[IMGLEFT]http://www.npearce.ultimatemetal.com/2_300.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Josh Phillips
Jorgen Sandstrom is one of the most pummeling vocalists in all of metal. His low, blood-curdling growl is enough to send shivers down the spine of most, but not only that, he is a talented musician on more than one instrument and a key figure in more than a few bands. Now, I must admit, I'm more than a fanboy of one of those bands, The Project Hate, and a growing fan of one amazing new group he partakes in, Vicious Art. I had to jump at this opportunity to learn what influenced one of my major musical influences and hope that you also enjoy hearing where this metal legend is coming from and where one of today's strongest modern bands is heading.
Greetings Jorgen and thanks for taking the time to do this interview for UltimateMetal.com!
Hell-o and it is my pleasure! Thanx for the interest!
First off, how did you come to be in Vicious Art? Were they trying out bassists and you happened to be interested or did you already have ties with the members of the group?
I have known Matti and Tobbe for awhile, we usually get drunk in the same bar
Anyway, me and Matti have been talking about starting a band for a long time, but since we both were really busy with Entombed and Dark Funeral it never happened. So one night after I got home from the last Entombed tour, I was DJ'ing in a rock bar and Matti and Tobbe were there drinking. So I told Matti "The time has come, I quit Entombed so now we can start up that band we have been talking about!" He was in shock that I quit, but later that night he handed me the Vicious Art demo and said that they needed a bass player so if I liked the stuff and wanted to, I could try out playing with them! The demo blew me away so I joined them the week after!
If you had to, how would you classify the music of Vicious Art? It is a mix of various forms of metal such as thrash, death and black, so where do you stand as a band in what you'd like to be considered or does it matter at all?
We've heard all kinds of definitions of our music, people dont seem to agree on what kind of metal we play, haha...and we don't mind either. We are not just a Death Metal or Thrash Metal or Black Metal or any other kind of metal band. I guess we just mix a bit of everything that we like and if it turns out to our likings we go for it. We all come from different bands such as Dark Funeral, Entombed, Grave, Guidance of Sin, Dominion Caligula etc and of course that shows in our songs as well.
What are the band's most direct influences musically as far as other groups are concerned?
If I had to pick three bands I would guess: Pestilence, Godflesh and Napalm Death. Though we dont sound like any of these bands I think,
haha.
Which bands personally inspired you to get into the metal music form?
Slayer, Venom, and Metallica in the early days and later on the whole Death Metal scene. I listened to hard rock before those bands, but they were the ones that made me pick up a guitar and learn how to play.
Your vocals in Vicious Art are a nice contrast to those of Jocke Widfeldt. After you joined the band, was it automatically assumed you would also contribute vocals?
On their demo they used Emperor Magus Caligula from Dark Funeral as a second voice. So I guess I just did his parts at first and then it kinda grew more and more. We also like the contrasts for sure. It adds to the brutality and also keeps the listener interested I think. At least I work that way when I listen to a band with more voices than just one, like Carcass for example.
Speaking of vocals, you have a very powerful voice and have been delivering the goods consistently for years now. What do you do to keep in such excellent shape as a vocalist?
That I dont know. I guess I just like doing it and still want to sound like the loudest, meanest motherfucker on earth! I still get a kick out of screaming my fucking lungs out! Listen to the new The Project Hate album coming out later this year and you'll see
To move away from Vicious Art for one moment. What can fans of one of your other groups, The Project Hate, expect from the upcoming album? I'm sure it'll be a platter of slaughter eclipsing even Hate, Dominate, Congregate, Eliminate and I look forward to hearing you in action. \m/ Just make sure Threeman gets this album out quick!
I just got the final mix and mastered copy today. I have listened to it once and I must say that this is by far the most brutal album in TPH history. I am really happy with the way it sounds and I am very happy with my contribution. Could be my best up to date actually.
Now back to Vicious Art. With the debut album now released, where do you see the band going in the future, is there going to be a full touring schedule and when do you expect another album to be in the works?
We haven't been talking much about touring but we have to see what happens. I mean, if we get a decent offer from someone we would consider it. We are already working on new material and got about 4 songs ready. We wanna release the new one next year hopefully. We will not rush into things, but we do hope that it wont take too long to get material written. I would say a release next year is a certain thing.
Who writes the lyrics for the band and is there a concept behind the title, Fire Falls And The Waiting Waters, and what is contained within the lyrics?
I asked Robert and he answered: Robert (drums) and Jocke (vocals) co-write all the lyrics. There are lots of subliminal insinuations hidden in the lyrics. The best thing to do is to check out some movies by David Lynch, preferably 'Lost Highway', 'Mulholland Drive' and the Twin Peaks series. You'll find there are strange things going on within those works, and at least Robert is very influenced by the eerie feeling you get from watching them. Hence trying to create the same atmosphere with the V.A. lyrics. As for Jocke, he has a soft spot for wicked relationship matters, and you will find that some of our songs actually deal with this topic. Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters sums up going from chaos to calm, which kind of describes the emotions that Robert and Jocke went through while writing the lyrics. There is no concept behind the title, but it fits both the music and the art.
Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add or say to your fans?
Thanx for your interest in the band. Support Vicious Art at www.viciousart.se
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and keep up the good work in the future with all of your bands!
Thank you. Keep up the good work with Ultimate Metal!!
