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-FIRST ALL OF I'D LIKE TO SAY HELLO TO ANDERS AND LARS. We met in August 2000 out of the Tex's in Copenhagen and took a couple of pics. I don't know if you remember, but I'm the boy from Italy who talked to you about Code666 first...
Oh, cool, how are you? I remember clearly, even though its been a couple of years. hehe

-After 4 years U're back. Can U tell us what exactly happened with Die Hard? Was it just that U asked for too much for a new record and the previous CD hadn't sold enough for DieHard's standards that U decided not to renew the contract?
No, we finished the deal. And diehard is just a shadow of what it used to be, the boss, who was our main contact/reason for working with them has left the business ages in ago in spirit, and in the end when we were touring he was never available and we were left hanging on the road more than once. There was no point in continuing and unless the driving force returns, diehard will probably continue their downward spiral and grind to a halt at some point in the future. We were looking for new territory, and with code666 there is a dedication which is inspiring to work with and there is a love for the music and a great job being done on the promotional department. Konkhra is/was an underground extreme metal act that diehard maybe tried to make commercial in some ways that was more harmful than i realized at the time. I have already talked to more people than I used to in the same time, but then again: this record is easier to work with I guess, it seems to sit well with alot of folks out there...

-Why have U decided to reform in the classical line up?
The chance arose. Per left to play for The haunted and I asked Johnny to get back, he was talking about Kim and we started writing, I already had some songs like warmonger, but we wrote and toured for 1 1/2 years, and finihed the record last summer. Konkhra sounds better with this lineup, it´s maybe not as fancypants technically, but we refound the driving force that the band was "famous" for in the past. And honestly: this record we just did is a pretty good one in my book,- its by far the best record we did.

-Did all the members have the same weight in the songwriting process?
No. I wrote 90 %, Johnny lays the beats and he is unequalled. But all songs have been demoed with programmed drums, so we could stay true to the original idea. Then we rehearsed it for a while which off course brought about changes. Kim bring in the guitarhero stuff anf the melodic segues. He also wrote a handful of great riffs, the opening riff for "hellhound" for instance, its a monster riff, but the majority of the material I did. It´s not that i have to do that, its just the way it turned out. Maybe next time there will be more from kims hands...

-Was it easier and faster to write this CD or all the contrary?
I can´t remember how fast we wrote on the past ones. I think it went smoothely enough, we just spent something like 3 months in the studio this time, and that is by far the longest we have spent in the studio. It wasn´t three months straight day in/out, it was more like relaxed and working whenever we felt inspired.

-Has yr songwriting process changed compared to 'Sexual...''s times?
Sure, I wrote most of the material and programmed drums with all important beats and feats...fill etc. But Johnny is a groovy bastard and he changed the simplest beats into organic rythms, because he has got this natural swing that is unmatched by anyone. In the past, we wrote in the rehearsal room. Now I write more alone, to finish the layout and have something really strong to present to the rest of the guys.

-It seems to me the songs of 'Reality Check' are less death and more rolling than in the past, with some old crushing riff but not as heavy as in the past. Am I wrong?
I am probably not the one to ask. I mean, if you feel that way that's cool, and righteous for you. Music is an experience that can and can´t be shared, everyone talks about it and shares oppinions, I might not feel the same way as you, and say that this is in many ways the heaviest record we did, not as "death" perhaps, but maybe more "konkhra". Anyway, I´m happy about it, and if you´re happy too, then I´m even happier, hehe. (of course I am, you should read my review!/Note of Markus)

-As to the artwork, does the front cover refer to a near world's downfall? And the robot-man inside shooting the bird is connected to mankind's cynism towards nature?
I see that guy as the politician, that offers you the dove representing peace, but holding the ak47 in his other hand, as a reminder that he aims for peace through war, which is of course not peace at all. He is halfrotting as a premonition and a warning that this might not be the smarter thing to do. The cover represents the "concept" of the record, there is historical views in some lyrics but they connect to the ones that are about today, or about the way the world changed because of Sept. 11th.

