Insision - Beneath The Surface
by Perkele
If a death metal band says they are from Sweden everybody will pay attention to them. Well, Swedish death metal has many fans and followers all around the world since it started. Besides the great, famous bands Sweden produced to the world, their underground metal scene is also very active, hiding better and better bands. I was lucky enough to hear about one of these bands, exactly about INSISION and after listening their debut album Beneath the Folds of Flesh, that has been released this year, questions came to me so I emailed the band and their singer Carl Birath was eager to give the answers.
- Hello! Thanks for spending your time with this interview on this Sunday afternoon. How are you today?
- Well, for a change I have no hangover, so im pretty OK.
- Ok, lets start then. What does Insision mean? I`ve checked several English dictionaries but haven`t found anything about it...
- The corect Word is INCISION but some how The band, in the beginning, fucked it up, by meaning or misstake, and spelled it INSISION instead. The word acctually means the wound that is made by a scalpel. At the moment I dont consider the actual meaning very important anymore and the fact that it's "Miss spelled" just makes it more interesting. Now days we see it more as the brand for our musicanship and devotion for death metal!
- After this story, what do you think when you read reviews, articles about the band in those the band`s name is misspelled and write as Incision?
- He-he, well I get annoyed of course but its no big thing. I mean either it is the journalist who has not been "reading up" on the band before doing the interview OR he just ran the written interview trough a spelling program and just pressed "change" when our band name came up. Its no big deal it just shows their bad side not ours! *laughing out load*
- All of you had played in different bands before. Do you know what happened with these bands? Were those death metal bands too?
- Yup they were all deathmetal except for Daniels band Dellamorte and Disconto who is more in the crust or punk/noise way. I dont know about Dellamorte and Disconto. I think they are still active but I know for sure that My old band Azatoth died with me when I left. It was actually already dying when I was in it, lack of devotion that's all. The guys who were in it are now days just a bunch of telly tubbys with dull lifes and nobody of them are into any kind of metal anymore. Some people can handel it, some cant! About Roger (former in Disfigured) , Thomas(Embalmer+Ildore) and Toob (Genocrush) I cant tell you much but I think they all went the same way...Dissolving because of the lack of interest!
- Sorry to hear.
- Yeah. Well, shit happens but hey if it hadnt happened this would not be a fact!
- We can read your biography on your homepage so I don`t ask you to introduce the band but pls tell us the story of how did You get into INSISION.
After leaving Azatoth in 97 or something I told myself to never sweat my ass of again with a bunch of fucking bastards. Some year passed and I met Tobias from Repungnant and we had some cool time doing a two men black metal-project called Superior. We released 2 demos but after we didnt really coming along musicwise we decided to forget about the whole thing. Anyway then one evenenig I was at some underground show here in Stockholm and watched this strange band called INSISION and I told myself that if I ever wanted to start over with some band it would definetely be with this bunch. At this time I was pretty fed up with all the black metal stuff that had been going on and had almost given up on the Swedish scene. Two weeks later Thomas called me up and asked if I was interested - and dont ask me why or how coz he just asked if I was the one singing in old Azatoth and ....well! Anyway the old singer (Johan Thornberg) had lost his will and left, and I really was about to say no but for some strange reason I sad yes
And thats the way it happend nothing more to add actually!
- Does any of you take part in side projects now? If yes, what might we know about those bands? Is Insision your main band to the all of you?
- Only Thomas is doing some side stuff, hes playing drums in Repungnant and he is also active in some sleezy rockband. For me INSISION is the only band and I think that stands for the rest as well. I walk and talk INSISION 24 fucking hours a day. But I am wondering on doing some strange sideproject more satanic that would be less music focused.
-What do you mean with less music focused? Would it be a more black metal music or some experimental, ambient stuff?
- More experimental I think. What I mean is that it wouldnt focus that much on the regular stuff like guitars drums and bass....Hmmm we have to wait and see what happens, if something happens. Its just in the planning state now. And not necessary "Satanic" in the black metal sense, rather more occult.
- Based on your lyrics on the album Beneath The Folds Of Flesh and on your sentences, let me ask, what attracts you so much to satanism and to occultism?
