Interview with death metal band - GODS FORSAKEN.
Interview answers by Anders Biazzi and Alwin Zuur, thank you!
Translated by Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Recenze/review - GODS FORSAKEN - Smells Of Death (2019):
Ave GODS FORSAKEN! When I first heard your first album "In a Pitch Black Grave" in 2017, I was really excited. That album immediately penetrated into my blood. Now I have at home your novelty "Smells of Death" for review and I have to say that it really smells like death again! How did you actually get together to found GODS FORSAKEN? Please tell us the history of the band.
Anders:
It all started out when my former band Blood Mortized did lay down the battle axe. I had written a lot of tracks for the new Blood Mortized album and instead of throwing them away I did ask Jonny Pettersson and Brynjar Helgetun if they wanted to start an old school project. They thought it was a great idea. In the beginning we were thinking of doing a ghost thing , release an album that nobody know who had written it, But that did not work that well hahaha , as it quickly spread out on the internet who we where! The year after the first album release when Jonny and I were out playing with Just Before Dawn at Pitfest (NL) in 2018 we met Alwin and became good friends. We asked him if he wanted to join us as songwriter and fulltime member. An offer he could not resist as an old school Swedish death metal freak. Some offers for shows started to come and I ask my best friend and former member from Blood Mortized Gustav Myrin if he wanted to come aboard as lead Guitarist in the band as well. He came up with the idea to get our old drummer Pelle Ekegren from Blood Mortized” in on drums for the upcoming live shows. Brynjar is only a studio drummer. He isn’t able to play live, so Pelle was now also recruited to Gods Forsaken. I’m will play the bass during the live shows as Alwin has taken the duty on rhythm guitars. So that’s a bit the story up till now!
Every GODS FORSAKEN musician is involved in other bands, you are death metal "veterans" who perfectly understand to their craft. Do you have a little problem with arguing how the song should sound? How does recording work? And who has the last word?
Alwin:
We are all not new in this scene. That’s correct. We all have played bands before and still play bands besides Gods Forsaken. Anders, Gustav and Jonny have their duties in Just Before Dawn. Before that Anders and Gustav were also part of Blood Mortized.
Most people may know me as bass player of Asphyx. also had some other bands where I played guitars (Grand Supreme Blood Court and Escutcheon), so I guess we did gathered some experience over the last couple of years.
Even tough we wrote the new album with 3 musicians the whole writing process went very easy and fast. It all fitted perfectly together. The different riffs we all wrote just melted together as a song. We feel all the same way about Gods Forsaken direction. Communication went smoothly and everybody was listening to each other and open for ideas. So in general there was no need for arguing at all. This was one of the most relaxing albums I have ever recorded and I think I can speak for everybody here.
I have to admit that even this year I was literally nailed to the wall. This album is cold, cadaverous and at the same time incredibly cutting and burning! Where did you record the album, who mixed it and who is signed under the sound? Last time Jonny Pettersson did mastering, did you stay loyal to him on the new album as well?
Alwin:
Great to hear that you like the album. We just write and play from our hearts, what feels right and this is how we think death metal should sound. I think the end result has become a massive “straight in your face” death metal album which contains all necessary ingredients for such the style we play.
The album has been recorded in different places due to the fact that everybody lives somewhere else.
The drums has been recorded in Liklukt studios in Norway. We just have send our songs over to Brynjar Helgetun, where he recorded the drums for us. All guitars and bass have been recorded in Anders his basement (Riders on the Storm studio). For my own guitar parts travelled to Stockholm for a weekend to record them at Anders his studio. Where better to record Swedish Death Metal then in Stockholm itself. Credits for the guitar sound goes to Anders. He knew from the beginning what he wanted with the sound for this new album. And it has become massive.
All vocals have been recorded at Jonny’s own studio Unbound back in the UK. Jonny did a great job mixing and mastering the first record so why changing a winning team. Jonny knows his way around in the studio with his experience. Besides that we all knew very good what the album must sound like.
So far the reviews I have seen are very promising, which for us is like an award to the work we did.
I am a big collector of music and I care a lot about the covers, lyrics, the whole recording. You belong to bands that did a very good job again. What a cover by Patrick Tegnander! I must have that motif on my shirt! I know he is a guitarist of Swedish GRAVEBOMB, I love their music, but how did you figure out his graphic work? How did you choose the theme?
Anders:
Patrick is a very good friend of mine. It’s really easy to work with him. I just told him the album title “Smells of Death”, and showed him some different references i liked. From all those ideas and references he came up with this amazing cool and very brutal cover art.
He did a really great job on the first album as well I think, so it was logical for me to ask him again. Some real old school stuff is coming out of his mind.
When I heard the new album for the first time, it immediately occurred to me that I hadn't heard a better album over the last few years which title accurately describe what's happening on the album. Who created lyrics for the new album and what do they discuss? Are these classic death metal themes? What emphasis do you put on the lyrics?
Anders:
All lyrics on “Smells of Death” are written by Jonny Pettersson The main lyric theme for Gods Forsaken are mostly ideas out of horror movies. The lyrics are more or less inspired by especially the old classic ones. We use some samples and outro’s on the album now and then, which are taken from some of those classic movies. Our last song of the album, “The Curse of Matul”, is a cover of the opening sound track from Lucio Fulcis “Zombie Flesh Eaters”. It has became a great version. Check out the original and decide for yourself.
