Håkan Stuvemark & Jonny Pettersson
Wombbath
Håkan: Hi! For that long, really!? 7 years or so. Time flies and even faster the older you get. Everything is all good here, many balls in the air. Beside Wombbath, I've been working on my other projects, mixing others recordings and of course Reality, the daily life haha. Can't complain!
Jonny: We had some members that didn't feel the same passion for the band as we do, and some members that felt that they couldn't put in the time and effort required for the band, and rather than holding us back, stepped aside. We respect their decision fully and wish them best of luck.
Håkan: Similar to what Jonny said here and the attitude is that it shall be fun and no one should feel forced or feel bad if he'd like to leave the band.
Jonny: We write and play music that we have a passion for. We all play in different bands outside of Wombbath as well, with a range of old school to more modern stuff spanning across several underground genres. If it's something that we like we'll play it, regardless of trends or current hypes.
Håkan: That's a good question. Personally when I'm writing music, or for Wombbath in this case, it must not be / sound like Swedish old school death metal. I am inspired by everything around and not much of death metal. Actually, I just play and record whatever comes out, with some twists perhaps. But, I had periods, a couple of weeks periods, that what came out resulted in many other projects. When you get an idea, whatever it may be, just do it and create it! No rules! Never know what the next Wombbath material will be like.
Jonny: In some way it's hard to escape the Scandinavian melancholy which bleeds into the music. As well as with Thomas added as a songwriter, he brought a certain creeping darkness to the songs.
Håkan: Yeah it's what we call The Swedish Melancholy haha. It can be heard in a lot of Swedish music. I like to write such music; it touches me in a positive way. And as you said it's more sorrowful than the earlier releases. The first album, "Internal Caustic Torment", is quite melancholic too, yet still spirited which it should be since we were 15-16 when we wrote those songs.
Jonny: It refers to the symbolism of a dying world. We are on a course of self-destruction, blindly drowning in our own inability to realize that we are a disease driven by greed, hate and blind faith.
Håkan: Jonny gave a good enough answer. I just thought it was a good title haha.
Håkan: When I saw the basic idea of the art work I felt for it, melancholic, dark, haunted and by that coming up with the album title. Benny worked on the color scheme and details after that and then Voila!
Jonny: The inspiration for the lyrics have been the same for the last few albums with Wombbath. It's all taken from old Scandinavian folklores. About malevolent myths and creatures that caused harm, terror and death. Each region has their own lore's, so there is an abundance inspiration to draw from.
Jonny: Wombbath will always sound like Wombbath, but at the same time I don't think we'll ever release two albums that sound exactly the same. We always circle back to the sound on "Internal Caustic Torment", and the bands that inspired that album. But we also constantly develop as songwriters, and we always find new angles to approach the music.
Håkan: Exactly, we will never repeat an album, not consciously. Overall I think there will be something Wombbath in the notes; I have my way of playing and thinking ever since 1991 or so. About the development on the new album, it's darker, it's more melodic, mm…tough one….I dare to say it's an easy album to listen to and discover new things. And as usual it's varied. It is very important for both us and the listener. 10 songs that don't sound the same!
Håkan: That's the melancholy Me haha. I have always loved Entombed, ever since the first album and this song is inspired by them. Not saying it sounds Entombed! Thomas and I talked a lot about Entombed when we played at Gamrocken 2018 and afterwards I had this "Clandestine" energy pushing, so I just sat down and threw it together. It could be an example of what to come but I dare to say there'll be some vibes of my other gods as well. I missed that detail earlier in the interview. Take Carcass for instance, their "Necroticism" era. Damn, that's a masterpiece from beginning to end. Well, that doesn't say much anyway what it will sound like in the end. I'm curious too!
Jonny: This song was written by Thomas. He channeled his inner Morbid Angel on this one, and added on his own touch, and his wealth of musical knowledge.
Håkan: And Obituary. I don't have more to say about that. Solid tune though!
Jonny: For me it's "From The Beggars Hand". It's got that old Morbid Angel feel to it but mixed with an almost Black Metal(ish) feel to it. After I recorded the vocals to it, I found myself humming the riffs for hours after, so it slithers inside your brain and stays there.
Håkan: I have several tracks but one I told Thomas today is one of absolute favorites is "We Shall Remain", which he also wrote. It shares 1st place with a couple of other tracks.
Håkan: I have barely thought of that it's 30 years this year. Maybe we should think of something. Thanks for the info and "reminder". Got to consider this! In general, nothing more special than usual.
Jonny: We have dedicated our lives to music, and death metal being one of the biggest ingredients in that. Before "Downfall Rising" we all had been going strong playing death metal since the mid-90s. Every member of Wombbath is in several other bands, and we live and breathe this.
Håkan: It's in a way a life; something needed for the mind and soul. Without it something is missing. And not being "trve", and respect the music, then it's for real.
Jonny: No real challenges. We have a pretty solid concept, write, record and play live. The more places we can play live the better. The music comes naturally.
Håkan: Exactly. And have fun!
Jonny: We have a few festivals and shows booked for 2020. Nothing in South America or Asia yet, so if anyone wants to book us there, give us a shout and we'll make it happen.
Håkan: It would be very nice to visit South America and other countries outside Europe of course. Oh Japan has always been a dream to visit. Fingers crossed it will happen one day.
Håkan: Thank you, it's been a pleasure and thanks for the kind words about the album! Till next time, Take care and cheers!
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