- Ok Ill keep this one a bit short. I have always been strongly drawn to almost everything that involves cccult stuff. Reason? Well, if you have "a" and "b" and "a" proved to be a completly idiotic belief then I think its natural to choose "b". And if you just look at it from an objectiv way I think you'll easily see that its not all about misslead people who kill virgins and eat cats. Most of this is made up by christian fundametalists that are out to slander Satan. To sum it all up feel that the "darkside", if we must use a cliche, feels more appealing to me and Im just giving after for it.
- If we started to talk about this subject, pls tell us a bit about the lyrics. What gives the inspiration to them? What or who is Imamiiz Graa.
-Often when I write lyrics I'm going through some sort of "mood swings" Having an idea popping up inside and just letting it roll. Building it until it fits my mind and what I want to accomplish with it. Which can of course differ from time to time. But most of the time Im aiming for that energy rush that strikes you when you know, both in body and spirit, that you have succeeded with something. There are times when I can feel that I'm more receivable for things in life, call it demons or what ever. But its when I'm having this Times that the lyrics comes out the best. And some are built as Rites and Evocations. Which is, if you take it all apart, really Power words or Tools for your different purposes.
Impamiiz Graa is my inner demon, call it my alter ego or whatever fits, but its still like that. Impamiiz Graa has come from when I years ago was involved in doing some rites and I wanted to point out that I was doing them alone not with a bunch of friends out in the forest just as the U.K METAL HAMMER said, making shit up instead of writing what I told! Anyway, it started that way. I choose a name to work as a key when I was in the roll as the magician and I.G. was this. It works as a second body so when you are doing the rites you are him and not yourself, forgetting about your personal problems and its more easier to concentrate. When I stopped doing these rites he fell into oblivion but was still there and has transformed from second ego to a real thing . Maybe not for you or anybody else but what should I care. He is very much alive in both metaphoric ways and for real!
- For how long have you been into these things?
- I think I found out about satanism when I was in the 7th grade. I think it was curiosity that drew me maybe from my interest in horror stories and of course the music. Metal is the devils music in my eyes! I think this because its rebellious and the whole idea of rock-music is rebellion and satan was also a rebell when he rebelled against God, not wanting to be just another slave.
- The question is obvious then, what made you to become a metal musician?
- Well, I think it has to do with growing up. When everything musically around you reeks of commercialism and the usual popular plastic feeling. You start to look for something different and I, as many others, found metal to be it. It gave me that duoble heartbeat and adrenalin rush that nothing else could give and when you come to think about it. And its pretty natural that you want to compose your own stuff when you are into the music yourself. I think it went down as it always do, a bunch of ppl that are into the same music and idea. Someone who can play guitar and someone who likes the drums...You know how it goes. You form a band and hey, suddenly you have something to do!! As I couldnt really play any instrument (Not that any of my friends really could back then hahaha) I fell into the roll of a "screamer" in the band. My first band was named Ophedia and we sucked soo bad HA HA HA!
And I still get gus-bumps when I hear a good riff or part of a song!
- What kind of music Ophedia used to play?
- Ophedia? Ha-ha it was some way of trying to do deathmetal but we failed pretty bad... you know we wasnt much older than 13-14 years old and no one had really ever picked up an instrument before... Ha-ha I just laugh when I come to think about it!
- So what was your first touch with death metal?
- I think it was Bolt Thrower and Cannibal Corpse.
- There were some line up changes in the earlier years of the band. Is the current line up strong enough to stay together for a long time?
- I really hope so. It definitely feels that way. We are all diferent ppl but in the same time we come together for one thing Insision- and thats what matters. So, yes I think this will hold on for some years.
- What makes you different from the other underground death metal bands in your opinion?
- We play a little more structure built death metal but hey I wont compare coz I havent heard everyone, but the last cople of underground compilation cd's/tapes are realy scary. One thing that hits me is the production. Almost 80% are so low production so I would consider its a waste of music just releasing it, mainly because you cant really hear what they arae playing and thats too bad!! But I feel that lots of grinding monoton music is on the rise here and well, I may be totally out of my border here but I think we have a bit more "Structuring" when it comes to putting the songs together. In the same time I really love the UG coz its the UG that keeps this scene together.
