Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2012, Blaðsíða 32
32
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 7 — 2012
Entombed will play Gaukurinn on June 9.
“To justify another En-
tombed record, I want
to impress and surprise
ourselves and feature lots
of material that’s strong
enough to be included in
our live set”
Music | Interview
BIRKIR FJALAR VIðARSSON
pROMOTIONAL
Sweden’s Entombed to set Reykjavík ablaze for the third time
The Legends Return
Make no bones about it, Entombed
are one of death metal’s pioneers
and arguably amongst the elite that
influenced and changed extreme
metal as we know it. In 1990 the
underground opened up to their
debut, ‘Left Hand path,’ praised
for its unique sound. Little did they
know that many of today’s most
lauded and popular bands would
shamelessly rip off their sound,
style and vibe. They say imitation
is the sincerest form of flattery and
Alex Hellid (guitar) agrees. “We’ve
ripped off so many bands in the
past, so I’m honoured when bands
look to us for inspiration. plus, it’s
never identical. All these bands add
something new to what we’ve done
because they are not us.”
It’s been hard to reach you lately...
We’ve been playing shows, developing
designs that pertain to future releases
and merchandise, while working on
new material: writing, rehearsing and
recording. We’re also planning the re-
release of our back catalogue. This year
we hope to finish recording songs for
a new album to be released early next
year. Come fall, we aim to get some
of the re-releases out there as well as
updating our web presence, which has
been lacking for a long time.
FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC
Will you approach the new album
differently than usual?
Yes. In the past we’ve found ourselves
losing focus in the studio, so now we’re
going to try something different. We
won’t record the album in one go, rath-
er in intervals, like, one or two songs at
a time. Often when you do fifteen songs
at a time, focusing becomes more dif-
ficult and some songs get too much at-
tention at the expense of others, who in
turn get rushed because you get tired
of being in the studio tweaking knobs
and listening to the same stuff over and
over. This way we hope to capture the
feeling you get when you listen to first
cuts of songs because they are usu-
ally raw and pure. But when you work
on an album’s worth of cuts in one go,
something gets lost that can be hard to
find again.
Your next album marks your tenth
full length...
To justify another Entombed record,
I want to impress and surprise our-
selves and feature lots of material that’s
strong enough to be included in our live
set. Currently the majority of our set-
list consists of early ‘90s and early ‘00s
songs that have stood the test of time.
We want the new material to do that as
well. That’s why I want the new stuff to
be urgent enough to find its way into
our set for years to come. Thus we have
to take the songwriting into a new di-
rection.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Entombed is relentless in finding
new ways to channel your love for
the music and the entity Entombed
has become. It’s certainly not for
cash and fame...
We’ve never been really huge. We’re
used to trends coming and going, and
we’ve always maintained a similar level
of success throughout, be it small or
big tours, compact venues or spacious
concert halls. But for me, what makes
it interesting is that we try to make
things happen that are a bit outside the
box and in addition there’s this need
to make a better album than the last
one, basically. Musically speaking I still
believe there are places we can go but
haven’t yet been.
Absolutely. You’ve consistently
presented us with surprises and
excitement since ‘Clandestine’ fol-
lowed ‘Left Hand path’ in 1991 to
this day. In that light, tell us how the
new album will compare to your ex-
isting legacy?
I want us to keep the core sound, the
soul of Entombed if you will, so that
people will know it’s us, but at the same
time I want to raise the bar on the pro-
duction. The new stuff will be brutal
but I want it to sound crystal clear, so
people can make out everything that is
being played. It should be dynamic in
that if there’s a dirty, punky song it will
get a production that fits that vibe. And
when there’s a song with more parts,
melodies and harmonies it’s treated
differently. I do not want it to sound like
a particular era of Entombed, rather I’d
like people to be somewhat alarmed
with the development between our al-
bums, much like they were when we
made the first four or five albums.
For example when ‘Wolverine Blues’
hit, people were like “What happened
now, what are you doing? It’s not the
same band anymore.” Subsequently,
it gets harder to come up with new
things, yet we don’t want to get too
comfortable or lazy. That is the enemy.
Your upcoming show at Gaukurinn
marks your third time in Iceland.
What keeps you coming back, and
what will be different?
I’m pretty sure it’s always the same
bunch of guys that know each other
that keep inviting us back. They wanted
to see Entombed play in Iceland, so in-
stead of waiting for someone to make
that a reality, they did it themselves.
Those shows have always been fun, so
we cannot say no. Also, look forward to
see us as a five-piece again, with two
guitars!