Manegarm
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Manegarm is the name of a wolf that lived in a dark and terrible forest called the Iron forest. During Ragnarok he feasted on blood of dying people and he hunted the moon which caused eclipse of the moon. He also caused eclipse of the sun as he spitted blood among him that blackened the sun. For the last decade Sweden's Viking/folk metallers Manegarm have been amongst the genre's upper echelon and their latest all-acoustic album "Urminnes Hävd - The Forest Sessions" only seems to fortify the band's leading position. With a strong album behind their belt and a new contract inked with Black Lodge, an interview with the band was in place. Talking to is Erik Grawsiö, drummer and general spokesman for Manegarm.
Hi! Thanks for taking time out to talk to us. How's everything in the Manegarm camp for the moment?
Hello, everything is just fine in Manegarm. Right now we are writing some new songs for our next full-length album which is to be recorded in October this year.
This is your sixth album for Dutch label Displeased Records, so I guess the business has some expectations to you, but what do you expect of the album and the band in general?
We haven't really had any special expectations for this new album. This acoustic album is something we have wanted to do for a long time and it's a bit special, and also very different from what we normally do. Therefore we tried not to have any special expectations for it. Of course, we want our fans to like it and some good reviews would be nice.......we'll see how it goes.
What was the motivation for "Urminnes Hävd - The Forest Sessions"? I understand from the liner notes that an acoustic venture was something the band wanted to do for a long time already.
On each album we have released there have been one or two acoustic songs so the acoustic stuff isn't anything new, but we have always wanted to do a totally acoustic album, something that is completely different from our regular stuff. Personally I'm very proud of the new album and I'm glad to show a different side, a different sound of Manegarm.
Did the album turn out as you initially thought it would?
Yes, I think it did. This was the first time we recorded an album like this, with traditional drums etc. etc., so we didn't know what to expect from the recording, but it turned out great. The final result is good if you ask me, we're all really satisfied with the album.
You have always included a great deal of factual history in the lyrics, and judging from the song titles, that's the deal this time too, will you tell a bit about the lyrics on the album?
You're right about that, the lyrics are written in the same way, the same "vein", as on earlier albums and deals with the traditional Manegarm stuff. One cool thing is that the song 'Utfärd' is related to the song 'Hemfärd' on the "Vredens Tid" album. I don't want to talk about the content of the lyrics, it's just better that everyone read the lyrics and gets their own opinion and feeling for what is written.
It is fairly evident that lyrics play a substantial role in the atmosphere the band creates. Yes?
For Manegarm it is, the lyrics play an important role in our music. Our songs should be seen as great stories and adventures and you must take part of both music and lyrics to experience that.
Pick a song or two from the new album that you feel are the best examples of what Manegarm is trying to do with their sound. Explain what it is about the songs that make you feel that way.
I'll pick 'Utfärd', the quickest one on the album. I wrote this song at home with my acoustic guitar and I think it turned out great, much better than I hoped for. I really like the melody on this one; I guess it's the most "folky" song on the album. This song represents what we're trying to do here in a good way I think. The female vocals that sing against the male choirs also turned out good. I get in a good mood when I hear this song and every time I listen to it I find myself singing along in the chorus, hahaha!
What's your take on the album now that it is completed and released? Anything specific that you guys picked up in retrospect and are using to put together and improve the new material?
It's completed and released just as you say and now it's up to the listeners to tell if they like it or not. We're satisfied with the album and we can only hope for our fans to feel the same. We don't want to let them down in any way. Our next album will be recorded in October this year and this time we're back with our regular style. On that album there will be acoustic parts as usual and maybe you will be able to hear some stuff that reminds you of "Urminnes Hävd".
When you look back, which of the Manegarm albums do you find the strongest and why?
It's rather hard to say as I think that each album has their highlights. If I must pick one out though I'll say "Vredens Tid". On this album we worked much more professional and we composed, arranged and rehearsed the songs in a way that we haven't done before which made the final result very satisfying. The layout also turned out great and personally I think that Kris Verwimp made his best cover painting so far.
Does the band constantly write material? You guys put out new material in a very consistent manner, about every two years.
I guess you can say that. When we have completed one album we usually start making songs for the next one right away. We have released our albums in -98, -00, -03, -05 and now -06......not really every two years but pretty close. We also released one other album, "Vargaresa - the Beginning" (demo collection) in 2004. The new album will be recorded in October this year so it will probably be released somewhere before summer 2007.
I guess the inevitable question to follow that would be what direction you're planning on taking musically with the next record?
The next album is going to be great, I can feel it. We have come up with some really great songs that we're working with. Right now, we're rehearsing and arranging 8 songs and we probably will record these 8 songs, maybe one more song, we'll see. The new material is rather close to "Vredens Tid" in some ways but personally I think that it's even better. The music is going to be a bit harder and faster, a little more "Manegarm old school" in some parts.
You recently completed a string of European shows together with Skyforger and Goddess Of Desire. Any nifty stories from the road that you feel like sharing with your fans?
Haha, yeah right! Three bands and crew, that makes about 18 people, in a tour bus through Europe for 12 days... Stories from the road... Hmmmm...Well, we had some great fun and Skyforger and Goddess are great bands with really, really great guys! We all had a blast! There are stories, I can tell you that much, but I think I keep 'em for myself
One of the big things that happened with Manegarm was the label change, and I was interested to know why you chose to switch from Displeased Records to Black Lodge.
We have been collaborating with Displeased Records for almost 10 years and we have now released 6 albums for them. It has been good years but we feel that it's time for a change.
What can we expect from Manegarm over the next year - outside of the new album you're working on for Black Lodge, of course?
We will play at a festival in USA in the beginning of 2007, which will be cool since we have never played in the States before. In March 2007 we will play at the "Ragnaroek" (4) festival in Germany which will be really fun also, it always great to play in Germany.
How do you look upon the future of Manegarm, and how much more do you think you have to offer?
I think that we still have a lot to offer. As long as we enjoy what we're doing, come up with good songs and have listeners that appreciate what we're doing, we're going to continue. There are many things to be done.
In terms of new bands coming out and potentially one day picking up where Manegarm leaves off, have you heard anything that has impressed you yet?
I'm a conservative bastard that mostly just listen to good old Rock N' Roll such as Motörhead, Maiden, Priest etc. etc., so I can't really say that I've heard anything new and interesting. One thing though......On our tour with Skyforger I had the great pleasure to listen to many of their songs, there you have a great band with really good songs! They aren't a new band of course but I just wanted to mention them, I really like their music!
Last question: six albums into your career, having achieved quite a lot for a band in the underground, what remains the biggest driving force in this band?
For me it's simple; we're five musicians that likes to play Rock N' Roll together and we have a lot of fun doing it. Through our music we experience many positive things and when we're out playing we also get the chance to meet some fantastic people from all over the world. All these things together are the driving force, I think.
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. The final word is all yours.
Thank you very much! Buy our new album "Urminnes Hävd", out since 28th of June, Listen & Enjoy!!!
Site: www.manegarm.com
