Imperious
Wywiad przeprowadził Aleksander Krzeczkowski
It must be said once again - Sweden is a magic place where great death metal bands appear out of nowhere one after another. And even if Imperious is not a typical band from this country, it is worth every death maniac's attention for sure. Retribute records catched them in a really good moment, they have released their debute album "In Splendour" and that was also a good time for me to ask Johan (guit & voc) few schematic questions.
Hi Johan! Getting such a good CD from almost unknown band is always a pure pleasure for every zine editor. Tell us shortly about the history of the band - and how come I've never heard about you? :)
Well, we started in -97 under the name of Obscura and then we released 3 shitty demo tapes. Thats the reason why you never heard about us. Hand on my heart, we were not so good in promoting ourselves, we just liked rehearsing.
Why did you change the name from Obscura to Imperious? Was there any other band with the same name or maybe Obscura was a bad description for your style?
We think that the name Imperious is more true to the music we are creating today, Obscura just did'nt fit in with the music so we changed right before we released the cd.
How did Retribute Records find you? Did someone recommend your band to Chris?
It was Peter from Visceral Bleeding who told Retribute that we existed so he contacted us and.....here we are now.
Are you satisfied with them? Are you looking for any bigger label now or you're going to stay with Retribute in the future?
Yes we are really pleased to be on Retribute records, we have not had any trouble or anything like that. We will see in the future if there is something else for us but right now we are staying.
"In splendour" is a great piece of death metal art. It contains all the best elements of old school death metal mixed with a new concept of brutal music. Comparisons to Morbid Angel, Nile or Hate Eternal are very reasonable and all of you, mention those bands in your personal profiles as your musical influence. But I want to ask you - what is your own definition of your music? Are you able to point any unique and original elements in your style?
Shit, satan, fuck! Ha ha, it's a really tricky question......We are all into Morbid Angel, Nile and hate Eternal and I think there is a difference in our music, but you can hear that we are influenced by them.
Would you tell me a little bit more about the three demos you recorded as Obscura? How progressive is "In Splendour" to those efforts?
Ok, the first deno was a two song demo. Compared to In splendour it is really shitty. The second demo we had some acoustic guitars on and it was really bad but quite technical, none of us likes it. The third demo is the best one but it still lacks of intensity and speed. "From suffering" and "One with nothingness" is on the demo aswell as on the cd.
Production of the album is really impressive - but most musicians obviously complain that something could have been done better. And how
about you?
Yea, of course the production and the songs could have been better but we are relly happy with the result, the sound is raw and it's not to good. We like that.
I know that Kaamos and Pandemonic recorded their albums in Subsonic studio. Do you know any other productions done there? How popular is
this studio in Sweden? Why did you chose it and what are the prices like in Subsonic compared to other similar studios in your country?
Soils of fate recorded both of their cd:s there and then I can't remember another band. The studio is known and The guy who has it is really cool, he is really good behind the wheels. The prices are lower than like Abyss studio so it was perfect for us because we did not have a big budget.
Have you got any favorite track on "In splendour"? The one of which strucutre and ideas fit best with your taste and drives you absolutely crazy while playing it? :)
It must be In splendour, I cant have enough of the song. It's really brutal and straight forward and intense. I love it!
And what is the maniacs reaction to your music on shows? By the way - do you perform any cover song?
Most people is really surprised when we play but in a good way. They have not heard us before and they give us credit for what we do. They like it. We perform a Morbid Angel cover live, "Dominate" from Domination.
What are your reqiurements when someone asks you to play a gig?
Double kick drums and a PA system so that we can trig the kickdrums. But we usually bring our own things if possible.
Does your music seriously fail alive without a bassplayer? Are looking for one? Is it really difficult to find the exact person?
Hmm, I don't think it fails but it would be better to have a bassplayer for the sound. We are currently trying out a few bass players, we just want a person who is standing with his both feet on the ground and who is dedicated to the music. Dedication for what you do is everything, it's hard to find one but we will see.
Cover art to "In Splendour" was done by famous Mike Bohatch. His works adorns LPs of FleshGrind, Suidakra, Internal Bleeding, Mangled, Dew-Scented and many many others. How did it happen he made this art for you? It is titled "The Watcher" - do you think it fits well with your
lyrical concept?
Both yes and no, the artwork is very surreal and we thoght it would fit our music and in some cases the lyrics. We were looking at different artists but we liked Bohatch best.
While talking about lyrics. I guess anti-religion idea is the main concept on "In Splendour". Am I right? Are there any other subjects you're trying to take up into your songs?
Yes, the lyrics are dealing with anti religion and that "You" as a person should make your own decisions how to live your life.
What are the plans for the nearest future. How are you going to promote "In Splendour". Are there any concrete hostilities planned by Retribute records?
Nothing is planned but we will answer interviews and spread our misery through the spoken and the written word.
OK that's all from me. Thanks for your time Johan. Last symbolic word belongs to you.
Check out Imperious new cd "In splendour" and support the underground. Stay brutal and maybe we will see you soon. Thanks for the interview and take care.....
Aleksander Krzeczkowski