And if we talk about the more "famous" bands, then I think the main difference is maybe the sound. At the moment I think lots of new death metal acts really screw the sound up by computerizng it and making it sterile and not so vivid.
- How did the deal with Wicked Worlds come about? Are you satisfied with them so far?
- Yeah really! Earache had been in contact before about the MCD but didnt feel the time was right and of course it wasnt. And one day Wicked World came in contact with us. We acctually discussed this for a whole year before signing the deal. The best thing is that W.W didnt put any restrictions on anything. We have totally artistic freedom.
- Your debut album Beneath the Folds of Flesh came out around April. What are the responses like so far from the fans and from the media too? Do you know how much has been sold till today and where has been the most albums sold?
- We havent really gotten any figures yet and I think its a bit early, but so far we have had great response, getting super reviews all over the world and doing tons of interviews for magazines like Metalhammer, Terrorizer etc. We even got chosen to represent Sweden in the American Billbord magazine as the new death metal of Sweden. So we cant complain!
- That sounds really good. Congratulations!! And fingers crossed.
You recorded the album in Berno Studios. Whose idea was it to work there, did you or the record company choose it? How much are you satisfied with the album now? Would you change anything if you could?
- We chose it ourself because of the analogue equipment and the fact that they havent done so many death metal acts before so we could get a fresh sound.
Yes we are satisfied with it but as usually there are things those we could have done better but its no use thinking about it now. We had 2 weeks of recording and that makes it a bit stressy. Next time if we get a bigger budget that will mean more studio time. Two weeks is a short time, we got up around 8am and worked till 9, 10 or 11pm but we still had lots of fun hanging around in the studio with the guys from Deranged.
- How does the album title connect with the album itself? `Normally` there are always a song on the albums that has the same title as the album itself. It`s not the case with you. Why? What is the meaning of the album title concerning to the whole album
- We wanted to have a title that was connected to the lyrics and to the whole album and Daniel came up with this name and asked me if it was ok and I felt it was suiting. Are we only made by flesh and bone? Or is there something else underneath... I think that sums it up.
- Who made the cover? Did you tell himher what you wanted to see on the cover or did he/she has totally freedom to work on his/her own?
- We had problem wtih finding something we couls use as the cover and W.W had some artist they suggested but we said no. We wanted something abstract and nothing like all the other paintbrush covers. A friend told me about M.Bohatch and so I was looking at his site and found this picture (the cover) and felt it was perfect. I found a couple of pics that I though was good and the rest of the guys came over to my place we looked it through and decided togeter. This aint no one-man-band ya know!
Too bad he didnt do such a good job with the lay-out of the booklet it could have been a bit more interesting if I may say! But I defenetely dont think we are going to use him again. I think next time we can find somebody who really works and can do the layout better.
- Six songs out from nine on the album have been chosen from your previous releases those I haven`t heard. Have you changed anything on the songs? And why did you put these songs together instead of making an album with totally new songs?
- We wanted to give these songs, which we really like, a second chance. They are all good songs and deserve to be heard by everyone. Second of all we didnt have so many new material and the material we had wasnt that good and we thought like this: better to release some old and good songs then release only new songs those suck! Do you know what I mean?
We have changed some things but I dont think you'll notice if you dont really sit down and listen, well of course it sounds different. They were demo verions, made in less professional studio and so on. Hmm.. now if I come to think about it Impamiiz Graa's beginning is much much slower in the demo versions.
- Do you already have new songs for an upcoming album?
- Yes we have some. The Faoul Smell of Humans, Imminent Vision and Resistence Is Useless (which is only a workname) plus 2 others those havent gotten any names yet.
- If somebody haven`t heard from you before, which song would you recommend to this person to listen first? Which songs shows the real face of Insision in your opinion?
- Well I would say World Impaled or My Fever but I really like doing Temple of Flesh as well, shit its a hard Q! You know its hard because I like the new songs better, but I guess its always like that!
- You write the lyrics, whose duty is composing the music to it? How do u work together, do you write the lyrics first or is the music done earlier?
