Stefano:
Hi! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Y: Hey man! Well to make a long story short... I started
the band back in Katrineholm (a small town) 1995 with some friends,
we played a lot of shows and did some demos but since I wanted
to take my music career to a higher level I decided to move
to Stockholm, since I knew that it was the right place to be...
Later in Stockholm I met the coolest bass player in Sweden:
Markus Johansson and later on I ran into H.B. Anderson, we did
a lot of shows and recorded the debut album Beyond
Reality that got some awesome reviews from all
over the world, played a lot of gigs and festivals like Sweden
Rock Festival and went over to the US to play at Metal Meltdown
Festival in New Jersey and then got back to the US later for
a 16 shows tour in 21 days on the east coast. That was a blast!
Back in Sweden we got hooked up with the ass kicking drummer
Tomas Lindqvist that had just got back from LA after learning
some new beats at MI (Musician Institute). We just felt that
this was the complete line-up for FATAL SMILE
and now we’re ready for WORLD-DOMINATION with our new
album Neo Natural Freaks!!! ;-)
Stefano:
What are your musical roots?
Y: Our roots in the band is very mixed I think…I
mean, Tomas our drummer is into Soundgarden, Rush and stuff
like that meanwhile H.B. is more into all kind of stuff from
Frank Sinatra to Metallica…And Markus is some more of
a southern-western influences from Budgie to Mötley Crüe…And
my roots are pretty mixed as well…From good old Black
Sabbath, Thin Lizzy to Whitesnake, Dokken, Dio, Ozzy, Alice
In Chains etc…
We just mix all our influences and it turns out the way FATAL
SMILE sound today….
Stefano:
How would you describe your music?
Y: I think the music is a really cool mix from our
hard rock/metal heroes from the 80's & the 90's, but still
not dictated to them!
We manage to keep things fresh but still you can recognize the
classic stuff in our sound & music... Our music is not metal,
it’s not glam, it’s good solid hard rock delivered
in a mix that is updated to hit you in the face like a fist!!!
We have a good mix in the songs that our listeners sure will
agree with me...
Stefano:
Beyond Reality was released 2002. Neo Natural Freak
followed four years later. What did you do during this time?
Y: Yeah our debut album was released in 2002 but it
was released in Sweden first and then in Europe & the US
so it took like a year for the album to be released and then
it was a lot of touring in Sweden and in the US and so…
And we didn’t wanted to rush into writing songs and releasing
an album just for the that… And as you all know, things
do take time in this music business…But it’s cool
with us! We wanted to deliver the best we got and I really think
that we have done that so now it’s up to the fans to decide
that…
Stefano:
Who is / are the songwriters in the band?
Y: Mostly I do come up with the songs & riffs and
then show it to my band & then H.B. gets to work on the
lyrics... I do get the best ideas & inspiration after a
night out with a lot of booze and rock’n’roll...
It just seems like it releases it all... I like songs that have
a cool or heavy riff and a pounding bass & drum section
topped with some catchy, melodic vocals...Songs that you can
listen to 1000 times and still not get bored... That’s
quality songs!!!
Stefano:
How was the recording and the work with Stefan Glaumann? The
first thing I noticed listening to Neo Natural Freak was the
strong sound of the CD.
Y: It was a real pleasure to work with him since he
really knows how to get the best out of the mix…
The album was recorded in some different studios, just to get
the right sound for each part of the instrument and so…We
did record the guitars in one studio, the bass in a different
studio and the same for the drums and the vocals…I think
this was a great thing to do! And we’re really satisfied
with the final mix. It’s raw, heavy & hits you in
the face like a ton of brick!!!
Just like the way that we wanted…
Stefano:
What do you expect from your actual output?
Y: World-domination! ;-) Actually we released the first
single Learn - Love - Hate in Sweden in December 2005
and it went straight up to no. 6 at the Swedish charts, and
that ain’t bad! It stayed on Top 40 for 4 weeks and did
reach no. 3 as highest position... Got some really good promoting
thru national radio as well so that would be a good start for
the forthcoming album. And now we’re working on the rest
of the world to deliver some “Fatal Music”…
;-)
Stefano:
What were the reactions in the press and other media?
Y: We got some amazing reactions from press, media
& fans from all over the world and it’s so great to
see that people do understand good music and it’s our
“reward” for pushing ourselves to do our best. And
they all seem to agree that the new album is one of the best
albums so far this year…
Stefano:
Do your songs, especially Neo Natural Freaks, contain
special messages? Who are the “common people” to
you?
Y: Well the title track Neo Natural Freaks
are about all these poor, stupid bastards that we have in those
"reality TV-shows" like "Big Brother", "Survivor"
etc...(I’m sure that you’ll have them in Germany
as well...). People that would do anything for "15 minutes
of fame" and that have no class or talent at all...That
kind of human beings that just wanna become famous but don’t
have a shit to come with… As I said, poor bastards...And
about the “Common People” it’s just about
ordinary people like you & me I guess…
Stefano:
Nowadays if you hear a band from Sweden it’s almost a
melodic Death Metal or a True Metal Band. How far do you get
in touch with these styles and what do you think of these? How
are you accepted by the Death Metal and True Metal fans?
Y: Yeah, but there are still pretty mixed band’s
that are coming from Sweden nowadays… I think that as
long there’s some good songs it doesn’t matter if
it’s death metal or true metal or whatever… A good
song is a good song, that’s it! We’re being well
accepted from all the metal fans because we still kick ass no
matter if you’re a death or black metal fan… We’ll
let the music do the talking you know…
Stefano:
What were the highlights of your band’s history and when
did you hit rock bottom?
Y: I think the bands highlight was the US tour in 2003.
We did 16 shows in 21 days and it was a really great time with
so many great shows and really diehard fans… We’ll
love to go back to the US… And the “rock bottom”
I don’t really know…It must be all the bullshit-talkers
in the music business… But it’s just the way it
is…
Stefano:
Where will your next tour take you?
Y: Right now we’re touring in Sweden and we’re
gonna be touring in Europe this summer supporting a bigger band
and we also hope to get back to the US as we’ll as we’ll
try to get to Japan… So, lock up your daughter’s…
;-)
Stefano:
Do you have something else to say to your fans?
Y: Hell yeah, we really hope that you’ll like
our new album "Neo Natural Freaks" and hope to see
you on the road soon!!!
And thanks for keeping real music alive!
Stay Heavy & Rock On!!!
Peace,
Y - FATAL SMILE
