When it comes to extreme metal bands hailing from Scandinavia, one person that probably has his fingers in it is Perra Karlsson. Joining such prominent bands like Nifelheim, In Aeternum, Nominon (and the list goes on much longer) he has recently released his first solo album "Underdog" (review can be found here). Talking about his long career and the reasons why it took him so long to do this album, I had a pretty long chat via Skype with him. Enjoy reading the interview and check the album!

Michael

Hi Perra, how are you?

All fine here.

Before we get to your first solo album, you've been active in the scene since the 80s. How did you get into it?

When I was ten years old, I picked up on drumming and started to get some lessons. I had probably around three different teachers the following years and they all wanted me to more or less study one thing and do that very constantly and intensely and for a very long time. I got bored with that because I wanted to do all the stuff all the time. I got confused and decided to quit taking lessons and sit at home playing drums to some albums and stuff that I had at home like classic hard rock albums. I'm not sure if that was the right decision at that point but for me it felt natural. I knew the basics of drumming so I just wanted more or less to play and perform as a hard rock and heavy metal drummer at a very early age. I continued and formed some crappy bands in the beginning. I think when I was around 14 or 15, it got a little bit more serious when you met other people that could actually play the guitar, bass and singing. So we started to record some very early demo rock stuff. It felt good and like a natural environment at that point and time. We also started to do some local shows for about 50 people and that was cool. But that was more rock music and a bit melodic stuff – I remember we did cover "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath, "Eye Of The Tiger" by Survivor and also our own material was this way. It all felt normal at that time even though I was more interested in heavy metal like Accept, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden… I still had to play that kind of softer music because that was the kind of people I could play with in my local area. After I changed schools I started to hang out with other people who were a bit older than me and they knew even more about the hard rock and metal scene than what I did. So I hung around with them and started to go to concerts like Stillborn or Candlemass, a lot of doomy stuff. That led to finding the fanzine scene in Scandinavia like Slayer Mag, Bloodthorn or Morbid Mag – it was so easy because I had the hunger to find out more about the underground and extreme music. I picked up on everything that was served in the fanzines. I started to send letters around the world to everyone and everybody and started my own fanzine as well.

Cool! How many editions did you release?

The first one was "Mould Mag" and it was mainly a death metal fanzine. There was also some black and thrash metal in it – to me it's pretty much the same as when I started reading the other fanzines, there were death, black, thrash, doom and even heavy metal on the same sides and very diverse. I never got this tunnel vision to go only for death, thrash or black metal. If I get hooked on something, it doesn't really matter. If it speaks to me I buy it. After the mag I started a mail order distribution thing called Megagrind Productions where we started to release some 7' with bands like Memory Garden, Entity, Evoke (UK).

Musically I got a little bit more serious with the band Suffer. I played with them between 90 and 94 and the guys were a few years older than me. So when I met them for the first time it felt that I had to step up a little bit because they were at a different level than me. But when I think back now, it was probably just something that I felt as an individual. I had visions and thoughts that they knew much more about everything compared to what I did but that wasn't the fact. I was probably the one that was most keen on practicing my own instrument as well as being in that band and being the leading force. I really like pushing things harder and harder every day and when you realize that the other guys have different priorities, it just turned out weird after a couple of years. When we recorded the full-length album "Structures" in spring '94 I knew that this was the last thing that we're going to do as a band. They started even before I joined them and had already released one demo. When I joined them we recorded a second demo "The Manifestation Of God" at Sunlight Studio in '90 and that was like a starting point for the band to be a little bit more professional. Then we got signed and we started to release two 7', a mini-CD and the full-length album. So we built up the band in a way but it also got more and more fucked-up. There were so many mental states in all four members of the band and at the end of the way it was impossible to even try to be a band, I guess. Unfortunately.

Hm, this story reminds me of Edge Of Sanity and what Dan told me in an interview….

In a way I guess you're right. I mean you can't take for granted that four guys can get along and write good music together. It's almost impossible. It was the same with At The Gates in their early days as well. That's the reason why they broke up – because they really disliked each other.

I remember about my "career" as a metal fan. I had to get some more extreme stuff every month when I was a teenager. Did you evolve similarly?

I don't remember each and every step on the way but as I said there were a lot of heavy bands like Stillborn and Candlemass but I also remember I heard Grotesque, Dismember, Unleashed – that kind of early Swedish scene. Nihilist of course, Treblinka (former Tiamat; M.) was one of the first bands. I can't really remember how I got to hear all of them. I know that I went to some stores in Stockholm and Gothenburg, especially Dolores Records in Gothenburg, which had a very nice store with a lot of fanzines and demos. You could get everything. And there was even mailorder like Underground Records and I ordered their stuff, too and started to buy shitloads of demos and fanzines. I was actually more of a demo cassette guy than what I bought on records, I collected demo tapes for many many years. I still do but I haven't saved everything and got rid of the stuff that felt useless to me. Of course I still have the ones I love but it's only probably around 500 and not 3000 (laughs). All in all it started with classic hard rock over to Candlemass and Stillborn over to the early Swedish scene and a lot of Destruction, Kreator and Sodom. And I got totally hooked up on the Florida scene in early ́90 with Morbid Angel and Deicide. It was a very interesting time because each day I wrote at least 25 letters, sent them out and it came back even more. So I had to continue, it was some kind of a circle. It was total fucking mayhem! (laughs) But it was underground and I loved it from day one.

