Quickly returning to the studio after releasing their first EP earlier this spring, PaleNeØ now brings forth their first full-length album to close out 2024. This time with almost all new tracks (thankfully bringing their “Alive” single back from the start of the year as well as older cut “Virtual Rebellion”), Score sets out to really showcase PaleNeØ at the close of the year. They stand at the cusp of doing some really incredible things, for those who want some unique quirks in their rock/metal hybrid.
With their previous EP titled ØCTAVE, and this album being called Score, it doesn’t take long to figure out that the band has some classical influences, particularly when jumping into the first song, “Allegro.” It’s something that you can hear in the guitar melodies (check out some of the solos), though it’s filtered through a number of other influences. “Allegro” brings us big electronic melodies that operate alongside the guitars, some heavier metalcore-influenced riffing, as well as some modern rock and pop elements, notably in the chorus. It’s a song that can get you fired up and dancing, and even bang your head around a bit at the same time. It sets the tone for the album well. Just don’t expect each track to repeat the same patterns.
“in Gloria Dei” wears more of it’s classical influences on its sleeves, yet at the same time it escalates its surroundings up to near black metal and gothic atmosphere at times, swerving into eerie carnival elements as well. “Crazy & Noisy & Cutey Magic” hits more modern elements, embracing nods to everything from rap to modern jpop idol flavors in it’s joyous dance energy, if only to drop things in more stunning territory by tossing in a stray core-driven breakdown with growls. “shichigatsunanoka” ramps up the guitar melodies to maximum levels, with moments feeling like something pulled from In Flames’ melodeath heydays, with a unique Japanese tint of course. “itechou no koku” thrusts further into rock territory, with some hints of frenzied classical influences popping out, featuring some absolutely fun yet complex riff patterns that you can later dissect out amid the spiraling keys. Lastly, there’s “cosmo shinjuu,” where rumbling, playful bass and keys clash with soaring guitar melodies and vocal hooks in a vibrant and thoroughly entertaining musical trip.
PaleNeØ solidify their position as a Japanese metallic/rock act that aren’t afraid to push boundaries in a way that seems exciting and fun. Score shows exactly what the group is capable of, and given the quick turn around from their EP this year, it seems like they have plenty of musical ideas up their sleeves that are bound to grab any listener’s ear that comes along their way. PaleNeØ serve up some intense yet entirely entertaining genre-fluid romps into intriguing territory.
Brandishing a furious display of aggressive thrash metal with classic accents, Injector returns with this fourth album Endless Scorn ready to scorch the earth once again. Already impressed through the previous discography like 2018’s Stone Prevails and 2020’s Hunt of the Rawhead, at this point in the band’s career trajectory it’s more about solidifying specific hooks or channeling stronger songwriting mechanics to increase a footprint in a very active genre. After numerous playbacks you get the sense that there’s an added level of intensity and propulsion to these performances – combining the aggression with catchiness to galvanize followers of all types of younger and older.
Even when the band choose to ride in a slow, slithering manner where calmer guitar strains take a back seat to a robust bass line which appears in the opening sequence for “The Executioner’s Song”, the pace soon shifts into something more Exhorder meets Metal Church-like, the vocals shifting from raspy, Phil Anselmo-ish roars to this clean, almost alternative-ish charm that makes for a memorable chorus while the instrumental break contains a progressive, churning shift for the ages. Where the dynamic transitions take place can be surprising in a good way. Check out the Doobie Brothers-ish jangly guitar that soon transforms into this high-octane shred barrage during the lead break section of “Never Enter the Core”, or the tranquil nature to the instrumental “The End of Eternity” – where soothing guitar harmonies abound against some thunderous drumming before the triplet gallops crush a la Cyclone Temple from back in the early 90s. Never fear that heads down thrash has been abandoned – as the relentless abandon nature to “Path of the Wrathgod” or the Overkill meets Annihilator-esque musical force within “Mindcrusher” are two mandatory appealers, the supplementary gang vocals and energy hard to resist.
Ideally as musicians once you find comfort in your style and proper chemistry, the sky is the limit when it comes to creatively capturing things into a record that has staying power. Injector may have achieved that peak through Endless Scorn – hopefully garnering them better touring / festival opportunities as they climb up the ranks.
Melodic death metal may have risen to global acclaim because of the Scandinavian scene in the 90s, but there were other quality bands from that movement beyond those countries. German act Night In Gales as a prime example continues strong currently through their ninth studio album Shadowreaper. Aggressive riffing, solid songwriting, plus the added catchy, melodic nuances that keep the material fresh and sharp, it seems like there’s no stopping the quintet in their aim for high quality releases. We got the chance to speak to guitarist Jens Basten about their burst of output as of late, the great relationship with Apostasy Records, what it’s like having an older brother to influence his tastes in metal as well as a fellow guitarist in the group, highlights of their career, what’s going with Gloryful and SubOrbital his other bands, as well as family life and future plans.
Dead Rhetoric: In a previous talk with the site promoting the Dawnlight Garden album, you mention that Night In Gales was in a good place with a good label and a good reputation in the scene. Does this positive chemistry/outlook help contribute to the quicker productivity of the group when it comes to studio records – as your latest album Shadowreaper is the third new record over the past five years?
Jens Basten: Yes, and it’s already the fourth when you include The Last Sunsets from 2018. That is a lot of albums in a relatively short period of time. It’s the label, it’s a friendly relationship, and it’s a small label. It’s just the owner that totally supports this style of music. There isn’t a lot of money in it, so it’s totally from the heart that he is doing this. He’s earning money with other business stuff in the metal scene, but not at the label. His wife supports things from the marketing side, and packaging all the mail order stuff.
If it wasn’t for this label, I do not know if the band would still be going today. The bigger labels would not be interested in us, because we are not a touring band. Twenty years ago, we were a touring band, but now our lives it’s a different situation. We have jobs, we have families, you can no longer tour your ass off anymore. We have very good luck; we met him in 2017. Since then, it’s fun again, and fun to do album after album. We have heard good things from the press and from the fans. Without that, I wouldn’t be here. Everybody needs some love from somewhere.
Dead Rhetoric: What was it like for you to reconnect with Christian Müller, the original vocalist of Night in Gales – had you always kept in touch, and was he excited to rejoin the band?
Jens Basten: Yes, that’s a great story indeed. Christian and I met in school, we were the only death metal followers back then in 1991. We formed a two-man band called Tombstone, (in the) early death metal style. Then it was Intestinal Ulcer, after that we played some early doom/death metal. We formed Night in Gales with the new lineup, Christian came in again. One and a half years later, Nuclear Blast signed us after the demo, but then he quit – because he had a career after school in mind. School, university, and then a career in management – and he made it. We made rock and roll for twenty years, we had our jobs, degrees. We lost the eye of each other, but we met occasionally at concerts, even though we weren’t close anymore.
