Darkane Interview

An interview with Christofer Malmström:

Could you please tell us more about the history of the band, how things started?

Peter, Jörgen and I had played together for seven years during the nineties in a technical metal band called Agretator. When we felt that the inspiration was gone we formed Darkane in 1998. We also gathered Klas on guitar and recorded our debut "Rusted Angel". In the studio we got the studio assistant named Lawrence to sing on the album, but he asked us to find another vocalist since he wanted to concentrate on his own bands. So we found Andreas Sydow who sang with us on the next three albums. We have toured Europe, North America and Japan since then. Last year Andreas quit Darkane and Jens Broman joined us. He has recorded the fifth album "Demonic Art" together with us and it's about to be released October 24 in Europe.

What's your opinion on your previous records nowadays? Are you still satisfied with the songs, the production, and the artwork?

Yes, I would say we are very still satisfied. Many people seem to see our debut "Rusted Angel" as a classic these days, but the other albums has also gained great reviews and been well recieved by the fans.

You're about to release this month the "Demonic Art" album! Can you tell us more about the recording process? Where did you record it, who produced it?

We recorded it in our own studio called Not Quite Studio from February to June 2008. It was engineered and produced by Darkane and mixed by Peter Wildoer assisted by Klas Ideberg, so it's a 100% Darkane product.

Who writes the lyrics, what are they about? Is there any concept in them?

Peter, Jens and I have written the lyrics on this album. There are no special concepts. The lyrics are about anything. 'Execution 44' is about people living in concentration camps during World War II, and 'Wrath Connection' is about two people seing each others crimes inside their heads, inspired by a book by Dean Ray Koontz.

Are the lyrics an important aspect of the band or are they just there to guide the music?

You could as well write as good lyrics as possible while doing it, but the music is what people hear, and we all consider ourselves musicians rather than poets, so we put more effort in writing quality music.

How did you get in contact with Massacre Records and why did you signed with them?

We haven't left Nuclear Blast. They have licensed the album to Massacre Records here in Europe while we're still on Nuclear Blast in North America. Nuclear Blast had so many priority releases this fall that they felt they couldn't focus enough on Darkane, so they licensed us to Massacre Records who will give us a higher priority, and for this we are very happy.

When it comes down to writing a new song or an album what's the process like?

On the previous albums Klas wrote his songs by himself while Peter and I gathered ideas during the week and then got together once a week to put them together as complete songs. On "Demonic Art" we all wrote the songs by ourselves except for the song 'Leaving Existence' that Peter and I wrote together.

What are your views on metal music as of right now compared to when it first started out?

I personally don't listen that much anymore to new bands. The "newest" band that I like is Strapping Young Lad, so there you go. They have been around for about 15 years. Since there are much more bands out there today I think that it will be much harder to actually break now. Bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest or whoever made it in the 80's are still much bigger than most bands that started out during the last ten years.

Tell some of your experiences playing live.

We try to give the audience a show both musically and visually, meaning we like to run around and change spots all the time on stage, so it's not only energy in the music but also a visual energy.

What are your expectations for Darkane in the future?

I hope we will continue to create albums that people wanna buy and that we get the chance to tour and see new places and play in front of new people. We've never been to Romania for example.

What do you guys do when you're not out on the road?

We all have different jobs. I work at a culture center here in Helsingborg, Sweden, and when I'm not working or writing/rehearsing songs with Darkane I prefer to spend as much time as possible with my wife and two daugthers.

Is MySpace the great Satan of the 21st Century?

No, I believe there are worse things than MySpace. I like it and have my own account there.

Could you give me a top 5 of your favorite albums of all-time and a top 5 of your current favorite records?

All-time:
"Piece Of Mind" - Iron Maiden
"Rising Force" - Yngwie Malmsteen
"Human" - Death
"Images And Words" - Dream Theater
"Passion And Warfare" - Steve Vai
Current:
"The New Black" - Strapping Young Lad
"The Formation Of Damnation" - Testament
"Obzen" - Meshuggah

What do you think and know of Romania?

I can't say that I'm an expert, but we followed your destiny with great interest in December 1989 and I remember it very well. I've unfortunately never had the chance to visit your country but I hope to some day.

Would you ever want to do an all acoustic show?

It would have been fun, but it wouldn't be Darkane. Our songs wouldn't be better that way I think.

Describe your music to an elderly church lady.

Our music could be compared to Mozart's "Requiem", but 100 times faster, 100 times more brutal, 100 time more evil and 1000 times more metal!

When you look back on when Darkane first started out, what do you think of you guys now?

I must say that I'm very proud of what we have done so far. Of course we have made some bad songs, but in general I can stand up for our albums. I hope we can continue in the same style, and never turn softer becuase that's not what Darkane is about.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview, any thoughts or comments?

Thanks for your interest, and I hope the Romanian people will have the chance to check out our new album "Demonic Art", and maybe we'll get the chance to come play in Romania some day. Take care of yourselves and each other. Stay metal!

http://www.massacre-records.com/
http://www.darkane.com/