Tony Sunnhag

Gormathon

GORMATHON is a swedish Death Metal band comprised of some former members of OVERLOAD.  Metal Temple's Aaron Price had the chance to speak with Tony Sunnhag, founding member and Vocalist / Bassist. Here's what he had to say.
By Aaron Price
November 6, 2014
Interview – Tony Sunnhag (Gormathon) interview
Hi Tony, how have you been? Thank you for the time for this interview for Metal Temple.

Hi! I've been okay, thank you!

Your second album "Following The Beast" is coming out four years after the release of the first album, why so long?

We have recorded these tracks several times since 2011, and we simply didn't like the sound earlier. We did a good job with the single "Land of the Lost" and we did a digital release of it. But when we was supposed to release the whole album we didn't match that sound. So we decided to release only a three track EP-single "Celestial Warrior" as a digital release as well, just to give our fans something new.

Are you excited for the official release?

Yes, we all are. We have worked so hard for such a long time for this, with a very small budget. And thanks to Napalm Records we wasn't forced to do the mix and master by ourselves as earlier, so we hired Studio Fredman for the job. And they did magic with the sound.

Fans who have followed the band for a while know that "Land Of The Lost" "Celestial Warrior" and "Absence Of Trust" have all been available for two years, what can they expect from these songs being on the album?

A much better sounding mix and master, and as these earlier releases only where digital, our fans can now listen to them in full resolution in the physical releases.

As for the rest of the songs, how do they compare to what fans already expect from GORMATHON?

I don't know what our fans expect, but we are pleased with the sound, and I can only hope that they will get exactly what they want.

What sort of themes did you focus on with these songs?

We work a lot with focus on mythologies from all corners of the world and mixing it with a little bit fantasy. As for "Following the Beast" the main focus was "The Legend of Hårga" which is to be read on the album-cover. The story is about the youth in Hårga whom according to the legend was enchanted by a fiddlers tunes, and danced until only their bones were left. The true nature of the fiddler is according to the legend the devil itself.

Tell us about the writing and recording stages for not only yourself but with the other guys?

 Each track has its own story, but the procedure is basically the same. As for "Following the Beast" I wrote "Hellbender" and S. Jonsson wrote the rest of the tracks. T. Sandberg got the tracks and worked with the drums, finding the rhythm and tried out different drum accompaniment. And then we worked them thru in our rehearsal-studio together, how to play the bass, second guitar and so on and I worked with the vocal melodies. When we had it all set, I started to write the lyrics based on the feeling of the tracks. When we had the picture clear we recorded temporary guitars along with a click-track. Then we recorded the drums, bass, all the guitars and last we recorded the vocals. We have recorded everything in our own studio. When we had it all recorded I put it all together and did some cleaning of the tracks, and then we sent it to Studio Fredman for the final mix and master.

Could you explain the album artwork and what's happening it in?

It is inspired by "The Legend of Hårga" and you can see a fiddler with long curved horns hiding behind a very strange formed tree. And you can see the children in front dancing to their death. We gave the job to Eliran Kantor who did this excellent job.

Are you expecting to tour Europe and North America for this album?

We have nothing booked, and as we have put all our private savings to these recordings and videos I think it would be a private financial disaster for us to do that at this point, but you never know…

What new and old albums have you been listening lately?

I am a huge fan of Judas Priest and Rob Halford and almost everything they've done. My latest listen was "Live Insurrection" with Halford, That's my top one favorite album. One other of my favorite albums is "The Gathering" with Testament. That is a killer.

What songs are you most excited to play live for the first time?

Well I'm excited to play them all, but "Hellbender" and "Remember" are a little bit special.

What do you look for from a crowd when you play live?

 Smiling faces, bodies going crazy to the tunes, and hopefully they will follow this beast.

Who do you look at as an inspiration in the way you perform?

I try not to look like anyone else, and I will try to do my own thing in the best way I can, and having a ball doing it.

Last up, do you have any secrets you'd be able to share? About announcements coming or anything really.

If we get the opportunity, we will make a lyric video for "Hellbender".

Thank you Tony for your time, I wish you guys all the best, any last words for the readers?

Gormathon is a beast, a hybrid of angel and fighter. It is the almighty unknown.

See you out there metal-friends.

And thank you for your time!

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