And now you have with "Underdog" your first solo album at the start. Why did it take you so long to decide to do this?

Well, I've been part of so many bands over the years, especially in the late years: Dreadful Fate, Nominon, In Aeternum. A lot of those bands were very active and even toured and did a lot of good releases. But then again, it's like when you realize that you are the leading force of the band you're supposed to be a gang of at least four or five people but you're the only one that tries to push things further because most of the other guys have families and decent jobs, the priorities are somewhere else and you cannot push it more than to a certain point. Then it's fucked-up and I started to do some other drumming projects and really wanted to continue because my main thing in life is to play drums. Of course I also have a job but I don't have any children. I understand that people with families can't have the time to be somewhere else that much but to me it was do or die, especially with this project. There was this guitar player in England – I won't mention any names because it all turned out to be something else – who was hunting me to record some drums for him and he would do some riffs so that we could do some music. So when I finally did it, I arranged five songs in total, sent them over and he said it was cool stuff he could work with. So I just waited because he had a lot of other projects and bands going on and not only music. But after a year nothing had happened and I don't want to have it like this again because I want to be active, I want to write music and want to play drums. So I told him to scrap this idea totally, I could record some drums that would fit better and I could send the songs I'd written to some mates that are interested to write riffs on them.  So the following day I contacted Simon (Wizén; M.)with whom I played in Nominon but mainly in his black metal band Valkyrja and a very good friend of mine. He is very serious and if he says yes to something, then he will definitely do it. I sent one track to him, the same with Juha (Sulasalmi; M.), the guitar player of Nominon because I wanted him to be part of it as well and also Kræn (Meier; M.), the guy who is nowadays in Artillery. We got to know each other better during the years we spent together in the Danish band Thorium with which we together released an album in 2018. But none of us really felt that comfortable in that band but we still felt very close to each other both as musicians and friends. I've known him since his days in Sacrificial and stuff like that and we were pen pals between 1990 and 1993. I always had a lot of respect for him and still do. These were the people whom I instantly contacted and to my surprise after about 48 hours later I had the leads and riffs back and everything was there. I was surprised because I thought first that this is going to take some time because it is a new to work. So I was completely blown away when I heard the result. Still there still were no vocals on the songs but that was my less concern because I know tons of many good vocalists. When I heard the songs, I thought "okay, I can contact Marc (Grewe; M.) for this one", for example. The only thing I didn't really know was if I was going to release it as a five-song mini CD or if I was going to push it further. It took me a week to come with the idea that I was part of so many bands so that I could record at least one or two songs of some of the bands that I didn't had the chance to record with like Benediction, Nasum, Nifelheim or Internment but I really wanted to include Deströyer666 even though I recorded "Wildfire" and "Call Of The Wild"-12' with them. I sorted out if I should use random musicians and friends that I know or should I just contact the members that used to be or still are in the bands when I was in there. When that thought hit my head I thought that this is what I gonna do. I had to contact them to see how they react, if they are interested and if they still are members in the bands which is the fact in Benediction where both guitar players are still in and Keith in Deströyer666. Nasum as well even they are disbanded since Mieszko died in the Tsunami in 2004. To me it felt with Nasum, even though the songs don't last about a minute, there is a lot of passion and heart in there for me to do this as a tribute to Mieszko since we grew up and got to know each other not far from each other. We both did fanzines and had the same underground drive so the Nasum song has a very closer meaning to me. I'm really happy that Anders could do it with me and also Rickard who was the drummer whom I replaced in 1995 when I did the live shows with them took part on it. Also Urban, their guitar player who did live shows a couple of years ago and plays with them nowadays for some reunion shows, played on the songs. All the songs I could do with friends from the bands I played in, it means a lot to me. Maybe it means a lot more to me than to them. I am not sure but the support that I got from the guys when we recorded the songs was great since there is a lot of variation on the album like from thrash and death stuff to grind core. To make everything fit and round that was our main concern. I am grateful that I could hook up with Gord (Olson; M.) in Canada who is also the singer in Darkened and he has done a brilliant work with this one. I don't know how he did it but having him on board saved my day.

One of the musicians you worked with is Hellbutcher from Nifelheim. There were so many stories to be read lately about them – do you know if they split-up or not??

