MEMORY GARDEN (Eng.)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with MEMORY GARDEN?
Hi, no problems, happy to do it!
For the moment we´re not doing much, had a release party/gig 2 weeks ago which went really well. It was almost sold-out and awesome response. Now we are looking to get more shows booked so we can get out on the road to support the ‘Doomain’ album. We have started to work with and English booking agency called Factory Music and hopefully that can help us get some good shows together.
– You have just released your first album in 5 years, entitled «Doomain». What are your expectations on it? And how is its feedback being so far?
The feedback has been really good, great reviews from all over the world and we have been doing pretty much press and most people seem to like the album a lot. We are ourselves very happy with how it turned out and hopefully we will get some good shows to support it. I hope that this album and the fact that we are back at Metal Blade Records can help us gain a bit more success but it´s a tough business and it´s not enough to do a great album, you need to do the right shows, be at the right time, have a lot of luck and so on. But we will do all we can to get out and show people what Memory Garden is all about.
– You have always taken your time when it comes to release new material. Is this something necessary in order to provide quality stuff or do you have other priorities? Will we have to wait that much until your next opus?
The main reason to why tit has taken so much time between the last 2 albums is label related. After releasing ‘Mirage’ in 2000 we split up with Metal Blade in maybe 2001 or 2002, don’t remember exactly, we we´re about to go into the studio just some months later to record the next album and all of a sudden we we´re without a label. We didn´t take that so hard and though it would not be a problem to get a similar deal with some of the other big labels. This was proven to be very wrong. We got a lot of offers from small labels but nothing we wanted to sign, then in 2006 I think we got in touch with Vic Records who just had bought the rights for ‘Forever’ and ‘Tides’. We got really close with the owner Roel and then he asked us if we wanted to release the new album through them, which we really wanted. Then we were in the situation when we needed to get the new album done and it took some time to get it all finished and also to get into the release schedule but in 2008 ‘Carnage Carnival’ was released. Vic Records did a phenomenal job and they really supported us but the market today for smaller label is really tough and it´s was hard for them to get the economical side of things going. So when we wanted to do the next album we decided together that we would split up since Vic would not have been able to support it the way I needed. So…there we were back without a label and we decided that if we were going to release another album we needed a good label behind us. We recorded 2 new songs and I sent them to Metal Blade, luckily for us they liked the songs and really wanted us back. And here we are, back with Metal Blade, a new album out and things feel really great. There were never any hard feeling or anything after the split with Metal Blade and it feels just great to be back.
– And how do you think has the band evolved musically and on a personal level throughout these last 5 years?
The biggest change is that we have 2 new members, Johan Fredrikson on bass and Andreas Mäkelä on guitar, but it has not really affected the band that much music wise I think. The music on ‘Doomain’ is very much what you are used to hear from Memory Garden. The biggest change this time is that we recorded most of the album ourselves, it was really relaxing to not have a studio clock ticking and we had much more possibilities to try different things and we could work in a slower pace. Since we all have day jobs we recorded the album in the evenings and weekends after work. We didn´t have to take 3 weeks of from work and know that everything has to be finished in 3 weeks or else we´re in trouble. All of this was very positive and I think this album is the one we have worked the hardest on ever. I don´t think we have evolved that much on a personal level, we are still the same idiots we were 5 years ago, maybe a bit more grey hairs…hahahaha!!
– On this new «Doomain» there is, as always, a great mix and equilibrium between Power Metal and traditional Doom Metal, are these some of you most important influences?
Yeah, for sure. From the beginning we more of a standard Doom oriented band but we have never just wanted to stick to only the slow, one riff kind of thing. To us it´s important that there´s a lot of things happening in the music and we also like to have a mixture of both slow and fast songs. It´s not really important if it´s Doom Metal or if it´s Power Metal or whatever other genre you can find in our music. We write songs we like ourselves and if it´s inspired from some kind of strange style then so be it. We come across a lot of people staying you are not a Doom band and you are trying to sound like a progressive band but you can´t and many other strange things. Well…they can have their opinion, don´t care at all, we do our thing and what we like and then it´s up the everyone to make their own decision if they like it or not. But if we talk influences all of us love Candlemass, also Nevermore is a favorite, old Fates Warning (John Arch era), Memento Mori, King Diamond etc. But we get inspired of a lot of things and we just try to do our thing.
– The whole album is sorrounded by a dark and melancholic atmosphere, in fact it seems it plays a really important role on your music. Where do you draw inspiration from to create such atmospheres? What role do they play on your music?
We have always really liked the melancholic feeling, not much into the happy kind of Power Metal or any style to be honest, we want it to be dark and filled with a 
feeling of sorrow and darkness. That´s the way we have always written. We like to have a lot of beautiful melodies in the music, either on guitar or in the vocals and we work a lot with harmonies and choirs and so on to create this. Don´t really where we draw the inspiration for that, I guess in daily life and things happening around us in the world. As I see it the melancholy plays a big role in our sound and have always done so. We also like to combine happier themes with doomsday feelings and that sometimes really effective.
– The band itself recorded the album with some enginerring from Mike Wead for the guitar sessions. How was the whole process? Anyway veteran Dan Swanö took mixing duties. Are you satisfied with the work done by him?
As you say we recorded the entire album ourselves except for some engineering help I had from Mike during some of my leads. I needed to concentrate on the actual playing so he helped me out. Main part of the album was done in the Memory Garden studio Annoying Sound Factory in Kumla Sweden. Dan helped us getting the new recording rig together but after that we took care of things ourselves. Then I did my leads and some additional guitars in my own studio SolnaSound Recording in Solna, Sweden. When everything was finished we sent it over to Dan and he did the mix and the master in his studio Unisound. It turned out great, everyone involved did a tremendous job and Dan got a really great sound out of it.
– This has been your first album with a big label such as Metal Blade. Have you noticed any difference working with such a well-known Metal label?
We actually released 2 albums through Metal Blade before, ‘Verdict of Posterity’ in 1998 and ‘Mirage’ in 2000. Metal Blade are really great to work with in every way and it has always worked flawless for us. Besides the fact they do a great job they also have a lot o great connections and just the fact being on the label draws some interest to the band. We also notice there´s more interview coming our way and that´s great.
– All this about «Doomain» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
Dark, sad & beautiful.
– And finally; what are your near-future plans?
Getting some shows and hopefully a tour booked. That´s what we really need to do and I hope we manage to get something good together. Then we will also make sure to start working with the next album in time and not take another 5 years to get that one out.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thank you Sergio, my pleasure. I hope you all like our new album and if don´t, please give it a couple of extra spins, our music has a tendency on growing if you give it a chance. It´s the kind of music that you find new details for every spin and that´s the way we want it. Hope to see you all on tour and please share a beer with us!!
Stay doomed.
Simon Johansson – Memory Garden