As Björn left, we had the idea of looking for Christian. Tobias, our bassist, had more contact with him at the time, and within one week it was clear in 2017 that he accepted coming back into the band. I then set out to write the comeback album The Last Sunsets, because I knew how it should sound. If you know who is going to sing on the record, you can start writing. He just had one agreement with us – he couldn’t play as much live anymore. That’s the same with some of the other members as well. It was clear we will play maybe five or ten gigs a year, and that was going to be clear to the label that signed us. Now he is asking for the next record, he’s hot for the next one (laughs).
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see Shadowreaper sitting in the catalog of Night In Gales discography? What aspects did you want to emphasize this time around in terms of the songwriting, production, tones, or performances?
Basten: The last three records before this were with the same lineup, the same cover artist Costin Chioreanu, and with the same producer to mix and master Dan Swanö. And I had the thought to change something – we wanted to change the artist and the mix/mastering duties. We want to keep things interesting for us, and for the followers. Let’s see what happens. That was experimental. I wanted things to be a little more unconventional, and away from the standard songwriting. Turn back to 2018 with The Last Sunsets – where we tried back then to sound like 1995 as people who were in their teenage years. To keep this fresh thing going again, and we’ve lost a little bit of that step with the last three albums. Things were sounding more perfect, clearer, and transparent. We want to get back to more harsh, aggressive, and a more surprising album. Let the people not get tired of us, and we are not ourselves.
I can say now, we got the word that we are Album of the Month in Rock Hard magazine, one of the biggest German metal magazines. We have never reached that position in our thirty years as a band. It’s a big thing for us. So, I think we did something right.
Dead Rhetoric: Obviously with the way that modern recording technology has changed things for musicians to record things easier on your own, is it much harder to balance when to say when as far as the songwriting and performances being complete compared to the old days being on the clock in bigger studios?
Basten: Yes, of course, those times were totally different. One thing is the time. We would spend two to three weeks in a studio 600 kilometers from here, or even in a forest to do a record that didn’t turn out good, or was expensive. Now we have a smaller budget, but all the time we want, do the recordings in the basement of my home studio. We only have to record the drums somewhere in a professional studio. We can send all the stuff to the mixing guy, and three or four days later you can get the first mix back of the first song. He’s doing that on his own. Fredrik Nordström in the past, he never would ask us how we should sound – he just started, and it was good. There was no communication. Back in the day in the big studios, you know the stories.
About the songwriting, there is something I miss. I remember sitting down with a tape recorder and recording the first rhythm guitar with a metronome. Maybe a simple mechanic metronome, recording the first idea. Then I would play it and try to put down a lead guitar part. Maybe the same second steps I do with Cubase now. Now a song can be ready in one hour if I am inspired, if it’s a good hour. Back then, it was more magical. You had to be more creative, there weren’t as many systems. A lot of the music today, you don’t have as many time changes unless you are a progressive or technical death metal band.
Back in the day, the song “Razor” from Towards the Twilight, we recorded in 1996 on the Razor EP, that had many breaks and so many riffs and tempo changes. That’s totally gone. It’s hard to imitate if you are sitting in front of a desktop computer. It’s not always bad. I like the records that we produce. Maybe one day if I am bored with it, we will step back and try things again the old way. It’s possible.
Dead Rhetoric: How would you assess the workload between yourself and your brother Frank when it comes to guitar parts, lead breaks, etc. within the band? Where do you see the strengths and differences between your abilities at this instrument?
Basten: Nowadays I write all of the parts myself, especially since the last couple of albums. Frank was more involved in the Nuclear Blast albums, especially Thunderbeast and Nailwork. On last year’s record The Black Stream Frank helped with two of the songs, he had some chord progressions and some chorus lines. I am very thankful for that and that he was able to contribute in this way. I find that I make most of the parts – it’s just what works for us.
The thing with my brother is back in the day, it was a typical brother thing. You love each other but you can hate each other. There were some situations we had in the rehearsal room with fighting, arguments. It was not nice, and all the other (members) had to listen to it. It’s normal if you have a brother who is in the same band. I am so proud of it – we are brothers who have been together in the band for almost thirty years. We have kept the same lineup, starting as friends, and we never let the business rip us apart.
Dead Rhetoric: Italian artist Paolo Girardi did the cover for Shadowreaper – he’s worked with Manilla Road, Power Trip, Revocation, and numerous others in the metal realm. What was the process like working with him – and do you still see cover art as being important in gaining insight into what listeners can expect from an album in today’s scene compared to its importance during the pre-internet era of the 70s, 80s, and 90s?
Basten: It was very great to work with him. It wasn’t the same process as working with Costa, he didn’t need as many guidelines before starting the process. He would only ask for the song, lyrics, a rough mix. He wants to be inspired and then he lets out what he was seeing. Very interesting for me, when he came up with the Dawnlight Garden cover, which I like very much. Paolo was different – he asked for a mock up that I would make from hand on paper. I made it in five minutes, what I had in mind, the basic idea. The Shadowreaper, the towers of towards the twilight, and a river of souls into the black stream. He was fine, and I told him about the color scheme that I wanted to happen. I got the blue sky, the black and white scheme, and he drew things exactly the way that I wanted it. I love his work.
When 80% of the people are listening to things on Spotify, the single cover that you get from streaming is the first thing you see. So even that is important now. The graphic guy asks if he should do single pieces from the main cover artwork. Album covers as a result are more important – it still helps sell albums. Not everyone is thinking about this so much. Bands don’t want to spend as much money on good artists anymore. If you do, you have an advantage to stand out from the masses. I believe in it. I’m an old school heavy metal guy. I like my vinyl; I love a big cover art piece. And I think there are many people out there who still think the same way.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you consider some of the career highlights with Night In Gales – specific albums, tours, festival appearances, or other activities where you knew you were making an impact on the scene with your work?
Basten: Milestones in our career. In retrospect, I’m proud of it. We are one of the first bands not coming out of Scandinavia with this sound. We signed with Nuclear Blast very early right after that first demo. Now we are one of the old bands (laughs). We are one of the originals doing things the way it used to be. Back in the day, it was totally different – we were told we were a copy of all those Swedish bands. It was hard to do the marketing for it. Now it’s totally the opposite. There has been a change.
The EP we pushed out in 1995 called Sylphlike. It was done on CD, and we included some video footage live from the studio. We ended up selling and trading 7,000 copies of this. I’m proud of this. We discovered the whole underground scene back then – the internet was close on the door. The debut album from 1997 Towards the Twilight for Nuclear Blast, it was such a big move for us. We had a lot of records in our collections from that record label, we were invited to the big parties, tours and festivals. We saw a lot of things, met all of our idols. Shared the stage with the big ones. Such a good time in our career.
Dead Rhetoric: What has been going on with Gloryful and SubOrbital as of late? How do you separate your time/energy between all these acts?