They are inactive. Both brothers have their own bands now that they focus on. They had a lot of mixing issues with the latest album, they did the mixing maybe five or six times and the situation is confusing. They have such strong disagreements when it comes to the mix of the album, I don't know what's gonna happen. The only other thing is that Tobias (Gustafsson; M.), their drummer quit the band even before they broke-up so he could concentrate more on Vomitory.

Will there be another Perracide album or was this just considered as a single album project?

I have a lot of thoughts and ideas that there sure will be another coming but I don't know when. As I said earlier when I started with this first album and I finally came to the conclusion that I had to do it that way with five own songs and nine cover songs up to that I hold the CD in my hands, it was approximately nine months. It's totally insane because I had thirty musicians on board. I didn't know each step on the way already from the start. I took it step by step and had to see what happens. But all the pieces of the puzzle came together really quick. Some of the musicians I wanted to have on the album couldn't do it because they didn't have the time or were on tour. Some of them tried to record some stuff on the road but shit happens, they couldn't make it. Some of them I will probably connect with and I have some plans with the other bands that I've been part of in the past doing the same thing with the line-up and so on. I also have the idea I had with Nasum with another Swedish band, it's not exactly the same story but it's also very close to me as their drummer passed away. I will most likely get something done but I'm not sure if I will have the energy to do it already for next year or maybe in 25. The plans are already in motion and I talked to some guys and they already said yes. If I want to do it, I can do it but I know how hard I have to work and I also know that I want to do it because it's fun and not to have that pressure to work, work, work to make it happen. I know that I have to work, that is not the issue but when you see it as a proper job, it gets boring and takes too much energy from you.

You played in so many different bands with so many different styles – from extreme fast grindcore like Nasum, black metal up to some death-doom stuff. What would you say is the most challenging style to play drums?

Right now I'm working with the drum patterns for the next Darkened album. Since I joined them in August last year we recorded one 7' that came out in July. These songs were more or less like pretty much straight forward death metal in a way. For some of the new songs we have to think twice – they have some programmed stuff like basic beats but if I just would copy them I would hate it because that would be pretty boring. The drum programs are just there to have some sort of beat at all. I understand that and they always keep telling me to forget about that and just do it my own way. So some of the passages and riffs on the album are very diverse and almost like a movie soundtrack. I think it is like Bolt Thrower or some classic death metal, very primitive and I have to come up with some more passionate and even more jazzy stuff at times to make it sound interesting. Otherwise it would be good music but shitty drums (laughs). It's a big challenge for me but at the same time I want to do it and I really hope and think that at the end of the day it will come out fantastic. I also think it will be pretty much different compared to the previous albums. If you think about that they had Andy Whale on the drums before me, drumming-wise it will be completely different. I would never try to copy his stuff, it's impossible.

What can we expect from you in the future? Are you going to play some Perracide shows? And will there follow an AngelBlast full-length? And what about In Aeternum? The last album is from 2005……

Before I joined Darkened I was pushing for AngelBlast every now and then because I love that EP. It is the best I have recorded for some time really. That was even recorded a year after the Perracide songs which aren't the cover songs. Somewhat will happen there, I'm not sure because the guys are so much involved in Darkened and other stuff as well. We have to wait and see but I hope there will be more with the band. Also with Nominon - we have been talking for ages and ages to do something. We did some sort of reunion because we played live here in Sweden and people loved it. Also young people came up and they didn't expect anything from us because they never heard of us before and they were totally blown away. It is really cool when you can touch the younger generation as well. So the latest thing I've heard that we will do with Nominon is to sort out a 3-track promo demo for labels. I know that Emanzipation Records released a compilation of 7' that we did two or three years ago and they want to do an album with us. I was running the band for many years even though I'm not an original member. I joined them in 2001 and they have been a band for 5 or six years at that point. They had already released an album and the first thing that happened when I joined the band was that we signed with Relapse Records for an international agreement and I ended up with a chronic kidney failure only three months after I joined them. It was tough luck because that cut off everything for quite some time. So the label started to shake their heads and having thoughts weeks after we signed the contract we sent back to them. We thought that we had a record deal but then they completely ignored us. What we heard later on was that the guy who was responsible for Nominon on Relapse got kicked out and also more or less the rest of the team got replaced. At the end of the day they had a lot of stuff going on at the label and it ended up for us without a record deal and I was going on dialysis for about 1 ½ years. During that period we also recorded a mini-LP "The True Face Of Death" in 2003. Only a couple of weeks later, after I recorded the drum tracks, I ended up having my first transplantation all of a sudden. I just got the call from the hospital that I was on the list and they had a kidney that might fit. So I had to come and be prepared for that surgeon. That was totally insane. The surgeon and everything went well and I almost got reborn in a way. It felt like I was a completely different person at that time. I was only 30 that year and when I think back now it's that I had a vision of drumming before the first transplantation but I was thinking differently after that drumming-wise. I come back to that in my mind every now and then. Everything got serious and everything got much more on a different level. Nominon started to record and became much more of a band and it was the guitar player Juha and me who kept running the band for years. When he became a father, he couldn't really tour as much so the rest of us had to run the frame so to speak. Though he was still doing the recordings and the albums and writing songs. It was the same with In Aeternum. That was in 2004 and the first thing that I was going to do was to tour five weeks as support to Deicide in Europe. We printed merch, we made a reservation of a motor home in Sweden and went to England, booked all the ferries and when we came to London, the first thing we heard was that Deicide were not accepting the tour bus. They would be thinking of buying their own flights back to Florida. There we were. It turned out that they actually did it and we and the other support acts did the show and just went home afterwards. We had 250 shirts and the rent of the motorhome we could get half the price off because someone else could take over the rent. It's like shit happens all the time.

