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Interviews

Laethora - Niklas Sundin

09/05/07  ||  Global Domination

This interview was done by ex-staffer/cocksmoker Kampfar:

To spare the poor soul who has to answer these question some strain, I’d like to inform you all that Laethora consist of musicians known from other entities. The guy I’m interviewing is a house hold name for most metal-heads, namely Niklas Sundin, guitarist in veteran act Dark Tranquillity. There are 3 members from a band called The Provenance as well, but I know horseshit about them. If it hadn’t been for Laethora I would be very hesitant in checking them out, as they are tagged as a gothic metal band, but now I might give them a spin. “March of the parasite” is indeed a well-crafted album.

GD: Congratulations with Laethora’s debut, has it made you millionaires yet? I wouldn’t say the net is teeming with reviews, but those I’ve read have been positive. How do you feel the response has been so far?

Niklas Sundin: Thanks! The response has been overwhelming so far, almost all of the reviews have been extremely positive, and it seems like “March…” has caused quite a stir among those who have heard it. The European edition of the album was pressed a bit later than the US one, so the reviews over here are just starting to appear. We´re not millionaires yet, but I foresee a future so bright that we need to wear shades. Oh wait, that was the neutron bomb.

With your background people might think this is another melodic death metal band but that is pretty far from the truth. Would you care to describe Laethora’s music in your own words?

It’s always hard to be objective about your own music or try to describe or pigeonhole it, so we prefer to let the music do the talking instead of trying to come up with a clever tagline. If hard pressed, I’d say it’s old school death metal with a twist, but these days it’s easier to just refer people to the website/myspace/pirate bay if they really want to know what a band sounds like.

Living with “March of the parasite” for a while, how does it fare? Did it turn out to be everything the band envisioned before recording? In my opinion, the bass could’ve been a bit more upfront.

We’re satisfied with everything, and it feels good to finally have the album out in the open. The recording sessions started nearly two years ago, so things certainly took their time. I’d say that the end result is exactly what we aimed for, both in terms of the music and the production. Getting to hear the final mastered version really was a huge kick, as we had lived with the rough mixes and half finished versions for so long.

How much of a band is this, does it have any priority? I think in terms of gigs and rehearsals.

It’s a real band. We rehearse and will play live, though obviously there are time constraints. Apart from being busy with our main bands, there are day jobs, studies and family aspects to consider, but we’ll do the best of the situation. A full tour might not be realistic right now, but hopefully we can spread the plague on some festivals and gigs this summer.

Even an untrained ear can hear that “March of the parasite” sounds different from many of its peers, organic is the headword. Your music is pretty far from Anata’s but the production values are comparable. Do you like that band, and also, have you grown tired of huge and pompous productions?

I’ve heard about Anata, but haven’t actually listened to them. I’m guessing that we have a similar mindset though. There’s a definite tendency for music in this genre to sound too polished and clean these days, and everything gravitates towards the same generic production styles. 15 years ago, flawless playing on an album showed that you were a good musician, it was something desirable. Today, everything can be edited to sound “right” with digital recording technology. Nothing wrong with this, but it’s so easy to overdo it, causing a lot of the vibe and atmosphere to get filtered out in the process. In our case, the sensation that everything is on the verge of collapsing really adds to the impact of the album, and it’d be a contradiction to deliver this kind of furious music with a clinical and razor sharp production where every single note is right on the spot. You should really feel the dirt and grime dripping from the instruments. Naturally, this aesthetic isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but to a lot of people “March of the parasite” is a welcome change. This is also the result of doing the recording and mixing ourselves. If we had worked in an external studio with a name producer at the helm, the album would probably end up sounding more like everything else out there.

Is there a dictator/main composer in Laethora?

Everyone contributes to the band, but Joakim is definitely the driving force, having written the majority of the music as well as taking care of the recording and mixing duties.

I’d like to give the band a decent load of kudos for understanding what an intro is for, the Werner Herzog quote, taken from “Grizzly man”, is better than most out there. Have you seen the movie in question? All of you should, by the way.

It’s a fantastic movie on so many different levels. That speech gave me goosebumps when I first heard it – partly because it’s delivered at such a critical spot in the film and partly because it’s such a perfectly worded statement that I really relate to. The nihilistic truth of a cold and indifferent universe delivered with a thick German accent – can it get any better? Of course, it really fits with the lyrical themes on the album as well, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point in using it.

I’ve fucked around the internet for some information about you guys but there wasn’t much to be found. Therefore I would like you to elaborate on the subject of how you came together.

There isn’t that much to elaborate on, really. It’s the usual forming-a-band story that everyone has heard a million times: Some people talking about making some good music together and then eventually dragging their asses down to the rehearsal room to try it out for real.

I had little luck finding out what your lyrics are all about as well, not a trace of them on the net. Would you care to tell us a little bit about them and also why you ended up calling your debut “March of the parasite”? My guess is that you regard humanity as a leech on Mother Earth.

Well, isn’t that the only realistic viewpoint regardless of what angle you look from? No matter where you place yourself on the misanthrope-philanthrope scale, climate change is real, and so are the large-scale catastrophes that come with it. Whether the upcoming decimation of our species is a good or bad thing in the long run can be argued, but either way we’re getting there relatively soon. I wouldn’t say that the title solely refers to humanity as a whole though – we’re slightly more positive than that. As with the music, the lyrics are pretty spontaneous. In our main bands, lots of time is spent crafting elaborate and well-written lyrics, but Laethora comes more from the gut than the brain. Some of the vocal lines are almost improvised on the spot, which gives a sense of urgency that you can’t really get with more literate lyrics.

