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-Are you still satisfied to 100% of the songs, or are there now any improvements in the sounds or some passages you'd like to change in some songs here and there?
Joakim: We're still 100% satisfied with the new album! It fucking kills!!!

-What are the main differences between this album and 'The Third Antichrist' in your opinion?
Joakim: The production is a lot heavier and the music is better. We always have to do a better album all the time and we have succeed with that again, in our opinion. It's a short answer, but the only answer.

-Death thrash metal with a few dark and melodic parts and satanic lyrics is the most suitable definition I'd give to Necrophobic. Do you agree or wanna add anything?
Joakim: I can agree with that. Every person is free to categorize the music the way he/she wants to. We just call our music death metal the way is was meant to be!

-Your death thrash metal is very old-style. So you prefer the death come out from '85 to '92 than the ones of the new generation?
Joakim: I prefer the old style of death metal; nothing beats that old raw feeling.

-Your style is very personal. How have you been able to build it up?
Joakim: We have a heart for this music and a strong dedication for it. This shows is our way of playing. You can instantly hear that we don't do this for no other reason than for the love for it.

-The sound that Sunlight and Skogsberg have given to the record are the best choice to me. Were you aware of that studio potentialities or you couldn't just record at Tägtgren's because he was too busy?
Joakim: We recorded in Sunlight because we have been there before. Tomas does not decide our sound, we do. We just use him to get the sound we want. He can of course give us opinions and suggestions, but we are the minds behind our sound. We didn't want to go to Abyss Studio because we want to sound heavy.

-Comment and describe some of the lyrics. Secondly, is "Heldrasill" a place name?
Joakim: The lyrics still deal with the dark side of life. We use whatever we can come up with that has to do with that. It's a neverending topic. The song "Roots of Heldrasill" is written by Tobias (vocals/bass), so he is the one that really shall explain the meaning behind those words. I feel I don't have the exact knowledge of all that old swedish mythology, so I rather not tell anything that may be wrong.

-Were the vocal parts added at the very last moment before recording or prepared before and therefore better arranged?
Joakim: The vocals were prepared before the recording for the best arrangement. There were some new ideas tried out in the studio, but in general, all vocalstuff was arranged before we entered the studio.

-The best things in the songs are the cool infernal riffs, the dark slow parts, the vocals and the guitars that are so wicked and aggressive, and not 'submerged', I mean low mixed. I think many bands are wrong or afraid to mix solos and vocals low, cos when you play extreme music you must punch the listener's head not only with the bass sounds, mustn't you?
Joakim: Like I said in the beginning, we are very satisfied with the production and this is how we think death metal should sound raw, filthy, agressive, dark, evil, BANG! Right in your face! No poserstuff to try to sell more records.

-Is "Among the Storms" just an outro, or a tribute to the viking's era?
Joakim: It's not just an outro and no tribute to vikings. It's a hymn for blood and the warriors of the dark side!!!

-Tell us about the European tour. Are you coming to Italy? Or do I have to come back to the Ankor's pub to see killer bands like you and, say, Insision?
Joakim: Did you see us at Anchor's??? If you did, cool! No, we will not come to Italy this year. Our tour got cancelled in the last minute. WE had nothing to do with that, because WE wanted to go. The other bands fucked that up. However, a new tour will be planned and I hope it will take us to Italy. We have a lot of fans in Italy and we got supported by italians ever since the beginning. Stay supportive! We will come, so be patient!

-Have you ever played out of Europe? Are your records distributed all over the world? And in which countries do you sell most apart from Sweden, of course?
Joakim: No, we have never played outside Europe. I hope we will some day. Our records, or at least the new one, has good distribution. I don't know in which country we have sold most of our albums, but I guess that we sell a lot in Germany. Who doesn't???

-If I'm not wrong, you, Hypocrisy, Dismember and Grave are the only bands survived to the first wave of Swedish death, besides Entombed who, as you certainly know, play a different style nowadays. Do you see a little but constant renewal for the Swedish death metal scene these years as it was in the golden age (87-92) or is it just that there will always be few die-hard fans following that and nothing more?
Joakim: I guess the scene is growing stronger here in Sweden again. I guess people has gone tired/bored of black metal which today sound very commercial. A lot of keyboards and girly-stuff.