Alright, last question…do you have some favorite albums in heavy, death and black metal?

Oh, that's a hard question. Dio – "Holy Diver". I listened to it since I was 10. My sister who is 5 years older than me got it as a birthday gift and I think she held the LP in her hands for probably 10 seconds before I stole it. I was totally blown away by just the cover artwork. This had to be good! So I considered this as my album. My sister could listen to it but it was in my room (laughs). That album changed me in many ways. But I've also been a huge fan of Mötley Crue. When it comes to more extreme music, it's probably Possessed, Morbid Angel, it's just the classics.

TDW's latest album was released on December 4th, 2020 on Layered Reality Productions. "The Days The Clock Stopped" is an intensely personal concept album that details a dark trip through the human mind and body that the writer Tom went through 11 years ago fighting a deadly bowel disease. This album details what it is like to be stuck inside your body and what that does to your psyche. MetalBite talks with Tom de Wit about the album and music that took almost 11 years to create. Enjoy!

Tomek

Thanks for taking time to do this, how are things in TDW?

Well, life is busy as always, haha! We are now wrapping up the promotion for this album and that cycle has been going since November last year, so in that sense this feels like the end of an era almost. When I started working on this record I did not anticipate the struggles and delays that ended up becoming a part of this promotional cycle. So, to actually have the album out in all formats (with vinyl officially launched on the 2nd of April!) it finally feels like I can let this go and see it go off into the world.

Meanwhile I am already working on the follow up record for TDW, so actually my mind is already firmly busy with that. A lot of songs have already been written and my plan is to get this album out the door somewhere in the second half of this year, so times are busy as always! And next to that I am working with the band Dreamwalkers Inc. on making a new album with those guys and girl as well, so the creativity is flowing and firing on all cylinders!

TDW are your initials right?

Yup, literally my initials for my first and last name... end of story. THE END. ROLL CREDITS, haha! I mean, it actually is the truth. I started making music when I was 14 years old and I just felt that my name by itself did not really stand for much. I don't hate my name or anything, but Tom is not exactly a special name and de Wit is a really standard Dutch surname. So, I just abbreviated it as such, because it at least seemed like it could mean more than just my name. Also, over the years, I decided to start calling my fans and followers Dreamwalkers and TDW can also stand for The Dream Walker, so it became more of a thing over the years. Also, that transpired into my other bands band name 'Dreamwalkers Inc' like that.

The TDW name however now stands for everything that I want to do musically, no matter what the genre or the output is. If I am involved in it and I had a creative hand in making it, it will be a TDW thing unless it's a part of a different band/creative outing. Right now, I am happy to have both TDW and Dreamwalkers Inc. as my things. It feels nicely balanced like this.

How long did you work on "The Days The Clock Stopped"?

The Days The Clock Stopped is an album that took me about 11 years to make as it is a very personal and intense album about all the things that happened to me when I got hospitalized at the age of 21 with a bowel disease called Colitis Ulcerosa. This disease was so intense and violent on my body that I spent 2 years in- and out of hospitals, almost dying two times in that process. The album basically is my first person telling of this story and that is, as you can perhaps imagine, not something you just easily do.

So, it really took me years of making other records and writing music on different subjects before I felt 'Ready' to tackle this highly personal story like this. It's scary to share something this personal with the world, you know. But I am glad I did now that it has happened, and I see everyone's amazing responses to it. But yeah, those 11 years were needed to become mentally ready for this record.

Writing the music also was a bit unorthodox for me, because I did not just write this album in one go. This album has some song ideas that are literally 11 years old and some that were written in late 2019. It really has been a melting pot of creative ideas. Looking back on how that writing process went, I am surprised how coherent the album became, haha!

What can one expect when 'play' button is pressed?

Well, The Days The Clock Stopped is very much a story driven experience, so it's not a straightforward headbangers record at all. It's 80+ minutes and goes from heavy metal blastbeat intensity to ambient ballady moments and back again. So, in that sense for headbangers I would say that this is an album they should put on with a genuinely open mind and that they should take the time to take it all in.