Basten: Gloryful is actually not going right now. Johnny Bomba, the singer, and a good friend of mine, left the band. It started with him during the corona years that he left, something changed in his mind to do this anymore. I have a lot to do now with Night in Gales, so that’s okay. Maybe we will continue with another singer, time will tell. It was a good thing for me to do something different than melodic death metal. It was a very strong live band; it was fun to reach fans directly who may not have known us. It was rocking every night, we did two tours and had good memories. It was fifteen years. It started as a two-man side project.
SubOrbital did one record on War Anthem Records, we did a few shows. We are writing the next album already. I just talked with the guys an hour ago – let’s arrange things to get this recorded early next year and push it out. That’s just a side project. I don’t want to spend as much time on this as I do on Night in Gales. I don’t want things to be more time-consuming than it is. Efficient by means of going to the basement, I take my guitar, and I write one to three songs directly. The next week three again, and within three weeks you have a record done. Then one-week lyrics, one-week arranging, then tell the drummer to start exercising, in three months we are recording the album. That’s the way I like it. When the day comes where it’s not running like this, then I will think about stopping it.
Dead Rhetoric: Looking back at your life as a musician, what is a pivotal or critical moment that helped shape your musical career?
Basten: In the early years when I was very young in school – my brother was three years older than me. He was giving me all these classic 80s heavy metal records. He had input, so I was raised with heavy metal directly from the beginning. It was very important. There was no other music before – maybe some hard rock on the radio. The most important albums from 1987 I remember were Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction, to start playing guitar. On the real heavy metal side, Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast was the first heavy metal record my brother bought. Battle Hymns – Manowar, and the other records followed very close to these albums. Kings of Metal and Fighting the World by Manowar, Somewhere in Time by Iron Maiden, Running Wild, Kreator, Slayer. This whole heavy metal movement of the 1980s is the reason why I make music today. It stays with you. I would start playing guitar, and then when you start writing songs you start realizing you can do this, it’s like riding a bike. You never forget how it works.
It’s not for the money. It’s something you have to do, and you like to do. Like in the beginning.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s left on your bucket list to accomplish – either personally or professionally? How would you assess your level of satisfaction or happiness currently?
Basten: It would be enough for me if (things) would stay for me like it is now. Especially with Night in Gales, we’ve reached the official German album charts two times in a row, and hopefully we will with this new album again. We want to progress in steps here and there. The new things that come from album of the month in Rock Hard – I never expected in thirty years that I would reach that status in my career. Now it’s just there. Maybe we’ve done some little changes. These are surprises that keep us going and keep things worthwhile. The whole band is happy. Five happy guys, that’s why we do this. We are so grateful with Apostasy Records – we have the same connection. It’s like a family where good things happen.
Dead Rhetoric: How have you handled the changes in life as a father? What do you want to teach your child about life that may differ or be similar to how you grew up in childhood?
Basten: I am very happy to be a father for four years. My little daughter has been four since August. I am very lucky with that situation. I try not to teach so much. I can teach her some music. We play the 80s metal channel from last.fm in the kitchen during breakfast. She’s listening to Dio, 80s metal, the classics. We listen to country and alternative – she knows I make music, and the guys in the band. I want to teach her if she wants to play an instrument one day. We don’t force her to play. I’m sure one day she’ll just start playing – I see that she has some talent already to play the drums, she has a good voice. It would make me happy if one day she came up to me and said, ‘Papa – let’s go to the studio and record a song’.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for Night In Gales over the next twelve months as far as activities, or any other musical events in other acts you are involved in that we can look forward to?
Basten: In Night In Gales, we will continue writing music for the next album. Hopefully that may come out next year, but who knows? New projects – I get invitations of course; I don’t have much time anymore between family and my other bands. My wife’s parents and my parents, they are getting older, there is more stuff to do and there will be more in the next years. If I look at my discography, there is quite a lot out there right now. I focus on good releases and not on many releases now over the next years. Try to achieve more with these two bands, especially with Night in Gales. I will make my label boss happy with that.
To many friends, and especially the wife, my ability to harp on something until it’s been smashed into a fine powder is well-known. Mostly bad puns, but in this instance, bands that don’t receive the accolades that yours truly believes they’ve earned. It’s a hearty list, but near the top of it is Germany’s Night in Gales. Their innovation in the burgeoning melodic death metal scene in the mid-90s simply didn’t receive the full attention that their Swedish brethren did back in the day. Why that is, it’s anybody’s guess. Geography in relation to the Gothenburg hotbed, timing, luck of the draw – who’s to say? The reality is that from the swath of bands who were part of the formation and rise of that sound, Night in Gales created some of the most hard-hitting and memorable music that have taken up that direction, and are one of the few still doing it with indelible proficiency.
Arguably, some of the five-piece’s most accomplished work has come in recent times, and their productivity has been just as impressive. Knocking out three phenomenal albums between 2018 and 2023 is by no means easy. With certainty, another new full-length just over 14 months after the incredible The Black Stream (also my album of the year) was not on the old bingo card for 2024. Yet, here we are, with Night in Gales’ ninth record, Shadowreaper.
At this point, the initiated generally have an idea of what to expect – scrumptious harmonies, a furious pace, and riffs with more snap than a perfectly prepared brätwurst. The bad jokes continue, but I digress. One does have to wonder that with such a short timespan since The Black Stream, does the band have enough ideas to remain fresh and not stagnate, like so many other slingers of melodeath have. Succumb to preconceived notions at your peril – these dudes still got it. This notion becomes evident quickly via “Into the Evergrey”; setting up with a catchy clean section that craftily transitions into a ravishing lead melody, lodging itself into your frontal lobe with haste. The pace is furious, with plenty of variation and virility ultimately leading to an incredibly dynamic track. The well-placed whispered vocal passages and crunchy middle section really nail this piece down for these ears, along with bassist Tobias Bruchmann’s additional snarls (both on this and a few other tracks) to add further levels of differentiation.
Continuing with “The Horrors of Endlessness” gives a more sinister aesthetic, driven home by way of an eerie, brooding lead. The guitarists Basten – brothers Jens and Frank – wield a rare chemistry that leads to a back-and-forth of harmonies and riffage as smooth as the late Franz Beckenbauer (one of the greatest footballers of all time, and a late German legend, for those not in the know). Tracks like “The Nihilist Delta” are amongst the sonically darkest yet equally emotive the band have produced to date. Lead vocalist Christian Müller digs deep by way of decisive, guttural growls to compliment his trademark raspy scream, elevating the song’s already high potency. When layered with brooding clean passages, to say in German, es ist wunderbar.
With a view to the whole package, Shadowreaper is more disconsolate and ominous than any of their previous releases. “Spirals” contains a downtrodden quality while overflowing with tasty lead work; “Dead Inside” includes a hair of a blackened tinge in key moments. “Sculptured and Defleshed” is an exquisite example of rhythmic precision – drummer Adriano Ricci steers the ship with a deft and powerful touch, while Bruchmann’s bass lines add a measured heft to the quicker and methodical moments alike, combining to propel what is one of the album’s more stirring entries. Closer “Walk of Infinity” ends Shadowreaper with a bang, amounting to be a blistering and direct composition that ends ceremonies on a delectable high. Furthermore, album artist extraordinaire Paolo Girardi’s cover art matches the sonic tonality to perfection. This was also the first time the band has worked with legendary producer Fredrik Nordström, and his deft ear and feel is all over the record in the best of ways.
