RISE AND FALL have become a steadfast band of the European hardcore scene, due to constant touring, relentless live-shows, and of course their stunning albums. “Faith” is slated for release soon and is going to prove that the band’s punkmetal-sound doesn’t wear out. Shouter Bjorn answered my questions about the new album, the recording process, and the upcoming tour with THE SECRET and OATHBREAKER in his friendly, calm manner. Interview The release of "Faith" is coming closer - does that still make you nervous or did you develop some sort of routine?



I'm a little nervous and very excited. It's always a little weird when you've worked on something for so long within a small circle of people and then finally you unleash that thing onto the world. I am hoping that people will dig what we've come up with and that the new songs off "Faith" will work well in a live setting as well. We've been playing some of them for a while now, but it's always cooler when people actually know what you're playing. Releasing records could never really become a routine for Rise And Fall because the process of writing and creating records has been very different for each and every record we've done so far.



How will "Faith" relate to "Our Circle Is Vicious"? Where are similarities, where are differences?



In my opinion "Faith" takes some of the groove, melody and weirdness that we were digging into on "Our Circle Is Vicious" and combines it with the primal, raw energy of "Into Oblivion". We were really trying a whole bunch of different things on "Our Circle Is Vicious", some of those things worked and some didn't. While that record had an emphasis on mid tempo, groove oriented riffing, "Faith" is a much more aggressive, menacing record with a lot of fast paced songs. We could have never written "Faith" if we'd never written "Our Circle is Vicious", that's for sure. That record, from writing to recording, taught us so much and that experience really helped us to make "Faith" our best record yet. Well, at least that is what I think.



How long did you need for the songwriting of "Faith"? Has it become easier for you to write a rise and fall-song after all these years?


Well, as you may know, "Our Circle Is Vicious" was troublesome record to write and record. With the addition of our new drummer Wim to the band (he joined after we recorded our previous album) it was like we felt re-energized and re-inspired. We started writing together after touring with him for 4/5 months straight. "Deceiver" was the first song we wrote with him, that was in the autumn of '10. We started playing that song live fairly soon and wrote the rest of the songs in the first 4 months of 2011... This meant practicing 3 or 4 times a week, working hard to come up with the hardest, best shit we've ever written. It was tiring at times, but fun as well. I don't think writing songs gets easier though. The advantage of being a long running band is that you're experienced and know what works and what doesn't when it comes to creating a song, the disadvantage is that you become a lot more critical and want to avoid writing the same record twice, at all cost.




You recorded the album with Kurt Ballou at God City Studios - never change a running system. How long did you stay in the studio? Have the appearances of the many guests been planned or did they just drop by while you've been at God City?


We were in the studio for 9 days. This included mixing so let's say we had 7 days to actually record. Things went really well, I'd even say they went smooth. Some of the guest appearances were planned before we recorded, we knew we wanted Justin (MIND ERASER, NO TOLERANCE.) and Kevin (THE HOPE CONSPIRACY/ ALL PIGS MUST DAY) on the album and then of course Kurt's contributions came about spontaneously while we were trying out a couple of different things for a song like "Things Are Different Now" (on which he sings) and the same thing can be said about Steve's appearance. He just dropped by the studio to pick something up, and while talking to Kurt and us, Kurt suggested he'd shred a little solo on the song we were recording at that point and voilà, that happened.



What's the idea of the albums artwork? Who created it?


Jake came up with all the artwork and the concept behind it. Obviously we gave him some of our ideas and suggestions, and he had all the music and lyrics to his disposal. Generally though, the artwork reflects upon the themes of "faith", "fate", "nature", "nurture", "hope" and "despair", the paradoxes and complexity of all of these issues and our lives in general.


What topics do you deal with in the lyrics? How important are the lyrics for you personally?



The lyrics are super important for me. I put a lot of time and effort into them, knowing that most people will just quickly browse through them but I would not be able to sing anything I do not feel 100 %. Lyrics are a therapeutic thing and I write about whatever weighs me down and whatever inspires me. Basically they are tales of a man trying to get through life and deal with the ways of the world.


You've shot a pretty cool video for "hidden hands" - who had the idea to set it up as a sort of playback show done by 30 or so friends of you?





Thank you. The idea and concept was Vince's (our bass player), I think it turned out to be really cool.


Is there anything you still want to try out in a video? Like shooting a cheesy c-movie-style of video or something?





We've been thinking about making a video for the song "Breathe" that would be a little more on the artistic/short film side but nothing's set in stone yet. We'll see.


You'll embark on a short Europe tour with THE SECRET and OATHBREAKER in march/ april - will be kind of a brutal acoustic assault, won't it?





Definitely. The great thing is that the tour combines three European bands, all playing heavy, aggressive and dark music, all in their own way. We're looking forward to getting out there, playing loud and hanging with our friends.
What do you expect from the tour?


We've done a lot of touring throughout the years so our expectations are usually realistic. I expect to have a good time, see a bunch of great places all over Europe, see some friends I don't see all too often and hopefully turnouts will be good... I am anxious to play these new songs live and hear what people think of them.



What are you plans for the rest of 2012? Any other tours planned?


We are going to Portugal for three shows at the end of April. After that we're playing a whole bunch of shows and festivals throughout the summer and we have an exciting 10 day tour coming up in August which will be announced officially soon. After the summer we'll see what comes our way. Hopefully more touring.



How many days do you spend on the road per year? Doesn't it wear out after so many years?



We used to play over 120 shows a year we were at our busiest. This was around 2007-2009... Most of us weren't really working, or quit our jobs around that time just to tour as much as we could. Things are a little different these days of course, we're all a little older and have jobs, apartments and families to think of. This means we tour and play less and have to organize everything better, but it works this way as well.


Do you enjoy being back home at Ghent after a tour or do get itchy soon and want to get back on tour?



I love Ghent and enjoy spending time here. But obviously I'm always a little bummed when a tour is over. Nothing beats doing what you love and believe day after day.


Do you have to work in-between tours? How difficult is it for you to relate to the routine of a 9-5 job?



Like I said, all of us work now so we have to carefully plan all the touring we want to do. Rise And Fall isn't the type of band that we could live off and that's OK... It is what it is. I do enjoy my job as well, as I get to work for a company I can relate to and deal with products that interest me but I don't think I could ever work a suit and tie 9-5 office job. I'm a little too restless for that I'm afraid.



Wise words in the end?



Thank you Lars for your interest in Rise And Fall. Come see us on tour. Listen to "Blasts Of Lunacy" by Omegas, my favorite hardcore/punk record in a while. Peace.