Centinex
Wywiad przeprowadził Tomasz Osuch
Previously, this intie was supposed to be published a month ago, but as many of you maybe know, guys from Centinex are currently at the studio and they are recording their new album "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos". Finally, the mainman of the band & bassist in one answered the questions and here is the result. I talked to Martin of course and he told me lots about new stuff and also other things, not connected with Centinex. Just read and wait for "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos'!
Hail Martin! How are you? What's new in your Hellbrigade? Have you been at any great concert in your town recently or somewhere else?...or maybe you played some show recently?
"Hail!! Thanx, I'm fine. We are busy with the recordings of the new album, just started a few days ago. No, we haven't done a single show since the tour w/ Deicide in November."
It seems that the first months of this year were for Centinex like a vacation after years of working hard! Well, I suppose that you can sincerely say thay the previous year was very successful for Centinex. Can you sum up 2002 now?
"Yes, 2002 was a good and quite busy year for us. First the album release and all the promotion surrounding that and then the festival shows + tour so yeah, we had our asses full. After the tour we had a small break for a month or so and then we started with the new material."
Ok, we will come back later to some events which are connected with the previous year. The upcoming new Centinex album entitled "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos" is the main thing in this intie, and let's start with it! You have booked recording session for June and July this year and new album is recording new. Can you tell me something about new songs? Could you describe them now?
"As I'm a bit late with the answers we have now started the recording. So far we have recorded the drums and on july 14th we will continue with the rest. The new tracks are in a way typical Centinex tracks but on the other hand they are more 'modern' and do represent the 'new' Centinex. Hard to explain, you have to wait and hear."
What is the main difference between "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos" and the previous album "Diabolical Desolation" ?
"The new one will be more technical and varied. And also 100 times better...."
Are you planning to make some little different directions in Centinex sound? You have characteristical sound, especially for some older kind of european, or swedish death metal. I ask you about it, because a lot of swedish bands have recently changed their sound for more clear and sweet.
"Yeah I think there will be a small change in the sound but you can still hear it's Centinex. We just take our typical sound and make it more modern. Or something like that...."
Artwork for the "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos" will be done by Per Gustaffson and layout will done again by Timo Ketola. Is this ready yet? What will be on the cover?
"The cover is ready and I can tell you that it fits the music and whole concept perfectly."
As you said Martin, cover artwork will be connected with lyrics and the new Centinex album will be a concept album... but I heard that you have moved away from the War World II subject. Can you tell me more about lyrics?
"Yes, in a way it's a concept album. We have moved away from the WWII era, the lyrics are based upon the upcoming devastation of mankind. So they are still brutal as they were in the past."
This year there will be a few Centinex releases through different labels! Split with Nunslaughter and 'Hail Germania' are out now, and they are limited to 1000 copies. Candlelight prepared reeditions of "Hellbrigade", "Bloodhunt" and "Malleus Maleficarum" with bonus tracks. Why are these releases coming out this year?
"All those above mentioned releases are already out. The split w/Nunslaughter was supposed to be released two years ago so it feels good it's finaly available. As Repulse Records - our former label - went bankrupt and closed down Candlelight thought it was a good idea to buy parts of our backcatalogue and re-release it in order to spread our name even more."
Moreover, for June Nothern Sound Records announced release "Deathlike Recolections" which contains two tracks from the debut album and it's limited to 500 copies. Can you give me more details about this release?
"Well, it will be out in September through Sword & Sorcery Records (a division of Rage of Achilles) instead. And it will be limited to 1000 copies.... We do support vinyl, therefore we came up with this idea."
"Diabolical Desolation" had a lot of really good reviews and this album was promoted on many gigs. It means that this album was very successful for Centinex. Do you think that "Decadence - Prophecies Of Cosmic Chaos" will be appreaciated like the previous ones? What can you expect from this album?
"That's right, "Diabolical Desolation" was very succesfull for us but I do hope and think the new one will be a even bigger step on our way towards global devastation."
Ok, let's start to talk about concerts, especially about European tour together with Deicide which you did in November last year and you played two concerts in Poland. It seems that this tour was very important and you spend this time very well! How do you recall this concerts, this tour?
"We played two shows in Poland, one in Warsaw and one in Wroclaw. Yes, the tour was important for us and we did enjoy it a lot. There were many good shows - hard to mentioned the best one really - but I have to say the polish dates were among them."