-I'm also very curious about the dates reported in the artwork for each track, for example 'Grapes of Wrath" and A.D. 1990.
This is a song that is inspired by something that happened in that year for me personally. It´s about the mom of someone I knew closely, she used to be a beauty queen but got old. She can´t handle that, and its eating her up inside. Her ways made her a bad mother and she even fights her children and hates what she did all her life so much, that its destroying her will to live and be something for her own kids. A sad story, that is true. The other "dates" connect to the time when the events that inspired the lyrics happened. There are things from different ages, but they all connect in the end.

-Will U be playing a headlining tour and if so, will U balance yr old and new tracks or will U give more room to the new ones? And will U perform yr songs faster and exactly as on CD or change sthg?
We will play 5-6 new songs probably a little faster than on cd, we always get carried away and give it a little extra that way. Old songs: probably 7-8 with 3 from "spit" and 3 from "weed" and 1 from "S.A.D.".

-My favourite tracks are 'Lowlife' and 'The Lions Are Hungry'. Could U tell me more about their lyrics and the ones of other songs that U prefer in comparison with the other ones?
Lowlife was written as a song in ´96, as the first song after "spit". I didn´t use it in the meantime, and we took it up when the guys returned. It´s exactly the way it was, maybe with a few little changes. The lyrics are drugrelated. I had a girlfriend back in the day, who started doing very unhealthy drugs. That made me write lyrics about that for a while, and this lyrics is from then, It´s at least from ´95, which makes it 8 years old, damn. The lions are hungry: its about in roman times, the chuch of christ inherited the empire and turned the rising religion into to a vast web of lies, that could control and bleed the masses for their last nickles and dimes for centuries and centuries.

-The production of course happened in Anders's studios. I like it but I feel it might have been clearer and even a bit more powerful if U'd had more time. What is your opinion? And what does your studio offer more than other Scandinavian ones, I mean, did Haunted and Entombed come and record by U just because U're friends and you can offer good prices or especially because U have a long experience as a musician in death and roll metal?
The Haunted mixed their live record at my studio, and Entombed has never been at all, though I´d love it if they had. With regards to our production, like I said we spent 3 months making what it is and I´m 100% happy about it. As a producer, I´m very proud of my work, when I started the studio I had producers work here, but now I do most of it myself. I´m getting better every day and maybe because I´m a musician, I can relate to what people need their records to be.

-It seems to me U're fans of F.C. Skulls Copenhagen. How are things going in the Danish championship?
F.C.Copenhagen won the chanpionship. F.C. Skulls is our own soccer team, we play in a small league and we are not doing to good, hehe.

-Have U published other albums for Chopshop? For what bands? Finally, what is the website address?
No. It´s a label set up to deal with Konkhra´s new record, maybe we will turn our attention to something if it drops on my lap and just has to get out there.

-Are U satisfied with Code666's work?
I´m very happy with their promotion guy.

-What do U think about the extreme Danish scene, for ex. bands like Illdisposed, Panzerchrist or Exmortem? Where did they fail in their career, I mean, why didn't the get all the success U had? Luck, songwriting...?
I dont know that any of those bands failed in the career? They all seem to have made their marks and more power to them.

-Thanx for the intie and take all the place U need for a final message/greeting to yr Italian fans.
Thank you very much, I´m happy that anyone took the time to read through all this babble....thank you, and hopefully I´ll see you on the road.

MARKUS GANHERRLICH - 3/07/03

Demo/Disco-graphy:

-Demo (91)
-Malgrowth (demo 92)
-Sexual Affective Disorder (1993)
-Spit or Swallow (1995)
-Live Eraser (1996)
-Weed out the Weak (1997)
-Come down Cold (1999)
-Reality Check (2003)

Line up:
Anders Lundemark: v., g.
Johhny Nielsen: d.
Lars Schmidt: b.
Kim Mathiesen: g.

