– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with MANEGARM?
Everything is jus great! Just got back from Japan where we did two shows with Arkona and Finntroll; one in Tokyo and the other one in Osaka. Awesome experience and we had a really good time over there!

 

– Congratulations on your 20th anniversary. What are your feelings about that achievement?
Thank you so much! It’s kind of strange when you think about it…20 f***ing years!! J But it has been a good run so far and we’re kind of proud to still be playing together and still releasing good music.

 

– You have just released your new album, entitled “Manegarm” so, what are your expectations on it?
The expectations are really good. We think that we have come up with a very good, melodic and diverse album manegarm 3and now we can only hope for folks to appriciate it.

 

– What is the purpose of naming your album “Manegarm“? Can you explain it to us?
We had some other ideas at first but then we thought that we should go for a self-titled album. We’re celebrating 20 years as a band so we thought that it would be suitable.

 

– Talking about your new work, did you enjoy the making of? What would you like to emphasise about it?
I always like to record albums and we enjoyed it this time too! We recorded drums and rythm guitars in Studio Underground where we have recorded nearly all of our albums and the rest (vox, bass, violin, keyboard) is recorded in our own studio. The acoustic songs is recorded in a studio that belongs to a friend of mine. Our plan from the beginning was to make a diverse album that captured the whole Manegarm concept/spirit in a good way, at least the most of it…like some sort of summary of the Manegarm carrier so far. It ain’t that easy to do when you have been playing and recording songs for 20 years but I’m very happy with this album; I think that all songs have a great vibe to it and have something special to offer the listener. You can hear a couple of powerful more “metal” songs like “Odin owns ya all” and “Call of the runes”, there are a couple of longer melodic and atmospheric tunes like “Blodörn” and “Kraft” and you can also listen to some acoustic songs.

 

– And what did you want to depict with its cover artwork? Can you tell us something about it?
The cover art is our interpretation of Ragnaroek where gods and giants fought the final battle at the great plains of Vigrid. Manegarm was a great wolf that hunted the moon in the Norse mythology so he got a central part in the cover.

 

– Can you describe your new album in three words?
Atmospheric, diverse and powerful!

 

manegarm 2

– We’ll focus on the creative process now. How does your band compose the songs?
It’s usually me and Jonas that compose the songs. We always come up with the music first and then we write the lyrics to it. We also do some demo recordings of all songs. That way you get a good feeling for the songs and sometimes you need to add something and sometimes you need to get rid of some riffs that doesn’t fit in. We spend a lot more time on the arrangements on this album.

 

– Paganism is always depicted in your lyrics. I love native traditions, can you explain the importance they have to you?
Manegarm has always been about that and the idea from the start was to play some sort of blackmetal with folk music influences and the lyrics should be about our Norse mythology. This is what we do and the pagan theme has become an important part of the Manegarm concept.

 

– I know that your band has walked a long path, but if I ask you to choose a song from your entire dischography as your favourite, which one would it be?
Hemfärd. I think it’s a really good song that shows a lot of what Manegarm stands for. We always end our shows with this song and it’s always a pleasure performing it.

 

– I see you keep trusting in Napalm Record’s work for releasing your new album. What can you tell us about your experience with them?
Yes, this is the second album for Napalm records. Napalm is a good label and our collaboration has been great so far!

 

– How do you feel about your upcoming tour? Has it become usual for you or does it still has some thrill?
We have done some European tours but we’re not a “big touring band” at all so it definately has a thrill to it. We’re really looking forward to the tour, it’s gonna be a killer!!

 

manegarm

– If we focus on your interests, do you prefer the studio or do you rather show up in the stage? Is creating music better for you or do you like feeling the warmth of your fans the most?
I really like the studio life and recording music but the feeling when your on stage is hard to beat. It’s the best feeling i think!!

 

– Can you explain what we’ll see when we come to enjoy your show?
You will see 4 gentlemen from Sweden who really enjoys what they’re doing and you will experience a set full of great music!

 

– Talking about your upcoming visit to Spain. What was your experience in our country before? Do you keep any memories?
I remember some really great shows with a really enthusiastic audience. I also remember that my voice completely f***ed up so I probably didn’t sing that well hahaha! Shit happens sometimes…Anyway; we’re really looking forward to these 4 gigs in Spain and I really think we will have a great time in Spain!!

 
– I know we can fill pages talking about your band but, can you tell us the word that describes Manegarm the best? Can you summarize it all in just one word?
Dedication!!

 

– 20 years are a lot, can you turn back on time for a while and explain us any special event that happened in one of your gigs?

manegarm 4
When we did the tour with Skyforger in 2006 we played the first gig in Holland. During our show someone in the audience gave Janne (former violin player) a sip of his joint…Janne fell of the stage hahaha!!

 
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
4 gigs in Spain of course. The Inferno festival in Norway the 26th of Marsch. European tour (for 10 gigs) together with Skyforger and Ereb Altor starting off the 30th of Marsch. Then we have some nice summer festivals too…

 
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.  See you all in Barcelona.
Thank you so much!! See you all in Spain, it will be awesome!!
Rock n’ Roll // Erik

 

Noelia Montalbán
noe@queensofsteel.com

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