some funny or interesting stories about both of them.

- I didn’t meet Euronymous personally but just some week before his murder I wrote an angry letter about shirt we ordered but he never delivered, telling him to shove them up his ass. Then I saw in the newspaper that they were looking at Swedish connections and expected the cops to seek me out, ha ha. 

Spoof of a very famous photo of a controversial guy, this time with a huge butter knife and a fly-swatter (1992)

The only person I remember meeting from that time in the Norwegian scene was Metalion of Slayer Mag. We went to see Dissection’s first gig ever and there he was, drunk out of his mind. Pretty cool to know you saw the start of what later would be one of our most mythical bands, I think Jon was around 15-16 at the time but he sure was an Encyclopedia of underground metal even at that age as everyone knows by now. 
I was in touch with him through the Swedish branch of Helvete based in Eskilstuna for sure, I spent half of every month’s pay for about a year in that place! We met just a few times but chatted a bit before parting again, it’s not that big of a deal really. He was a nice guy and a talented musician, let’s leave it at that.

Yours truly and Mortiis during the release party of “Hardrocker” (1995)

Those times were very different compared to today because back then you really had to stay active to keep up with things, there was no internet and you couldn’t just pick up the phone to talk to people farther away than your own area code due to massive costs, and you had a different hunger for knowledge. Today you don’t have to remember anything vital since you have Google in your pocket, much like the way no one learns phone numbers anymore, you have the name in the phone book and that’s it.

Abbath I only got to know personally a couple of years ago, he is a cool guy and all the stories about him are most likely true! Eccentric as fuck and a material for a bunch of books, that’s for sure! I don’t have a lot of stories though, I was as drunk as him when we met so I guess someone else will have to tell those…
Jonas and I don’t go back that long either, just a couple of years as friends on Facebook and then we played a few gigs together, just hanging out being the silly bastards we are. It’s always cool to get to know people personally that you actually have listened to in one form or another throughout the years.

Ronnie and Abbath (Metal Magic Festival, 2015)    

(my Immortal: At the Gates of Blashyrkh Fanclub member card from 1997--GF)

The sad end of Pelle "Dead" (Per Yngve Ohlin, R.I.P.) we knew all. I’m mostly into Death/Thrash Metal, but I like a lot MORBID (it is just simple Death/Thrash Metal for me) and MAYHEM stuff with Pelle, demos, and especially "Live in Leipzig". Please share with us your experiences, memories and opinion about his works. 

- There’s not much to say really, not more than I do remember a time when he was still alive and the stories were fresh about him burying his clothes in the woods and sniffing that dead bird and all. As a vocalist he was good but not much different than the rest of the Black metal vocalists out there. However, as a person he was really an interesting one according to the stories and I wish I could have met him and made up my own expression of him. I spoke to a guy the other day who knew him personally and he sent me a photo saying “this was before the Norwegians ruined him” so I bet there’s a really decent and cool guy behind all this mythic persona that people talk about today. The rumor says he was planning to quit Mayhem and move back to Sweden and attend an art school and some conspiracy theories says he was sacrificed and such but I don’t know what to believe. He is gone now and the world keeps turning, let’s just listen to his vocal contribution and remember someone who was there as it happened. I like the notion that there are people in metal that takes this art above and beyond the common mind so he will always bring a smile on my face for his “shenanigans” on stage and off. We need the danger back in metal and it’s not supposed to be for everyone.

Per Yngve Ohlin "Dead" (16.I.1969-08.IV.1991 R.I.P.)

If there is anything  I might forgot to ask you about the Golden times, but you feel it is important to be known by others, please feel free to add it here..

- I don’t know what to add really. There are pages upon pages to say about this era but it’s impossible to remember it all at once without someone asking or mentioning the minor details that brings it back to mind. I can add to the ones wishing they were born earlier that sure, it was a cool time and all, but when you are part of the past you are not part of the future as long as the younger generation and there’s more to come! The future is still to be written and it’s up to the ones growing up now to not let the old stuff die into oblivion. I hopefully have at least 20 more years of making noise and will stick around to see to it that people talk about today in 15 years as a golden age too!

With Micke from Lord Belial at a party at Hellcop’s place (1997)

Tack så mycket, bror Ronnie! Please finish the interview by sending your extremely rotten vomits to all the die-hard old-school death metal freaks worldwide :)  

- Tack själv, brother! As I am finishing this off I will start packing for another tour of Turbocharged so if you see us come to your town, don’t be a stranger! Show up and we’ll shoot the shit and have a good fucking time for everyone to talk about in years to come, you hear?! Support Archangel’s Lantern! *over and out*

Ronnie/Gehennah live in Stockholm (1997)

Important links: 


Go Fuck Yourself Productions: facebook.com/GFYProd/?fref=ts

Ronnie Ripper's Private War: facebook.com/ronnierippersprivatewar/?fref=ts 

Gehennah studio session recording second demo (1993)



Turbocharged YouTube channel: 

Ronnie Ripper Olson's YouTube channel: 

Ronnie Olson and his son (2000)