http://digitalmetal.com/interviews.asp?iID=3612
When everything metal ends, when this genre of music goes down in the
history books, when there is no longer a pissed-off, enraged segment
of the world's population, "Casket Garden" by Dismember will be
forever recognized as one of the greatest death metal achievements of
all time. The song is far from complex, and isn't really
sophisticated on any level. But, to a death metal purist, this track
embodies everything sacred about the grey subgenre. "Casket Garden"
is scathing, catchy in its own right, and emotes pure, classic evil.
It's this old-school mentality that Bloodbath drummer Dan Swano (he's
also in Edge Of Sanity) wanted to recreate. Inviting buds Mike
Akerfeldt (Opeth), Anders Nystrom (Katatonia) and Jonas Renske
(Katatonia) along for the ride, Bloodbath's Stockholm-circa-1991
sound originally appeared on 1999's Breeding Death EP. Now, with
Hallowe'en fast approaching, Swano spoke to DigitalMetal about
nostalgia, the new Bloodbath full-length and pure, simple death.

How did the Bloodbath project come about?
Three years ago I was hanging out with some old friends (note: Mike
from Opeth, Anders and Jonas from Katatonia) and we started talking
about getting together in a rehearsal room or studio and recording
brutal death metal like old times. So we did it, and then it ended up
that Century Media released the mini-album. We thought it was going
to be a one-off, but a fanbase started for Bloodbath. On tour, we'd
hear from fans that they wanted another album. We thought about it,
and had a hard time coming up with reasons why we shouldn't do a full
LP. "Why not," we asked? No one will suffer because we put out
another album. (laughs)

Is Bloodbath about creating a new sound, or paying homage to an old
one?
We wanted to capture the feeling of the early '90s, all the way to
finding the right guitar pedals. We asked ourselves, what did
equipment did they have? What kind of strings? We wanted to create
really vintage, classic death metal. We're about paying tribute to
that old Swedish sound, the very raw, simple and catchy stuff. We're
about air guitar and beer and singing along with audible lyrics, not
just a loud "ARGH!". The album ages ten years as soon as you put it
into your CD player (laughs).

Will there be a Bloodbath tour, or is that idea impossible given the
schedules of the members involved?
It's possible. There's nothing that wouldn't work about it. The only
real problem is that the other guys are all on the verge of releasing
new albums. Both Opeth and Katatonia will be touring their asses off
this year and next, and by the time those guys get off the road, the
momentum for Bloodbath will be dead. The coolest would be to do the
European festivals, but the demand might not be there.

Was it hard to even synchronize everyone's schedule for recording?
It was hell! (laughs) I have a day job and I work Saturdays. I also
have a wife and kid. So, there really was only 1 day off a week to
write. Then we had to find a weekend where all of us could be in the
same place at the same time. We'd work until midnight on Sundays, and
then I'd be ill for the rest of the week (laughs). Sometimes, we'd do
48 hours of straight death metal on weekends. That was fun.

Is this album a reaction to the popularity of Gothenburg?
Not really. Gothenburg is a more advanced, cross-breeding sound with
a lot of keyboards. We're not saying the new breed of death metal is
necessarily bad. We're just saying it was better before. We want to
go back to the roots. A lot of people in the scene are just jumping
on the next colour of the death metal sound, whether it be Gothenburg
or anything else. I like bands that never change (laughs). Like
Vomitory. Those guys are always the same. When you listen to a new
Vomitory record, you know exactly what you're going to get. It's
totally brutal, all the time. They have a strong belief in their
sound, and they live by it. They still carry the torch, and we wanted
to add into that spirit.

What can you tell me about the track "Bathe In Blood"?
That's an Anders Nystrom track. It's the most Stockholm sounding, and
it's fast, groovy and speedy. There are lots of tempo changes, and he
wrote the riff with a specific tone in mind. It's a typical Stockholm
riff, and I think it sounds great with both the old-school riff and
the old-school guitar tone. By the same token, this isn't a rip-off
of anyone else's material. We're not about ripping anyone off. These
are just step-sisters and cousins of older riffs (laughs).

How did you get that fantastically crisp and thick guitar tone? It
really stands out.
That was the hardest part of the record. We wanted the album to sound
like those old records out of Sunlight Studios. When bands recorded
there in the early '90s, they used this one pedal called "HM2" by
Boss. It's a black unit, with orange colouring on it. There's
something in its circuitry that makes it sound broken. Then, when you
play it through a traditional amp, the coalition of the two sounds
creates this amazing sound and sensation. It creates great sustain,
and has an almost chainsaw-like vibe. When people were recording the
Stockholm stuff during the early '90s, they didn't care about
material things, or using the best equipment. With Entombed and their
early records, they had this sound... this sound that almost sounds
like vomiting (laughs). The new material by Swedish bands is too
polished and then when you re-mix it so many times it ends up having
no life... no spark. We were looking for the Left Hand Path sound.

Check out the interview with NFL player Kyle Turley too.
http://digitalmetal.com/interviews.asp?iID=3696