-What kind of extreme metal did Martin (Halfdan, ex guitar-player) want to play?
Joakim: Download a mp3 on his bands website at http://fly.to/yuggoth

-Besides Hammerheart, were you also contacted by Osmose or other labels, and why did you choose the Dutch one?
Joakim: We were not contacted by Osmose, but we were contacted by a far bigger label. However, we didn't go with them, because we want to have top-priority and get the attention we deserve. Hammerheart is really professional and best suited for Necrophobic. We got the feeling that Hammerheart were able to treat us the way we deserve, be supportive and other important stuff.

-How much did U sell with the previous records? And how's the response of the press for "Bloodhymns" like?
Joakim: The previous albums have sold good, but not as good as they could have sold, if we had released them on a professional label that understand the business. If Black Mark would be as professional as Hammerheart, we would be a lot bigger today. The new album has been given high scores 'most everywhere, so keep that in mind, if you don't have the album yet! Buy it!!! I'm not joking when I say that "Bloodhymns" is what people are talking about.

D'U think U can repeat in Sweden what happened in Norway in the '90's with Black metal scene?
Joakim: I really don't care. All I care about is how Necrophobic will dominate!

-Are U influenced by Swedish mythology?
Joakim: We have some of that in our lyrics.

-What books or movies inspired U most for "Bloodhymns"' songwriting?
Joakim: For me, none! My lyrics comes from my dark mind.

-Now that J. Bergebäck is with U, is the line-up steady?
Joakim: Yes!

-Have U written new songs? How are they if compared to the past ones?
Joakim: We have a few new ideas and it's really good. Some of the music we have right now it's even better than the music on "Bloodhymns". One of the new songs feel like the best song we've ever done.

-Are you satanists the Lavey way or the Crowley one?
Joakim: None of them.

-Is your satanism philosophical and not religious?
Joakim: Our satanism is what we want it to be.

- Don't U believe that religions, as they're a human product, are done to subdue other people?
Joakim: I think religion is crap, whatever form it may be in. I don't think you shall break laws, but I think that it's wrong to live your life based upon what other tells you to. Your mind belongs to you. Follow your intensions and have your goals.

-Do you believe in life after death in another place like heaven or hell, or do we just have this hellish life on earth at disposition?
Joakim: We will come to a place where we long for. (I do hope you're right and every being gets the place they deserve, or I'll run amok against the creator of the universe!/note of interviewer MARKUS GANZHERRLICH).

-Do U believe the end of the world is drawing near and the Antichrist's arrival's soon?
Joakim: The antichrist has already arrived three times last time was in 1999.

-What's your opinion about religion, politics, sex, drugs, and racism?
Joakim: Religion: aaaaaaargggghhhh
Politics: not interested
Sex: Great
Drugs: I don't use drugs, except alcohol
Racism: Stupid

-A curiosity: is it easier to find groupies in Scandinavia or elsewhere? What's your judgement about Swedish girls from 0 to 10 in general (sex, mentality...)?
Joakim: Swedish girls are the best! (Yeah, I agree with U/n.o.t.i. M.Ganzherrlich).

-Are you following Sweden at the World Cup or an't U interested in that stuff?
Joakim: Yes, I follow the World Cup and tomorrow I will be up early in the morning to watch the game Sweden-Argentina.

-Close the intie with a message/greeting/threat.
Joakim: Thanks for this interview! As we don't play in Italy this year, buy a ticket to Wacken Open Air!!!

MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 08/06/02

Current lineup:

Tobias Sidegard: V., b.
Johan Bergebäck: Rhythm g.
Sebastian Ramstedt: Lead and rhythm g.
Joakim Sterner: D.