Glen Benton is a very controversial person and many people have a very conventional opinion about him, about his behaviour. I have visited your website and there are some cool photos and it seems that Glen is a really nice guy! You spend with him almost one month on tour and I suppose you have had many occasions to meet him. Can you tell what kind of a person he is?
"He is nice, a ordinary guy who likes metal, goodlooking chicks and Jack Daniels. A guy like you and me, heh..!! Yes, there might be some controversial rumours surrounding him but we didn't notice anything special on the road, we came along very well with all the guys in the bus. Yeah, there are some cool photos, so check them out."
A few months earlier before your visit in my country with Deicide, Centinex played on Smash Fest 2002. I was there and I rememeber your very good concert (and the next with Deicide in Warsaw was really nice too, but too short!). In many opinions Smash Fest was a shitty fest. But you and for example bands like Pandemia or Devolved are satisfied from their concerts and the fest. What do you think about this fest now? For me it was a great time!
"Smash Fest wasn't that well organised and I feel sorry for the audience and all the bands who weren't able to play the second day. But we did still enjoy ourselves and the organiser did fullfill all our demands and agreements we had. So we can't really complain. However, I don't think this Daniel-dude will ever arrange anything again...."
I heard some rumours that when you travelled to Poland your vocalist threw his passport and documents out of the ship because he was drunk as hell! Is it true or rumours only?!
"Ha ha, that's a rumour. The truth is that he was so drunk he couldn't find his passport at the polish border so we weren't allowed to enter your country. He searched for his passport everywhere but couldn't find it so we thought he had lost it on the ferry. But after two hours we finaly found the passport in some bag and we could cross the border. It was a relief, we had a small panic there. 'We have to play an instrumental set'.... "
Do you remember first Centinex show in Poland? If I'm informed well It was in Gdańsk 10 years ago and also you were announced to play together with Sanatorium 4 years ago in Sandomierz...
"Yes, I remember the show in Gdańsk back in 1993. It was chaos and the party at the hotel afterwards was even more mayhem. We had to pay for some smashed furniture and stuff like that....We didn't play in Sandomierz, we weren't able to be there in time due to a massive snowstorm."
Martin, Centinex guitarist Jonas Kjellgren is a vocalist in Carnal Forge. Didn't you have any problems with this? Did you ever have any problems when for example Centinex are going to play a concert somewhere and Carnal Forge wanted to play a gig at the same time in other venue?
"No, it's no problem really. As long as we plan everything (shows, recordings etc) well ahead things runs smoothly."
On tour with Deicide your drummer Kennet Englund couldn't play and you replaced him with Carnal Forge drummer. Why couldn't Kennet play with Centinex on this tour? Did the guy from Carnal Forge play only then with you or maybe it will be some cooperation between him and Centinex in the nearest future? New drummer?!
"Kennet had just started a new job so it was impossible for him to get any days of. As we didn't wanna cancel such a killer tour we asked Stefan to join. No, there were never any thoughts about Stefan joining as a fulltime member."
Ahhh, I would also like to ask you about Glen Benton. Did you listen to "Dechristanize", the newest album of Vital Remains where vocals were done by Glen? For me this is masterpiece!
"Yeah, we heard it and you're right, it's a fukking masterpiece !!"
I heard that you prefer to listen to other music kinds than metal. Is it true that you like music of the artists like Kylie Minogue and Foo Fighters?
"No, not Kylie Minogue and Foo Fighters. But Melanie C and Queens Of The Stone Age, ha ha..!! You have to be openminded you know...."
Sure! In the summer you will play on two open air fests in Austria and in Czech Republic Centinex will play on Obscene Extreme 2003! What can you expect from this brutal fests? What are the other Centinex live-plans for this year?
"Right, we will do those shows in just a few days. Then we have a swedish festival coming up as well but apart from that we don't yet have any live plans. We have to finish the album first and then we'll see. But hopefully we are able to do a full eurotour late this year or early next."
That's all my death metal friend! Thanks and if there is something what I forgot to ask you Martin, just tell me now for the end of this interview.
"Thanx a lot for this great interview !! No, I don't know what more you could ask, I think we got it all here. Chaos 666 !!"
Tomasz Osuch
