GRAVEYARD (Eng.)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with GRAVEYARD?
Thank you for your time. We are mostly doing press and rehearsing for the tours that are about to start. Just waiting for the album to be released so we can get out on tour.
– First off, could you please share some history of the band for all those who may not be so familiar with you yet?
Okay, me, Joakim and Rikard played together in a band before Graveyard. When that band broke up we formed Graveyard (late 2006). At first we had another guitarist than Jonatan. But he joined at the end of the recording of our first album. Since then we have released three albums, toured a lot and things have been going better and better for us. That’s the short version, haha. And we’re from Gothenburg, Sweden.
– You have a new album coming out soon entitled «Lights Out»; how are you feeling about it? And what are your expectations on this new opus?
I feel good about it. It is a broader album than the earlier ones. It has a wider musical spectrum. Both softer and harder I think. But it also has a pretty dark vibe. My expectations… It’s so hard to have any.. I hope that people will like this album. At least I do. And I hope it will take us to places where we haven’t played before.
– In fact your previous albums have been critically-acclaimed and you were honored with the «Best Hard Rock/Metal» award so, does all this make you work under more pressure or does it just suppose bonus motivation for you? Anyway I guess it may always be important to keep on improving, not for your fans, but for yourself.
Yes, you said it yourself. I think you can only do music for yourself, the most important thing is that members in the band are satisfied with the music. You have to trust your own judgement and cannot worry to much about what people will think. If you let those kinds of thoughts effect your work, the chances of creating something that’s bad is very big. About awards – I think it’s very weird that one album or one band can be the best one year. For me, one album can be best on monday, another on tuesday and so on. But I guess it means we’re doing something right if people give us awards?
– We haven’t had the chance of listening to this new effort yet so, to start getting a bit depper into it; what could you say are the main differences between this full-length and the two previous ones?
As I said before, the album has a bigger musical spectrum. And it’s pretty dark. A lot of the lyrics are about the fucked up system that we have in this world. For example, look at what’s happening in Spain, Greece and maybe even Portugal. All of it are effects of the rich trying to get even richer. Banks, businessmen and politicians in an unholy alliance. Back to the album… I think this album is more mature, in a good way. Not as in a boring old man. It’s more that we know what we are doing and we’re not just shooting from the hip so much anymore.
– And how was the songwriting process this time around?
Same as always, just a bit faster. Everyone contributes to all songs. We jam a lot in our practice space and slowly build the songs together.
– All your albums have had a great sound thanks to a really organic and warm production, even with an analogue and live feeling but, have you also got this kind of sound for this new CD? How was the production process and who toom such duties?
Thank you. We have worked with the same producer (Don Alsterberg) and in the same studio as on the other two albums, so the production is quite similar. Maybe just a bit more rough? We have always record analog, we think it gives Graveyard the right sound. We recorded most of it in May and then did the rest between shows this summer.
– The cover artwork has caught my attention as it has a different vibe to the last one. Could you please tell us who crafted it and how did you come up with the idea of the cover? What did you want to express with it?
The artist is Henke Walse, he has done a lot of record covers. For example for the Hellacopters. Our last cover very detailed, with a lot of colours and so on. We couldn’t try to do that again, so we did a sort of anti-cover. You could compare it to the beatles Sgt Pepper vs. th White Album haha. I think this cover gives people the chance to fill it with meaning themselves. It’s open for interpretation even though it’s very minimalistic.
– In fact it seems like it holds a strong connection to the album’s title but, does it also fit the lyrical content and main concept/idea behind the record?
I would say so yeah. Dark, haha.
– You have already done a video for «Goliath», which has a quite marked style. How did the filming go?
It was alright, but it’s always so much waiting when you record videos.. We have actually just done a new video for the track Endless Night. I think it will be premiered quite soon.
– All this about «Lights Out» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?
hmm… Bitter, Melancholic & Beautiful? Angry, Heavy & Smooth? I don’t know… It’s hard.
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
We will begin touring in November. First in Scandinavia and then in late november we’re doing a european tour until december 20th. In the end of january we’re going to the US to tour for five weeks. After that it’s a bit uncertain, but I know we’re coming to Spain & Portugal for a few shows in the spring. So keep your eyes open!
– 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! Hablar con un sueco loco, es como bailar con la muerte!!!
