Interview with death metal band from Sweden - CUT UP.
Answered Tobias.
Translated by Markéta, thank you!
Recenze/review - CUT UP – Forensic Nightmares (2015)
Ave CUT UP! I am currently listening to your new album
“Wherever They May Rot” and I think that this is the music which will be
playing during the end of the world. I really think that you created a
masterpiece. How do you feel about the new album? Do you have some feedback
from fans? Have you played the new songs live yet? How do they work on
concerts?
Thank you! We're very satisfied with our new album. It's a step forward and we have raised the bar when it comes to about everything - the songs, the production, the individual performances, the artwork etc. The feedback has been nothing but amazing, from both fans and media. Especially from the fans, and that's what's most important to us. We have not played the new songs live yet. We will play the first show after the album release in a couple of weeks from now, on April 29th in Sundsvall, Sweden. We're really looking forward to play the new songs live on the upcoming club shows and festivals this year!
Thank you! We're very satisfied with our new album. It's a step forward and we have raised the bar when it comes to about everything - the songs, the production, the individual performances, the artwork etc. The feedback has been nothing but amazing, from both fans and media. Especially from the fans, and that's what's most important to us. We have not played the new songs live yet. We will play the first show after the album release in a couple of weeks from now, on April 29th in Sundsvall, Sweden. We're really looking forward to play the new songs live on the upcoming club shows and festivals this year!
How do CUT UP compose new songs? Are you a traditional
band who just goes to the rehearsal room? Or do you just send ideas to each
other online (which is quite popular nowadays)?
We do get together and rehearse on a regular basis. But when we write new songs, we don't write by jamming together. Everyone is writing by himself, records a demo of it at home and then sends the complete song to the rest of the band for a review. That's a very smooth way, and it works good for us. Then we try it out together in the rehearsal room, and if we feel that anything needs to be changed, we work that out together. Once the music of a song is all set, we (or mostly Erik) write the lyrics.
We do get together and rehearse on a regular basis. But when we write new songs, we don't write by jamming together. Everyone is writing by himself, records a demo of it at home and then sends the complete song to the rest of the band for a review. That's a very smooth way, and it works good for us. Then we try it out together in the rehearsal room, and if we feel that anything needs to be changed, we work that out together. Once the music of a song is all set, we (or mostly Erik) write the lyrics.
The band CUT UP was founded in 2014 like a posthumous
of VOMITORY. How did you get together?
After the Vomitory split, me and Erik wanted to continue playing together. We knew what we wanted so we asked Anders and Andreas to join us, and in April 2014 Cut Up was complete.
After the Vomitory split, me and Erik wanted to continue playing together. We knew what we wanted so we asked Anders and Andreas to join us, and in April 2014 Cut Up was complete.
The first thing that came to my mind when I was
listening to your new album was the light sound difference compared to your
previous album. The new album is “colder” and worked through. Did you changed
your recording process? Dan Swano did your new album. Was the final sound
depended on him?
The recording process was pretty much the same as our first album. No major changes there. But Dan Swano who mixed the album, is ultimately responsible for the sound. He did an amazing job for us. The production fits the new songs perfectly. While the debut "Forensic Nightmares" had a more analog feel to the sound, "Wherever They May Rot" has a sharper, "colder" (as you put it) and more aggressive sound.
The recording process was pretty much the same as our first album. No major changes there. But Dan Swano who mixed the album, is ultimately responsible for the sound. He did an amazing job for us. The production fits the new songs perfectly. While the debut "Forensic Nightmares" had a more analog feel to the sound, "Wherever They May Rot" has a sharper, "colder" (as you put it) and more aggressive sound.
Lyrics – that is a separate chapter for CUT UP. What
are the lyrics on the new album about and where did you find inspiration? The
lyrics fit so well together with the music on “Wherever They May Rot”. What was
first – sound or lyrics?
Music is always written first in Cut Up. The lyrics are about death, gore and different ways of slaughter. Erik is the main lyric writer in Cut Up, with back up from Andreas and Anders. We find our inspiration for lyrics from other death metal bands, movies, books and our own sick imagination. Erik's lyrics are almost always fictional, just about something that he makes up from his twisted mind. Andreas' lyrics, as he said himself, always come from something that has happened in the real world. Something he's seen on the news or experienced himself but with some extreme twist to it.