I personally love Swedish death metal since it was created. I like the old albums DISMEMBER, GRAVE, NIHILIST, SORCERY, it is the music of my youth. But I'm just a fan and listener. You are the ones who continue, develop, and create this style. It may be a difficult question, but I wonder how you would define the style of Swedish death metal and what does it mean to you?
Anders:
Swedish Death Metal for me personnaly is the really down tuned fat guitars played with and HM-2, the bands with the so called typical Swedish sound like Carnage, Entombed, Dismember, Grave. I grew up with this kind of music and thats what we want to re-create in Gods Forsaken. Keep this extreme brutal style of music alive. But with an own touch as much as possible, which is not easy in a time were everthing has been done already music wise.
GODS FORSAKEN, as I have already mentioned, is a band composed of very active musicians. How are you doing it with concerts? Everyone has a lot of responsibilities in your home bands. Will there be a chance to see GODS FORSAKEN live at all? Are you going to tour? How about taking even your home bands and going?
Alwin:
We are all very busy indeed. But that doesn’t mean we cant play live shows with Gods Forsaken. Actually we already have a couple of shows coming up. Our first show ever will be at Pitfest in the Netherlands on the 24th of may this year. A week later we will play at Gamrocken festival in Sweden. At this moment we work on a couple of shows in Germany, planned in January 2020. That’s all we have for now. Some festivals in Europe would be good for us to promote the new album.
But overall the Gods Forsaken shows will remain exclusively, and we also have our jobs and families so real long touring will be hard to do. Besides that if you play once in a while it stays very special every time you hit the stage. We don’t know what the future brings but for now it is good the way it is.
I watch you on social networks and I have to say that you act as a "band of nice guys who really enjoy playing death metal". Everywhere smiles, cool, relax. Is it really true? Do you go to beer together, talk, talk about women, metal etc.? On people who do not know death metal maybe you act as harsh, dead bodies everywhere, open graves, and in my experience death metal is mostly played by great coolers. Am I right?
Alwin:
For me metal has always been about fun. Being with friends, making or listening to some great music. Its like a big happy family. I live for this music and all what’s comes with it. Walking around on festivals. Taste the atmosphere, talk to people. This we all want in Gods Forsaken. Just good times. A good laugh, making some great music with some beers.
I play a lot with Asphyx and meet many old friends, making new friends. They are all nice and cool and just want to have good times. I guess many of the readers will recognize themselves in this.
The themes and brutal covers are just an act which fits perfect to the music. It would sound idiot when with this music you would sing about roses, sunsets etc. Just doesn’t fit.
I always wonder what music the musicians listen to. I will not make an exception this time. What albums have you been approached lately, what have you bought and what would you recommend to us?
Anders:
I don‘t listen to Death Metal that much at all. Only when im in a writing process for a new album. The album I have been playing a lot lately is the new Candlemass album. That one kicks ass. Normally I listen to all kind of music but mostly the old Heavy Metal stuff that came out in the 80‘s. Bands like Saxon, Iron Maiden, Kiss and so on.
Alwin:
In the chaos of bands these days it is not always easy to find that great death metal album you are looking for or want to hear. When I look at those cd stands there are so many bands I never heard of. Seems that everybody is able to release a record since the coming of home recordings. Sorry to say this but there is a lot of crap between all those releases. Fortunately there are also a lot of good releases in the mass of available albums, and I do buy a lot of records. This keeps the scene alive!
One of my last year highlights was “Mark of the Necrogram” from Necrophobic. I have a wide taste. I adore the old Swedish scene, but I also like bands like Primordial, Immolation. Totally different directions which makes music so never ending awesome. There is always something you like. Simply to much good bands to mention. I am also very proud of our Dutch Metal scene. Currently we have some real good old school death metal bands like Bodyfarm, Graceless, Entrapment. All really worth to check out if you’re into some old school death.
With GODS FORSAKEN you are releasing a new album after two years. Maybe I'll ask early, but when do you plan the next record? Or do you let it go free? What are plans of GODS FORSAKEN in the coming months?
Alwin:
“Smells of Death will be released on the 19th of April. For now we are just going to enjoy the upcoming release and watch the impact of it on the world. Like I mentioned before we have some live shows coming up but they will remain exclusively. No plans for a new record so far. Besides that I think its good to have some time between records and not overkill the market with it. This doesn’t mean that we cannot write material whenever we want to. If one of us comes up with something good then of course it will be stored for a next record.
Thank you very much for the interview, I am looking forward to playing your album at home from the original. I wish you a great CD sales, stuffed concerts and all good in your personal lives. Make you thrive in every way! GODS FORSAKEN rules!
Alwin:
On behalf of Gods Forsaken we would like to thank Deadly Storm for the possibility to tell the readers a bit more about Gods Forsaken and our upcoming release and plans. We hope you all like the album as much as we do and maybe we meet some of you somewhere in a near future. Old school death metal never dies. Cheers!
band:
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