SYN:DROM was formed in Sundsvall, Sweden in 2002 with the intention of making supreme death metal. Between 2002 and 2007 SYN:DROM recorded 4 demos, 2 full-length albums and toured left and right. Frontman vocalist Jonny Pettersson talked about the band's latest release and future plans.
1. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
We started out back in 2002 with an intent to play high quality death metal. We recorded a few demos that were well received in the metal press. All though it wasn´t until we recorded our EP “Birth of a dark empire” in 2008 that we found our style. Our own way of expression. The EP landed us a record contract with ViciSolum Production. In 2010 we released our debut album “With Flesh Unbound”. The record gained us some really good reviews from the leading metal press. At the beginning of 2012 we started to work on a follow up and with a lot dedication we pushed ourselves and our sound one step further and recorded our newly released “Iconoclasm”.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name SYN:DROM?
We started out as Blackbreath, but soon realized that, that name didn´t fit the music we were playing.
Everyone and anyone that has ever been in a band, knows the pain of coming up with a new band name.
I mean you have 5 Diabolical, 11 Abaddon, 7 Abhorrence, you get the picture. And this is only taking death metal band names into consideration add black, thrash and some grind to that. So finally we went with Syn: Drom.
3. What brought about the creation of SYN:DROM and is there a long history of music appreciation between each of it's members?
We were all in bands that was either ended or put on ice. And after realizing that we all have a common love for Swedish legends Onkel Kånkel, and a strong will to create supreme death metal, we decided to get together and try out a few ideas. And from the first rehearsal we knew that this is it. This is what we want.
4. How would you define your style and sound of metal, and why should a metal fan listen to your work?
Like a mix between European, and American death metal. Fast, brutal, dark but with a subtle melody that gives the whole mix a new dimension. If you are into bands like Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Nile and Decapitated then we are what you are looking for.
5. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
The basic theme is pure hatred against organized religion. We want to show the true face of all religions, and the devastation that it brings. We have an entire world that suffers in silence whilst religious extremists are protected. What we get exposed to through media, internet and so on is only a fraction of the truth.
6. Would you ever record a song that a fan gave to you?
That all depends on the song. The writing process is a very big part for us as a band. And I think that it would be very hard to let someone outside of the band in on that. It´s hard to explain, I mean if we are talking about someone doing guest vocals or guest guitar on a few songs we have a whole different thing.
But getting a pre-written song for us to record as a band, I don´t know. I tell you what, we will record it with the fan and it can be a cover, in honor of the fan that put the energy into writing us a song.
7. You guys are signed to ViciSolum Productions how did this all come together?
We had a few offers from different companies in both the US and Europe, but it never felt right. We got in contact with Thomas from ViciSolum and felt the right chemistry. He offered us a deal and we signed on.
8. "Iconoclasm" is the follow-up release to your 2009 debut, how would you say these two releases differ and compare to one another?
Where “With Flesh Unbound” feeds on chaos and pure brutality, “Iconoclasm” lets in a pitch black darkness into the mix. The songs on the new record take what we had on the first and bring it to a new level. With this record we wanted you to feel this darkness present in every song.
Our inspiration has always come from and always will come from the fact that we burn for death metal. We love and live death metal. The drive to create music that is equal to the bands that we listen to.
This has been the goal from day one, and will always be. To be able to transfer the feeling you get when you hear a really good record. A record that stays with you for the rest of your life.
10. Was your songwriting and recording process any different than usual for this CD?
Indeed it was. On this record instead of sweating the songs out in the rehearsal space, we wrote parts separately, recorded pre-prods that we would send to each other. That way we could keep chasing that feeling of total darkness and hate that we wanted the songs to transpire throughout the whole process. And when we finally had that, we would start hammering the songs in the rehearsal space.
11. Production on this release was all done by you guys why did you want to go in this direction?
We have the knowledge and the equipment to do so. That way we could stir the sound and production in any way we wanted. Roger and Daniel M did an amazing job with the production. We have never settled for something half measured, and this way could make sure that we got what we wanted in the end. The fact that Rogers is the co-owner of Nevo Studios, and that Daniel does a lot of work there helped a lot.
12. What are your expectations for the CD?
We have already received great reviews from some of the top metal magazines in Europe, so we have high expectations for it. We worked very hard to get this record the way we want it. And I think that if we can land the right gigs with the right bands it will give us a well deserved boost.
13. You shot a video for the song "Black Dawn" can you tell me about the concept for the video and the song itself?
The song itself is follows the theme of religious atrocities around our world. So we wanted a dark and dirty approach to it. And I think that shows through in the video. We wanted it to look cold, raw and dirty. Håkan that directed the video did a bad ass job.
14. What has been the weirdest band practice you guys have ever had?
We used to rehearse at this old office complex, were a lot of other bands rehearsed to. But this place was also a home for a few junkies, so you could run into some questionable people here and there. Now we rehearse at an old insane asylum in one of the old patients rooms.
15. What are your upcoming touring or show plans?
We have a release party in our hometown coming up, following that we are set to headline a UK tour and then play at Stockholm Death Fest. We have some more plans for this spring, but they will be kept a secret for now.
Record one more video at least, play live and get drunk. We have some really cool news coming up, but you will have to keep a look out on our page to find out what it is as I can´t reveal it just yet.
17. Would you like to say anything else?
Keep supporting the extreme metal underground!
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