MORIFADE
is a young Swedish metal troupe that's been around for a while
now, having gone from clarity to clarity. Their new album Domi<>Nation
sees the band following a harder, more progressive route than
their previous efforts Possession Of Power and
Imaginarium, that have a more happy metal vibe
to them. Frontman Stefan Petersson talks about the past and the
future of the band, label politics, and the fear that our society
may well be on its way to extinction, and that we have a lot to
learn from such classics as 1984 and Brave New World. Better make
that melodic metal with a twist of social consciousness...
Alex:
Let's start with the interrogation. Stefan, could you tell us
a little bit about MORIFADE, for those who are not yet familiar
with the band?
Stefan: MORIFADE is a band that's been
around since 1992, and started its days under the moniker Gothic.
I didn't join the band until 1998, when we recorded our first
album Possession Of Power. Then, two
years later our second album Imaginarium
was released. And now, recently, our third full-length, entitled
Domi<>Nation was released. As
in most bands, we have two guitarists, one bassist, one drummer,
one keyboardist, and of course, one singer.
Alex:
Where are you from?
Stefan: I am from a city in the north of Sweden, called
Piteå. The others all come from Linköping, 200 kilometers
southwest of Stockholm. Presently, I live in Stockholm, though.
Alex:
Upon visiting Linköping recently, I found a CD by MORIFADE
in a second hand CD store. I think it was an
EP or something, probably released between Possession Of Power
and Imaginarium. Could you tell me something about that?
Stefan: That's a pretty rare CD. Fact is, the first CD
MORIFADE released was an EP called Across
The Starlit Sky, before I joined the band, and before
the first full-length. Between the recordings of our first album
Possession... and the second Imaginarium,
we recorded that EP you found, which is called Cast
A Spell. It featured a song from Possession...
as well as some newly recorded tracks. Apart from Sweden, Belgium
and France, that EP was never released. It kind of got stuck.
That's why it is featured on our new CD, as bonus material.
Alex:
They wanted 150 crowns for it. (About 19 Euro).
Stefan: Kind of expensive, huh?
Alex:
Right you are. Let's talk about the new album. What is new with
MORIFADE, in your opinion?
Stefan: First of all, we have a new guitarist, who joined
in time for the recordings of the second album. He contributes
with some progressive influences. I'd say the new album is more
progressive than the last. Also, I think it is more aggressive.
Alex:
Yeah, I noticed that. Especially the way the album sounds, the
soundscapes.
Stefan: Yes, I would say that is one of the areas where
it is most noticeable. Andy LaRoque from King Diamond produced
the album. Actually, he was supposed to produced the first album
as well, but our schedules didn't fit, so we had to use another
studio. Our first producer knew Andy, so that's how we got in
touch with him.
Alex:
The disc was recorded in Los Angered, right?
Stefan: Yeah, in Gothenburg.
Alex:
How many of the new songs are written by you?
Stefan: None, although I have written all the lyrics.
I tried to write a concept album, which is something one has do
to before one dies. It was really fun doing that. I searched for
a theme which would fit, and then I came across 1984 (by George
Orwell) and Brave New World (Aldous Huxley). I wove the two stories
into one, practically, or at least, that's what I had been planning
to do. But since there are only nine tracks on the album, the
more I wrote, the longer away I came from the originals. In the
end, I had a story which stands pretty much on its own, but which
fits in the same genre as the influences.
Alex:
So the story is about a kind of dystopia? Is there a red thread
running through the story?
Stefan: Yes. There is a story present, even though it
may be hard to discover the first time you listen to the record.
It's an evolving process.
Alex:
Sounds like the beginning of a novel...
Stefan: Yes, those are still very hot topics, you know,
the big brother society. Just the other day, I read in the papers
that they are to install cameras in the subways, to supervise.
In the long run, stuff like that makes it easier to keep people
on a leash, to know where they've been and such. These are still
very relevant topics.
Alex:
The song titles reflect that, I think. I am reminded of the story
concepts of Fear Factory, for example.
Stefan: Yeah, take Panopticon, for example.
The title is derived from the French sociologist Michel Focault's
theory about a super prison. The prisoner cannot see the outside,
and he knows he's being watched, and that everyone has the possibility
to supervise everything he does, all the time sitting imprisoned.
So you know you are watched at all times, but you do not see who
is watching you, which makes it impossible to do anything without
it getting registered. And if someone is watching you at all times,
you can never have a private life of your own, which may be the
worst punishment there is. This is the theory I elaborate on in
the concept story, taken to its extremes.
Alex:
Interesting. You are interested in philosophy then?
Stefan: Yes, philosophy and sociology. Among other things,
I also teach religion.
Alex:
What's next for MORIFADE. I've heard rumors about a headlining
tour...
Stefan: At this point, we are not sure about headlining,
but we are probably going on tour, to Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands
and Czech Republic.