That classic early melodic death metal ethos isn’t strayed away from on Shadowreaper – to the contrary, that sound remains as the very spirit of Night in Gales, but they’ve managed to add a few fresh ingredients to serve up a new variation of a classic dish. Night in Gales again have written an album with a nimble, focused touch that also manages to be a thrilling ride. At a smidgeon over 36 minutes in length, Shadowreaper is a tight and compact listening experience that’s easy to jump into, while giving the hardcore melodeath purists a fathom of depth and detail to make many repeated listens infinitely rewarding. Night in Gales continues to craft enduring, impactful music that further engrain their undeniable discography into the long and sometimes turbulent novel that is melodic death metal. Here’s to hoping the December release date doesn’t hurt them too badly when it comes to year-end lists, because Shadowreaper should throw a lot of well-laid plans into complete disarray. As for this writer, it’s time to kick back and give this thing another spin or ten, with a delicious Mezzo Mix in hand.
The prolific popularity of power metal has spread beyond conventional support into all the nooks and cranny territories of the globe. Slovakia may not be on the tip of your tongue for heavy metal, but this central European country does have some interesting acts to investigate – such as this outfit Within Silence. Releasing two previous albums with Ulterium in Gallery of Life (2015) and the follow-up Return From the Shadows (2017), there have been a couple of lineup changes beyond the pandemic that caused a longer shelf life for this third studio record The Eclipse of Worlds. Newest members Peter Pleva on drums and Marian Gonda on guitar enhance the quintet in its traditional melodic power metal platform, focusing on a positive, uplifting set of material similar to a lot of well-known veterans who kept this style alive during the 90s to 2000’s.
The overall flow of the record conveys a diverse continuity where certain tracks remain focused and impactful through key musical hooks or stunning vocal harmonies, while others expand into virtuoso/ adventurous components that need a longer format to fully grasp the ideas present. Galloping riffs push “The Treason” into an immediate highlight track, the supportive choir-like high-pitched chorus plus complementary energetic rhythm section support further cementing the Stratovarius meets Power Quest-like qualities. Cultural harmonies next to battle tested themes keep “Battle Hymn” another active favorite to this scribe, vocalist Martin Klein resolute in his upper pitch acrobatics, a la Chris Bay of Freedom Call while the opening Iron Maiden-esque musical sequence may make many think of Seventh Son-era action. Much like the bigger bands of this genre, these gentlemen know that you can set the framework of a record by fluctuating tempos and types of songs to maintain deeper interest – which is why the mid-tempo opener “Land of Light” successfully elevates moods right away through it’s positive main chord/melody choices, or the ballad “Storyline” midway through gives listeners a reflective breather.
Saving the most epic song for last, “When Worlds Collide” at almost 13 minutes offers a treasure trove of cultural earworms, instrumental bombast, and thoughtful verses next to visions of dragons, majesty, and personal journey moments. Guitarists Richard Germanus and Marian along with bassist Viktor Varga set the table in their foundational work, weaving in sonic tapestry that’s magical, in the tradition of mainstays like Stratovarius and Iron Maiden right down to an exhilarating extended lead break spot. Thoughtfully taking their self-produced work to Matt Smith of Theocracy for the mixing as well as Jacob Hansen for mastering brilliance ensures no sacrifice to serve the best final product that quality power metal deserves.
Seven years can seem like an eternity to any metal follower – but the results speak volumes for Within Silence. The Eclipse of Worlds is an ideal effort for those who need escapism from the stressful work day and want to submerge themselves into a fantasy, majestic ride beyond your imagination.
Sometimes the passage of time allows older bands to resurrect new feelings of what they’ve accomplished in the scene. Take the case of Indiana-based doom metal outfit The Gates of Slumber. Formed in 1998, the band would release numerous demos, EPs and five full lengths before the unfortunate passing of bassist Jason McCash in 2014 saw the band grind to a halt. In 2019 a German metal festival Hell Over Hammaburg would reach out to see if the group would reunite for their 2020 edition. A reunion tour would follow until the COVID pandemic once again halted proceedings – enough to start the songwriting efforts on a new studio record.
The self-titled album finally has been released – another outstanding effort of pure doom metal excellence. Possibly achieving the band’s best sound to date, most will be swept away by the heaviness and foreboding atmosphere present in all the tracks. We reached out to bassist Steve Janiak to catch us up on his arrival in the group, the work behind the record, thoughts on the simpler cover art, memories around his favorite albums and festival experiences, a great Uber-related story he heard during his days as a driver, what success means these days, plus future plans with all of his bands including Apostle of Solitude and Devil to Pay.
Dead Rhetoric: Even though you officially joined The Gates of Slumber in 2019, your activities with the band date back to the mixing / recording of the 2002 Sabbath Witch demo. Do you feel like things have come full circle being in the group now, and how do you feel about the evolution of their discography over the years?
Steve Janiak: That’s a great question. At the time they recorded that demo, I was pretty good friends with the drummer Chris (Gordon), he knew that I had a Roland 24-track or maybe 16-track recorder that I used for my bands at the time. He wanted to record a demo; he talked me into coming out to his buddy’s house to record it because that’s where they practiced. I brought basically whatever microphones I had, recorded it. We did it kind of live, recorded the vocals after it, mixed it, and I had no idea that they were going to have this long, illustrious career. They were friends of mine, another local band, and we have quite the history in Indiana of being band buddies. And then they went on to bigger things and that was pretty amazing.
Their lineup shifted, and the sound would shift slightly with the different lineups too. There’s a lot of moving parts there. I don’t want say they have a Spinal Tap-ish thing, but they’ve had some drastic shifts. I’m very fortunate to be able to play with these guys now. We are all older and life’s not the same through the rose-colored glasses of the younger musicians that we were. Everything is a little more laid back, realistic, how much more fun can we have before we can’t play anymore, if that makes sense. I pinch myself to be able to play with these guys, to play bass which I’ve never really done. My first time playing a bass in front of a crowd was the first day of the tour in 2020.
I can see the long arc though. They were very doom, then they got a little more metal, and then it got more doom, more bleak, and things ended when a lot of tragedy happened. When they decided to pick the band back up, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time to be asked at all. What we’ve done with the new material is some of the best stuff I’ve ever been a part of. People are responding really well to it, and we hope that trend continues. Fans can be fickle, but when a band goes away for as long as they have, there’s a lot of excitement when the first new material comes out. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
Dead Rhetoric: The Gates of Slumber self-titled album is the latest studio record for the band – and the band’s first recording since the reunion took place back in 2019. Following the festival and touring excursions, how did the songwriting and recording process evolve – as I understand that the pandemic did slow down the writing process a bit?
