Metal Mayhem: Hi Guys, firstly can you tell us a little about the history of the band. You have members from Dissection, Ophthalamia and
Swordmaster, how did you get from there to where you are now?
Deathstars: Me, Nightmare and Bone come from the same small city on the Swedish west coast
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Strömstad. We’ve been involved with each other in different bands for 15 years.
In 2000 we decided to something totally different from what we were doing in
the death metal scene. We wanted to make the music more efficient, and focus on
power and urban distorted obscurity. Now we just write about our lives, nothing
else. The music is based upon dynamics, anguish, darkness and modern sex.
MM: What influences do you have both concerning music and lyrics?
DS: Darkness. 48 carat darkness, which is our trademark. Luxurious jet black groove. The influences are – as I said - our own
every night life and the organic architecture of European females.
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MM: You seem to have elements of lots of different types of music obviously industrial, also techno, ambient death and black metal yet you also seem to
have a real sense of melody where did all these ideas come from and how do you distil them down to make Deathstars sound? DS: I don’t like techno, don’t like ambient, don’t like potatoes… I think that we mix death metal, industry, goth rock, synth, pop, glamour, St Petersburg and wrath. I like melodies better that grind, you know. |
MM: The new album seems more heavy than the last one while staying very melodic, it seems the guitars have been turned up to 11!
Was that a conscious decision?
DS: Well, it’s a pity, ain’t it? Where is the 12 when you need it?. We don’t make any guidelines for how to
write our material. I t gets how it gets. We focus on the expression that we
want to deliver. You should be able to have sex to it, commit suicide to it,
dream to it, dance to it, drive Ferrari to it, drink blood to it, take drugs to
it, you should be able to rely on it...Deathstars should be your companion on
the darkside of playland. Think of it as a helping left hand, guiding you
through a Winter’s Europe in the dead of the night.
MM: You obviously have talents for writing super melodic almost poppy anthems has
the temptation ever been to go the pop route like Marilyn Manson?
DS: Don’t listen to Manson, so I don’t know how he has developed or how his career
look like. As I said, we don’t make any guidelines for how our upcoming
material should sound like. It’s an adventure for us every time we start
writing. It’s like – you know – you meet Angelina Jolie and you know your going
to have sex with her. Angelina Jolie represents our musical expression, the sex
represents the finished album. Every time you meet her and flirt with her you
get a bigger and bigger clue of how she will be in bed. The times you meet her
being the recording sessions in the studio. When the album is finished, then I
have sex with Angelina all over the place, and it feels good. She’s really good
in bed by the way, but on the next album I’ll focus on having sex with Beyonce,
Asia Argento and Kylie Minogue in the end. We have high demands. We know how we
want it. Hard and heavy, with sporty female bodies. That’s how I think of our
development.
MM: Your first album was a bit of an eye opener for a lot of people how was it
making the follow up?
DS: Wee, it was a destructive process, but also uplifting. We’ve been through so
much the last five years so it’s almost like burying an era with the release of
Termination Bliss. It’s interesting that people are so interested magnificent
darkness, fire and shiny bullets. That gives me hope for the future. And yeah,
it was interesting writing the album. We took a lot of medication and slept
with some foreign celebrities.
MM: What about the production, moreover there is a really good mixing... It was
produced by Nightmare Industries in Black Syndicate Studios and mixed by Stefan
Glaumann who has worked with some real legends like Rammstein, and Clawfinger.
DS: Yeah, we have our own studio – Black Syndicate. It offers a lot of freedom. We
can go there whenever we want to, and Nightmare is a great producer. Right now
Dissection’s in the studio. Their upcoming album is also produced by Nightmare.
It’s an excellent album.
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MM: Termination Bliss is an awesome album and it seems to have been received really
well, what have you thought of the reaction? DS: The reactions are great. Since we isolate ourselves when we record, and we don’t have a clue of what’s going on in the "scene", it’s very interesting to see the response. I think it’s a brilliant album. Maybe people will start to understand what we’re about, it’s a complex band. We combine our deepest feelings, aggression with a cynical self-distance. |
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MM: What’s next for the Deathstars? A tour? Are you going to be coming over to see
us in the UK?
DS: Yes, we will definitely come there. We’re in discussions about the tours and
the festivals. Nothing is yet settled so I can’t confirm anything, but we will
be there.
MM: Finally guys Thanks for the interview, any shouts you would like to give?
DS: Shout it out loud! KISS rules. Now I’m going out in the Stockholm death night
to
drink a lot with my friend Happy Tom from Turbonegro. He’s one hell of a sexy
guy. Take care.
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