Devian
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Old habits die hard. The living proof of that is former Marduk vocalist Erik Hagstedt (better known as Legion). He has resurfaced recently with "Ninewinged Serpent", the impressive debut album of his new death/black metal group Devian. Together with former Marduk drummer Emil Dragutinovic he has taken his years out of the scene to reassess his goals and find his true self, in the process creating a stunning debut to boot. While we were originally scheduled to talk to both vocalist Legion and drummer Emil Dragutinovic, in the end it was only Legion who was able to find some time in his busy schedule to answer our questions. 
First off, I'd like to thank you for taking time to speak with me today. Congratulations for releasing such a great first album! How are things going now? Are you receiving a good response from the fans and international metal press?
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, the response has been really great. All in all, it has been a warm "Welcome back!" and I'm just fucking overwhelmed by the mail that's been pouring in from people who like our work and my return to the scene. A lot of reviews have been really positive. Some has been really ecstatic and there are some average ones and some slagging us too, just like it usually goes. You can never please everybody.
The inevitable question, of course, is your resignation from Marduk. Can you tell us a bit how the spirit in the band was when the both of you decided to throw in the towel?
There was no band spirit; that was the big problem for me. I'm all about the feeling of belonging. Family, the wolf pack against the world kind of thing. When you feel just lumped together, rehearsing the same old tracks for the sake of rehearsing, not talking, bitching at each other for the sake of a t-shirt the other one is wearing - it's like being stuck with a girlfriend you hate, you know the bitch gotta go, you can't be in bed with someone just for the sake of having a partner. "World Funeral" was a return to good times though, it didn't last very long. More the thing like when a person is terminally ill and just before they die they get a lot better all of a sudden. I do wish them well for the future though, it's just not my place on earth.
Are you still on good terms with Morgan Steinmeyer Håkansson and the rest of Marduk?
Last time I saw Morgan we shook hands and said "hello", he said "hi, hi" - so that's three words spoken by two ex-best friends who has not seen each other in ages. That's how far apart we've come. The old Marduk'ers are all great friends still. I can shoot the shit with [Magnus] Devo [Andersson] for a while when we meet. Mortuus I don't know personally but I do like him as a vocalist.
At which point in time did you make the decision to form the Devian concept and how did things develop from there?
Emil and I founded the band in 2005 as a project. We knew we wanted to do a different sound than Marduk. One that would keep us challenged and be broad of a musical palette for us to be able to grow with. It took us about maybe 30 discarded songs all in all, a lot of good times, crazy drunken rampages and long creative night talks before we had the first songs that made us go: "This is it, let's get a line-up together!". First man to step up was our guitarist Joinus, when we started jamming together the first time it was clear that he would be perfect for the job. One by one we came across great people that we could both get along with and musically click with, it's been an uphill struggle as well as an exciting as hell journey, but now we are definitely underway!
The band underwent a number of stylistic transformations and name changes. What made you eventually settle for the Devian moniker?
It was the one name we could all agree on. Elizium has been used to death and the way the music developed during 2006 it fitted less and less. My new suggestion was Ninewinged Serpent but the others didn't seem to like it all that much, haha! We discussed it back and forth to death, I was cross referencing all ideas in the internet and got equally disappointed every time. Fuck me, everything is taken nowadays! Finally I came up with the name Devian and all bought into it.
Tell us something about the concept and the meaning of the title from this debut album, "Ninewinged Serpent"?
It's about the devil's sense of individualism based on "Paradise Lost" and the fall of the Seraphs after the great war in heaven. It's just a thought pattern I'm putting into general ideas that anyone can relate to. Don't cop shit and dare to walk the world in your own boots. No matter setbacks and hurts it'll always be worth it in the long run, instead of just trying to fit in when you really don't.
How long was the process of putting the album together, as far as writing the music, the concept and arrangements is concerned?
I wrote 'Instigator' and Emil wrote 'Burning Daylight' in May 2006. Since then we both came up with song after song. We wrote 21 all in all, threw away a bunch and ended up recording 72 minutes of music putting 45 on the album. In February 2007 we had everything that we needed on tape and paper.
What differed about the creative process involved in your latest album, "Ninewinged Serpent" and how did the process differ with your previous bands?
Marduk rehearsed the tracks until a rough wrap-up and then we were done. Little or no time was ever put on producing the stuff. Peter Tägtgren eventually added second guitars or did re-work things in the studio. We didn't want it too polished back then, after all we were as much a punk band as a metal one. For "Ninewinged Serpent" we recorded for three months in the studio. Let the tracks grow as much as we could and performed the shit out of ourselves. We pushed each other until the breaking point. Leads have a 100 re-takes and the vocals have 80 hours on them compared to 4 (!) on "La Grande Danse Macabre", haha! But yeah, it was a more methodical way of working that we intend to keep up.
How do you decide which producer/engineer/studio to use and why these particulars?