- Usualy its Roger who comes up with a riff and then we work on it togheter. Often I write the lyrics at home but I also write at rehearsals while the guys are playing and I sit in the next room alone and just write.
- Do you consider the lyrics just simple lyrics or are they rather poems?
- I consider them as personal lyrics with meaning. They are my words and thoughts put down on paper. I dont write and consider them as poems but its a bit up to the viewer to judge.
- What do you like more: writing music, working in the studio or playing live?
- Definitely playing live! But the other things go hand in hand with that. But I consider ourselves as a live band
- How much time do you spend with the band generally? Rehearsals, writing music... etc.
- Well we meet about 3 times a week but dont really spend that much time togeter. For me Im doing the webpage and merchandising + all the e-mail stuff so I work for the band almost every single day. I mean we dont often do things together in the weekends and I think thats natural but we still meet often anyway.
- What is your contact with the fans like? Do you often get emails or other kind of requests, feedbacks? You also have two official forums. How much do you participate in them?
- Well, we get lots of e-mails from fans and such and I try to answer them all personally. The fans are very important to us, without them we would not exist. So its important when they take the time to write I try to write back. Sometimes I just dont have the time so I have to send back a short letter and that's sad but hey, shit, you cant keep up all the time. And in the same time I try doing interviews (in which Roger also helps out with) and compose the Insision-newsletter from time to time. Hopefully in the future I will get help with this all.
Concerning to the forums, we have fixed that U.M is our official host and thats our only official forum at the moment.(Its linked from our homepage too) Its easier this way and now you dont have to register and that is good coz not everybody have the time or will to register. We check into the forum quite often really. Just to keep up-to-date with everything
- What are your goals with the band? And what kind of future do you think Insision has?
- The future for Insision is hopefully lots ot touring and then we'll start working on our next album.
The goal is to have a good time with what we do and like. Playing death metal, its that simple. We're not planning on being superstars, which is kinda hard with this music any way. We gonna do it as long as it feels good and when we dont want it, we will just stop!
- You had played with Hypocrisy and Disgorge before and now you are going on tour with Deicide and Mystic Circle this autumn. Is there any other band you would like to play together?
- Hmmm, I would really like to do something with Cannibal Corpse, that would be intense. and of course with Immolation and Hate Eternal....btw, I think we are doing something with Immolation in December. And Nile would be fucking awsome!
- What do you expect from the upcoming tour?
- Hopefully we get to play a lot and sell some stuff and have a good time on the road. I usually dont have any expectations on anything until its time to do them.
(The interview was made before the sad news came about the tour cancellation with Deicide.)
- How many opportunity do you have to play live in Sweden? What is the Stockholm metal scene like? (from outside we might think its very active). What is contact between the bands like?
- The scene in Stockholm is not that strong actually, there are more activities in the south of Sweden (Gothenburg etc). But there are some bands here we are in contact. Playng live in Sweden is not easy. Its easy to repeat yourself and play with the same bands over and over again and we try to do that as little as possible. Right now were preparing for a smaller metal feast in Linkoping and that will be our last gig in Sweden before the tour.
- I like your growlings very much. Do you have a singer-idol, in metal or in other styles?
- I always liked Glen Benton on the old stuff but I like Chris Barnes old stuff too. In general I dont have any idol, but I can say like this that I think you should not "Cup" the mike with your hand and if you have a good voice without Cupping then thats fair enuff. Still some bands who do the Cupping sounds good anyway so Im maby wrong here... I also think Corps Grinder really "rocks. Hehe
- Thank you very much for your answer. I dont have anything left... ? Last words are yours...
- My last word: Ok. Thanks to all who has supported us so far you're the true freaks! Wasn't it for the fans this scene would be dead. BE READY for INSISION in November when we go bashing some ears with Deicide among others in Europe. Also check out our homepage for further details. And if you want to be first to know about some Insision news sign up for the INSISION-newsletter... Thanks for the great and interesting Interview!!!
Hope some of you will pick up our shit and like what you hear.
