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Sweet Sweden, what would metal be without your b******* sons who since the dawn of mankind have haunted us with guitar-wors***p madness? Death metal, black metal, heavy metal – you name it, they deliver it. Straight out of Norrköping, there is another demon rising. Its devilish retro hard rock, or occult rock if you prefer, is bound to shake you all night long. Its debut full-length, "Angels' Necropolis", was released at the end of 2012 on Van Records. Humble goat's servant and guitarist Per Broddesson spoke to We Wither to reveal all. |
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How did Year Of The Goat get started? Were you in other bands before? |
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Who is the lyrics-writer for YOTG? Do you write them collectively? Is there a main-theme behind your lyrics? Is any of it connected to historical Swedish heritage? |
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Morgan of Marduk recommended your band to me and I'm curious if you ever played a show with Marduk or Death Wolf (ex-Devils w*****house), since you come from the same city? |
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Norrköping is not the biggest Swedish city but apparently some very good bands are located there. Could you say how the metal scene was in Norrkoping 10-20 years ago and how is it at the moment? |
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Bands like Ghost, In Solitude, The Devil's Blood and Jex Thoth are all great but in my opinion the originator of the occult rock genre is Roky Erickson and his solo 1981 record "The Evil One". Would you agree? |
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What bands and albums or maybe books and films mainly influenced and shaped the YOTG style? |
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Do you think of YOTG as a modern band reinventing cla***ic hard rock or rather as a pure homage to a style that will never be out of date? |
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To achieve that ‘70's/’80s sound that you have, do you use cla***ic amps, heads and guitars? Is it more the gear or rather the studio production that make you sound cla***ic? |
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You pay of lot of attention to how your album covers and t-s***rts look, it's all very well designed, dark and killer. Do you have a specific person who does the designs for you or is it the work of many people? |
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The Devil's Blood played a huge tour in the USA with Watain and Behemoth. Do you also like to play with very extreme bands or do you prefer to play with more cla***ic hard rock heavy metal bands? |
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When I originally came across Evoken's crus***ng 2005 record "Ant**hesis of Light" my world was grinded in a matter of minutes. Perhaps it was one of the most important music-related moments of my life. The New Jersey-based funeral doom metal quintet have since released the masterpiece "A Caress of the Void" in 2007 and the latest pummeling opus "Atra Mors", which came out in July 2012 on Profound Lore. The band went through some line-up changes and at the moment guitarist/vocalist John Paradiso and drummer Vince Verkay are the only original members of the band that was formed twenty years ago. Nevertheless, Evoken are in their prime with the success of their fifth full-length and finally some more exposure from the media. Vince Verkay spoke to We Wither to tell us where the band is at the beginning of 2013.There are three new members in the band since the release of the previous record "A Caress of the Void". Did that affect the writing process for "Atra Mors"? |
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Does writing 10 minute-long songs take longer than shorter tracks? Do you tend to improvise a lot in the studio or is it all riffs prepared before and put in order? |
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Extreme doom metal seems to be in its prime at the moment, with such strong records as "Atra Mors" or Mournful Congregation's "The Book of Kings", Esoteric's "Paragon of Dissonance" and Mourning Beloveth's "Formless". Would you agree with that? Do you feel there is a bigger demand for such music than, for example, ten years ago? |
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Did you notice more attention being paid to your records in the last couple of years? Did the wider metal public finally learn to appreciate extreme doom metal? |
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In January 2013 Evoken partic****ted in the Decibel Magazine 100th issue show in Philadelphia with Pig Destroyer, Converge, Tombs, Repulsion and Munic****l Waste. How did it go? Do you feel comfortable on a bill with much different bands to Evoken? |
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You recorded Paradise Lost's "Rotting Misery" for the Decibel Magazine vinyl series. Was it recorded at the same time as "Atra Mors" or did you do it later because of the offer from Decibel? |
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Evoken doesn't tour that much and quite sporadically visit Europe, so how did your lives look between the release of "A Caress of the Void" in 2007 and recording the new album? |
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Do you ever shorten your songs when performing live to be able to present more tracks? |
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Though there are some extreme doom metal bands all over the world, the States, England, Australia, Russia and Scandinavia, it remains one of metal's smallest sub-genres. And actually only a few, Evoken amongst them, do it on the top level. Do you take pride in being one of the few? |