Music is always written first in Cut Up. The lyrics are about death, gore and different ways of slaughter. Erik is the main lyric writer in Cut Up, with back up from Andreas and Anders. We find our inspiration for lyrics from other death metal bands, movies, books and our own sick imagination. Erik's lyrics are almost always fictional, just about something that he makes up from his twisted mind. Andreas' lyrics, as he said himself, always come from something that has happened in the real world. Something he's seen on the news or experienced himself but with some extreme twist to it.
I really like the cover of “Wherever They May Rot”. It
was, again, done by Lukasz Jaszak. Why did you chose his work? Did you chose
from his previous work or he did something totally new just for your album? Did
he hear any of your songs before for inspiration? This year´s cover is great
and I cannot really say the same (sorry) about the previous one. I did not like
that one.
Working with Lukasz is great and obviously he's a killer artist with a great feeling for the morbid and sick, which is needed for nice death metal album artworks. The artwork for "Wherever They May Rot" was made just for us, upon our wishes and some rough instructions. Then he put in his own ideas and came up with this killer piece. I think we sent him the lyrics for the title song, so he could see what it was about and maybe get some kind of image of it. But he didn't hear any new music.
Working with Lukasz is great and obviously he's a killer artist with a great feeling for the morbid and sick, which is needed for nice death metal album artworks. The artwork for "Wherever They May Rot" was made just for us, upon our wishes and some rough instructions. Then he put in his own ideas and came up with this killer piece. I think we sent him the lyrics for the title song, so he could see what it was about and maybe get some kind of image of it. But he didn't hear any new music.
“Wherever They May Rot” will be one vinyl, that´s
great. How do you feel about vinyl? Are you a collector?
I grew up listening to and collecting vinyls, so naturally I think it's great that our albums are also released on vinyl! And I'm happy that nowadays it's becoming more of a standard again, to have new albums available on both CD and vinyl. I used to collect vinyls in my late teens, early 20's but I don't do it anymore. I still have some of my old collection though. Albums and 7"'s that I never could let go of, like Iron Maiden and Motörhead.
I grew up listening to and collecting vinyls, so naturally I think it's great that our albums are also released on vinyl! And I'm happy that nowadays it's becoming more of a standard again, to have new albums available on both CD and vinyl. I used to collect vinyls in my late teens, early 20's but I don't do it anymore. I still have some of my old collection though. Albums and 7"'s that I never could let go of, like Iron Maiden and Motörhead.
Let´s be honest – death metal always have had and will
have only a small percentage of listeners. This kind of music is too extreme
for many people. In the Czech Republic there are always the same people on
those concerts. Sometimes those events are like a family meeting. Our country
is quite small and the potential of fans is limited. I would like to know how
about you? How is it in Sweden? I presume it is better thanks to your death
metal history?
Let's be honest - death metal should be extreme and was never meant to be mainstream. It simply shouldn't appeal to everybody. In Sweden I guess it's bigger than in the Czech Republic. Maybe because of our rich death metal history but also because of the vital current scene then.
Let's be honest - death metal should be extreme and was never meant to be mainstream. It simply shouldn't appeal to everybody. In Sweden I guess it's bigger than in the Czech Republic. Maybe because of our rich death metal history but also because of the vital current scene then.
How about CUT UP and concerts? I looked online and it
looks like you do not have many concerts. I know that it is always about money
because it costs a lot but have you ever thought about a Europe tour?
We have a few shows coming up this year, and more will be added. Many or not, we're really looking forward to them all, and we know for sure that there are fans out there waiting for us to play live. My opinion is that the competition is harder these days, to get booked on festivals and good slots on tours etc. And the fact that Cut Up is a new band, a new name, doesn't make it easier - regardless of what bands we've played in prior to Cut Up. But we are aware of this, and are not at all worried for the future. Cut Up is a solid live band, and that will become a known fact once people will experience us live and the word is getting around. We have had a couple of setbacks when it comes to booking agents also. Unfortunately there are lots of "talkers" and not so many "doers" in this business. So far we've only encountered the talkers, so now we are taking care of all the bookings ourselves instead. Unfortunately there is no European tour planned, but that's a deliberate decision from our side. Some private matters make it a bit difficult for us to do any longer tours right now. But it's just temporarily. We will for sure tour in the future, as long as it's financially possible.