However, this is an advice that I can give for all my records really. I have had multiple experiences that people said they hated or didn't get my music at first, but then they gave it a second chance and suddenly it clicked and by the third time they were hooked. I don't mind this really. I am not making music to easily bang your head to or to party too. I think my music should be judged on the merit of itself and the message it conveys. If that resonates with you? Great! If not? That's fine too!

What about the title of the album, is there a specific meaning behind it?

The album title describes what it feels like to be in a hospital bed and to be stuck in the regime that the hospital puts on you. When you are as sick as I have been back then, you basically have to wait for your body to recover while you are being nursed back to health by the hospital staff. So, the world really is just that: the hospital. The room you are in. And at a certain point, (if there is no clock present) you just feel like every day is the same. The same routine, the same things, the clock basically stopped, while the world keeps going on outside your window. It really is a surreal experience to go through that and this album reflects that in all the songs.

That was your main inspiration music and lyric wise too?

Obviously my main frame of reference was what I went through back then, so when writing the lyrics, it was pretty clear what which song would become. It helps to have story that an album is based on, because then you know what you are writing in a way. Musically however, the album really came together in a more random fashion as mentioned before. I had some demo's that I actually made in the hospital in 2008 that ended up on this record, but I also wrote some brand-new songs in 2019 that fit with their vibe and sound. It felt like writing music with my 21-year-old me in a way. Both of us sitting in the studio and encouraging each other to write something more intense and exciting with every turn. That's why a new song like 'The Pulse' fits well with an older track idea like 'Sleepless Angels' for example. There is literally 11 years of difference between those two original ideas, yet it all works out in the end.

Was there anything else that influenced you while composing, something that surprised even yourself?

As always I am inspired by a lot of progressive metal stuff that I listen to, but also a lot of music that comes from all over the musical spectrum. So, a band like Between The Buried And me or Protest The Hero are inspirational for my own music, but I am also inspired by classical music like Rachmaninov, Mahler etc. I also listen to quite a bit of fusion and mathrock and I have my bouts of jamming to Miles Davis (Bitches Brew is the shit!) and acts like that. I like listening to a lot of different music because that keeps my own ideas fresh. Don't get me wrong, I can also still love and enjoy stuff like Metallica, Slipknot, Death, Megadeth, Faith No More etc., but I would say that that is music I binged in my early days and I am taking that with me now when writing new music. I guess that is how my mind works. I have not listened to those bands for a while now, but they are still there, and I am very grateful for their influence in my writing.

What do you think about categorizing and all these tags being put on music? Is it needed?

From a logical perspective I don't mind that there are categories, because it helps finding the stuff you might like. For example, I am not much of a fan of black metal, so if something is described as TRVV KVLT BLACK METAL then I will prolly be like "Nah, I'll pass" because that kind of sound and vibe doesn't work for me. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that all music that has black metal influences doesn't work for me! For example, I once heard Agalloch being played somewhere and was like "What is this?! I love this!" and that turned out to be black metal inspired and sounding alike as well. So, that proved to me that having a 'tag' that I might not instantly feel attracted to, doesn't have to mean I instantly dislike it.

A thing I really DO dislike about categorizing is that people project a certain expectation on music. It's like: "You make prog metal, so you probably sound like Dream Theater!" that kind of thing. I hate that because it puts an artist into a box, and I believe art by its own merit should be box less. The hypocrisy that sometimes happens within genres (and I am looking at prog specifically here) is that people like something so much, they just kinda want the same thing over and over, which then results into bands making the same album for many years in a row. This is something that I would never want to do. I would not want to make 'The Days The Clock Stopped - Part 2: Electric Boogaloo' or some shit, because what is the point in that!? This album is out now, so the next one will be different again. That's what artistry is about in my book.

What do you call it yourself?

I always called my music progressive metal because for me personally, progressive stands for daring to do things that are not standard and that go beyond the expected conventions of genre labels. For me being progressive does NOT mean playing 10.000 notes and being technical for the sake of it... I am getting a bit annoyed by that. Sure, I appreciate good playing and high-quality stuff, but for me the actual inventiveness of music and the new concepts brought to the table are far more interesting. That is why I would classify certain bands as progressive that the media doesn't seem to see that way.

Also, a pet peeve I have regarding this genre is that there are quite a few bands out there that call themselves progressive, while they are literally doing EVERYTHING that has already been done before... I see labels sometimes pushing generic melodic metal bands that play ONE WHOLE BAR of 7/8 on their album and then call it 'Progressive' and I am sitting here like: "...Really? That is already progressive to you? Wow"...

I know this might sound pedantic on my side and I am sorry about that, but this proves that for me there is a big distinction between making actual progressive music, or the PROG tag that labels put on bands because they might have a few slightly weird bits in their music somewhere.

What does 'progressive' mean to you?

