Interview with Joakim Sterner (Necrophobic)
Originally published in Kronos Mortus
in English and Hungarian languages,
2.X.2017
Hail Joakim! First of all, let me congratulate you guys for Necrophobic: “Pesta”, coming out on the 11th of August on limited edition 7” under Century Media. The 7” material contains two new tracks, the brand new Pesta and an earlier, 1990 demo track’s re-recorded version, titled “Slow Asphyxiation”. How did the work in the studio go? Why did you guys choose “Slow Asphyxiation”? Whose work is the cover?
Joakim: Hi. And thanks. Yes, “Pesta” is now out and it feels great to have something new to present after period of silence. It was a quick visit to the studio and the recording went easy.
When this idea of making this 7 inch vinyl came up, which actually was our new label’s idea, we quickly discussed what song we should do. At that time, no song had any title or lyrics, but we knew we had to make a video of it also (which is coming later), so it had to be a song that sounded very much Necrophobic instantly, with the the melody that is our trademark. So when that was agreed and decided, we talked about of what song could be on the B-side. We wanted this also to be very exclusive, something that just is going to be on this 7 inch. An old idea came up, that we should do a re-recording of the old demo song “Slow Asphyxiation”. The songs is a hidden treasure, even though it was released in 2009, on the “Satanic Blasphemies”, but on that album, it’s directly from the demo, so we agreed to do a re-recording of that song. It came out really good, I think.
The cover is made by me. When I don’t play with the band, my profession is graphic designer, so I take care of most of our designs and so on. And if I don’t do it, I am sort of very involved anyway, on how things shall look.
As there have been considerable line-up changes since “Womb of Lilithu” (basically it’s just you and bassist Alex Friberg from that line-up), please tell us your thoughts on the changes and the guys that have arrived in your horde.
Joakim: The changes was necessary. The singer slot had to be filled for obvious reasons and it landed on our old singer from our first album “The Nocturnal Silence, Anders Strokirk. It was great timing there, cause Alex met him in the pub and they spoke about what he was doing right now, and he said he had put down his band has he has been running since 1992. So Alex came back to me with that info and after some days, we asked him if he wanted to return to Necrophobic and he was thrilled to do so. I have more or less had him as close friend during all those years he wasn’t in the band, so even on the social level, he was the only one that could join, after all the mess and bad time we had have for some time, at that time.
(kind thoughts from Anders Strokirk for me -G//)
After some time with just Fredrik as a single guitarist, my thoughts of having two guitarist again became stronger and stronger. We couldn’t play all the songs we intended to do in our live set, just because we were one guitarist short. Necrophobic is built on two guitarists and I wanted to be able to put out our songs live with two guitarists and with all that, that comes with it, the power and the heavier sound and the stage performance that also is a big deal, very important, visually.
I must say that Fredrik is a great guitar player and a good friend, a cool person, but I had to let him go to be able to bring back Sebastian and Johan, of whom I had started to have contact with for some time back during this period. So, now we are complete again and can move on, both musically and on stage with our live performances. It’s a big difference nowadays. And the feedback form fans and organizers proves it!
Where and when was your first concert with this line-up? The last time you guys stepped on stage was the 25th August on Kaltenbach Open Air, and judging by the pictures it must have been an awesome grind. What was it like from your point of view? You’ll be giving a show on the 15th and 16th of September in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, then in Romania in October. Have Necrophobic been there already before?
Joakim: The first show with this old, new, line-up was in Barcelona, Spain, on February 16th this year. That followed by tree more shows in Spain, so a mini tour was the best possible way of this “come back”.
Yes, Kaltenbach was awesome! We played Party San some week or so before, which also was killer, but we had a better spot on Kaltenbach, cause the sun was down and we were able to use fire on stage. The crowd was awesome and totally in it during the whole set. Fucking fantastic! You could touch the energy, more or less. Electric!
No, we will play in Russia and Romania for the first time in the Necro history. We look forward to it.
The band’s going to participate on 70000 Tons Of Metal from next February, where many famous groups have already stepped on stage: Possessed, Sodom, etc., and I bet it’s gonna be a great experience for you, too. How did you get yourself on Metal Cruise? Do you think there’s a chance for a set in Hungary or Slovakia?