Cheers
Carl Birath / INSISION /
As it unfolds we all be dead
Like an empty thought in someone elses head
Through the mud its calling me
Global death immediately
Insision Homepage
Earache Records
You can read Russel's review from Beneath The Folds Of Flesh here
by Perkele
If a death metal band says they are from Sweden everybody will pay attention to them. Well, Swedish death metal has many fans and followers all around the world since it started. Besides the great, famous bands Sweden produced to the world, their underground metal scene is also very active, hiding better and better bands. I was lucky enough to hear about one of these bands, exactly about INSISION and after listening their debut album Beneath the Folds of Flesh, that has been released this year, questions came to me so I emailed the band and their singer Carl Birath was eager to give the answers.
- Hello! Thanks for spending your time with this interview on this Sunday afternoon. How are you today?
- Well, for a change I have no hangover, so im pretty OK.
- Ok, lets start then. What does Insision mean? I`ve checked several English dictionaries but haven`t found anything about it...
- The corect Word is INCISION but some how The band, in the beginning, fucked it up, by meaning or misstake, and spelled it INSISION instead. The word acctually means the wound that is made by a scalpel. At the moment I dont consider the actual meaning very important anymore and the fact that it's "Miss spelled" just makes it more interesting. Now days we see it more as the brand for our musicanship and devotion for death metal!
- After this story, what do you think when you read reviews, articles about the band in those the band`s name is misspelled and write as Incision?
- He-he, well I get annoyed of course but its no big thing. I mean either it is the journalist who has not been "reading up" on the band before doing the interview OR he just ran the written interview trough a spelling program and just pressed "change" when our band name came up. Its no big deal it just shows their bad side not ours! *laughing out load*
- All of you had played in different bands before. Do you know what happened with these bands? Were those death metal bands too?
- Yup they were all deathmetal except for Daniels band Dellamorte and Disconto who is more in the crust or punk/noise way. I dont know about Dellamorte and Disconto. I think they are still active but I know for sure that My old band Azatoth died with me when I left. It was actually already dying when I was in it, lack of devotion that's all. The guys who were in it are now days just a bunch of telly tubbys with dull lifes and nobody of them are into any kind of metal anymore. Some people can handel it, some cant! About Roger (former in Disfigured) , Thomas(Embalmer+Ildore) and Toob (Genocrush) I cant tell you much but I think they all went the same way...Dissolving because of the lack of interest!
- Sorry to hear.
- Yeah. Well, shit happens but hey if it hadnt happened this would not be a fact!
- We can read your biography on your homepage so I don`t ask you to introduce the band but pls tell us the story of how did You get into INSISION.
After leaving Azatoth in 97 or something I told myself to never sweat my ass of again with a bunch of fucking bastards. Some year passed and I met Tobias from Repungnant and we had some cool time doing a two men black metal-project called Superior. We released 2 demos but after we didnt really coming along musicwise we decided to forget about the whole thing. Anyway then one evenenig I was at some underground show here in Stockholm and watched this strange band called INSISION and I told myself that if I ever wanted to start over with some band it would definetely be with this bunch. At this time I was pretty fed up with all the black metal stuff that had been going on and had almost given up on the Swedish scene. Two weeks later Thomas called me up and asked if I was interested - and dont ask me why or how coz he just asked if I was the one singing in old Azatoth and ....well! Anyway the old singer (Johan Thornberg) had lost his will and left, and I really was about to say no but for some strange reason I sad yes
And thats the way it happend nothing more to add actually!
- Does any of you take part in side projects now? If yes, what might we know about those bands? Is Insision your main band to the all of you?
- Only Thomas is doing some side stuff, hes playing drums in Repungnant and he is also active in some sleezy rockband. For me INSISION is the only band and I think that stands for the rest as well. I walk and talk INSISION 24 fucking hours a day. But I am wondering on doing some strange sideproject more satanic that would be less music focused.
-What do you mean with less music focused? Would it be a more black metal music or some experimental, ambient stuff?
- More experimental I think. What I mean is that it wouldnt focus that much on the regular stuff like guitars drums and bass....Hmmm we have to wait and see what happens, if something happens. Its just in the planning state now. And not necessary "Satanic" in the black metal sense, rather more occult.
- Based on your lyrics on the album Beneath The Folds Of Flesh and on your sentences, let me ask, what attracts you so much to satanism and to occultism?
