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Recent discussions
Interviews
Sludge - Makro
05/08/08 || Kampfar
Hello and welcome, cancerface, to another batch of questions you most likely would never be able to come up with. Be glad.
Global Domination: Much welcome to you, Makro, guitarist and current spokesperson for this here band. Also thanks for the links to your pre “Yellow acid rain” albums, ripped in excellent quality and all. I don’t remember who in the band provided them, that because I am senile. Anyway, thanks as fuck, and fuck Lars Ülrich. Not that I’ve had the time, or something, to give any other than “Lava” a go yet… well, at least I nailed that bastard. What do you think of my review?
Makro: Thanks, I’m speechless..
No kidding. Has “Lava” spurred a hot stream of praise or do the reviewers of the world hate it? Do you even care about reviews and so called professional takes on your shit? I wanked like 5 times, at least, while writing my take on your latest, so I’m not one of them professional dudes. Fuck ‘em.
I’m only interested in reviews which reach my opinion, good or bad ones. So I would say we had very good ones when writers have enough of a punk attitude or self-thinking abilities and bad ones when they’re only trying to make it fit or compare the band with something already known… but from time to time some creative minds are making the exception…
Is Sludge a band or “just” a project you tinker with when Samael are on a pause?
Sludge is my most personal band. I created it along with drummer Pud many years before joining Samael.
Give us an insight on how “Lava” was brought to life, is there a main composer or are you a merry lot of communist each providing 25%? I fucking doubt it, my guess is that you, guitarist and all, are king in this regard, providing the riffs necessary to build a song around. Am I correct?
Indeed, I write all the music mainly at home and as we did for most of our albums, we play’em, adapt’em and discuss things with the members in the band. Then we make changes if necessary and start rehearsals for the recordings (which is a thing that I’m also in charge of).
Would you care to explain why “Lava” starts out with two groove monsters before suddenly getting obscured by, dark, heavy and slow moving clouds? Is them two first fuckers the volcano erupting and the preceding ones the soundtrack of the aftermath?
For “Lava” our idea was to make a diverse album. So, we decided to keep all the material we like without asking ourselves the same old question: “Is this song in the same shape as the other songs..?”, we decided in some way, to trust ourselves and to believe that difference between songs wouldn’t mean that we would lose something. And I have to say that we are quite satisfied with the result. So, when it came to choose the tracklist, we decided to use faster/catchy songs in the beginning, in order to introduce more “softly” the listener to our world, trying to keep his attention in order to introduce slower songs as “Lava” or “Below”. Then again, “Lava” isn’t an album which is easy to assimilate at the first listening, and actually I like this idea.
You must say some words about the production, for it is fantastic. In my words: modern but not overproduced and Pro-Tooled to death, if at all. Who is responsible, and are the drums even triggered?
Thank you very much. Everything’s been played for real on every single album we did, except for one loop/sample on the song “Lava”, also We never did use triggers or such things. I did the production on our last three albums and we do the recordings “the old way” trying to keep the two first takes and then punching what’s needed, but we try to keep it as natural as possible, not trying to make it sound “perfect”, but more focusing on catching the energy. But you’re right, “Lava” has been mixed on Pro-Tools and it was our intention, not to sound like most of actual metal-productions.
I dig “Lava” but I think you guys should have scrapped “Inquisition”, or replaced it with a more up-tempo piece. I doubt you agree, but if threatened with torture and death, which song would you have scrapped?
The one which is not featuring on the album. A fast Motörheadish piece industrialized called “Dominhate”. I’m not afraid of torture neither death.
What is the most hilarious and out-there genre description you ever saw attached to your band, and how would you describe the music of Sludge yourself? 3 words max.
Most hilarious: nu-metal.
Self-description: rape metal or lava core.
Is there a “Lava” tour on the steps, and are you guys doing any festivals this summer/year?
Yes, a European tour has to be expected in November or January, and we’re not planing to appear in any summer festival before next year.
As mentioned earlier, I have only heard this here latest of yours as of yet, so would you care to give us a (brief?) rundown on Sludge’s other releases?
“Sweet Daisy” (1995) – First EP produced/mixed by Thomas Skogsberg. “Cathedral/Entombed meets Layne Staley”.
“The Well” (1997) – First LP produced/mixed by Thomas Skogsberg and Fred Estby (Dismember). “My dying bride/Black Sabbath abusing of heroin feat. Layne Staley”.