Janiak: Yeah. I joined them, they had already been playing together for a couple of months, maybe. I know they were trying to relearn the old songs, which they hadn’t played in a long time. In the midst of some of that frustration, they started to spit out some new ideas. Chuck had a new song that turned into “Embrace the Lie”, Karl came up with “Full Moon Fever”, so by the time I showed up with a bass, they already had a couple of new ideas. After a few practices I had nailed down some of the songs they wanted to do for the tour, and then they presented me with the new ideas. We were always doing this together. This is funny to think about now but there was talk in 2019 of taking these songs, going into the studio real fast, and put out an album before we do the reunion tour. Which is hilarious because we didn’t get them done in time, this album took so long that it’s a miracle it happened.
The pandemic definitely didn’t help. During the shutdown we didn’t do a lot of rehearsing. We felt like we couldn’t until it was safe to do so. We worked through it. We had a Patreon where people joined for a few dollars a month, and they would get new songs as they were developed in raw versions. We did some improv doom metal, and some of those songs are still waiting to be plucked from the ether as it were. We have other new songs. We figured we had about 35-36 minutes, and that was going to be good. We knocked them out, we thought the flow was good, and then it was a waiting process for when we could finally get into the studio. That didn’t happen until September of 2023. Once we get in there, it was pretty fast – we recorded it in two or three weekends. Everything was done, and we sat on it, it was mastered. We didn’t know when it was going to come out, there was a split with some of the people at the label of Svart. That was another wrench, they paid for it – so had they decided not to put it out, we would have had to buy it back. They decided they wanted to go with it, and then we put the artwork together.
It’s all good. We’ve had a lot of time to forget that we recorded it. So far, the response has been really good, and we are very happy.
Dead Rhetoric: Where do you see the album sitting in the discography of their output – as you said previously, you are aware of the many style shifts they’ve made with other lineups over the years?
Janiak: That’s really hard to say. They have some epic songs. On some of their earlier recordings, the production is not as crisp or as modern sounding. It’s hard for me to compare the actual albums. The other thing too, if the styles are slightly different, you might be more down for some faster gallops, I don’t know. Sometimes you want to go straight to the bottom of the earth with the doom. I don’t know where it fits. I probably won’t be able to tell you until we have another album out, you know what I mean? It’s some of the best material I’ve been a part of, the vibe is always there, Karl’s solos are on fire, and I love Chuck’s drumming. I have some big shoes to fill on bass, Jason McCash was a monster on his instrument and kind of the driving force of the band. I want to be in the sphere of his creativity and honor that in a way. I try to bring what I can bring, play the bass, and fill those gaps.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you approach the bass in this power trio format compared to your work as a guitarist in Apostle of Solitude and Devil to Pay? Have you always been a musician that enjoys exploring different styles and genres to satisfy your musical tastes and creativity?
Janiak: I would say yes. I like pop, rock, heavy metal, and a little bit of country. I’ve always been in hard rock related bands. As the bass is not my native instrument, I’m always learning. You can write a really good riff on the bass, but it’s going to have a different underflow than the guitar riff. I’m trying to follow along, other times I embellish to make more of a musical line in there. Other times I need to hold back. Because I sing and play, that’s a distinct point of interest for me. Playing the bass and singing is easier than playing the guitar and singing. I’m not really sure why. The guys were okay with me doing some harmonies, and that turned into here’s a song I wrote, the lyrics, this is how it goes, and Karl sang it for a while. The song “We Are Perdition”, I didn’t really want to sing lead on it at first, because I thought I don’t want people to hear Devil to Pay. I’m not trying to step in and be ‘hey – look at me’. The more we went on, the more we tried it. I sing the verses, Karl puts his lead part in on the chorus, we sing harmony with that.
When we did the tour in 2020, there were parts where I could sing (the songs) under Karl and give him a broader base of vocals. It worked well. At some point we may have a live release from that tour, I know I recorded all the shows on 24-track. Maybe someday you’ll hear the old The Gates of Slumber with me on bass singing backup, we’ll see.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you enjoy most about the doom metal style, and the sound you explore with The Gates of Slumber?
Janiak: I enjoy the songcraft the most. Doom metal is an ethereal thing. It’s not easy to really define it. It could be doom metal and plodding, doom metal and sorrowful, doom metal and aggressive. There are a lot of people that use doom to call things doom, and you are in the linguistic nightmare of a genre argument that will probably go on forever on the internet. As far as this album, outside of “Full Moon Fever”, the rest of the songs have a certain menace, there’s a bitterness there. I’m not sure exactly how to articulate it. I feel like we came real close to that vision of despair and anger, if that makes sense.
Dead Rhetoric: What are your thoughts on the cover art this time around?
Janiak: Me personally, I probably would do something different. I didn’t have any ideas, Chuck and Karl both made this determination to do this fully embossed black logo on a black background cover. They had that idea when they started the band, and it never came to fruition. When they got the band back together, I remember saying what are we going to do with the artwork. They said they were going to do the black-on-black theme. When you get the vinyl copy, the logo will be embossed and popped up. It doesn’t translate into the digital version. It’s such a drastic change for The Gates of Slumber that some people are not 100% sure what is going on. They need some creature being vanquished, or a barbarian, and I get it. With the reboot of the band, we are saying we are still here.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you consider three of the best albums personally that continue to inspire you currently – they can be metal-related or otherwise? And what’s your favorite concert / festival memory, witnessing the show as a member of the audience – plus what made that show so special to you?
Janiak: There are so many albums that inspire me. I end up going back to the albums I first listened to in high school when I first got into music and lost my mind. The first Danzig LP, the Masters of Reality album by that band, Louder Than Love – Soundgarden. I could go on for days. Those were all related, heavy guitar stuff. Rick Rubin’s production on the Trouble self-titled effort, that’s another great album and huge influence on me. Even if at the time I didn’t really know what doom metal really meant. I was a late bloomer to Black Sabbath – I didn’t have an older brother with a closet full of records. I didn’t get into too much heavy stuff until the metal appeared on MTV. I was more into ZZ Top, AC/DC, and John Mellencamp when I was a kid. Once I saw my first concert, that was it, I blew all my money on cassettes, going to record stores and stare at the covers for hours.
My favorite memory of going to a festival – I’ve been to a lot of them. My wife and I over the past few years have gone to the Desert Festival events. We went to New York this year, Berlin last year, and London the year before that. We went to Psycho Las Vegas, Planet Desert Rock last year. All the doom fests, Maryland Doom Fest is a great one. Stoner Hands of Doom from way back in the day. I went to that fest in 2002 in Mason, Arizona. That really blew my mind wide open. I met the guys from Unida, I saw Eternal Asylum from Japan at that festival. Liz Buckingham was still in Sourvein at the time, there was so much going on in the underground scene at that time.