- Ok Ill keep this one a bit short. I have always been strongly drawn to almost everything that involves cccult stuff. Reason? Well, if you have "a" and "b" and "a" proved to be a completly idiotic belief then I think its natural to choose "b". And if you just look at it from an objectiv way I think you'll easily see that its not all about misslead people who kill virgins and eat cats. Most of this is made up by christian fundametalists that are out to slander Satan. To sum it all up feel that the "darkside", if we must use a cliche, feels more appealing to me and Im just giving after for it.
- If we started to talk about this subject, pls tell us a bit about the lyrics. What gives the inspiration to them? What or who is Imamiiz Graa.
-Often when I write lyrics I'm going through some sort of "mood swings" Having an idea popping up inside and just letting it roll. Building it until it fits my mind and what I want to accomplish with it. Which can of course differ from time to time. But most of the time Im aiming for that energy rush that strikes you when you know, both in body and spirit, that you have succeeded with something. There are times when I can feel that I'm more receivable for things in life, call it demons or what ever. But its when I'm having this Times that the lyrics comes out the best. And some are built as Rites and Evocations. Which is, if you take it all apart, really Power words or Tools for your different purposes.
Impamiiz Graa is my inner demon, call it my alter ego or whatever fits, but its still like that. Impamiiz Graa has come from when I years ago was involved in doing some rites and I wanted to point out that I was doing them alone not with a bunch of friends out in the forest just as the U.K METAL HAMMER said, making shit up instead of writing what I told! Anyway, it started that way. I choose a name to work as a key when I was in the roll as the magician and I.G. was this. It works as a second body so when you are doing the rites you are him and not yourself, forgetting about your personal problems and its more easier to concentrate. When I stopped doing these rites he fell into oblivion but was still there and has transformed from second ego to a real thing . Maybe not for you or anybody else but what should I care. He is very much alive in both metaphoric ways and for real!
- For how long have you been into these things?
- I think I found out about satanism when I was in the 7th grade. I think it was curiosity that drew me maybe from my interest in horror stories and of course the music. Metal is the devils music in my eyes! I think this because its rebellious and the whole idea of rock-music is rebellion and satan was also a rebell when he rebelled against God, not wanting to be just another slave.
- The question is obvious then, what made you to become a metal musician?
- Well, I think it has to do with growing up. When everything musically around you reeks of commercialism and the usual popular plastic feeling. You start to look for something different and I, as many others, found metal to be it. It gave me that duoble heartbeat and adrenalin rush that nothing else could give and when you come to think about it. And its pretty natural that you want to compose your own stuff when you are into the music yourself. I think it went down as it always do, a bunch of ppl that are into the same music and idea. Someone who can play guitar and someone who likes the drums...You know how it goes. You form a band and hey, suddenly you have something to do!! As I couldnt really play any instrument (Not that any of my friends really could back then hahaha) I fell into the roll of a "screamer" in the band. My first band was named Ophedia and we sucked soo bad HA HA HA!
And I still get gus-bumps when I hear a good riff or part of a song!
- What kind of music Ophedia used to play?
- Ophedia? Ha-ha it was some way of trying to do deathmetal but we failed pretty bad... you know we wasnt much older than 13-14 years old and no one had really ever picked up an instrument before... Ha-ha I just laugh when I come to think about it!
- So what was your first touch with death metal?
- I think it was Bolt Thrower and Cannibal Corpse.
- There were some line up changes in the earlier years of the band. Is the current line up strong enough to stay together for a long time?
- I really hope so. It definitely feels that way. We are all diferent ppl but in the same time we come together for one thing Insision- and thats what matters. So, yes I think this will hold on for some years.
- What makes you different from the other underground death metal bands in your opinion?
- We play a little more structure built death metal but hey I wont compare coz I havent heard everyone, but the last cople of underground compilation cd's/tapes are realy scary. One thing that hits me is the production. Almost 80% are so low production so I would consider its a waste of music just releasing it, mainly because you cant really hear what they arae playing and thats too bad!! But I feel that lots of grinding monoton music is on the rise here and well, I may be totally out of my border here but I think we have a bit more "Structuring" when it comes to putting the songs together. In the same time I really love the UG coz its the UG that keeps this scene together.
