UNLEASHED

Marching off to war

Everything shows, that the time of regression is in the case of this Swedish horde a chapter closed forever and for always. As the confirmation could be mentioned not only the wonderful album “Hammer Battalion”, so glorifying by me in the one of reviews, but probably the true death metal passion too, rooted very deep in the every of four warriors from Kungsangen, and especially in the leader of this band. Who knows already Johnny Hedlund a little bit closer, knows probably too his full engagement during the playing shows of that was always famous, commanding this way with the true… hammer battalion, destroying the same effectively by his music as with the help of tanks, canons or bombs. Yes, UNLEASHED in live version stays still the same dangerous like before 5, 10 and even 15 years and I could to experience it myself already the fourth time in my life. The European tour of group, playing in the end of this year was of course the one of elements the promotional campaign of “Hammer Battalion”, not forgetting about a good opportunity to watch Johnny and his comrades in action once again, but before I did it, I asked this very nice and talkative like always musician about a few of questions, which he answered to me of course very well.

-Johnny, what reasoned that you have recorded so splendid album again? Was it maybe a pressure of your label or maybe simple the true fury that must to be released?
Ah, first of all thank you very much for that all! Seriously, it’s always a pressure from the band members, really we try always obviously to present always our best sides that we can to prove, you know get a little and bit better every time and so I think that past 3 – 4 albums that’s been just very normal development. Especially now as we signed of SPV we have a lot more of time, a little bit more money to do things, than we had in Century Media era, so we speak we have a better studio today, you know and we have a lot more time, I think also too take a really good production, a really good album, so… It’s just a development I guess. Every guy in the band wants to, you know, be a little bit better every time with the new album. So, it’s a normal development.

-What could you tell about the cooperation with the label for which you recorded your albums so long time? How would you resume the times of recording after the banner of Century Media?
Well, it see there two sides of cooperation with Century Media. The one side is that we have a long relationship these more than 15 years with them and obviously, I think they done a good promotion for the band in the early 90’s, but the problem is we signed more or less a label contract back in 1991 and illegal by the way. And the problem is, that signing this contract when we were kids, when we were young it’s you don’t get out of it, because the record label wants to enforce it even 18 years later, even those it’s a legal. And it’s hard for like four guys to do anything against the huge record label, you really can’t stop to do the thing you don’t want, I mean they release we don’t wanna release and they don’t care about asking as it each, so… They don’t really pay as for did it, so we have no cooperation what so ever, they just do whatever they want to do. I think, that’s a very ugly way of making the business in my opinion, I think that making business is the way of conversation. You should be to have a part each side of the table, that’s happy like you do, but they just don’t care, they have no interests in being OK with the band UNLEASHED, that’s how they wanna work. To stop it was the only way, we can do it to look forward, you know, we are working now very well with SPV and you know – we are taking out there, we try on and not look so much in the past.

-“Hammer Battalion” was recorded again in Chrome Studios, being anyway the own studio of Fredrik. It’s very comfortable situation for you, but if you had an opportunity to record new album in famous studio, guarantying the typical Swedish sound like for example Sunlight or Abyss, would you do it?
No, we don’t need at all, because Fredrik is very talented producer this day, so for us it’s a perfect studio, he’s doing a very good job I think, so… I am sure that the next coming album will still gonna go with Fredrik’s studio, that’s sure.

-Which other productions of Fredrik’s studio have you heard yet?
Oh, he’s been doing like NECROPHOBIC another bands too, so he’s good I mean here I know exactly what he can do. He has developed through the years and as well he has a better equipment and he is also more talented than maybe five years ago, he’s making progress too, so you know, there’s really nothing more than we can want other than that, so very happy with it. I would advice probably to look some place else, but since it works, you know, we don’t need something like changes if it works.

-Since the beginnings of your band you was a main lyrics author, writing anyway not only about the things inspired by a Viking culture, but about a lot of other things too. Where are you taking all of those inspirations from? The TV, newspapers, books maybe?
Well, it’s really like that you said, it’s a quite of vast influential aspect. We have a lot of a Vikings tradition songs obviously, but also we have a lot of political type lyrics, that deals with the everyday issues the struggle, you know, the everyday struggle of life basically. And some of the religious aspects too and the control aspects of religion, a stuff like that, so… But yeah, the inspirations really comes from many kinds of things, I try now to narrow it down to like one single thing, so… It’s a quite of vast influential sphere, I would say.

