Answered Chris.
Translated and questions prepared by Petra, thank you!
Hello, LIK! How are you guys? First of all I must ask you to introduce your band to our readers. Your beginnings, idea for creation of LIK and so on…
CHRIS: Hi Jakub, We are fine. Hope you are too? We are a death metal band called Lik from Stockholm. We started back in 2014. Tomas & I started jamming because of the mutual love for death metal. We made some songs that transformed into a demo, consisting of 3 songs. Nille joined in during this process and we have been rockin & rollin since.
Has your band name some specific meaning; is it some abbreviation of something? Please, explain to our readers, how the name LIK was born.
C: Lik means corpse in Swedish. I came up with name after we had been twisting our heads trying to come up with a suitable name. It´s kind of hard these days since all cool names are taken ages ago. But I think that Lik is a perfect fit for us. I´m satisfied.
Your new and second full length record “Carnage” is out now. Has it fulfilled your expectations? Are you satisfied with everything on the record or is there something what would you make different now? Could you compare it with the debut album?
C: Yes we are very pleased with the end result. I would not want to change anything. I feel that with “Carnage” we found our sound and the songs are more solid in a way. “Mass funeral evocation” has that “youthful” debut smell all over. But I´m super proud of it.
Already after the first record you sign up with METAL BLADE. It is a big success, man. How did you do this? Do you feel now more responsibility, since you are part of such big label?
C: They like what we do and share our passion for music and that shows considering what they´ve done for us so far. We are very fortunate and proud to be a part of such a reknown label as Metal Blade. We got help from a guy named Ula which guided us through the offers we got from labels. And he thought that Metal Blade would be the best fit for us. And he was right.
What is your attitude to LIK? Is the playing in the band mainly a hobby for you or is it a serious job to write music and spread it everywhere with some specific message? I know, you play also in other metal bands, but which one is your priority now?
C: Lik is our main priority for sure. We can´t make a living off of it. But we will try to take it as far as one can in the scene of death metal. Writing the music and playing live is what it´s all about for us.
I think inspiration and influence is very obvious in your case. Nowadays, the Swedish style of old school death metal is very popular. There are a lot of young bands playing it. Aren’t you afraid that you could be lost in the huge amount of similar old school bands? What added value do you offer to death metal fans?
C: Well it´s not a secret that Dismember is our main influence. That is the main reason we formed the band. If I were to be afraid of drowning in the masses I wouldn´t be doing this. There are so many talented bands out there playing death metal and I hope it will continue that way. The value we bring is that what you hear on our albums is what you can expect live. Nothing fancy, just a hard kick in the face. So to speak.
With which bands did you play during your career? Which concert do you appreciate most and which band you would like to play with? Do you remember a certain concert or club, which was special and you can’t forget on it, whether in the positive or negative meaning?
C: I have played in a bunch of bands since I have been doing this for quite some time now. But to mention the death metal bands, it´s Repugnant, Kaamos & Grave (live.) and a bunch of other bands in other genres. I appreciate concerts when you discover new bands. I would like to play with Dismember (reform now please!) But Cannibal Corpse would be cool to tour with they seem to be really nice dudes. And we have huge respect for them. I especially remember the last show in Hamburg on our tour with Overtorture in 2016. It was warm as hell in an basement with very dark lights, small stage and the crowd was insane. I also want to mention our gig at Party San festival in an packed tent stage. 5 minutes before we were to play it was not that many people in there. But when we went on it was packed and then some. I was very nervous so the memory varies during the show but I know we had fun as always. We have not been faced with any negative shows yet.
Are you planning some tour/concerts in the near future?
C: Yes! Finland in September and a mini tour together with Demonical in November. We are in discussions with other promoters as we speak so stay tuned and follow our platforms.
I am very curious, whether you have some unusual hobby in your free time? I am sure that you don’t play the instruments all the time.
C: I have been doing crossfit for 9 months now. I like to push myself to my limits and beyond. So crossfit suits me well.
Last year was marked as a “year of death metal” at a lot of websites, a huge amount of awesome death metal albums was released. Do you get used to make some album summarization at the end of the year? What was the biggest surprise or what album was the best for you?
C: I guess I missed out on that hahahaha! I really suck at keeping up with the scene today. I´m old school so I know what I like and I still listen to those records. But Cannibal Corpse – “Red before black” was not disappointing. They always deliver. Not a surprise thou. I really like the band Feral from Sweden they have that raw nerve that I think death metal should have. Check them out.
Try to imagine that you play your very last show on the stage. Where should be this concert, who should attend this show and which song would you like to play as your last one in your life?
C: Oh that is a tough question. But I guess in Stockholm, before a bunch of friends and hardcore fans and we would end it all with “The Deranged”.
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you all the best. I am looking forward for one of your show; I hope you will also visit Czech Republic and Slovakia in the near future.
C: Thank you for showing interest in Lik. We will come to Czech Republic and Slovakia count on that.
Cheers!
