Death Tyrant
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
There’s lots of things you can say about the Backelin brothers. They were the backbone of Lord Belial, one of the original Swedish melodic black metal combos. They are metal warriors in their own right, one and all. Death Tyrant sees the resurfacing of two out of three of the brothers, and with an enjoyable debut album "Opus de Tyranis" below their bullet belts, it felt no more than natural to ask Thomas Backelin (vocals, guitars) a few questions about the formation of Death Tyrant, their releases and how business is going for his recently opened Armageddon Recordings. 
Hello! Thanks for doing this interview with us. It refreshing to hear a death/black metal band that at once sounds evil and hateful, while retaining some semblance of melody and structure. Are you happy with the reception and reaction towards your new album?
Hi, I’m glad you have positive feelings for our album. We are all very satisfied with the massive response we’ve got for the album "Opus De Tyranis" so far. We have received many very great reviews with lots of high points. We have been working very hard with this album and to finally get to release it is satisfying in itself; but when we get this response we’ve received so far it feels even better. We had quite humble thoughts about the album ourselves, so it’s a bit surprising for us all at the moment, I guess.
In 2009 it was announced that Micke has developed a hearing problem (tinnitus) that had been going on for a couple of years already by then. It led to the eventual demise of Lord Belial. How’s Micke dealing with his hearing problem? Is he involved with the managerial - and administrative aspect of Death Tyrant - or has he left the music business altogether?
Micke had/have a hearing problem which has been somewhat better for the past year or so. For a couple of years he really suffered from some low frequent humming all the time making it quite unbearable from time to time. Nowadays he’s back in music (drums in Hex) and taking care of his hearing with headphones while rehearsing and so on. Micke isn’t involved whatsoever in Death Tyrant. His main focus lies with Hex, as I understand it.
For your new group you and your brother have teamed up with Joakim and Dennis Antonsson. Was it difficult finding new members once Lord Belial dissolved? I take it inspiration was aplenty, since you moved on overnight to form this new unit?
I had some material done already before the demise of Lord Belial. Some of the material was actually intended for the next Lord Belial album, but since we disbanded I changed around all of the ideas into new songs. I quickly moved on making more and more material. So when I approached Joakim about joining my band I already had 5 complete songs. Dennis and Anders were recruited quite fast and Death Tyrant was born just within a few months after the demise of Lord Belial.
I took care of the vocals while we searched for a suitable singer. I made the vocals for the 2010 promo "The Dark Abyss" but a year after that promo we recruited Daniel Bornstrand to take care of the vocals, since I never intended to do so on a regular basis. I want to just focus on the guitar, which I never got the chance to in Lord Belial.
For the majority of your career you’ve always had the pleasure of working with relatives. In what ways is working with family easier than with people with whom you don’t share a bloodtie?
Anders and me has been growing up together, so we know each other very well and know exactly how we work, and how to work good with each other. We know each other’s weak - and strong points. So we divide everything from that and work with what we know best.
The same goes with Micke, me and him has been playing together since ´86 so when Anders joined in about ´89 (what came to be Lord Belial later on) it all fell in place. We knew that we were going to play together from that point on. About 25 year later we’re still playing together making music.
In 2010 you recorded and independently released the "The Dark Abyss" promo/EP, which contained four songs. I don’t remember seeing much press for that demo, so I assume it was released locally. How much opportunities did that promo/EP offer up to the band? Was it based on that that Non Serviam offered you a recording contract?
We actually never released it officially. We never even printed it. "The Dark Abyss" was only intended for the internet platform, just to have something out there. Later on we got approached by Ricardo from Non Serviam Records who offered a record deal based on what he heard on the promo - so I guess it was a good call to get the material out there, whether it was a real printed cd or not.
Now in 2013 you returned with Death Tyrant’s proper debut "Opus de Tyranis". Was it originally written to be a Lord Belial album, or was it entirely fresh material with no ties to your past band?
Some of the material was intended for the next Lord Belial album - not arrangement wise or so, but some riffs. Altogether it is new material written for Death Tyrant with just some riffs here and there intended for Lord Belial.
Regarding the arrangement and different drumming style and technique I still find these songs to be different enough without compare it to Lord Belial since this is a new band. I understand if people do find references between these bands since I write in my own way and style which reflects in both bands.