And if we talk about the more "famous" bands, then I think the main difference is maybe the sound. At the moment I think lots of new death metal acts really screw the sound up by computerizng it and making it sterile and not so vivid.
- How did the deal with Wicked Worlds come about? Are you satisfied with them so far?
- Yeah really! Earache had been in contact before about the MCD but didnt feel the time was right and of course it wasnt. And one day Wicked World came in contact with us. We acctually discussed this for a whole year before signing the deal. The best thing is that W.W didnt put any restrictions on anything. We have totally artistic freedom.
- Your debut album Beneath the Folds of Flesh came out around April. What are the responses like so far from the fans and from the media too? Do you know how much has been sold till today and where has been the most albums sold?
- We havent really gotten any figures yet and I think its a bit early, but so far we have had great response, getting super reviews all over the world and doing tons of interviews for magazines like Metalhammer, Terrorizer etc. We even got chosen to represent Sweden in the American Billbord magazine as the new death metal of Sweden. So we cant complain!
- That sounds really good. Congratulations!! And fingers crossed.
You recorded the album in Berno Studios. Whose idea was it to work there, did you or the record company choose it? How much are you satisfied with the album now? Would you change anything if you could?
- We chose it ourself because of the analogue equipment and the fact that they havent done so many death metal acts before so we could get a fresh sound.
Yes we are satisfied with it but as usually there are things those we could have done better but its no use thinking about it now. We had 2 weeks of recording and that makes it a bit stressy. Next time if we get a bigger budget that will mean more studio time. Two weeks is a short time, we got up around 8am and worked till 9, 10 or 11pm but we still had lots of fun hanging around in the studio with the guys from Deranged.
- How does the album title connect with the album itself? `Normally` there are always a song on the albums that has the same title as the album itself. It`s not the case with you. Why? What is the meaning of the album title concerning to the whole album
- We wanted to have a title that was connected to the lyrics and to the whole album and Daniel came up with this name and asked me if it was ok and I felt it was suiting. Are we only made by flesh and bone? Or is there something else underneath... I think that sums it up.
- Who made the cover? Did you tell himher what you wanted to see on the cover or did he/she has totally freedom to work on his/her own?
- We had problem wtih finding something we couls use as the cover and W.W had some artist they suggested but we said no. We wanted something abstract and nothing like all the other paintbrush covers. A friend told me about M.Bohatch and so I was looking at his site and found this picture (the cover) and felt it was perfect. I found a couple of pics that I though was good and the rest of the guys came over to my place we looked it through and decided togeter. This aint no one-man-band ya know!
Too bad he didnt do such a good job with the lay-out of the booklet it could have been a bit more interesting if I may say! But I defenetely dont think we are going to use him again. I think next time we can find somebody who really works and can do the layout better.
- Six songs out from nine on the album have been chosen from your previous releases those I haven`t heard. Have you changed anything on the songs? And why did you put these songs together instead of making an album with totally new songs?
- We wanted to give these songs, which we really like, a second chance. They are all good songs and deserve to be heard by everyone. Second of all we didnt have so many new material and the material we had wasnt that good and we thought like this: better to release some old and good songs then release only new songs those suck! Do you know what I mean?
We have changed some things but I dont think you'll notice if you dont really sit down and listen, well of course it sounds different. They were demo verions, made in less professional studio and so on. Hmm.. now if I come to think about it Impamiiz Graa's beginning is much much slower in the demo versions.
- Do you already have new songs for an upcoming album?
- Yes we have some. The Faoul Smell of Humans, Imminent Vision and Resistence Is Useless (which is only a workname) plus 2 others those havent gotten any names yet.
- If somebody haven`t heard from you before, which song would you recommend to this person to listen first? Which songs shows the real face of Insision in your opinion?
- Well I would say World Impaled or My Fever but I really like doing Temple of Flesh as well, shit its a hard Q! You know its hard because I like the new songs better, but I guess its always like that!
- You write the lyrics, whose duty is composing the music to it? How do u work together, do you write the lyrics first or is the music done earlier?
- Usualy its Roger who comes up with a riff and then we work on it togheter. Often I write the lyrics at home but I also write at rehearsals while the guys are playing and I sit in the next room alone and just write.