We have a few shows coming up this year, and more will be added. Many or not, we're really looking forward to them all, and we know for sure that there are fans out there waiting for us to play live. My opinion is that the competition is harder these days, to get booked on festivals and good slots on tours etc. And the fact that Cut Up is a new band, a new name, doesn't make it easier - regardless of what bands we've played in prior to Cut Up. But we are aware of this, and are not at all worried for the future. Cut Up is a solid live band, and that will become a known fact once people will experience us live and the word is getting around. We have had a couple of setbacks when it comes to booking agents also. Unfortunately there are lots of "talkers" and not so many "doers" in this business. So far we've only encountered the talkers, so now we are taking care of all the bookings ourselves instead. Unfortunately there is no European tour planned, but that's a deliberate decision from our side. Some private matters make it a bit difficult for us to do any longer tours right now. But it's just temporarily. We will for sure tour in the future, as long as it's financially possible.
Nowadays, the majority of people download music online
and they only use the digital copies of albums. How do you feel about this? You
are a musician and I would like to know your opinion.
From a record sales point of view, I would want it to be like it was in the 80's, i.e. pre-internet. Back then music was more exclusive in many ways, and people seemed to appreciate an album more than they do today, generally speaking. I still love owning physical copies of my albums, being able to enjoy the artwork like it was supposed to and the general work that the artists have put into it. But being a music consumer myself, I totally see all the benefits of the digital revolution. I buy a lot less physical albums these days unfotunately. It's easy to get lazy when you pay a monthly fee to a streaming service instead, like Spotify, where you have basically all the music in the world at your finger tip. I'm against all sorts of illegal downloading. If you download your music - or movies or whatever - illegally without paying for it, you are nothing but a thief and a betrayer.
From a record sales point of view, I would want it to be like it was in the 80's, i.e. pre-internet. Back then music was more exclusive in many ways, and people seemed to appreciate an album more than they do today, generally speaking. I still love owning physical copies of my albums, being able to enjoy the artwork like it was supposed to and the general work that the artists have put into it. But being a music consumer myself, I totally see all the benefits of the digital revolution. I buy a lot less physical albums these days unfotunately. It's easy to get lazy when you pay a monthly fee to a streaming service instead, like Spotify, where you have basically all the music in the world at your finger tip. I'm against all sorts of illegal downloading. If you download your music - or movies or whatever - illegally without paying for it, you are nothing but a thief and a betrayer.
Are there any albums which have caught your attention
recently?
Yes, the new albums from Lock Up "Demonization", Mastodon "Emperor of Sand" and Mordbrand "Wilt".
Yes, the new albums from Lock Up "Demonization", Mastodon "Emperor of Sand" and Mordbrand "Wilt".
Do you know and listen any bands from the Czech
Republic?
There always seemed to be a lot of Czech bands around, but now I can only think of a few. Tortharry, Root and Master's Hammer are what comes to mind right now. And Jig-Ai, which I think are great!
There always seemed to be a lot of Czech bands around, but now I can only think of a few. Tortharry, Root and Master's Hammer are what comes to mind right now. And Jig-Ai, which I think are great!
What are CUT UP´s plans for the next few months?
To play live for the first time in countries like Belgium, Finland, Germany and Slovakia. More shows are being worked on at the moment, so I hope we can announce more very soon. We will also release a second video from our new album within a few weeks. Keep your eyes open!
To play live for the first time in countries like Belgium, Finland, Germany and Slovakia. More shows are being worked on at the moment, so I hope we can announce more very soon. We will also release a second video from our new album within a few weeks. Keep your eyes open!
Thank you so much for the interview and I wish you a
lot of sold CDs, hundreds of crazy fans and tons of great ideas.
Thank you too for the interview and for supporting Cut Up! Cheers!
Thank you too for the interview and for supporting Cut Up! Cheers!
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