Being at all these festivals, I realized the underground was so much more than all the stuff on the radio or the internet. Stonerrock.com was a big resource for me. It changed my life.
Dead Rhetoric: I’ve read in a previous interview that you are an Uber driver to gain flexible income (and I’m sure to spend more time on music). What are some of the strangest things you’ve seen happen, or what’s one incident/ situation that maybe surprised you in the long run?
Janiak: To be clear, I stopped doing the Uber thing because of the pandemic. I couldn’t deal with the idea of people getting in and out of my car when there was a pandemic going on. My experience at Uber driving was okay. Most of the experiences were okay. I would ask all of my passengers what their craziest Uber story was, or what they had heard of. I had a large Rolodex of stories in my brain at the time, that has all slowly faded away outside of the really crazy ones.
I did have a woman tell me a story about a driver she had on the East Coast, what his craziest story was. This guy had picked up a guy at the end of a bar scene closing, three in the morning. He wanted to go to this other bar – they go there, and he needed to go to another bar. He pulls a gun out and forces this guy into the bar to drink with him. The guy orders a round, the bar is still open even though it’s past closing hours. He’s talking and the threat is there – and then he forgets and goes to the bathroom. When he goes to the bathroom the driver runs to the bartender and tells him to call the cops. By the time he comes back out, the cops come, and he’s arrested. I’m glad that never happened to me.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you define success these days? Would you say that definition has changed from your early days as a musician to where you are today?
Janiak: Yeah, definitely it’s changed. When you are young and dumb, you have the whole world in your sight. When you get older you learn what’s really important, friends and family. It’s a little less dire. There’s no great urgency. To be able to still make music and release it even if we are doing it locally or putting it on the internet, we can still reach people and make that connection. There will be people that get it and understand where you are coming from, to get out of it what you are putting into it. That’s more or less my version of success these days. I never had the expectation of massive, crazy success, but I keep the window open. I’m ready for whatever life brings me, the music brings me. I want to play guitar every day and make more progress every day, every week with the material. I’m not going to be around forever, and there’s a lot of stuff I want to get out.
I’m fortunate to be able to play with all the people I play with. Being in three bands is not easy. I don’t think I’d change a thing, really. I hope to be able to contribute as much as I can.
Dead Rhetoric: What would surprise people the most to learn about Steve the person away from your activities as a musician – and in what areas do you think you’ve grown the most personally over the past say three to five years?
Janiak: What people might be most surprised to know is that when I clean the house or do the dishes, I like to listen to oldies. I have a 500-song playlist that I listen to and sing oldies at the top of my lungs. I realized the Misfits put out an album of oldies – and I didn’t realize that until the other night. I listened to them butcher some of my favorites. Nobody wants to hear me sing oldies – just me in my house. If you walked by the house, and heard me singing Neil Sadaka, you might think I’m crazy.
I’ve learned a little more patience. I have more empathy than I did previously. Some of that comes from having cats. When I was younger, I didn’t really have as much of a connection with them as I do now. Life is more precious.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for The Gates of Slumber or any of your other band activities over the next twelve months or so?
Janiak: The Gates, we will do as much promotion for this album as we can. We’ll probably record another video or two. We have an EP of songs already written and ready to record. We will do a split with another unnamed band, and another record down the road. We are in talks to re-release the first two or three The Gates of Slumber albums on vinyl and CD. Apostle of Solitude has a bunch of new songs, and they are almost finished, and ready to record at the beginning of 2025 plus get back to Europe to tour in the fall. Devil to Pay has a new bass player and a new drummer, we debuted those guys in August. We have songs to hammer out, and we are in the jamming process. Maybe next year we’ll be able to get around to getting something recorded. That is keeping my plate full, I wouldn’t be happy if it wasn’t.
There are many factors that need to go right to execute a quality album. As we’ve seen many times over, an extremely high level of talent does not always equal a quality record. When it comes to the Finnish black metal project Pestilent Hex, the talent is obviously overflowing. The duo of Lauri Laaksonen (Desolate Shrine, Convocation, Ordinance) and Matti Mäkelä (Corpsessed, Tyranny, Profetus, Tormentor Tyrant) obviously have a ton going for them. Their other projects speak for themselves, with both being masters at the death and doom genres. Here, they’re out to tackle black metal that harkens towards the early 90s second wave bands that leaned in a melodic and symphonic aesthetic. Debut full-length The Ashen Abhorrence mirrored that era closely; swelling symphonic arrangements, icy tonality, and an epic sort of atmosphere that reminds of the early days of Dimmu Borgir and Emperor.
With Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow, that influence remains ever present, however, the project has evolved into more of a monster of its own design. Remaining are the lush keyboard sections, but in a little more focused manner, while the overall tone has taken a more twisted, darker form. After an intro that’s certainly influenced by “The Moonlight Sonata” to set the stage, “Sciomancy and Sortilege” swells with keys, accompanied by a nifty lead that speeds toward a riff of deliciously infectious quality. As mentioned previously, the expected pieces are there, but the pacing is more varied, and the arrangements more cutting and bold. The most memorable portion of this opening salvo is when the twosome slows proceedings down, letting the impressive rhythms take center stage, tearing through the mix and cutting the listener to pieces.
“Through the Mirrors Beyond” continues the differentiation in feel and pace, shredding away as Mäkelä’s harrowing shriek provides ample terror. He utilizes his deeper death metal growl to a degree here as well, showing that side of his voicings that we know so well from other projects. Keyboard arrangements are consistently present, but aren’t constant and are somewhat more subdued, allowing Laaksonen’s precise instrumentation to shine. He’s an accomplished master of many styles, and his writing and performance here can go toe-to-toe with any currently wading in blackened waters and beyond. Again opting for a longer song format, this choice serves what Pestilent Hex has concocted, given that each of the six main tracks are far from predictable or safe. “Of Hexcraft and Laws Three-fold” is an outright crusher, with a specifically excellent drum performance via Laaksonen, layered between melodies from soaring to razor-sharp.
Speaking of melodies, “Spectral Voyage” sets a melancholic tone to provide a cloudy, tense affair. Don’t fret; there’s plenty of bite in this track, brandishing numerous moments that are amongst the more aggressive on Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow. Opting to close with the most ambitious composition, “Sanguine Gnosis” is chilling in aura, ceding ample breathing room for the unsettling atmospheric shroud to engulf. Select sections are nearly a blackened doom sensibility, balanced by ferocious, galloping segments that conveys an air of sheer brutality. Add the pipe organ interlude at around the six minute mark for maximum creepiness, followed by a voracious and decisive final stretch to tie everything together.
Notable are the production choices, opting for a robust, full sound profile that accentuates Pestilent Hex’s individual instrumentation and range of vocal offerings while not allowing any single piece to overshadow what’s going on around it. This was also courtesy of Laaksonen (all but the vocals, which were completed by Mäkelä, with full mastering completed by the prolific Dave Otero). Even the savage cover art was a Laaksonen special – what is it that this guy can’t do? Give this man all the flowers. Hell, he’s probably a seasoned gardener, too. Look out, Tuomas Saukkonen.