Official demo-/disco-graphy:
-Slow Asphyxiation (demo-90)
-Unholy Prophecies (demo-91)
-The Call (vinyl EP-92)
-The Nocturnal Silence (Black Mark- March 93)
-Spawned by Evil (mini-LP/CD-spring 96)
-Darkside (Black Mark- February 97)
-The Third Antichrist (Black Mark- winter 99)
-Bloodhymns (Hammerheart- 8 April 2002)

Website: http://www.necrophobic.net
E-mail: info@necrophobic.net

	We hail from Sweden to crucify your hearts and never let your wretched souls rest in peace! Answers by kind courtesy of skinbeater Joakim Sterner



	-Are you still satisfied to 100% of the songs, or are there now any improvements in the sounds or some passages you'd like to change in some songs here and there? Joakim: We're still 100% satisfied with the new album! It fucking kills!!! -What are the main differences between this album and 'The Third Antichrist' in your opinion? Joakim: The production is a lot heavier and the music is better. We always have to do a better album all the time and we have succeed with that again, in our opinion. It's a short answer, but the only answer. -Death thrash metal with a few dark and melodic parts and satanic lyrics is the most suitable definition I'd give to Necrophobic. Do you agree or wanna add anything? Joakim: I can agree with that. Every person is free to categorize the music the way he/she wants to. We just call our music death metal the way is was meant to be! -Your death thrash metal is very old-style. So you prefer the death come out from '85 to '92 than the ones of the new generation? Joakim: I prefer the old style of death metal; nothing beats that old raw feeling. -Your style is very personal. How have you been able to build it up? Joakim: We have a heart for this music and a strong dedication for it. This shows is our way of playing. You can instantly hear that we don't do this for no other reason than for the love for it. -The sound that Sunlight and Skogsberg have given to the record are the best choice to me. Were you aware of that studio potentialities or you couldn't just record at Tägtgren's because he was too busy? Joakim: We recorded in Sunlight because we have been there before. Tomas does not decide our sound, we do. We just use him to get the sound we want. He can of course give us opinions and suggestions, but we are the minds behind our sound. We didn't want to go to Abyss Studio because we want to sound heavy. -Comment and describe some of the lyrics. Secondly, is "Heldrasill" a place name? Joakim: The lyrics still deal with the dark side of life. We use whatever we can come up with that has to do with that. It's a neverending topic. The song "Roots of Heldrasill" is written by Tobias (vocals/bass), so he is the one that really shall explain the meaning behind those words. I feel I don't have the exact knowledge of all that old swedish mythology, so I rather not tell anything that may be wrong. -Were the vocal parts added at the very last moment before recording or prepared before and therefore better arranged? Joakim: The vocals were prepared before the recording for the best arrangement. There were some new ideas tried out in the studio, but in general, all vocalstuff was arranged before we entered the studio. -The best things in the songs are the cool infernal riffs, the dark slow parts, the vocals and the guitars that are so wicked and aggressive, and not 'submerged', I mean low mixed. I think many bands are wrong or afraid to mix solos and vocals low, cos when you play extreme music you must punch the listener's head not only with the bass sounds, mustn't you? Joakim: Like I said in the beginning, we are very satisfied with the production and this is how we think death metal should sound raw, filthy, agressive, dark, evil, BANG! Right in your face! No poserstuff to try to sell more records. -Is "Among the Storms" just an outro, or a tribute to the viking's era? Joakim: It's not just an outro and no tribute to vikings. It's a hymn for blood and the warriors of the dark side!!! -Tell us about the European tour. Are you coming to Italy? Or do I have to come back to the Ankor's pub to see killer bands like you and, say, Insision? Joakim: Did you see us at Anchor's??? If you did, cool! No, we will not come to Italy this year. Our tour got cancelled in the last minute. WE had nothing to do with that, because WE wanted to go. The other bands fucked that up. However, a new tour will be planned and I hope it will take us to Italy. We have a lot of fans in Italy and we got supported by italians ever since the beginning. Stay supportive! We will come, so be patient! -Have you ever played out of Europe? Are your records distributed all over the world? And in which countries do you sell most apart from Sweden, of course? Joakim: No, we have never played outside Europe. I hope we will some day. Our records, or at least the new one, has good distribution. I don't know in which country we have sold most of our albums, but