Death Tyrant continues past traditions as you have enlisted some names associated with Lord Belial’s classic output. The logo was created by Belgian expatriate Christophe Szpajdel and the artwork was painted by Kris Verwimp. Was this done to keep things recognizable for the fans, or was it mere a matter of convenience?
This was not something to keep it recognizable; it was merely because I find the work of these artists to be very great and I think the style is quite suiting for Death Tyrant and the vision we have of the band.
Both Kris and Christophe have been very easy to work with over the past years, and with very good results, for Lord Belial so they were the first I had in mind for both the logo and the front cover for "Opus De Tyranis". I am convinced they were the best for the job now that I see the result.
The Horned Warrior that first appeared on the 2005 Lord Belial album "Nocturnal Beast" makes his return on both the promo/EP and "Opus de Tyranis" artworks. Will he be a recurring character in future artworks? Is he the mascot of the band, you’d say?
It’s not the exact same warrior/demon as used on some of the Lord Belial albums, even though it reminds a lot about it. I had a vision which I explained to Kris when we started to discuss the cover art, it was a quite simple idea really - a demonic shape symbolizing Death Tyrant who rises from the deepest pits to spread death and destruction upon mankind. He captured all of this vision greatly on this cover and added his unique style to it. He’s such a great artist who devotes lots of time and effort to get the painting exactly how it’s supposed to be.
In the past you recorded at Studio Fredman, Los Angered Recordings and Deadline Studios and shared production credits with the resident producers. For "Opus de Tyranis" you holed up in your own Armageddon Recordings facility, making it an entirely self-produced effort. What led you to setting up your own recording studio?
We wanted totally free hands in terms of both artistic expression and studio time. Something that we could plan and decide exactly how we wanted without interference from anyone. Even though we have been very pleased to work with previous producers and different studios over the time, we felt that we wanted to make everything ourselves from scratch this time.
Anders is a very talented engineer/producer who puts lots of effort into everything he does in the studio, so this felt as an obvious choice and opportunity for us. Instead of pushing everything within a strict time frame we could record the album over a longer period of time and tend to more details of the production than we’ve had the opportunity to do before because of the limited time/money from the labels.
You have your own professional studio with Armageddon Recordings. Besides using it for your own projects, have you been able to build up a modest reputation for yourself in the Swedish metal underground. Your most known products are the Death Tyrant releases and the new Trident EP - are there any projects that you are particularly proud of? What is the biggest selling point from your studio, you would say?
Besides Death Tyrant there have also been bands such as Eastern Front, Skin Infection, Trident and Them, plus some smaller local bands. Hopefully the name of Armageddon Recordings will start to spread leading to more work in the studio. New gear has been invested into the studio, so the sound quality is getting better and better. All bands are welcome, even small band that just want to make a demo over the weekend or so.
Lord Belial was under contract with (now defunct) labels such as No Fashion Records and Regain Records. For Death Tyrant you signed with the relatively new Non Serviam Records, who are based out of Holland. In what ways was this new recording contract better than your past experiences?
Non Serviam is the smallest, but also by far the best label I’ve worked with over the years. I find it to be so good due to the outstanding commitment, communication and devotion they show us. It’s as easy as that.
With Lord Belial you have played tours/shows in Europe, besides gigs of various capacity on your own country. As a veteran of the industry, are there any words of wisdom or advice you like to dispense to young acts hungry to get on the road or new to the recording/touring industry?
If you’re not willing to sacrifice a whole lot of money, time and effort- don’t get on this road at all. If you do, be sure to stand up for yourself and your band.
Well, I’m running out of questions, so feel free to end this interview in any way you like. If there’s anything of importance we might have forgotten to mention or anything you’d like to add, just go ahead. Thanks a lot for your time and all the best to all of you!
I thank you, and your readers, for the opportunity for us to spread our name. I hope lots of you guys out there will buy the "Opus De Tyranis" album, so that we can continue making new albums in a near future. Cheers!
Info/booking: www.myspace.com/death-tyrant.se
Non Serviam Records: www.non-serviam-records.com/
Studios & producers
Armageddon Recordings: www.facebook.com/pages/Armageddon-Recordings/176508312426751 (Thomas & Anders Backelin)
Sonic Train Studios: sonictrainstudios.com/site/ (Andy LaRocque)
Studio Fredman: www.studiofredman.com/ (Fredrik Nordström)
