Ελληνικά
After “Grand Morbid Funeral” Bloodbath are here to give us some answers about the new album, and of what’s to come…
For the beginning, after Akerfeldt left the band there where many questions about who’s going to replace him. So, here we are, the new album “Grand Morbid Funeral” is out and Nick Holmes has taken position in vocals for the band. I must say that’s a great outcome and can you tell us Anders, how did you and the other guys in the band come to such a decision?
I know this might sound arrogant, but Bloodbath always ranked a creditable singer with a death metal legacy and that’s a tradition we want to keep going, so the door to step inside to become Bloodbath’s new vocalist was pretty much shut and locked for the guys without any history. I think we struck a nerve with Old Nick, maybe because the timing and climate was just right you know. Also his bandmate Greg was doing death metal again with Vallenfyre, so our proposition could have opened a mental door that allowed him to go back in time and revisit the days of death metal glory! Vocal wise, he was very much chosen due to his work and status within the death metal history. Having put out classic albums like ‘Lost Paradise’ (1990) and ‘Gothic’ (1991) it’s fair to say that his name should ring a bell! On top of that, there were also the social criteria in consideration, because when you’re looking at writing, recording, playing live and hanging out together, you want everyone to be comfortable and have a good time doing what we do.
Nick, I must say that when I saw you with Paradise Lost, with some old songs in the playlist I was suspicious, and here we are! Sometime after that Bloodbath announced that you were in the band with them. How did it work for you, after all these years that you came back to brutal vocals?
I had plenty of time to get used to the idea, The Bloodbath material is different than anything I’ve ever done with Paradise Lost, and even though we are both under the umbrella of Metal music, as a side project its more interesting for me to be involved with Bloodbath that say, another “gothic” style project. I was a huge fan of the old school death Metal, It was a big part of my teenage years so it’s not difficult to get the vibe
Anders, Grand Morbid Funeral sounds more and more old school death metal than the other albums! Was it something that you wanted to bring out, or it just came out as you did the songwriting? And, if you wanted the new Bloodbath album to sound more old school from the beginning, you thought that Nick’s voice would match great for this one?
Yeah, we went for Old Nick because he’s going to sound like nobody but himself! That pretty much leaves you with a “take it or leave it” scenario. It was never our intention to alter him or push him to into a clone of neither Mike nor Peter, actually it wasn’t even relevant to try any of that because the music and attitude on this album demanded something different in the first place. Since Old Nick had the rotten and raw vibe come naturally, that’s really why he’s on the record and also that’s why it will be no different in the live situation while performing old songs. Old Nick’s gonna do it his way, just as Mike did his own version of the songs that featured Peter…
Nick, you have been performing and singing live for many many years. Of course Paradise Lost is different to Bloodbath but, how is it gonna work for you now that you have to do with two totally different bands both on music and singing part?
Its unlikely Bloodbath will be on the same billing as Paradise, plus there’s little chance of touring with Bloodbath, so it’s just the case of slotting everything in around Paradise (and Katatonia) commitments.
Anders, Bloodbath are a superstar group (Opeth, Katatonia, Paradise Lost). How does it feel to come in studio and work on death metal stuff, after working on other musical kind, for example Katatonia?
I love going from Katatonia to Bloodbath. It’s like checking out of work and fucking off on a holiday hah! Seriously, it really upholds equilibrium to your musical desires. It would be absolute pointless to dive into a side-project that would resemble everything you’ve already done with another band. Katatonia and Bloodbath are really far apart both musically and conceptually and that makes life a better ride, bouncing off each other while constantly rolling down the road ahead.
The new album I should say that it has a hellish production! Let the music flow and Bloodbath will smash your ears to death. It sounds more Swedish old school death metal. How did you come to such an old school production?
Anders: We came to a crossroad where no one felt motivated nor intrigued to continue further down the path where the last album was heading. We discussed all the styles and attributes we’d previously touched upon and realized there was one last angle we hadn’t fully explored… A slab of filthy rotten old school death metal! With that in mind, we decided to take a steep turn and go all the way back to the beginning (actually even a bit further back than our original starting point). This decision brought back a long lost magic and sheer excitement into the making of another album. We decided that nothing on the guitar front was gonna be held back or compromised this time. We’ve actually used and featured the HM-2 pedal on every single album except the first EP up until now, but each sound’s been tweaked so differently. In the past (with the exception of our debut album), the guitar sound has mainly been trimmed and toned to the point where the savage and extreme delivery have been sacrificed in favor of a more allround and safe sound, I guess to achieve something more “pro”, but on this new album we’re heading right back to the approach of debut album but doing it even heavier and more organic. This time we topped our chainsaws with an extra layer of barbed wire drenched in blood and eager to draw some more! Drums are all natural and just bangs and rings like the instruments were supposed to. Technically it’s all more human and less software oriented. Everything is really pushed towards the extreme and organic at the same time. Entombed’s ‘Left Hand Path’ was obviously the holy grail both as a reference and for a musical guideline. Another crucial album was Autopsy’s ‘Mental Funeral’. That album really set the bar for the whole attitude and atmosphere about this album. Personally I’ve been digging up a lot of old Bathory and early Death again and I think that rubbed off. I also know Jonas carried a Celtic Frost influence that really showed in one of his tracks. Sodomizer’s Morbid Angel influence is once again also blatantly present, as ever. At numerous times, I’ve had the intention to smear the borders between death and black metal and just throw things back where you wouldn’t be able to define one before the other. Just call it dark, evil and extreme.
Nick, this album is different from its predecessors. The drumming sounds more old school in combination with classic Bloodbath heavy riffs. What are your favorite parts in Grand Morbid Funeral?
I love the whole album, I think it’s very strong, and each track is very different once you get past the initial barrage of heaviness! I also think it sounds pretty refreshing, as no one else has come close to recreating a “classic” death metal album in recent times. The influences are obvious, and they are meant to be.
You have announced that you will participate in some great festivals.. Should we expect a full time tour from Bloodbath, or just some lives in the near future in some countries and festivals?
Nick: We’ll hold 13 grand morbid funerals next year and for some strange reasons they’re all taking place at metal festivals in Norway, The Netherlands, Usa, Sweden, Romania, France, Denmark, Germany, Czech Rebublic, Portugal, Finland… Come light a candle as no more live dates are planned beyond that.
Is there anything you would like to say to Metal Invader readers? The conclusion is yours…
This album is your old school death metal wakeup call! Snooze or die! Cheers!