For me the idea of making progressive music is incredibly important, hence why I have my own project in this genre and I also am a part of progressive metal band Dreamwalkers Inc. This genre is the way for me to express complicated thoughts and emotions to the world and find a connection with others by doing so. This music basically has therapeutic value, so it really is what I live and breathe daily.

Next to that I am also active as the label boss for Layered Reality Productions through which I release and promote my own music, but also the music of other artists worldwide and through the label I am able to give back to artists and help them reach an audience that GETS what they are doing. MY goal with the label basically is to get those bands out there that are being ignored by the bigger press outlets because they are too weird or too out there. Of course, I seek for bands that are high quality and I don't just sign any bedroom project that does weird music, but we take pride into signing the acts that are really good but also really unique!

And to give back to the scene through the label, we started a YouTube radio show in March 2021 called Progmetal Pantheon in which we play music from unsigned cool prog bands from around the world and help them expand their profile. So, then I am the radio host putting that whole thing together with help of my amazing team and that also feels like a great way to give something in return to the scene. If that radio show can help launch some new great bands then I am very happy indeed!

When you sit down to write and compose, do you create for yourself or for others?

I always primarily write music for myself. If I am not excited about a song, it does not go out into the world. :) I am actually pretty critical on that. Basically, every step I am taking with my music should make me feel like I am doing something really cool. If that feeling isn't there I throw the idea out and start over. And by now I think the fanbase that is there (and that keeps growing) is in sync with those feelings I have.

However, as the years go by and I learn more, I do know better which songs might work better as a single and which don't for example. This is convenient in a promotional sense, but that does not mean I am not going to write those other songs as well. The best feeling in the world is to just sit down and write whatever comes without any preconceived thought of what it should adhere to.

Let's switch seats for a moment. What do you expect from the listener?

Honestly, I don't think expecting anything is realistic, haha! Like, I have some things I would like people to experience and feel when they listen to my music, but I think if you are telling yourself 'PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL SAD WHEN LISTENING TO THIS' you are basically setting yourself up for disappointment these days. Especially with the internet being the open opinion sewer that it is these days. For every person that says they like your music, there will be someone saying its complete shit and that is perfectly fine!

So, if I had to say anything that I would expect people to do, I would say I would expect them to at least listen to my music once with intent. Really soak it in and hear what is going on. If you still hate it then? No problem at all! But there's a chance you might like it and then you are welcome to be a part of my musical world

Do you play to build or to destroy?

I would rather build. With my music I try to create a universe in which difficult subject matter can be discussed and in which emotions are allowed to exist. I love writing stories that sometimes maybe even have supernatural or weird themes, but that are based in reality and human emotions. At the end of the day, the human condition and the way we perceive reality is a subject that can never be explored enough I think. So, in a way, I want my music to be experiences that people can listen to and maybe find answers in. Or at least some comfort knowing that they are not the only ones that can feel sad, confused and/or alone. We all have these moments and if we share those, we can at least learn from them and grow.

Which emotions do you have plenty of and which not enough?

Honestly, my problem is that I have too much of everything haha! High sensitivity basically means every emotion always fires on overdrive. I learned to deal with it more over the years though. So, there are moments people might see me as the hard-working guy who is always happy and positive, while I am trying to reroute my negativity and sadness into something more useful like music and art. However, this is a very tiresome struggle at times, not going to lie.

So, there are days in which I would just want to feel less or maybe even nothing once in a while to just recharge my batteries a bit if you know what I mean. But that's not an option in my head, so the balancing act continues every day.

What would you do if you couldn't play?

I wanted to be a videogame designer as a kid, so I might chase that then. Also, I do audio, video and web design work from my own studio for my main income. So, if my own music would stop, I would probably still be making things in that sphere, but then for clients.

Where do you see yourself and Dreamwalkers Inc. in next 5-7 years?

For TDW I will see myself still making music in whatever situation and style I then feel like making. I always considered TDW to be an open thing that can take many artistic styles and shapes. So, I would not rule out an acoustic album or maybe an even more intense and dark heavy project. Or maybe even something drone/ambient improvised like. Basically, if I am involved, it's TDW and that's it. Performing with an orchestra would be a dream come true as well. And maybe at a certain point I might gather a band of friends to play some TDW only shows and perform The Days The Clock Stopped integrally, but that really has to do with demand as well.

With Dreamwalkers Inc. we are now working on the first album in a bigger concept which will probably span multiple records and will become a multimedia experience of sorts. So, in 5/7 years we will either just have finished the final chapter, or we are still in the middle of that. I do love that prospect though. I love working on big projects and putting those out there.

Ok, we covered past and present. What are the plans for the future?