“Scarecrow Messiah” (2000) – LP “Entombed meets Bolt thrower in the mud with scorching vocals, also the first album I did produce in our rehearsal room in one week and the first mixed by Fredrik Nordström in two days. We feel really proud of this album.
“Yellow acid rain” (2004) – LP. Second one mixed by Fredrik Nordstrom, and the last with former singer Nik. Our most metal effort but still groovy as fuck. There are very good songs featuring on this one, but the whole thing might sound a bit to monolithic.
I noticed The Metal Archives listed Sludge with 6 ex-members, quite a lot this. So, do you hate any of the new guys already? On a more serious note, do you think this line-up will record another Sludge album together?
Yes, I hate’em all, which makes me think that there’s a good chance we might record another album together.
How long will it take for you to construct your new homepage, a couple more years? I sure prefer a fine homepage before the shitty layout of MySpace, yes I do, though I very well understand why a band would have such an account. I’m not an idiot, but do you agree that MySpace encourages laziness?
Both are important nowadays, and I think I could spend more time on MySpace than on a bands homepage. There are lots of cool and uncool musics/stuff in there… and I can be a really lazy person when I’m not working…
Name some other underappreciated acts deserving a mention from your parts of the Alps. It’s a very fact that, apart from a few biggies, Helvetia isn’t exactly renowned for its share of impressive bands. Or is this a misconception? Educate us, and give us your takedown on the Swiss scene while at it.
Knut, The young gods (used to be more well-known..), and also Shora.
There’s no real Swiss scene, since the country is very small and split in three different parts which are German, French and Italian. And this language “border” does apply to culture as well. In my hometown (approx 150’000) I know only two metal bands including Sludge. So, when it comes to try to make music and sell it, you’d better focus on trying to export yourself..
What’s your top pick when it comes to Norway, and what do you think of our evil raccoons?
Aqua? Some of Satyricon, some of Red Harvest, some of Dodheimsgard… Emperor had some good parts too… Clowns can be really funny…
Do you remember the name of your first band? I would also like to know what made you pick up a guitar, and also when you understood you actually had talent at this shit. I picked up a guitar around the age of 10 and understood in an instant that I had about the same talent as an amputee with Downs.
No, I don’t. I did start guitar cauz I wasn’t able to play football anymore. And actually I still don’t believe that I have a particular talent for it, except the fact that I might have quite good ears.
Has the fact that you are in a band, two even, ever helped you get (good) pussy?
Not really, I used to sell drugs and it was working fine too.
Apart from music, what inspires you to create music?
Pussies?
Have you played Sludge to any in your family, say mother? If so, what did she/they think of it?
My mother yes, a long time ago. She laughed a lot while asking “Why does he scream? Is he angry?”. She’s the light of my life…
Al-Qaida kicks in your door and screams, in bad, guttural English, for you to pass over your CD collection. If not, they threaten to launch a grenade up your ass. This branch, however, is not entirely cold-hearted and lets you keep 5. Now, which would it be?
None, I keep the grenade solution.
I challenge you to name a Swiss movie that is ace, a must see one.
Les Faiseurs de Suisses/Die Schweizermacher.
On a scale from 1-10, how far out is Erich Anton Paul von Däniken? Do you think his brain is made of LSD?
11. There’s no doubt his brain’s made of some cheap drug unknown to humankind.
What is the most perverted porn you ever saw? Me, I still have this vivid picture of a German shitbang in mind, 10 guys or so farting diarrhea on a girl. It’s not like constantly playing in my mind, but it appears every time I ask this question, which is not so very often. I have also seen a horse fuck a dude.
I’ve seen some guy dominating an octopus…
I’ve heard/read that there are quite a lot of heroine junkies in Switzerland, any truth to this? Sure rings true for Whoreway. Hell, I admire the heroine twats for their genuine fuck it all attitude, real necro that lot, hard to top/down they are. Not to forget, easy targets they also are.
Indeed..
So, do you pay any attention to EURO 2008, you know, the football event currently (partly) taking place in your country? I don’t follow it very closely, but I noticed a Polish dude named Podolski scored against his own country, not an own goal, mind you, for he is nowadays a German. Is it just me, or is this fucking absurd?
Yes, I found it sad and beautiful as humanity, I almost cried. In fact, last time I cried was when I did get new contact lenses and from then figure out that girls boobs looked much bigger and of course my own private parts too…
Yeah, that made sense. Thanks for your time and effort, and also for your music. The final words are yours.
My pleasure and thanks for the best interview in years.