If a craving for that mid-90s symphonic black metal sound is itching away, Pestilent Hex have that covered at minimum, though stating solely that would be grossly unfair. Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow boasts clever songwriting, slithering smoothly in many unexpected directions, rewarding the listener with a searing black metal record with plenty to uncover. This is the sort of album that only gets better with repeated spins, of which we’ll be indulging in plenty more. Pestilent Hex have iterated off of everything The Ashen Abhorrence did well, added fresh perspectives and new avenues to explore, and turned up the nastiness level. The resulting Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow amounts to a top draw record that’s sure to please black metal hordes of many persuasions.
Originating in 2020 and together for a few years under another name Nakkeknaekker, this Danish group smartly changed to a more English friendly (and discernible) Neckbreakker. They’ve made the rounds in the underground – so much so that Nuclear Blast scooped them up and now we have the debut album Within the Viscera on the streets. And what a potent slab of death-oriented groove metal you’ll hear come barreling across your favored listening device as these nine tracks pack a sledgehammer punch worth their weight in memorable hooks, transitions, and arrangements that you rarely hear at this point in the release calendar.
It’s fair to say that these lads appreciate everything from Morbid Angel and Suffocation to The Haunted, Lamb of God, and Machine Head when it comes to the sonic display, attention to deeper detail, and pounding conviction present. Credit guitarists Joakim Kaspersen and Johan Lundvig next to the energetic tempo mastery of drummer Anton Bregendorf for keeping the musical components tight next to some sick tremolo runs or heavier rhythm/groove interaction. It’s hard not to be swept away by the tornado-like swirls against a darker, tribal-like passage from “Shackled to a Corpse” – where the frantic, Machine Head-ish breakdown pummels you into a convulsed puddle scraping bodies off the floor. Or the crunchy roller coaster riffage throughout the longest track “Unholy Inquisition” – it’s 6:46 timeframe taking people through oddly shaped death parts, progressive double kick-fueled supplementation, before the mid-tempo transitional maneuvers once again encourage body movement of the largest kind no matter what size stage they play upon. Guitar feedback next to bassist Sebastian Knoblauch’s deliberate note plucking signals the opening sequence of finale “Face Splitting Madness” before the stunted, progressively energetic proceeding flow forth. It’s another highlight, especially when you take in the lower, forceful delivery of singer Christoffer Kofoed – his measured abilities and diverse outlook conjures elements of vocalists from bands like Napalm Death and Decapitated.
Thick production values keep the album moving along at a brisk pace – Neckbreakker possess all the ideal elements to take this debut record Within the Viscera into a solid global template to build a successful career out of. The younger brigade keeps metal alive and thriving, and those into any aspect of extreme or groove metal would be wise to invest copious amounts of time, energy, and resources for this group.
We have plenty of readers on this site that appreciate a mix of classic heavy metal and melodic / power-oriented styles. With members from acts like Tad Morose, Wolf and M.ill.ion among others, Swedish act Starchaser are a relative newcomer that contains decades of seasoned musicians in its ranks. Their latest album Into the Great Unknown keeps the catchy anthems flowing on all fronts – especially for those who appreciate early Europe, Deep Purple, and Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath taken into heavier or sometimes more symphonic directions. We spoke with guitarist Kenneth Jonsson and vocalist Ulrich Carlsson about the work behind this record, their smooth songwriting process, lessons learned from previous bands that move forward into this band, favorite albums, as well as a peak into possible gigs down the line for the group.
Dead Rhetoric: Into the Great Unknown is the second album for Starchaser. You established yourselves and your sound in 2022 with the self-titled debut – where do you see the major differences in how the band has evolved with this release in comparison to that first effort?
Kenneth Jonsson: I think first of all, the first album was the first album – we didn’t really know what to expect. When we released the album, and when we recorded all the songs, we noticed that people liked it a lot and we got really good reviews. We were just trying to take it from there. We did discuss, Ulrich and I, how we could make the melodies better and how we can make the songs for the next album more likeable. We worked harder on the melodies, the hooks, the chords.
Ulrich Carlsson: I think you are right. For the first album, we talked about doing this for a long time and there was finally the time for it to just write some songs. For the second album, it was more like trying to continue what we started. See if we could evolve and do stuff better than the first time.
Jonsson: Also, a big difference from the first album – the music on that album was pretty much written on my piano. We had some talks and I tried to write more with my guitar on the second album, to make it more riffable. That’s another development, I think. There are more riffs going on with the second album.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you enjoy most in the collaborative process between you and Ulrich as songwriters? Are you very critical of the finer details to get the best performances out of each other in the end to the benefit of these songs?
Jonsson: We have a high ceiling; we can speak to each other easily. If I think the melody should go a different way, I tell him, and he tries that. If it makes it better, we go that way – and if it doesn’t, we go another way. We can speak very freely to each other without worrying about stepping on anyone’s toes. No friction whatsoever in the process of writing songs. Things go very fast. I can send my (songs) to Ulrich and he sends things back very fast, in a couple of days, and we have a song. There’s never waiting, everything goes smoothly and very quickly.
Dead Rhetoric: Is it easier for you Ulrich to develop the lyrics and melodies after Kenneth gives you a full piece of music – or are there times you have things prepared in advance and you match it up to what’s there?
Carlsson: I would say both I think. Usually, he sends a lot of music, different riffs, and longer or shorter bits of songs. I go into my studio, focus on one song, turn on the microphone and get some feelings, where is the song going? I look to my lyrics then or write something down just to help me. You just sing something. Either it works or it doesn’t – you have to feel that flow, this sounds right, or it isn’t going the right way. Sometimes I phone up Kenneth and tell him I need more music, and then I start recording three or four more ideas. It’s a good process, I think.
The lyrics, when you feel the idea is going the right way, it comes by itself, in a way. You know where it’s supposed to go. You never know – I have tons of lyrics lying around, thinking about where this or that could work. Some of them are short, some of them are longer. Depending on where things are going, it’s an interesting process of course. You have to not put too much time into it – it’s not going to go anywhere. You feel when you are on the right track – at least I do.
Dead Rhetoric: I understand how you want to keep things fresh to capture the spontaneous moments. Do you feel sometimes if you spend too much time on a certain idea, it can water things down and lessen the impact you wanted?
Carlsson: Yes, absolutely.
Jonsson: Sometimes I can send him stuff, and he is doing this perfect verse thing, but at the chorus it doesn’t happen because he doesn’t get the right feeling for that part. It happens two or three times where I had to redo the chorus to make it complete in a song, and to make the chorus fit the verses. That’s also something we’ve been working on, maybe that chorus needs to have a stronger musical component.
Dead Rhetoric: Was it an easy decision to figure out which singles to premiere from the record?
Jonsson: No! (laughs).
Carlsson: The record company had their thoughts about which songs we should premiere. I think we thought along most of the same lines as they did.
