As always, when I’m talking with the band previously unknown to me, the first question is - could you please summarize the history of WITHOUT GRIEF?
- Yeah sure,
we started the band in November '95 and about 5 months later we recorded
our debut demo called ”Forever Closed”. We sent out over 500 demos to zines,
radiostations etc. and we got some offers from a couple of recordlabels
but we didn't find any of them interessting enough so we recorded
a promo-tape with 3 new tracks during the autumn 96. Those tracks
also apeard on several compilation CDs / tapes. The promo-tape gave us
some more offers from varios labels and in January '97 we signed with the
Danish recordcompany Serious Entertainment for 2 albums. The recording
of the first album ”Deflower” took place in Aabenraa Studio, Denmark
in April 97 with labelboss Jakob Hansen as the producer. After the
recording of that album we felt that one of the guitarist didn’t fit in
the band so we fired him and a few month later we found a new guitarist
namned Daniel Thidu. The following year we spend most of the time making
new songs + playing some liveshows and in October ‘98 it was time for a
trip to Denmark to record the second album, once again with Jakob as the
producer. The bassplayer qiut just before the recording so we used
a stand-in bassman called Bjorn Tauman in the studio. The new album will
be called ”Absorbing The Ashes” and will be released in May 1999.
And
now I feel that you have to introduce your debut CD to our readers...
- As I stated in the previous question it's called ”Deflower” and it is a record that contains both melodies and power. I believe it's a pretty cool album although it's a bit unoriginal and weak. For a first album it's OK. Check it out folks!!!!
Is there any special kind of concept behind «Deflower»? After looking at the cover, booklet layout and the bandphoto, I guess the answer should be «yes»...
- No, not a concept really, all songs deal with the darker sides of life but I wouldn’t call it a concept album.
Do you consider cover art an important subject for the band? I must say that the one on «Deflower» is more than impressive...
- Yes, I think it is very important to have a good cover, that is the first thing you see when you're in the recordstore. P.Gron who made our cover is a very talented man and will also take care of the artwork for the new album. He is rather expensive though.
What about the work in Aabenraa? Are you satisfied with the outcome? Did you clash with any kind of problems or blunders during the recording process or everything went off smoothly?
- We think the sound is killer and Jakob was great to work with. We had some problems, my throat fucked up after 4 or 5 songs so I couldn’t sing for a couple of days, Putte (our drummer) injured his arm so he had to eat painkiller so he could be albe to play. Tobbes (guitar) feets begun to rot, heh heh. He had to go to the hospital twice to suck out all the blood and pus from his infected feets. I guess he had to tight shoes and to much foot-sweat. Besides that it went OK.
Personally I consider your music to be more «romantic» (emotional, tremendous) than «evil» (brutal, aggressive) - just to mention Rachmaninoff’s «Vocalise» featured on «Deflower»... Do you confine to the same point of view?
- I wouldn’t choose the word romantic though, but I guess you are right about the fact that the music on ”Deflower” is more emotional than it is aggressive. We was very into melodies when we wrote that album but nowadays I think it is too nice and not brutal enough. The new stuff is more agressive and has much more energy.
What
was the reason for including «Vocalise» into your debut CD?
And why exactly Rachmaninoff? There’re plenty of undoubtedly outstanding
works by such Russian composers as Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky or Rimskiy-Korsakoff,
for example...
- We saw a couple of guys from our home-town on a music-competition and they were really good to play the piano and cello so we asked them if they wanted to do a short song as an outro on the album and they said yes. We thought they would make an own song but instead they did a cover of that Rachmaninoff-song. We had never heard it before and we thought it was pretty good so we decided to include it. I must mention that the guys were only 14 and 15 years old.
One more question regarding «Vocalise»... Actually, no-one of WITHOUT GRIEF participated in this tune’s recording, therefore can you tell me few words of those guys who performed it...?
- See the answer above!!!
No doubts that your music appears as something I truly like, though I feel I should reckon your band to so-called «Swedish death / black metal school» anyway, since you also seem to follow the steps of AT THE GATES / DARK TRANQUILLITY / IN FLAMES... I still can’t understand (and probably never will) why hundreds of Sweden’s bands sound almost similar to each other...
- A hard question I think, I guess most of the Swedish bands try to do something of their own but it's not an easy thing cause there so many bands here so you probably end up sounding like somebody else more or less. However I believe the quality on the Swedish music is outstanding if you compare to other countries. WITHOUT GRIEF will definitly show the world with our second CD that we are not just another AT THE GATES / IN FLAMES clone. We have found a sound of our own and it feels very good.
Usually, WITHOUT GRIEF-alike bands are being signed to No Fashion, Black Sun and Wrong Again Records, therefore it’s really strange to see you collaborating with Serious Entertainment, the label which deals mostly with Danish grind / death metal bands like ILLDISPOSED or PANZERCHRIST...
- Yeah, we have got this question lots of times and what can I say, we got the best offer from them and we decided to try out something different and so far we have no regrets.
What
about live performances? Have you been playing some already, or you are
stricly against shows?
- Playing live is fun if there is a good crowd and a good sound. we have played about 30 shows so far, all in Sweden but hopefully we will get a chance to play outside of Sweden as well. A tour in Russia would be cool don't you think? (yes!!! – ED)
Do you have many contacts to the Swedish music scene or simply to different bands around the globe? Does anyone of you perform in another band also?
- I am very
much involved in the underground scene in Sweden, I do a zine called
Metal Wire Magazine so I'm in contact with lots of bands. Our second
issue will be out in late January and includes interviews with bands
like ABSU, WITHERING SURFACE, MERCENARY, DEFLESHEDm VADER, GABDALF, THEORY
IN PRACTICE, MIDIAN, UNCHASTE, AZURE and MERCILESS. Before I answer the
question about other bands I should mention the line-up.
Putte Johansson
- drums
Tobbe Ols
- guitar
Daniel Thide
- guitar
Jonas Granvik
- vocals
Putte plays
in a band called STORMWIND, thay are right now recording their second
CD, the music is heavy metal in the vein of Yngwie Malmsteen.
Me and Tobbe
are also in a band called ETERNAL BLASPHEMY with 2 guys from DELLAMORTE,
the music is death metal in the vein of GRAVE / DISMEMBER and old ENTOMBED.
Daniel plays in an IRON MAIDEN cover band. Of course everyone have WITHOUT
GRIEF as the nr.1 priority.
If you had a possibility of time travel, what place would you go to?
- I have no idea, I'm not intressted in history. Maybe I would go back to 1990 when the metalscene in Sweden was much bigger, there was great gigs all the time and everybody supported each other in a total diffrent way than today. However I think the scene in Sweden is getting better now and that's great.
What
do you know (and think) of my country? Are you familiar with metal bands
coming from Russia?
- My knowlegde of your country is very limited, but from what I know Russia is a very big country with some economical problems, right? I don't know any bands at all from Russia but I would surely want to hear some.
What's on WITHOUT GRIEF’s horizon in 1998?
- We will
promote the new album as good as possible, hopefully a little tour
in Sweden in spring 1999. We will write material for a third CD + making
t-shirts and stuff. I thank you alot for a good interview, sorry for my
short answers but I have so much to do with my zine that the days simply
are to short. I wish all true metalfans the best and keep on supporting
the ones who deserve it.
WITHOUT GRIEF
contact -
Without Grief
c/o Jonas
Granvik
Vallmasgatan
7b
791 31 Falun
Sweden