Are you able to live from music alone, or do you participate in criminal activities to keep a steady income?

We engage in various foul acts of depravity and decadence to earn our filthy living. I’d be really surprised if this band turns out to be a cash cow, but hopefully we can get some $$$ to cover rehearsal room rent and booze at least.

No offense, but your band name tells me squat. Is it a wordplay or something? In Norwegian it roughly translates to lazy whore.

Same thing in Swedish, but that’s not the meaning behind the name at all. Next guess please!

Do any of the other members in Dark Tranquillity participate in side-projects/bands?

Michael Nicklasson still plays in Luciferion, but they’re known to release an album every ten years or so, so there probably isn’t too much happening there at the moment. A shame, “The Apostate” was phenomenal.

It seems like most metal-heads enjoy the art of gaming, personally I’ve grown a bit tired of it, but what we want to know is whether you waste time on such matters?

No, never. I was really into gaming back in the Spectrum 48k days (much better than the C64!), but I haven’t played anything for the last ten years or so. It’s fun, but I have close to zero spare time, so playing games is not really an option. I spend way too much time with the computer anyway. But you’re right, most metalheads are big gamers.

How many tattoos do you have?

Just one.

In my twisted world, downloading of music is beneficial for metal as a genre. With your main band, have you notice a decrease in sales after stealing music has become commonplace? Give us your thoughts on the subject.

Well, it’s a complex issue for sure, and it’d take forever to go in depth with all the different pros and cons. In general I agree with you though. At the end of the day, metal fans are usually serious about their music and loyal to the bands, so if they truly like something they will try to get the real CD, or at least attend shows and buy the t-shirt. Of course there are leeches around, but they’re mainly the sort of people that wouldn’t be buying albums anyway. As with D.T., we’re one of the few bands that actually sell more with each release, and maybe downloading has played a part in this, especially during the years when our promotion and distribution weren’t as good as now. If people want to sample music online to see if it’s worthy of purchase, that’s fine – it just works to the advantage of the good bands and weeds out the rest. Everyone has selective morals anyway. There are a lot of musicians who complain loudly about their music being “stolen”, yet they have no qualms about recording their albums on computers with unlicensed software and a pirated operating system. Nobody is totally innocent. I download stuff all the time myself, so I’d be a hypocrite to condemn other people for doing the same with my music.

If you had one bullet, and didn’t have to face the consequences, who’d you shoot?

Can I get back to you on this one?

Tell us how metal has evolved seen from your stance, do you think the genre has peaked yet?

If by “peaked” you mean “reached the highest possible commercial exposure”, then yes, I believe that metal’s relative popularity in the public eye will decline pretty soon. Creatively speaking, there are still lots of uncharted territory out there, and there will always be bands that try to break the boundaries. I’m not overly concerned with this though, most bands in the genre are not my cup of tea, and I don’t pay that much attention to the “status” of the scene in relation to the outside world.

What’s the biggest audience you’ve ever played for, and in which country/part of the world do you find most pleasure performing? I’ve heard that South America host some rabid fans.

Yep, we even got maced onstage in Venezuela once when some fans tried to storm the stage, and in general South American metalheads are really passionate and fanatic about the music. Violence is an integral part of the experience there, and shows can turn into riots for no real reason. The biggest audience would be 35 000 people at the Busan festival in South Korea a few years ago. I’m not even exaggerating – I posted on the website that we enjoyed playing for the twenty thousand or so people that were there, and then I got a mail from the festival management correcting the figure. As for fave countries playing in, Italy, Japan, Canada and Korea are high on the list.

What’s your favourite band from Norway?

No ass-kissing here, but there are so many good bands from Norway to pick from. There’s a diversity and creativity there that can’t really be found elsewhere. Solefald, Manes, Ulver, Emperor, 1349, Enslaved, Keep of Kalessin, Burzum, Mayhem, DHG, Green Carnation, Thorns, Taake, Satyricon, Ved Buens Ende, Arcturus, Vreid, Red Harvest, Aura Noir, Sturmgeist, Darkthrone, Beyond Dawn, Fleurity and In the woods all deliver(ed) the goods.

What was the first metal release you ever bought? Is it still in your possession?

I think it was Helloween’s “Judas” EP, shortly followed by a Kreator bootleg bought in Greece on vacation. Both disappeared a long time ago.

Is there a trend in metal that you absolutely loath? If I have to restrict myself to only one, I’d have to name all the generic melodic death metal bands as the “winner”. Do you feel guilty, being a pioneer of the genre? I’d like to add that Dark Tranquillity is not in said category.

Loathe? Not sure… I’m pretty indifferent to 95% of today’s metal, and by default I dislike all trends or currents that allow bandwagon-jumpers to join in without offering anything new or creative. But everyone can play or listen to whatever they want, and it’d be pointless to complain about everything that doesn’t suit my own particular taste. As a listener, I’m not a big fan of the “melodeath” genre either, but of course I’d argue that D.T. doesn’t belong in that category unless you really distill it down to the lowest common denominators (i.e. guitar harmonies + fast drumming + screaming). Guilty? Not at all. We created something that really was unique at the time – even more so than what most people of today realize – and that influenced lots of bands all over the world. That’s a good track record for any band.

Everything comes to an end, this is it. Thanks for your time and effort, add whatever you like.

Thanks for the interview!

Interviews