Jonsson: For example, we chose “Battalion of Heroes”, and Frontiers had another song in mind. That’s the cool thing – there’s no friction. We can speak about things and still agree even if we have different thoughts.
Carlsson: (These are) my eighth and ninth albums I’ve done in the music business during my time. It’s never been this easy, so far.
Dead Rhetoric: What is your approach when it comes to the lead guitar aspects for Starchaser? Do you go in with pre-planned aspects or do you prefer to be more spontaneous in capturing the best breaks to fit the specific needs of the song?
Jonsson: It depends. Sometimes I have this worked out idea that I want to record, and then I record it, and it pretty much stays the same. And sometimes when I send a song to Ulrich, I may have an intro riff, a verse, and a chorus but I don’t have a lead break. When Ulrich is doing the chorus, then I can go from his idea into a middle part that fits with his vocals. Try to work with a smooth transition. I love it when I get the opportunity to get back to the piano, those kinds of parts can be very symphonic and melodic, and I develop it from there. Sometimes I send complete songs to Ulrich, and they stay the same – others I need to work on more.
Carlsson: Sometimes you change what you play on the guitar because of what I’m singing. You like what I am doing, so you change it.
Jonsson: Yeah, to make it fit. That’s the beauty when you have two people working together, you can fit your stuff with your partner in writing, you can fit the pieces together. We listen to each other, and the thing that I think is very cool is we think a lot of things in the same way. I can build off of things, it’s very natural. When you get a riff, he makes the melodies and he’s doing it as I’m very often hearing it in my head before he actually does it. That goes for both albums, and that’s a cool thing. I’ve never been in a band or constellation before that has been so smooth before.
Carlsson: And the third part comes in. When you and I have a piece of the song, everyone else in the band takes their instruments and approaches into it, which makes things grow even more. If you compare it with the demos that we do, and then they play, it’s fantastic what that can do to a song as well.
Jonsson: It wouldn’t sound the same if Johan the drummer was replaced or Örjan the bass player was replaced, it would sound different, and I wouldn’t want that. All the guys in Starchaser are contributing with their abilities. And this makes the end product sound like Starchaser.
Carlsson: Everyone has grown into their roles – from the first album to the second. They contribute to the band thing – they feel more confident and comfortable.
Jonsson: Johan played like a king on the first album – his drumming is brilliant. This time I noticed when I was putting all the files together and start mixing it, I noticed that he did a lot more on his own. I played the drums on the demos in a certain way, but he went from that to something of his own. That happened a lot more on the second album than on the first album. His drumming is shaping this album more than on the first album, and that’s exactly what I want as well. I am confident that this makes the album magical, and he succeeded.
Dead Rhetoric: What do you believe you learned most during your time with Tad Morose and M.ill.ion that you’ve been able to apply moving forward for Starchaser?
Jonsson: One thing I learned when I was coming into Tad Morose, it was a bit special. That was a band that I listened to when I was growing up, as well. I started to play in Tad Morose, and I learned so much. One thing that is important, have a beer, relax, don’t take things too seriously – just play your guitar, and no one is going to judge you anyway. That’s what I try to do now as well when I start writing my own songs. I play and see what comes out – if it’s good, it’s good – and if it’s not, it’s cool as well. We were touring a lot, all the basic things, make sure you are prepared when you are up for live shows, check on your equipment, which was very important to learn from Tad Morose.
Carlsson: Which is an interesting thing for me. We started this together; this is our baby. In M.ill.ion, I didn’t write that many songs. This is another thing. Music-wise, this is something else as well. This is more me as a singer as well. Of course, as long as you play in different bands, you have experience, all the stuff you’ve done. Which is good to have with you. Having our own studios, we don’t live next door to each other – it’s a twelve-hour drive to see each other. We work like this whenever we can, work for an hour or a whole day, that’s different than any project I’ve ever been involved with before.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel being a part of the Frontiers Music roster – do you believe they have proper understanding of pushing Starchaser to the right audiences due to their strong promotional staff and seasoned knowledge of various melodic hard rock / metal styles?
Jonsson: It’s hard to answer. Frontiers is mainly an AOR, melodic rock label – and we are more metal. I think it’s cool that Frontiers actually took us in, and we can see their efforts. They are trying to promote us as best as they can. They do a good job, and we try to do our job, hopefully. I hope it will establish Starchaser even further. Yes, we are getting a lot of fans, and that’s thanks to Frontiers as well.
Carlsson: It’s always hard or difficult with a new band – even if we’ve been in different bands before this. It’s a new band thing. We’ve proven that now.
Dead Rhetoric: What would you consider three of the most important albums (metal or otherwise) that helped fuel your passion for music?
Carlsson: That’s a difficult question. We talked about this recently as a band, having a beer and talking about music. For me, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – Black Sabbath, a major impact on me. Looking at the album, I was in my older brother’s room when he was out, going through his albums, I put it on. The first riff, my God, I was blown away. I would say – Operation: Mindcrime by Queensrÿche. For a lot of people, it’s an important album. Putting my headphones on and listening to that album for the first time, I don’t know how to explain it. It was like a movie and everything at the same time. And then I would have to say Ronnie James Dio – Holy Diver. That was something that blew me away.
Jonsson: I have a slightly different kind of background with music. What comes up, it changes day to day. One album that I think in particular is Queen – Sheer Heart Attack. I love Queen, that has shaped me as a guitar player. Anything with Steve Morse as well – the Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, and the first album with Deep Purple he did Purpendicular. I had to stop my car when I heard the guitar solo in “Ted the Mechanic” for the first time. And I would have to say Philip Glass is probably my biggest inspiration when it comes to music. He is a guy who can paint pictures with one color or make a complete album with three notes, and it doesn’t sound the same. The Hours, the movie I didn’t really like, but his music is the reason why I’ve seen that movie ten times. I listen to the music, it’s magic. He’s one of a kind.
Dead Rhetoric: What’s on the horizon for Starchaser over the next twelve months to support this release? Has work begun behind the scenes on the third album – and if so, where do you see the initial ideas and songwriting going compared to the first two releases?
Carlsson: I just called Kenneth a couple of weeks ago and said I’ve started some ideas with lyrics. I have never had this many lyrics finished as I have right now. I don’t know where things are going for the next album, but that’s a good start for me. We talked about this; we need to start thinking about the next album. It’s a long process before you have those songs that you need done. Sometimes it takes more time.
Jonsson: I have a few riffs in the studio recorded now, so I’m onto it! (laughs). My intention is to start working in the same way. We want to develop things production-wise even further, to make things sound better. I want to work more on that aspect, the first two albums were great. We are recording a video this past weekend, we sat down and spoke with everyone in the band. We want to get some gigs going on, some festival spots. We want to bring Starchaser out more live.
Carlsson: We are also encouraging the other guys to bring in material next time as well. It would be interesting to see what the other guys could bring in, if they want to.