Official Vicious Art Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
UM's review of Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters
Jorgen Sandstrom is one of the most pummeling vocalists in all of metal. His low, blood-curdling growl is enough to send shivers down the spine of most, but not only that, he is a talented musician on more than one instrument and a key figure in more than a few bands. Now, I must admit, I'm more than a fanboy of one of those bands, The Project Hate, and a growing fan of one amazing new group he partakes in, Vicious Art. I had to jump at this opportunity to learn what influenced one of my major musical influences and hope that you also enjoy hearing where this metal legend is coming from and where one of today's strongest modern bands is heading.
Greetings Jorgen and thanks for taking the time to do this interview for UltimateMetal.com!
Hell-o and it is my pleasure! Thanx for the interest!
First off, how did you come to be in Vicious Art? Were they trying out bassists and you happened to be interested or did you already have ties with the members of the group?
I have known Matti and Tobbe for awhile, we usually get drunk in the same bar
Anyway, me and Matti have been talking about starting a band for a long time, but since we both were really busy with Entombed and Dark Funeral it never happened. So one night after I got home from the last Entombed tour, I was DJ'ing in a rock bar and Matti and Tobbe were there drinking. So I told Matti "The time has come, I quit Entombed so now we can start up that band we have been talking about!" He was in shock that I quit, but later that night he handed me the Vicious Art demo and said that they needed a bass player so if I liked the stuff and wanted to, I could try out playing with them! The demo blew me away so I joined them the week after!If you had to, how would you classify the music of Vicious Art? It is a mix of various forms of metal such as thrash, death and black, so where do you stand as a band in what you'd like to be considered or does it matter at all?
We've heard all kinds of definitions of our music, people dont seem to agree on what kind of metal we play, haha...and we don't mind either. We are not just a Death Metal or Thrash Metal or Black Metal or any other kind of metal band. I guess we just mix a bit of everything that we like and if it turns out to our likings we go for it. We all come from different bands such as Dark Funeral, Entombed, Grave, Guidance of Sin, Dominion Caligula etc and of course that shows in our songs as well.
What are the band's most direct influences musically as far as other groups are concerned?
If I had to pick three bands I would guess: Pestilence, Godflesh and Napalm Death. Though we dont sound like any of these bands I think,
haha.
Which bands personally inspired you to get into the metal music form?
Slayer, Venom, and Metallica in the early days and later on the whole Death Metal scene. I listened to hard rock before those bands, but they were the ones that made me pick up a guitar and learn how to play.
Your vocals in Vicious Art are a nice contrast to those of Jocke Widfeldt. After you joined the band, was it automatically assumed you would also contribute vocals?
On their demo they used Emperor Magus Caligula from Dark Funeral as a second voice. So I guess I just did his parts at first and then it kinda grew more and more. We also like the contrasts for sure. It adds to the brutality and also keeps the listener interested I think. At least I work that way when I listen to a band with more voices than just one, like Carcass for example.
Speaking of vocals, you have a very powerful voice and have been delivering the goods consistently for years now. What do you do to keep in such excellent shape as a vocalist?
That I dont know. I guess I just like doing it and still want to sound like the loudest, meanest motherfucker on earth! I still get a kick out of screaming my fucking lungs out! Listen to the new The Project Hate album coming out later this year and you'll see
To move away from Vicious Art for one moment. What can fans of one of your other groups, The Project Hate, expect from the upcoming album? I'm sure it'll be a platter of slaughter eclipsing even Hate, Dominate, Congregate, Eliminate and I look forward to hearing you in action. \m/ Just make sure Threeman gets this album out quick!
I just got the final mix and mastered copy today. I have listened to it once and I must say that this is by far the most brutal album in TPH history. I am really happy with the way it sounds and I am very happy with my contribution. Could be my best up to date actually.
Now back to Vicious Art. With the debut album now released, where do you see the band going in the future, is there going to be a full touring schedule and when do you expect another album to be in the works?
We haven't been talking much about touring but we have to see what happens. I mean, if we get a decent offer from someone we would consider it. We are already working on new material and got about 4 songs ready. We wanna release the new one next year hopefully. We will not rush into things, but we do hope that it wont take too long to get material written. I would say a release next year is a certain thing.
Who writes the lyrics for the band and is there a concept behind the title, Fire Falls And The Waiting Waters, and what is contained within the lyrics?
I asked Robert and he answered: Robert (drums) and Jocke (vocals) co-write all the lyrics. There are lots of subliminal insinuations hidden in the lyrics. The best thing to do is to check out some movies by David Lynch, preferably 'Lost Highway', 'Mulholland Drive' and the Twin Peaks series. You'll find there are strange things going on within those works, and at least Robert is very influenced by the eerie feeling you get from watching them. Hence trying to create the same atmosphere with the V.A. lyrics. As for Jocke, he has a soft spot for wicked relationship matters, and you will find that some of our songs actually deal with this topic. Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters sums up going from chaos to calm, which kind of describes the emotions that Robert and Jocke went through while writing the lyrics. There is no concept behind the title, but it fits both the music and the art.
Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add or say to your fans?
Thanx for your interest in the band. Support Vicious Art at www.viciousart.se
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and keep up the good work in the future with all of your bands!
Thank you. Keep up the good work with Ultimate Metal!!
Official Vicious Art Website
Official Candlelight USA Website
UM's review of Fire Falls and the Waiting Waters