Rickard Kottelin is a great friend to the band and I have a lot of respect for both his musical ear and skills behind the knobs, so that felt like a natural choice. Fredrik Nordström is the heavy weight champion of metal in the north, say no more. Peter in de Betou is a master of what he does, and him and Fredrik has a really great balance toward each other in their work.
Is there an overall theme to this album, or how would you say "Ninewinged Serpent" is different from your other work with Marduk and the Legion?
There is an overall concept like we discussed, but nothing like a King Diamond album or the latest Dimmu Borgir. I'm still me, I write to let out what is within. The new stuff is more thoughtful maybe, but you can never teach an old dog to sit and in my appreciation of the world. I guess very little is different compared to a few years back.
Unfortunately I do not have any lyrics in front of me, so I would like to tell us a few words about the themes you treat in "Ninewinged Serpent".
The lyrics are triggered by stuff that's been going on around us the last couple of years. All of them have their base in real events or feelings I have about such. Bottom line is that we are just animals, instinct and that most things written are lies
"Ninewinged Serpent" is a dense affair that is a lot more deliberately paced, melodic and technical oriented in comparison to your blistering work with Marduk and the Legion. Was this done to display that there's more to those involved than 100% blasting all the time?
Blast just to blast is not that exciting. I felt that we finished that on "Panzer Division Marduk" and after it got to me as a limitation rather than wild and beautiful. We are going to develop the way the rhythm section work towards the guitars even more in the future. I love the dynamics we've come up with. The technical side of it comes natural from everyone in the band really knows their shit. We want to keep the music fluent, though. I remember talking about this with Jon Nödtveidt back in the day and he said that the Dissection stuff was not easy to play and he wanted it intricate. But just for the sake of that the songs should sound better, not messier or trickier like: "wow, check out how super tech we are!" That thinking still rings true to me.
Technique and variation are two words omnipresent through out Devian's debut album. I must admit it was refreshing to hear "Ninewinged Serpent" in between the current torrent of blasting death metal and lo-fi black metal albums. Of what importance are these two facets in the compositions?
We just want to write the best songs we can. We aim for haunting tunes that give you goosebumps and stick in your head after you are done playing the disc. What people labels us as or if we fit in with the scene I don't give two shits about. I ended up in the BM scene many years ago because I hated the mainstream and wanted to be different, and I found a home there because I could express myself perfectly along those lines. But I'll always be an individualist, what sounds good to me or us is what we're going to play, regardless of what is going on in the scene.
With half of the band's members also playing in Sargatanas Reign and Emil playing in the Legion. How difficult is it to properly arrange regular rehearsals and write new material - or are these two other bands not quite active on the touring front?
No problems at all. We all decided before signing the Century Media Records contract that either we do this 100 % or we don't at all. I hate halfway actions. We get together as much as we need and when we need to and it's working out great.
This album comes to us by way of the well-respected Century Media Records, whereas the albums with Marduk were released through Sweden's Regain Records and the Legion's albums by France's Listenable Records. Have you noticed any differences between the labels so far?
That Century Media Records is the greatest label I have ever had the privilege of working with. I knew that from before, though, since we did some business back in the Marduk days too. Professional, hardworking and accommodating they are. A great label home for us for sure!
With the album finished and in stores worldwide, what do you regard as the most accomplished song in hindsight?
Oh, that's a tough one. I'm dog damned proud of the fact that there is no fillers on the album, even the version with extra tracks feels so fucking together. I love the title track, 'Scarred', 'Gemini Is the Snake', 'Heresy', 'Dressed in Blood', haha. It feels great, though, to not look back on it and have to go "How the fuck did we do this?". New songs are being written right now and it's a safe call to say it's going to be at least two notches upwards on the ladder to perfection.
Now with an excellent new album under your belt can the audience expect you on stage through out Europe soon?
Yes, see you all together with Vader in April/May 2008!!!
What are your nearest future plans?
A video shoot, new songs and some gigs up north.
What are you doing outside of the band? Any interesting jobs, studies, hobbies?
Two children, still tattooing, showing off, worshiping Satan. Puke when I'm drunk... We had a tequila race on Halloween. I woke up without remembering a thing and then I get a MMS with me sitting head between my feet on the toilet without pants on asleep. I'm so out of practice I better spend some time on getting my chops up with the alcohol.
The Swedish death - and black metal scene has always appeared to be very productive. How is it doing nowadays?
I think it's alive and kicking and really healthy. The interest for extreme metal is growing again and there are a lot of killer bands up here like Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy and The Haunted to name a few that is kicking severe ass, good stuff.
Thanks for the interview! Good luck with all your future endeavours. Feel free to add anything you want to close this interview.
Legion: Make sure to check out the "Ninewinged Serpent" for a fresh breath of Hellish metal. See you all on the road next year in April-May!!!
Booking: dragu@legion.nu
Site: www.devian.se