	Resurrection from the quicksand!!! Answers by Anders Lundemark after the recording of "Reality Check" .



	-FIRST ALL OF I'D LIKE TO SAY HELLO TO ANDERS AND LARS. We met in August 2000 out of the Tex's in Copenhagen and took a couple of pics. I don't know if you remember, but I'm the boy from Italy who talked to you about Code666 first... Oh, cool, how are you? I remember clearly, even though its been a couple of years. hehe -After 4 years U're back. Can U tell us what exactly happened with Die Hard? Was it just that U asked for too much for a new record and the previous CD hadn't sold enough for DieHard's standards that U decided not to renew the contract? No, we finished the deal. And diehard is just a shadow of what it used to be, the boss, who was our main contact/reason for working with them has left the business ages in ago in spirit, and in the end when we were touring he was never available and we were left hanging on the road more than once. There was no point in continuing and unless the driving force returns, diehard will probably continue their downward spiral and grind to a halt at some point in the future. We were looking for new territory, and with code666 there is a dedication which is inspiring to work with and there is a love for the music and a great job being done on the promotional department. Konkhra is/was an underground extreme metal act that diehard maybe tried to make commercial in some ways that was more harmful than i realized at the time. I have already talked to more people than I used to in the same time, but then again: this record is easier to work with I guess, it seems to sit well with alot of folks out there... -Why have U decided to reform in the classical line up? The chance arose. Per left to play for The haunted and I asked Johnny to get back, he was talking about Kim and we started writing, I already had some songs like warmonger, but we wrote and toured for 1 1/2 years, and finihed the record last summer. Konkhra sounds better with this lineup, it´s maybe not as fancypants technically, but we refound the driving force that the band was "famous" for in the past. And honestly: this record we just did is a pretty good one in my book,- its by far the best record we did. -Did all the members have the same weight in the songwriting process? No. I wrote 90 %, Johnny lays the beats and he is unequalled. But all songs have been demoed with programmed drums, so we could stay true to the original idea. Then we rehearsed it for a while which off course brought about changes. Kim bring in the guitarhero stuff anf the melodic segues. He also wrote a handful of great riffs, the opening riff for "hellhound" for instance, its a monster riff, but the majority of the material I did. It´s not that i have to do that, its just the way it turned out. Maybe next time there will be more from kims hands... -Was it easier and faster to write this CD or all the contrary? I can´t remember how fast we wrote on the past ones. I think it went smoothely enough, we just spent something like 3 months in the studio this time, and that is by far the longest we have spent in the studio. It wasn´t three months straight day in/out, it was more like relaxed and working whenever we felt inspired. -Has yr songwriting process changed compared to 'Sexual...''s times? Sure, I wrote most of the material and programmed drums with all important beats and feats...fill etc. But Johnny is a groovy bastard and he changed the simplest beats into organic rythms, because he has got this natural swing that is unmatched by anyone. In the past, we wrote in the rehearsal room. Now I write more alone, to finish the layout and have something really strong to present to the rest of the guys. -It seems to me the songs of 'Reality Check' are less death and more rolling than in the past, with some old crushing riff but not as heavy as in the past. Am I wrong? I am probably not the one to ask. I mean, if you feel that way that's cool, and righteous for you. Music is an experience that can and can´t be shared, everyone talks about it and shares oppinions, I might not feel the same way as you, and say that this is in many ways the heaviest record we did, not as "death" perhaps, but maybe more "konkhra". Anyway, I´m happy about it, and if you´re happy too, then I´m even happier, hehe. (of course I am, you should read my review!