Joakim: Yes, 70000 Tons of Metal will really be something out of the ordinary. None of us has been there before, but we have seen pictures and it looks crazy. We have played on the two boats here in Sweden a few times before, the Close-Up Magazine cruise and the Sweden Rock cruise, but this will be a new experience. A wild one, I guess…
We got an offer from them, through our Booking Agency District 19, so…
About Hungary and Slovakia, there is no offer from there as of yet, but we have played there before, so we hope to come back.
(Necrophobic-signatures from Hungary, have been taken to me by my old mate
Cornelius of Castrum/Encomium)
It has been eleven years already around the 15th/16th August that Jon Andreas Nödveidt (Rest In Chaos) has left the earthly life… as Jon did the vocals on the “Nailing the Holy One” (1997) song, please let us know how the recordings went… and if you have a favorite Dissection album/song or anything else from Jon’s other bands that you like please share it with the readers of Kronos Mortus.
Joakim: I knew Jon from the very early years, since he had a fanzine where I guess he interviewed me, or if he did a review of our demos. However, we stayed in contact during all those early years and when it was time for us to record the album “Darkside”, in the autumn of 1996, I called him up and asked if he wanted to come up to Stockholm and record split vocals on “Nailing the Holy One”. He thought it was cool and I sent him the lyrics and a rehearsal recording of that song, so he could practice a bit. When in the studio, I think he nailed it (!!!) on just a few takes.
I like all the Dissection albums, but the debut is the one with greatest impact on me. It was released in a special time in our young career and time, when this style of music was very new. With “new”, I mean the style that Necrophobic and Dissection are some kind of pioneers of, as it is a black kind of death metal, with dark, grand and atmospheric melodies and not like Entombed and Dismember, that is plain, but fantastic, Death Metal.
I saw it in an August Facebook post that you are the proud owner of Mayhem’s “Deathcrush” (#761 / 1000), that you’ve bought in 1987, directly from Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous, R.I.P.). Please conjure up those times for us…
Joakim: I first got in contact with this new, very very underground kind of music, via a record store here in Stockholm, called Heavy Sound. They had a large variety of obscure metal albums. This was around 1986, or something, when I saw a strange looking “magazine” behind the desk. It was in black and white and me and my friends asked what that strange looking magazine was. “It’s a fanzine”, we were told. A fanzine is something that is made by hand from a normal person, a fan, that wants to do his own magazine, like a school paper, we were told. That particular “fanzine” was no less than “Slayer Magazine”, made by Jon “Metalion” Kristiansen.
Well, me and my friends bought it and a new world opened up for us. We learned about new bands that came from every corner of the world, but hadn’t really got themselves a record deal yet. They released demos, with covers and everything. This was very new and interesting for us. The band Mayhem was often part in Slayer mag and when they Mayhem released “Deathcrush”, I ordered it right away, from Øystein. We kept contact and later on, our demos and t-shirts of Necrophobic were for sale in his Helvete shop.
When are you planning a new full-length with the current, stable line-up? Do you have any exact plans?
Joakim: The plan is set, but I can not reveal it here and now.
Could you recommend us a couple of newer Swedish bands that would be worth keeping an eye on?
Joakim: Unfortunately, I don’t have time over to go to underground shows so often, but my guess is that the Swedish scene is alive and well.
As a great fan of the Stockholm Death Metal scene since the early 90s, and someone who’d really like to get to Stockholm one day to see your beautiful capital, what sights and food/drinks would you recommend?
Joakim: Wow, that was a question that I am not used to be asked. But I must recommend that you go here in the summer time. As a metal fan, I suggest that you pay a visit to Skogskyrkogården to see the big black cross that Entombed posed in front of on their “Left Hand Path” album. You should also maybe locate the grave of Quorthon, on a smaller part of Skogskyrkogården, as he is the father of Black Death Metal.
Food wise, I suggest that you eat something we call “husmanskost”, which in general are meals that are old traditional Swedish meals. My suggestion is to go to a railway restaurant that’s located at the subway station Tekniska Högskolan and the name of the restaurant is “Östra Station Järnvägsrestaurangen”. Order their Herring if you like fish or their Pork if you like meat. Have a swedish beer to that.
Tack så mycket/Thanks a lot for the answers, Joakim! Wish you and Necrophobic all the best, and I’m hoping to see you guys live soon! As a conclusion, please say something for the fans of Necrophobic!
Joakim: Nagyon köszönöm! Keep supporting Necrophobic and hopefully, we’ll come back to your country soon. Also, I want to mention that we finally, after so many years, have a official webshop, where you can buy our official merchandise. You find the shop at shop.necrophobic.net
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