I guess that we sell a lot in Germany. Who doesn't??? -If I'm not wrong, you, Hypocrisy, Dismember and Grave are the only bands survived to the first wave of Swedish death, besides Entombed who, as you certainly know, play a different style nowadays. Do you see a little but constant renewal for the Swedish death metal scene these years as it was in the golden age (87-92) or is it just that there will always be few die-hard fans following that and nothing more? Joakim: I guess the scene is growing stronger here in Sweden again. I guess people has gone tired/bored of black metal which today sound very commercial. A lot of keyboards and girly-stuff. -What kind of extreme metal did Martin (Halfdan, ex guitar-player) want to play? Joakim: Download a mp3 on his bands website at http://fly.to/yuggoth -Besides Hammerheart, were you also contacted by Osmose or other labels, and why did you choose the Dutch one? Joakim: We were not contacted by Osmose, but we were contacted by a far bigger label. However, we didn't go with them, because we want to have top-priority and get the attention we deserve. Hammerheart is really professional and best suited for Necrophobic. We got the feeling that Hammerheart were able to treat us the way we deserve, be supportive and other important stuff. -How much did U sell with the previous records? And how's the response of the press for "Bloodhymns" like? Joakim: The previous albums have sold good, but not as good as they could have sold, if we had released them on a professional label that understand the business. If Black Mark would be as professional as Hammerheart, we would be a lot bigger today. The new album has been given high scores 'most everywhere, so keep that in mind, if you don't have the album yet! Buy it!!! I'm not joking when I say that "Bloodhymns" is what people are talking about. D'U think U can repeat in Sweden what happened in Norway in the '90's with Black metal scene? Joakim: I really don't care. All I care about is how Necrophobic will dominate! -Are U influenced by Swedish mythology? Joakim: We have some of that in our lyrics. -What books or movies inspired U most for "Bloodhymns"' songwriting? Joakim: For me, none! My lyrics comes from my dark mind. -Now that J. Bergebäck is with U, is the line-up steady? Joakim: Yes! -Have U written new songs? How are they if compared to the past ones? Joakim: We have a few new ideas and it's really good. Some of the music we have right now it's even better than the music on "Bloodhymns". One of the new songs feel like the best song we've ever done. -Are you satanists the Lavey way or the Crowley one? Joakim: None of them. -Is your satanism philosophical and not religious? Joakim: Our satanism is what we want it to be. - Don't U believe that religions, as they're a human product, are done to subdue other people? Joakim: I think religion is crap, whatever form it may be in. I don't think you shall break laws, but I think that it's wrong to live your life based upon what other tells you to. Your mind belongs to you. Follow your intensions and have your goals. -Do you believe in life after death in another place like heaven or hell, or do we just have this hellish life on earth at disposition? Joakim: We will come to a place where we long for. (I do hope you're right and every being gets the place they deserve, or I'll run amok against the creator of the universe!/note of interviewer MARKUS GANZHERRLICH). -Do U believe the end of the world is drawing near and the Antichrist's arrival's soon? Joakim: The antichrist has already arrived three times last time was in 1999. -What's your opinion about religion, politics, sex, drugs, and racism? Joakim: Religion: aaaaaaargggghhhh Politics: not interested Sex: Great Drugs: I don't use drugs, except alcohol Racism: Stupid -A curiosity: is it easier to find groupies in Scandinavia or elsewhere? What's your judgement about Swedish girls from 0 to 10 in general (sex, mentality...)? Joakim: Swedish girls are the best! (Yeah, I agree with U/n.o.t.i. M.Ganzherrlich). -Are you following Sweden at the World Cup or an't U interested in that stuff? Joakim: Yes, I follow the World Cup and tomorrow I will be up early in the morning to watch the game Sweden-Argentina. -Close the intie with a message/greeting/threat. Joakim: Thanks for this interview! As we don't play in Italy this year, buy a ticket to Wacken Open Air!!! MARKUS GANZHERRLICH - 08/06/02 Current lineup: Tobias Sidegard: V., b. Johan Bergebäck: Rhythm g. Sebastian Ramstedt: Lead and rhythm g. Joakim Sterner: D. Official demo-/disco-graphy: -Slow Asphyxiation (demo-90) -Unholy Prophecies (demo-91) -The Call (vinyl EP-92) -The Nocturnal Silence (Black Mark- March 93) -Spawned by Evil (mini-LP/CD-spring 96) -Darkside (Black Mark- February 97) -The Third Antichrist (Black Mark- winter 99) -Bloodhymns (Hammerheart- 8 April 2002) Website: http://www.necrophobic.net E-mail: info@necrophobic.net