Right now, my focus is on finishing the new TDW album with the fan-songs that I mentioned in the earlier part of this interview. This album consists of brand-new songs I wrote myself in the last few months, but also songs that I based on prompts given by fans who preordered The Days The Clock Stopped in 2020. I did a preorder campaign for that album and told people that if they contributed enough, I would write them a song. However, I got so many people ordering, that I basically had to write a new album as a result, haha! It is like a luxury problem really. So now I am working on an album that is VERY diverse and radically different from what The Days The Clock Stopped sounds like. The fact that it releases so quickly in succession also poses a cool challenge, because I have never made an album in such a short timeframe. But I like challenges and seeing what it turns into then.

And next to that, with Dreamwalkers Inc. we are calmly writing and analyzing the songs we are making for the new album and basically planned that record for 2022 so that we can then hopefully also play live to promote it and start that big concept properly. So basically, I am now working on two albums at the same time with radically different planning pacing and music. It feels like I am a kid in a candy store, being able to just write a lot of music and being creative!

CD, vinyl and cassette. Vinyl is coming back some say but for me it never went away just like cassettes. What is your opinion about the physical media, which one do you prefer?

I agree with what you are saying there. Media never left, but people are just made aware by the bigger press right now. Has to do with the commercial incentive I guess. A big chunk of the traditional music industry is standing on its last legs, so they desperately try to make myths like 'VINYL IS MAKING A COMEBACK' while the actual music fans are there like '...It never left dudes... You just were too busy making money on pressing crap products to notice...' And we all know many genres that have been on cassettes, vinyl and what not even in the 90s when people said vinyl wasn't existing anymore. So, I often just shrug when I hear media phrases like that. What's next, bringing back fucking 8-tracks because Sony and Epic decide that's a thing now?

Personally, I love physical media, but it has to be done right. And by that I mean that you should not just bring out a simple CD and think you are done. A lot of people don't buy physical products to put it in their CD collection because most people don't have those anymore. However, I do notice that if you are willing to put actual time, care and effort into your packaging and the whole experience, people will still buy it because they want to own that experience. I have had multiple people telling me that they bought my records and actually listened to them on Spotify/Apple music, because they could not play the CD's, but they actually wanted to own the package due to the look of the covers, the booklets that are included, the bonus material etc.

Thanks a lot for taking time to answer all the questions, last word is yours.

Thank you guys and girls at MetalBite for taking the time for all this! Hope you are all staying safe and healthy! Have a great day!

Getting a little bit tired of all those melodic death metal bands? Pick up the latest The Crown outburst "Crowned in Terror" and I promise you won't be singing any of those sweet melodies for a long time. Although their music is also based on good dose of melody; aggression, speed and power is what makes them stand atop their peers. Those five guys are like bulls on Speed ready to tear any place down wherever they show up. With the addition of Tomas Lindberg (ex-At The Gates, Skitsystem, Lock Up, Disfear, The Great Deceiver) The Crown opens a new chapter in their career and sets the bar even higher. Just a week before they hit the States I had the pleasure to talk to Janne Saarenpää (drums) about their new member, album and musical inspirations.

Chris


Ready to conquer the States?

Yeah. [laughs] I hope so.

What's next, what are the plans for the rest of the world?

I don't know. There's a lots of talk and a lots of stuff going on but you know, there's always a lots of talk in the music industry. [laughs] So, there's not much worth mentioning since nothing is decided yet. We have two festivals booked; one in Germany and one in Finland but we're hoping for a good European tour and there's actually a talk about second US tour so, we're hoping for the best.

Tell us more about the latest news of Axis Percussion officially signs you?

Well, cool thing. I'm using their pedals and they were interested with endorsing them with people like me. It feels really cool to have my first endorsement deal; I'm actually first in a band to have one. I'm nothing but honored.

Maybe that's your first step to live from drumming only?

Yeah, I hope so. [laughs]

Since At The Gates called it quits Tomas Lindberg was involved in and still is, I think 4 (Skitsystem, Lock Up, Disfear and The Great Deceiver) projects so, how did he end up in The Crown?

We have known him for several years, actually. When we did our first tour in Europe we had a warm out band called Sacrilege and they didn't have a singer so he was hired to do the tour with them. That whole tour was one big ass misery; poorly arranged, everything was shitty but from all this we could always get into part mood and do great shows and have fun. We could see it right then that Tomas was really a cool guy and if things could go rough with The Crown he would be the good guy to work with. So, when Johan quit we wanted to have a guy that's experienced who've worked on the scene for many years and is as hungry as we are. Tomas was really the first and maybe the only name that come out when we were talked about replacement.

Aren't you afraid that with all these bands that are issuing albums with Tomas fronting that his voice won't be recognized as a unique for The Crown only?

Yeah, of course that's never good. I, personally really want to stay true to The Crown because playing in only one band only I'll help to preserve our sound somewhat unique. Of course he's wearing his voice out in many ways with those other bands but most of those bands are maybe not that... big and they are not into this same kind of music. OK, it's metal but it's not death metal so, it still feels it's really worth the shot because he's a great singer. You can hear that on this new album that he's at least as hungry, if not even hungrier then we are. It's a move in the right direction anyway.