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Could you point out the records or specific songs that in your opinion influenced or created extreme doom metal? |
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Are Evoken lyrics metaphors and simply the fruit of your imagination or do they refer to your own emotions or experiences? Could you choose one song from "Atra Mors" and describe what affected those exact words? |
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No other metal sub-genre than extreme doom produces such an overwhelming and hypnotic atmosphere where listener travels between worlds and time. Is playing Evoken songs such a deep and moving experience as well? |
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Swedish group Marduk, commanded by its only original member, guitarist and main composer Morgan Håkansson, is a fine example of an underground band, which through its impeccable consistency, dedication and persistence made it to the extreme elite already years ago. May 2012 saw the release of the band's crus***ng twelfth full-length "Serpent Sermon", their first release for Century Media. It's their fourth record since the departure of the charismatic frontman Legion in 2003. Completed with new vocalist Mortuus, "Angel Plague", "Rom 5:12", "Wormwood" and the latest opus surely belong to Marduk's strongest offerings to date. Morgan spoke to We Wither to explain what fuels his desire for metal destruction, why is it important to tour and his vast interest in history. |
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You were a 17-year-old kid in 1990. The Marduk biography says that you wanted to create the most brutal and blasphemous metal act ever. What kind of person were you at the time? |
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After twenty years on stage and twelve albums how do you maintain the energy and will to keep doing what you're doing? What drives you, is it anger, pa***ion, a need to prove something? |
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Since Mortuus joined Marduk in 2004, he seems to have had a huge impact on the band. You recorded songs which correspond very well with what he's doing with Funeral Mist, for example, tracks such as "Accuser/Opposer", "Coram Satanae" and "Funeral Dawn". Did the results or your collaboration top your expectations? |
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Does replacing the original logo on the cover of "Serpent Sermon" mean anything or is it just refres***ng the band's image? |
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Do you write and perform sensing there is pressure on your work? |
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You start your h**** of a European tour in August 2012 in Poland and finish it after over forty dates in October in Poland again. You also recorded the live album "Warschau" here. Is this a coincidence or is Poland more important to you somehow? |
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You have always toured a lot around the world. Ten or fifteen years ago Eastern Europe was a place where fans were really crazy and all the bands were talking about it. This was also the case in South America. Do you still feel the extreme and exciting hunger for metal amongst the fans now as in the ‘90s? Are metal-heads as devoted as they used to be? |
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You have so much material that it must be difficult to choose the set-list each time you tour. Do you ever think about which songs fans would like to hear or do you not compromise at all in this field? |
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Lots of musicians joined and left Marduk over the years. Supposedly so far you’ve had three vocalists, three guitarists, two ba*** players and three drummers who are no longer in the band. According to your experience, what position is the most difficult to replace? |
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Most metal bands have two guitarists but not Marduk, apart from your early years when Devo was a guitar player. Do you think playing with one guitar makes metal more straightforward? |
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Marduk often speaks about n**** Germany and the Second World War. You seem to have a lot in common with death metal veterans Vader in that field. Is your interest in history one of the reasons you have toured together so many times? |
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A relatively small pop****tion of ten million Swedes has been able to produce an endless number of groundbreaking and essential metal bands. Scandinavia also has a very high percentage of people who listen to metal. What do you think is the reason for this and would you dare to explain it? |
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Do you care if Marduk is called a black or death metal band? Is it important to you to be labeled as black metal? |
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Your other band Death Wolf (previously known as Devil's w*****house) is clearly influenced by Danzig. Taking a look at your tattoo, it is easy to figure out that you are a huge fan of his work. Are the Misfits and Danzig bands which originally got you interested in dark, disturbing music? You also played with Danzig a couple of times… |
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What's up with the as yet unreleased EP "Portraits Of Dead Children"? |
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What message are you sending to the world with your alias Evil? |
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There is a saying that you should know your enemy to be able to fight it. Does being a radical antichristian and not knowing the Bible and its message make sense to you? |