Mabe_Sarcastic_Interview

Gloon from the Full Metal Mayhem team caught up with Mabe Johansson guitarist with euro-thrashers Sarcastic and discussed links with Dissection, the thrash resurgence and Marilyn Manson?????

Firstly a little history, when did the band first form and could you elaborate on the Mabe/Dissection connection?
[M�be] We started way back in �92 with a different line-up under the name Scavanger but soon changed the name. We kept going to sometime �97 when we all grew tired of it and laid it to rest. In March this year me and J�rgen (our singer) went through some old tape and thought it would be cool to reawaken the band and so we did. I used to play drums but our old guitar player Erik wasn't available (he had moved out of town to join Sword Master, now DEATHSTARS) so I play guitar nowadays and we have a new drummer (Kalle). And here we are today.
I used to play session-guitar for Dissection when they started out. We grew up together and they are among my closest friends so I just helped them �til they found John. They asked me to join full-time but I had my other band Nosferatu.

When listening to Sarcastic one can hear a multitude
of influences from the greats of the genre. What influences
Sarcastic and why play Thrash and not say Black or Death Metal?
[M�be]We started as a thrash band and have always felt that this is what
we do best. Haven't really thought much about why. Back in the old days
we listened a lot to Slayer, Kreator, Metallica, Testament, Exodus, Merciless,
Coroner etc. and those bands always work as inspiration. I write most of the
songs and nowadays I listen to million of things that isn't thrash but pick up
things here and there and make them fit to Sarcastic you know. Back in �97
we tried some different slow Morbid Angel kinda style in some songs and
that sounded really good but it wasn't really Sarcastic. We do it best when we
play thrash, simple as that!!!

You first formed when, in your own words it "wasn't a good time for thrash bands".
What are your thoughts on the resurgence of Thrash and its long-term future within the metal genre?
[M�be] You know, in the early nineties death metal had it's prime time and after that sometime �93 black metal came with a blast so no one really cared about thrash. Just look at a band like Merciless that deserve all the respect they can get but they didn't sell any records just because they were at the wrong time. To be honest with you the one band that made me wanna do this again is The Haunted. For the first time since we quit I heard a band that sounded the way I wanted a "new" thrash band to sound. In my opinion there debut is the best thrash album since "Reign in Blood". I don't know about the future and I really don't care, we do what we do and we'll see how things turn out. A lot more people seem to be into thrash now and that is of course a good thing for us.

I must say I am impressed from what I have heard from Sarcastic, tight, innovative, chock full of huge riffs and great songs. Do you think the metal scene has become a bit too preoccupied with image and technicality and the art of good song writing is slowing being lost?
[M�be] Thanks a lot!! I can't really agree with the image thing since I'm huge fan of Marilyn Manson but many bands suffer in song writing that is true. That is my main priority in music- world, to write GOOD songs. I write music and lyrics all the time and I know I ain�t no virtuoso at any instrument but I do know that I can write some cool tunes. My biggest heroes are people that can write good songs no matter in what style like James Hetfield or Phil Lynott and that is what I'm trying to do. Most of the stuff I write doesn't fit Sarcastic but I have other ways to get that out too. The songs should always come first and if someone could make them stronger by using image that is cool and that is what I think Manson does. Image is nothing without good music to back it up!!

You mentioned your respect for Manson, music and image. What are your thoughts on the whole 'Nu-Metal' scene and is it really metal?
[M�be] I don't think Manson has something to do with the "nu-metal" scene if that is what you mean. I can't come up with any band that I've heard that I think is good within that scene. Maybe a few good songs but that's all. If it's metal or not isn't really important to me. There are only good or bad music to me.

Finally, what's in the works for Sarcastic? any deals on the horizon?
[M�be] No deals yet. We have just recorded two new songs and two covers ( "A Lesson in Violence" by Exodus and "Evil Dead" by Death) and we'll try to contact some labels and see if someone's interested. We have just played in Gothenburg with Runemagick and we've talked with Dracena about a gig in Stockholm in Jan. or Feb. but that isn't for sure yet. Beside that we write new material and rehearse and try to play the really old stuff, as I have to remember the songs on guitar.