Since you've announced the change of the vocalist so long ago was Tomas involved in the writing process of this material?

It was pretty much lyrics only, also Magnus, our bass player, he also wrote some of them since he already started coming up with the titles and concepts for them. It really helped Tomas to get into the band even faster. So, for this album he worked on lyrics only but I'm sure on the next one he will have as much input as everyone else in the band.

Since 'Death Metal Holocaust' features Johan Lindstrand as a guest vocalist does it mean that the band's members are still good friends with him and there was really no bad blood when he quit?

That's pretty much it and that was very cool way for him to say goodbye to us and fans. Of course it was hard when he mentioned that he wants to quit the band but he was nice enough to say it in due time. When he actually quit it was almost a year since the first time he mentioned it and that's of course helped us to still be friends through all this.

Was it also like returning the favor since Tomas guested on your previous album?

Yeah, that also. It was cool, Tomas sang on our previous album so why not switch everything. [laughs]

Going back to the hunger topic... It seems like The Crown have sped up the tempo and it's even more aggressive than before. Was it intentional or new blood ignited the flame?

No, it wasn't intentional and I feel really good saying that because you can tell that many band are only aiming to get more brutal and that sucks 'cause you can see that their songs aren't turning out as good as they could have been. It just turned out this way and I think the main reason that our songs are faster and more brutal is because we have been touring with these total high quality bands. The US tour with Cannibal Corpse, Nile and Krisiun [laughs] it can't get any better. European tour with Morbid Angel... after seeing those bands every night for four- five weeks it brings back memories how it is to play fast. They are gods in handling their instrument so all those bands really inspired us a lot. Plus we are big fans of those bands too so; it just felt natural to speed it up.

The Crown started as a death metal band but it's hard to call "Crowned In Terror" a death metal release. Did it also just turn out this way or you don't want to limit yourself within one music genre?

Well, when people ask us what we're playing we say death metal but after the second album we were quite confident in ourselves that we could try stuff that all of us like even though it might not be the purest death metal. We didn't want to limit us to one genre only we wanted to do death metal but with other elements in it that we like and what style it would be it's not really important as long as we feel it sounds as The Crown.

What in your mind differs The Crown from the rest of the Sweden's scene?

I don't know... there's a lot of talk about Gothenburg sound that is almost purely about melody and we're not about melody only. It's hard to say... but I think we are a bit more brutal and faster than usual Swedish bands.

I've got one more that's even harder to answer... where do you feel you stand among your peers (Entombed, The Haunted, Soilwork...)?

Somewhere in the middle... [laughs] It's really hard to say. I would pay money to get a chance to jump out of the band and become a fan not involved in the band just to know how people look at us. Are we big in Sweden? Are we small? It's impossible to tell from where I stand, really.

Wasn't the choice of Mega Studio a conscious decision to separate The Crown from all those bands that record in Fredman and Abyss?

Well... [laughs] We were actually about to go to Fredman's studio again but as usual we were very lazy booking the studio and stuff, so when we called him he told us he has some free time in March, right now. So, we would begin recording now and that made us to pick Studio Mega. We knew he didn't do any big albums before but he has a good equipment and right attitude so, we felt like we can take a shot and try it right there. The plan was to mix that stuff in Studio Fredman and we did so, but it didn't sound good, those studios didn't mix well. So, we went back to Studio Mega, which was a good decision because at the end we could really hear that we sound as good as it does on the album. We weren't afraid to get Gothenburg sound going to Fredman because we're pretty confident that when we go to the studio with ourselves and our equipment I'm sure we will preserve at least parts of The Crown. You'll always hear it's The Crown album, no matter what studio we're in.

Can you explain why on the back cover of the booklet your logo remind me so much of Venom? I don't see too many similarities between two bands?

No, it's very much a coincidence. It was this German friend of our bass player who had made it for fun on his computer and he send it too him to check it out. We though it was so well made that we might as well put in on the album. Yeah, we don't sound as Venom but having this sign there is kind of a paying tribute to them for being there when this form of music was created. They are one of the most important bands for us; we wouldn't sound like we do if Venom wasn't there at the beginning. I hope Venom guys won't take it as a plagiarism...

Since you've started playing as young kids I was wondering if are you still good friends that meet together for a beer, go out or wives and families (or girlfriends) took it all away?

No, that's pretty much part of the magic. When Johan quit I was afraid that we would lose this because we have always been very good friends, seeing each other often and going out together but we still do. That's pretty much the magic of the band because we stayed together for so long and we're still good friends and I really hope that it will last forever.

Unfortunately it's time to end this interview... all I can say is to congratulate you on really great album and I hope to talk to you in person in two weeks in Chicago. Any final comments?

Cool. I hope that all the people that would read this interview will check out our album and maybe come to the show to see us 'cause we love playing live and the more people the merrier, as they say. [laughs]