/Note of Markus) -As to the artwork, does the front cover refer to a near world's downfall? And the robot-man inside shooting the bird is connected to mankind's cynism towards nature? I see that guy as the politician, that offers you the dove representing peace, but holding the ak47 in his other hand, as a reminder that he aims for peace through war, which is of course not peace at all. He is halfrotting as a premonition and a warning that this might not be the smarter thing to do. The cover represents the "concept" of the record, there is historical views in some lyrics but they connect to the ones that are about today, or about the way the world changed because of Sept. 11th. -I'm also very curious about the dates reported in the artwork for each track, for example 'Grapes of Wrath" and A.D. 1990. This is a song that is inspired by something that happened in that year for me personally. It´s about the mom of someone I knew closely, she used to be a beauty queen but got old. She can´t handle that, and its eating her up inside. Her ways made her a bad mother and she even fights her children and hates what she did all her life so much, that its destroying her will to live and be something for her own kids. A sad story, that is true. The other "dates" connect to the time when the events that inspired the lyrics happened. There are things from different ages, but they all connect in the end. -Will U be playing a headlining tour and if so, will U balance yr old and new tracks or will U give more room to the new ones? And will U perform yr songs faster and exactly as on CD or change sthg? We will play 5-6 new songs probably a little faster than on cd, we always get carried away and give it a little extra that way. Old songs: probably 7-8 with 3 from "spit" and 3 from "weed" and 1 from "S.A.D.". -My favourite tracks are 'Lowlife' and 'The Lions Are Hungry'. Could U tell me more about their lyrics and the ones of other songs that U prefer in comparison with the other ones? Lowlife was written as a song in ´96, as the first song after "spit". I didn´t use it in the meantime, and we took it up when the guys returned. It´s exactly the way it was, maybe with a few little changes. The lyrics are drugrelated. I had a girlfriend back in the day, who started doing very unhealthy drugs. That made me write lyrics about that for a while, and this lyrics is from then, It´s at least from ´95, which makes it 8 years old, damn. The lions are hungry: its about in roman times, the chuch of christ inherited the empire and turned the rising religion into to a vast web of lies, that could control and bleed the masses for their last nickles and dimes for centuries and centuries. -The production of course happened in Anders's studios. I like it but I feel it might have been clearer and even a bit more powerful if U'd had more time. What is your opinion? And what does your studio offer more than other Scandinavian ones, I mean, did Haunted and Entombed come and record by U just because U're friends and you can offer good prices or especially because U have a long experience as a musician in death and roll metal? The Haunted mixed their live record at my studio, and Entombed has never been at all, though I´d love it if they had. With regards to our production, like I said we spent 3 months making what it is and I´m 100% happy about it. As a producer, I´m very proud of my work, when I started the studio I had producers work here, but now I do most of it myself. I´m getting better every day and maybe because I´m a musician, I can relate to what people need their records to be. -It seems to me U're fans of F.C. Skulls Copenhagen. How are things going in the Danish championship? F.C.Copenhagen won the chanpionship. F.C. Skulls is our own soccer team, we play in a small league and we are not doing to good, hehe. -Have U published other albums for Chopshop? For what bands? Finally, what is the website address? No. It´s a label set up to deal with Konkhra´s new record, maybe we will turn our attention to something if it drops on my lap and just has to get out there. -Are U satisfied with Code666's work? I´m very happy with their promotion guy. -What do U think about the extreme Danish scene, for ex. bands like Illdisposed, Panzerchrist or Exmortem? Where did they fail in their career, I mean, why didn't the get all the success U had? Luck, songwriting...? I dont know that any of those bands failed in the career? They all seem to have made their marks and more power to them. -Thanx for the intie and take all the place U need for a final message/greeting to yr Italian fans. Thank you very much, I´m happy that anyone took the time to read through all this babble....thank you, and hopefully I´ll see you on the road. MARKUS GANHERRLICH - 3/07/03 Demo/Disco-graphy: -Demo (91) -Malgrowth (demo 92) -Sexual Affective Disorder (1993) -Spit or Swallow (1995) -Live Eraser (1996) -Weed out the Weak (1997) -Come down Cold (1999) -Reality Check (2003) Line up: Anders Lundemark: v., g. Johhny Nielsen: d. Lars Schmidt: b. Kim Mathiesen: g.