Raise
Hell
"City Of The Damned" is
definitely one of the best albums I've listened to in 2006 and the proof
is crystal clear: I continue listening to this album with the same passion
and interest I had when I first heard it! Here we have Dennis and Jimmy
talking about various interesting issues concerning the band... Enjoy!
1. HELLO DENNIS! I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE ONE
OF THE FEW BANDS FROM SWEDEN THAT PLAYS THRASH METAL AND YOU DON’T TRY
TO COPY BANDS LIKE AT THE GATES AND THE HAUNTED. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT
THIS LATE FASHION THAT HAS CONQUERED U.S.A. MAKING MOST OF THE BANDS PLAY
MELODIC DEATH METAL?
Dennis: Hello! I don’t mind bands playing
melodic metal as long as they do it for themselves. I mean we have never
been afraid to change between the albums. I think that you can hear when
a band change for their own sake and when they change for others. We are
interested in writing music that interests both ourselves and the listeners.
The THRASH is very close to us so I guess that´s why we always keep
the THRASH elements.
2. I DON’T KNOW IF IT IS MY IMPRESSION, BUT I
BELIEVE THAT “CITY OF THE DAMNED” AS AN ALBUM IS MORE ORIENTED INTO THE
BAY AREA THRASH METAL AND THAT YOU HAVE REDUCED THE BLACK/DEATH METAL ELEMENTS.
DO YOU AGREE? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CHANGE YOUR SOUND A BIT?
Dennis: This is nothing we have thought of.
It´s not like we have listened more to bay area thrash now than in
the past. We have just grown as a band since Jimmy joined us and feel that
we have much more opportunities with him on the vocals. We are not afraid
to experiment with our sound and I think that will show even on the next
album.
3. “CITY OF THE DAMNED” IS YOUR FIRST ALBUM IN
BLACK LODGE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SIGN WITH THEM? HOW COME NUCLEAR BLAST
LEFT A BAND LIKE YOU FREE? :)
Dennis: After we left NB we got a lot of different
offers and one of them was from Black Lodge. We decided to sign with BL
because they gave us the best deal and it felt good to have a Swedish label.
4. THE COVER ARTWORK IS FANTASTIC. WHO IS THE
PAINTER? IS THIS THE TRAIN THAT LEADS TO THE CITY OF THE DAMNED?
Jimmy: The “painter” is Mattias Norén
from Sweden and we are really fortunate working with this guy. He understood
our ideas at the first E-Mail. Yes! The train on the cover goes from life
straight to the “City of the damned” which is the afterlife whether you
like it or not.
5. BY THE WAY BY THE NAME CITY OF THE DAMNED DO
YOU MEAN HELL OR HAS IT GOT A DEEPER MEANING?
Jimmy: I’m not much for religion at all so
it’s not exactly about hell but it’s a place where you go after you die
and it’s not pleasant! The song before the title track is called “Devil’s
station” and it describes the moment when you die and travel from this
life into this damned city.
6. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT HEAVEN AND HELL EXIST. HOW
DO YOU IMAGINE THEM? ALSO IS IT BETTER TO RULE IN HELL THAN SERVE IN HEAVEN?
Jimmy: This is a question I can’t answer in
a serious matter ‘cause I don’t believe in either Heaven or Hell. But if
I put myself in a comic book world I would rather rule in Hell. I like
warmth better than cold you know.
7. SOMEWHERE I READ THAT YOUR LYRICS ARE ANTI-CHRISTIAN.
DO YOU AGREE OR ARE YOU AGAINST ANY ORGANIZED RELIGION? WHICH OTHER THEMES
INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE LYRICS ABOUT?
Jimmy:“Anti Christian” is not really the right
word but I guess you could call us Anti Religious. I don’t write much about
religion at all. I write more about my life and opinions and thoughts I
have. Every now and then I might write a few “spit in the face of Christianity”
lyrics.
8. HAVE YOU MADE OR WILL YOU MAKE ANY VIDEO-CLIPS
FOR YOUR NEW ALBUM? IF YES, WHICH SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?
Dennis: We’ve made a video for “City of the
damned” which you can check out on our website. We thought it was the perfect
song for the album since it’s the title track and it kind of reflects the
whole album.
9. I AM A BIG FAN OF MORGANA LEFAY AND I LIKE
THE VOICE OF CHARLES RYTKONEN. SOMEHOW THE WAY THAT JIMMY SINGS ON THIS
ALBUM REMINDED ME OF HIM. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?
Jimmy: Hi! This is Jimmy, the vocalist of
Raise Hell since 4 years back. We have heard a lot about Morgana Lefay
comments on the latest album reviews. Even that Jimmy looks like Charles
R, Ha ha!
10. DENNIS YOU ARE A DRUMMER, SO I WANT YOU TO
TELL ME WHICH DRUMMERS YOU ADMIRE AND YOU THINK THEY HAVE INFLUENCED YOU
IN THE WAY YOU PLAY THE DRUMS.
Dennis: My favourite drummer is Dave Lombardo!!
He made metal drumming so fucking interesting! I also really admire guys
like Vinnie Paul, Igor Cavallera and Nick Barker! Otherwise I’m really
openminded and want to make my drumming interesting and groovy instead
of just practicing technical skills!!!
11. NOW I WANT FROM YOU TO NAME 5 OF YOUR ALL
TIME FAVORITE METAL ALBUMS…
Dennis: There are too many albums that are
“favourites” so it’s too hard to answer. Bands that always are close to
us are: Metallica, Slayer, Guns n roses…
12. WHICH WAS THE BEST COMMENT FOR YOUR NEW ALBUM
AND WHICH ONE PISSED YOU OFF THE MOST AND WHY?
Dennis: That it was the best album of 2006
and once that pissed us off was the ones that didn’t understand the album
at all obviously.
13. NOW THAT LORDI WON THE EUROPEAN CONTEST, LET’S
SAY THAT YOUR COUNTRY DECIDES TO SEND YOU TO PARTICIPATE. WOULD YOU ACCEPT
TO GO? WHICH SONG WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PERFORM IN THE CONTEST?
14. YOU SAID TO ME THAT IT’S POSSIBLE TO COME
TO VISIT GREECE FOR A SHOW. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONTACTS WITH GREEK METAL FANS?
WHEN WILL WE KNOW FOR SURE IF YOU’LL COME?
Dennis: Of course we like to play in Greece!!!
We have tried to come over but our previous tours haven’t included Greece.
We have had some contact with Greek fans and we really hope that we will
be able to play there some day soon! I have been there with Mystic Prophecy
and we had a great time in THESSALONIKI!!
15. THANK YOU DENNIS AND HOPE I DIDN’T TIRE YOU
TOO MUCH! THE LAST LINES OF THIS INTERVIEW BELONG TO YOU AND HOPE TO SEE
YOU HERE IN THESSALONIKI FOR A LIVE (note : your new album really rules!!!)…
Dennis: Thank you very much! Hope to see you
soon!!! I just wanna say one thing to Gus. G.: Hey Gus! We missed the bus!
Hehehe…
Cheers
Nick “William_Kidd”
Parastatidis
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