Interview:

2014-09-24 Vanhelgd

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"Relics Of Sulphur Salvation", the third album by the Swedish Death Metal formation VANHELDG, is a real insiders´ tip for all people who love the unique cross between hardness and melodic elements from the band´s home country. So we asked vocalist Mattias Frisk amongst others about the musical godfathers of this record, profitable links between hobbies and work and the horrors of Lampedusa...Interview

Hi Mattias! Are you finally content with your new album "Relics Of Sulphur Salvation"? And where do you personally see the differences between your new record and your first two albums "Cult Of Lazarus" and "Church Of Death"?

We are very happy with the outcome of the album, much thanks to Joona at Studio Underjord, the mastering at Necromorbus and the great support from Pulverised Records and 20 Buck Spin. We don’t let the reception of our work influence the way we write but when you get the kind of support we got in different reviews it works as some kind of receipt that we managed to communicate our ideas about the album. It's a risky business to send an album out into the world… I think that there are some great differences between all our albums but also a lot of similarities. "Cult Of Lazarus" is straight forward "Fuck off” Death Metal, we didn’t do a proper demo so it has a lot of things that could have been improved if we had recorded one before working on an album. "Church Of Death" is more focused but still has some things that drag it down a bit. When we recorded "Relics Of Sulphur Salvation" we finally started to understand what kind of shit that comes out of the monster when we feed it. We had a better budget that allowed us to enter a fully equipped studio. We have recently started to work on a new album and hopefully we have learned a lot from "Relics" …

"Relics Of Sulphur Salvation" contains a song called "Sirens Of Lampedusa". Does this song deal with the actual subject of all the African refugees escaping there?

Yes, it’s about drowning in the middle of nowhere. It could also be read as a metaphor for the eternal hopeless struggle of mankind.

The cover-artwork of the new album was designed by yourself and you also had created artworks for e. g. GHOST, MAIM and ENTRAPMENT. Are you a professional designer or do you do this as a hobby?

I work professionally as both an artist and an illustrator. Doing album artwork started as a hobby but when things evolved I soon understood that I had to consider it as a regular job, otherwise it’s hard to have time for it and to deliver the artwork at deadline. So currently I work 8-17 everyday with illustration, art and graphic design and I´m constantly looking for new admissions, just get in touch! It’s a really interesting job and I get to listen to a lot of bands that I wouldn’t have heard otherwise. I´m currently sitting in my art studio, surrounded by images of skulls, eating lunch and answering this interview.

When I´m correctly informed, you have had just one change in your line-up since the foundation of the band in 2007 as bassist Viktor Gustafsson left you in 2013. What was the reason for him to leave? And how did you get to know his replacement Jonas Albrektsson?

Viktor joined the band in 2008 and he had to leave since we were not able to rehearse and write songs on a regular basis with him in the band since he moved to Stockholm and for obvious reasons could not attend our rehearsals that often. We live in a small town and Jonas has been around in the music scene here since forever… we actually played together for a short time in CEREMONIAL EXECUTION. We were really happy that he wanted to join the band and things have worked out great.

My info about VANHELGD says that the band´s intention was to play "dark, blood soaked Death Metal in the vein of the old masters". Who are these old masters? What bands are meant there?

The bands that we came across when we were young in the early 90´s were AT THE GATES, ENTOMBED, BOLT THROWER, MORGOTH, PESTILENCE, EDGE OF SANITY, SAMAEL, PARADISE LOST, GRAVE, DISMEMBER, MY DYING BRIDE, SEPULTURA and so on… these bands had a huge impact on us and since then we dug deeper in the Black and Death Metal swamp…

By the way, what bands can you call your musical influences?

On an early stage we got very influenced by bands like AUTOPSY, DEATH BREATH, KAAMOS and so on, you might hear it on “Cult Of Lazarus". Since then we have changed our focus a bit, a band changes, as a member you see how it evolves, what happens when you put certain riffs into the concept and so on… I have listened a lot to bands like DEAD CONGREGATION, SONNE ADAM, GRAVE MIASMA and NECROS CHRISTOS, that will of course have some influence on the way I write music.

When you released your second album "Church Of Death" you wrote as an information on your homepage: "VANHELGD accept no god. VANHELGD accept no religious text as law or governor of man. VANHELGD spit on all that is holy and piss on your sanctuaries and gods.". So do you see VANHELGD as a satanistic band? How far do VANHELGD have a spiritual background?

No, I would not say we are a satanic band, we are opposed to religion in all its forms. Religion is a tool to keep man in control, to make people adjust to authority. One could say that we probably have a lot of similarities to a satanic perspective but we mainly deal with tragedy, ecstasy, doom, death and destruction. I am an atheist and not a spiritual person at all.

In 2010 you released an EP called "Praise The Serpent" on the label Nuclear War Now! Productions that is only available on vinyl. Is there a version on CD planned so far?

No, that is an exclusive, very limited release, which we don’t have any intentions to re-release. It contains two disinterred and dismembered songs by me and Jimmy´s old band CEREMONIAL EXECUTION.

When looking at your homepage it doesn´t seem that you have played live very much since 2007 with only two concerts in Germany which were two "Nuclear War Now! Fests" in Berlin in 2010 and 2012. What is the reason for your absence of the stage? And are there more gigs planned now?

We are hardworking dudes with a lot of stuff on our plates. Björn (- Andersson, drummer of VANHELGD - annotation of the editor) is also involved in OCEAN CHIEF and Jonas is in KING OF ASGARD. I have my own business and family. It’s hard to go on tour for us but we are working on some mini-tours for 2015, but nothing is decided yet.

Do you have some special final statement for your fans in Germany?

If we go on a tour in 2015 Germany will probably be one of the places.