- Do you consider the lyrics just simple lyrics or are they rather poems?
- I consider them as personal lyrics with meaning. They are my words and thoughts put down on paper. I dont write and consider them as poems but its a bit up to the viewer to judge.
- What do you like more: writing music, working in the studio or playing live?
- Definitely playing live! But the other things go hand in hand with that. But I consider ourselves as a live band
- How much time do you spend with the band generally? Rehearsals, writing music... etc.
- Well we meet about 3 times a week but dont really spend that much time togeter. For me Im doing the webpage and merchandising + all the e-mail stuff so I work for the band almost every single day. I mean we dont often do things together in the weekends and I think thats natural but we still meet often anyway.
- What is your contact with the fans like? Do you often get emails or other kind of requests, feedbacks? You also have two official forums. How much do you participate in them?
- Well, we get lots of e-mails from fans and such and I try to answer them all personally. The fans are very important to us, without them we would not exist. So its important when they take the time to write I try to write back. Sometimes I just dont have the time so I have to send back a short letter and that's sad but hey, shit, you cant keep up all the time. And in the same time I try doing interviews (in which Roger also helps out with) and compose the Insision-newsletter from time to time. Hopefully in the future I will get help with this all.
Concerning to the forums, we have fixed that U.M is our official host and thats our only official forum at the moment.(Its linked from our homepage too) Its easier this way and now you dont have to register and that is good coz not everybody have the time or will to register. We check into the forum quite often really. Just to keep up-to-date with everything
- What are your goals with the band? And what kind of future do you think Insision has?
- The future for Insision is hopefully lots ot touring and then we'll start working on our next album.
The goal is to have a good time with what we do and like. Playing death metal, its that simple. We're not planning on being superstars, which is kinda hard with this music any way. We gonna do it as long as it feels good and when we dont want it, we will just stop!
- You had played with Hypocrisy and Disgorge before and now you are going on tour with Deicide and Mystic Circle this autumn. Is there any other band you would like to play together?
- Hmmm, I would really like to do something with Cannibal Corpse, that would be intense. and of course with Immolation and Hate Eternal....btw, I think we are doing something with Immolation in December. And Nile would be fucking awsome!
- What do you expect from the upcoming tour?
- Hopefully we get to play a lot and sell some stuff and have a good time on the road. I usually dont have any expectations on anything until its time to do them.
(The interview was made before the sad news came about the tour cancellation with Deicide.)
- How many opportunity do you have to play live in Sweden? What is the Stockholm metal scene like? (from outside we might think its very active). What is contact between the bands like?
- The scene in Stockholm is not that strong actually, there are more activities in the south of Sweden (Gothenburg etc). But there are some bands here we are in contact. Playng live in Sweden is not easy. Its easy to repeat yourself and play with the same bands over and over again and we try to do that as little as possible. Right now were preparing for a smaller metal feast in Linkoping and that will be our last gig in Sweden before the tour.
- I like your growlings very much. Do you have a singer-idol, in metal or in other styles?
- I always liked Glen Benton on the old stuff but I like Chris Barnes old stuff too. In general I dont have any idol, but I can say like this that I think you should not "Cup" the mike with your hand and if you have a good voice without Cupping then thats fair enuff. Still some bands who do the Cupping sounds good anyway so Im maby wrong here... I also think Corps Grinder really "rocks. Hehe
- Thank you very much for your answer. I dont have anything left... ? Last words are yours...
- My last word: Ok. Thanks to all who has supported us so far you're the true freaks! Wasn't it for the fans this scene would be dead. BE READY for INSISION in November when we go bashing some ears with Deicide among others in Europe. Also check out our homepage for further details. And if you want to be first to know about some Insision news sign up for the INSISION-newsletter... Thanks for the great and interesting Interview!!!
Hope some of you will pick up our shit and like what you hear.
Cheers
Carl Birath / INSISION /
As it unfolds we all be dead
Like an empty thought in someone elses head
Through the mud its calling me
Global death immediately
Insision Homepage
Earache Records
You can read Russel's review from Beneath The Folds Of Flesh here
