INTERVIEW with VAMPIRE

MOST OF YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS SWEDISH CREATURE. AFTER A KILLER AND SUCCESSFUL DEMO, LATER RELEASED AS A 7",  VAMPIRE ARE ABOUT TO RELEASE THEIR DEBUT LP THROUGH CENTURY MEDIA.  BLACK STRING [GUITARS] ANSWERED THIS INTERVIEW AND NOW YOU CAN [YOU MUST!] READ THE RESULT. 

MORTALS,  OPEN THE COFFIN AND MEET...VAMPIRE 

Please tell us how did the band started? What or who inspired you to create the band and play this style of music?

Vampire formed in 2011 when Hand of Doom suggested that he and I better start a filthy death/thrash metal band together. Command joined the ranks on bass guitar in the autumn of 2011 and Vampire was born. At the time I was in a period of heavy Slayer obsession, while Hand of Doom probably leaned more towards the early style of death metal found in bands like Necrophagia and Autopsy. The sound on the early Vampire compositions is probably a mixture between those two styles. 

Why did you name your  band Vampire? What things do you find appealing about vampirism? I`ll bet all my money that you don’t give a damn about all this Twilight shit, but what about classic or modern movies, and literature? 

I’d probably heard about the Twilight series and vampire trend when we took the band name, but as you say, those things didn’t interest me. I grew up listening to bands who used to feature the Vlad Tepes and Countess Bathory myths in their lyrics and imagery such as Marduk, Dissection, Ophthalamia, Tormentor and of course Bathory. Apart from that, having read the Bram Stoker roman and watched a few related movies, that’s about it with me and vampires. The idea to adapt Vampire as a band name came to me when Hand of Doom suggested the Romanian word strigoi (“undead” or “vampire”) for a band name.

Let´s talk about your Self titled debut LP, how would you describe the concept and the music ? 

The The album is an inferno of haunting and powerful energies. The album cover sums the whole concept up pretty well: autumn, soil and darkness.

How was the recording process and production?, how do you achieve that raw and creepy sound?

It wasn’t very complicated to achieve the production we aimed at. We knew what we wanted and it just demanded a few minor adjustments in the studio.

What can you tell about the artwork? It features the same “creature” or Character  used on the demo. Will you use it in all of your releases? Is it some kind of symbol like Motorhead´s Warpig or Iron Maiden´s Eddie?  

It’s a bit early to say if the reaper character will return on our next release. It is not unlikely that it will happen, but on the other hand I prefer variation before tradition from time to time.

Do you care about people labeling your style (Thrash, Black or Death Metal)? Do you feel

comfortable with the term “old school”?

 I don’t care much about that. There are so many concepts about what each and every of those styles represent and whatnot, so I try not to categorize Vampire’s music. I wouldn’t call our music old school, but maybe our music better carry that label just so people know in which box to place our albums.

Why did you decide to name the album Vampire, as you did with the demo and the 7”?

It was reason enough that Black Sabbath and Bathory did the same thing when baptizing their debut albums. Besides, we didn’t have any better title.

Regarding the demo and the 7”, both were sold out almost in no time? Did you expect that kind of response after you recorded your very first release?

The demo sold out within a week, roughly. It took some more time to sell the seven-inches, but they went fast too. We didn’t expect that kind of response at all.

Would you consider a re- release in a near future (even it was reissued by To The Death records some time ago)?

Not at the time being. Three out of four songs from the seven-inch are featured on the album in re-recorded but very slightly altered versions, so it would be a bit over the top to re-release those songs again.

How  the band reacted after knowing  that Century Media was interested in adding Vampire to their ranks?.  How did you get in contact with them?

We were in touch with quite a few record labels already when we got to know that Century Media’s people were impressed with our show at Live Evil in London. We quickly let Century Media know that we would be interested in signing with them and next thing that happened, the label came with an offer that was far better than the other deals we negotiated before. By that time our debut album was already recorded, so we were happy to get the dealing over with quickly.

What do your lyrics deal with? 

The lyrical themes vary, but in brief: life and death, psychology, obscure nature romanticism and nuclear holocaust.

Hand Of Doom was handling the drums until last year, now drummer Ratwing joined the band, why did you decide to incorporate a new drummer? Was it for improving live performances?

Ratwing initially joined us as a session drummer for live performances. Ratwing’s style of drumming made the band a lot more powerful and we quickly abandoned the idea of recording our album with the same line-up as for the demo.

How has your live experience been so far? With which bands you enjoyed most sharing the stage?We’ve had some really exciting live experiences so far. The bands I’ve gotten along well with personally are Repulsion, Antichrist and Verminous.

Tell about your all time fave bands and your fave ones from the current scene?

All time faves would be the bands that introduced me to the rock’ n roll and metal side of things and their classic albums: Metallica, Slayer, Guns n’ Roses and Iron Maiden. The first death metal band that I got into was Morbid Angel. I’ve mostly listened to the more epic sides of metal during the last fifteen years and previously to that I was mostly listening to black metal. I still remember when discovering bands like Burzum, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Dissection, Marduk, Tormentor and Nifelheim, those bands really changed my perspectives on extreme music. My current favorite bands are Tribulation, Antichrist and In Solitude. I’ve grown tired of most extreme music a long time ago, apart from the acts I mentioned and a few live shows here and there. I don’t have time or energy to check out new bands very often, so I might have missed out on a few current gems.

Let me know your opinion about the following albums...

Merciless “The Awakening”

DSP classic, an album which probably could’ve gained more attention if it had been released some years earlier.

Watain “The Wild Hunt”
 I haven’t listened to any Watain albums since “Rabid Death’s Curse”.

Necrophobic “The Nocturnal Silence”

An underrated milestone in Swedish death metal. It was one of the first death metal albums I listened to and got obsessed with it instantly.

Degial “Death´s Striking Wings”

I haven’t heard the album, but Degial is a great live band.

Bathory “Twilight of the Gods”

The album that defines the word “epic”. It would make a fine day to die.

What do you think about the comeback of cassettes and printed zines? Is there a back to the roots spirit in the scene? Is it just a trend, or has the attitude really changed compared to the last decade?

 Perhaps there is a bigger recognition of tape demos now than ten years ago, but cassettes and printed ‘zines never really ceased from the scene, did it? If there is a rise in popularity of printed ‘zines and cassettes nowadays, I guess it is just a reaction against the digital music consumption.

What is the strangest place and the most shocking one that you´ve been?
I went to Transnistria, a breakaway republic in eastern Moldova, six years ago. I would just call it a very interesting place in daylight, but it was a bit strange to find yourself in a dark bunker with several border guards asking all kinds of questions as I tried to leave the country to enter Ukraine in the evening. I finally got out of it and still have a small urge to go back some day. Another quite strange thing that happened to me in Moldova was when walking at a miserably maintained cemetery in the outskirts of the capital on a rainy day when suddenly a huge stray dog emerged out of a large hole beneath a tombstone. That was unexpected, but would have been scarier at night time. I wonder what that dog had dug up to gnaw at under that tombstone.

Tell me about your near future once the album is released
We are slowly but steadily writing new songs and we shall see what it turns out like.    

Thanks for your time,  last words are yours…
Thanks for the interview and greetings to the internet forum posers out there.

"...THE SICK CURSE IS ALIVE..."