Alex:
You've been in Germany before, right?
Stefan: No, never, actually. But we've been in Switzerland,
France and Spain, so this is going to rock. The tour lasts ten
days, and starts in Linköping.
Alex:
You know which date the tour starts?
Stefan: I think it's the last Wednesday in March, around
the 23rd or 24th.
Alex:
That's great. What are the reaction of the fans abroad?
Stefan: We've received a lot of response to the new album,
compared with the earlier, which I think has a lot to do with
promotion. I think I've done over twenty radio interviews with
Belgian, German, Spanish and Italian radio, and at the time of
those interviews the album hadn't even been released! Plus, the
American market is about to be opened for us. Domi<>Nation
is the first album of ours to be released in the US, which will
happen in early March. It's going to be exciting to watch the
development over there. The first print has already been sold
out there, even before the release of the album, and no promotion
has been done over there at all!
Alex:
I've noticed that, on various message boards, that the Americans
want this kind of metal now, even though it is hard to get. And
in Europe, it's the other way around, us wanting Japanese imports
and stuff.
Stefan: It's great that things have been set in motion.
Alex:
It's good to hear, since I've heard your record company has been
undergoing some changes, administration wise...
Stefan: Yeah, nobody knows why they've been hassling
this much. They've been undergoing changes. Earlier they were
called Hammerheart, and now they've switched name to Karmageddon
Media. I don't even want to speculate as to the reasons of this
change.
Alex:
How many albums are left on your contract, and are you going to
switch label when you've fulfilled your commitments?
Stefan: This was the last album in our contract, and
we don't know if we're going to switch yet. If Karmageddon can
give us what we want, I don't see any reason to change label.
Alex:
I heard that you recorded a video. Tell me about it...
Stefan: Yes, we have recorded a video, our first actually.
Pretty low budget. Two guys from the University of Linköping
came and shot the video with us. We rented some factory space,
covered the place in black and shot for two days. Pretty funny,
but hard work, as we had to listen to the same song over and over
again (the video is for the ninth track of the album, called Memory's
End). I think we ended up having heard the song about fifty-sixty
times, since every time we changed angle we had to start the song
over again, which means we know it pretty well by now. We may
possibly end up with the video being a virtual sleaze fest, but
then we'll just keep it to ourselves. If it turns out OK, it's
good promotion!
Alex:
Are you going to have it distributed to metal TV, such as Superock?
Stefan: That depends on the final results. If we can
stand behind it without having to change our names, or undergo
plastic surgery, we'll release it...
Alex:
If it sucks, you could place black tape over your eyes, maybe
blur the image, like, we don't have anything to do with this...
Stefan: Yeah... (laughs)
Alex:
What are your influences? What do you listen to?
Stefan: It's different for everyone in the band. Myself,
I mostly listen to old school hard rock, like Iron Maiden and
Judas Priest. Jesper (Johansson, guitarist) may well be the one
who listens mostly to new stuff. He pretty much buys everything
released in the areas of power and heavy metal. Our keyboardist
Frippe only listens to symphonic rock and old Deep Purple and
Kansas recordings. The drummer, Kim, is probably the most extreme
guy in the band. He fancies thrash and death and stuff like that.
Alex:
If you could pick any band to tour with, which band would you
choose?
Stefan: I'd pick Iron Maiden. Even though, it's pretty
unlikely that they'll call us...
Alex:
They should, considering the bands they've played with earlier.
Like Sum 41.
Stefan: It would be great going on a longer tour with
a band you feel comfortable and have played with earlier, liked
Tad Morose, Nocturnal Rites or Evergrey.
Alex:
Coming also from the northern parts of Sweden, you must feel at
home Nocturnal Rites, right?
Stefan: Yeah, they're really nice guys!
Alex:
When on tour, or playing separate gigs, do you party a lot? Is
it like, yeah, let's play the set and have lots of beer afterwards?
Stefan: It depends on whether or not you are free the
next day, or if you have to play then too. If you do, partying
can be pretty exhausting, especially if you're a singer.
Alex:
Yeah, you do have to take care of your voice.
Stefan: But of course, party and beer are essential to
life...
Alex:
Damn right. Thanks for the interview, Stefan!
SCHWATZKASTEN:
Stefan Petersson's five favorite metal albums:
1. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
2. Conception - Parallel Minds
3. Riot - Thundersteel
4. Blind Guardian - Somewhere Far Beyond
5. Candlemass - Chapter VI
Stefan
Petersson's metal dreamteam:
Drums: Mike Portnoy(Dream Theater)
Bass: Eddie Jackson (Queensryche)
Guitar: Tore Östby (ex-Conception)
Guitar. Dimebag Darrel (Pantera)
Keyboard: Kevin Moore (ex-Dream Theater)
Vocals: A young Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
Stefan
Petersson's favorite beer: Löwenbräu!
DOMI<>NATION
is out now! |