-And when has begun by you all this fascination by the Vikings and Nordic culture?
I am sure that it has begun like that obviously we are from Sweden, so it’s close to us obviously and the Viking tradition vaues has always been there. Every since I was small, it means the only problem with Sweden I think it’s they don’t really teaching at schools, but since I am from where I am I have to dig it up myself and tried to research myself because, you know, they don’t learn that in school. In school they learn Christianity and Islam or Buddhism and all of kinds of religion, but they don’t teach anything about the Viking tradition and stuff like that, so you have to dig it up yourself. For me is just really not religion, it’s more about tradition and values and a way of life, so I think it works very long with a metal, the metal style of life, so to me it’s just a perfect combination and the way we live. It’s just very well adapted to the Viking tradition, the Viking values and the way of living your life and the way you treat your family and your friends and stuff like that, so...

-Are maybe the other historical themes, interesting you the same as the Viking stuff? As the historian I am personally very fascinated by the history of 20th century, like for example World War II or Europe after 1945. And you?
Oh, me too, I dig up historical things all time, I am really fascinated by a lot of different stuff and not only in Europe, but in all kind of places on the world. I find the very interesting things, I really love by the other types of cultures, the historical events and the way back in time. It’s fascinating to see how all of those things in the past, sometimes if you look at something today to connectional understand why things are today, because if it track it down to the past and I think that’s very fascinating, so… Yes, I do love really lot of history too, absolutely.

-UNLEASHED was always a type of anti-political band about that you have mentioned already earlier. Do you see maybe a connection of society problems in our days with the Viking times? Is it maybe hidden something special in the lyrics of UNLEASHED, something what mirrors itself in everyone of us?
Well, I think that the a lot of lyric stuff that we make are really obviously I would say this, the main point of many Viking tradition type lyrics are they sprang from the type of culture, there is a warrior type of culture, which really means you defend your kindred, to defend your own values and your own way of life and I think it’s probably the same if you live a thousand years ago and if you live now, I think that a some of the struggle of life are the same. You know, we faces the same dangerous today as the people had thousand years back. So, nothing as the fascination is to write lyrics about, because if you would be a Viking warrior, you could be him now, could be thousand years back, cause you know - things changes, it means society changes obviously, things looks a little different out as the didn’t in the past , so I think the mental struggle is the same. And that’s a lot of the core of issues that I like lyrics about.

-Good, let to talk something about the band’s questions. Last time I have heard the information, as your drummer Anders is not able to play on tours in due of his health problems. Could you confirm this info or was it simply nothing more than a rumour?
Yeah, well, see, he had a long collapse which he had a three times, it started in… let me see… 2006 and then he had it once in 2007, and then he had it now in 2008. And the problem is, that the doctors didn’t want to make a surgery on him, they said: “Oh, this will be fine, you know, it will heal”, but it never heal (laugh). You know, it was difficult to pay the money for the axial surgery because it’s expensive surgery, so finally because the doctor said: “OK, you had a three times now”, so we would like to take him for a major surgery, which literally means so that make sure that the long action sits there, that’s not gonna come loose again, so he’s perfectly well today. But this summer for example we had a show during the festival in Croatia, one festival in Serbia and one festival in Germany, where we had to take another drummer for, because he was in hospital during the surgery and then he had like four weeks after the surgery and he could to play drums at all, cause he was long healing from the surgery, but he’s perfectly very well now, so I don’t think that’s gonna happen never again, so the doctor said, that they really didn’t wanna do the surgery like they said, because they thought that he’s gonna heal anyway, it didn’t. They had to do this surgery, so he’s fine now, so I think that’s really cool.

-The similar problems had anyway in the past your previous guitar player Fredrik Lindgren. Anyway, have you got yet a contact or do you know maybe how’s everything with him?
Not really, you know I meet him occasionally sometimes in the pub in Stockholm, we don’t really meet much, but he is still a cool guy, you know, when we meet we cheers, we drink a beer something… We don’t really meet so often, you know…

-I don’t remember your participate in the other of bands as UNLEASHED and naturally in NIHILIST at the beginning. Have you done it finally or maybe still have you got the plans to do it?
Well, I don’t have really a time, I could I mean it play with some friends and doing a some of heavy metal shit, you know or stuff like that, whatever I don’t have really time to sit down and do things with another band, cause UNLEASHED is really enough (laugh), we have a work all over the time, so... If I write a new songs and a new lyrics that’s for UNLEASHED, you know, if I had the time to write for somebody else I would must to have a day of 48 hours everyday, there’s no time for it.

-So, that’s why we have today “Hammer Battalion” – the fast, strong and heavy material, being the trademark of UNLEASHED in every of inches!!! The last word belongs of course to you!
Well, thank you so much for those words about the album. Yes, it’s been a great tour like, I would like to thank everybody who came out to this tour and for this interview, it has been really nice and it’s been a cool experience again to be on tour the same. Every time we really look forward for other touring, we tour Scandinavia pretty soon we will also tour Europe again in April on the Paganfest tour. So, look forward to meet with everybody again and thank you for interview of course!

www.unleashed.se

Line Up:
Johnny Hedlund - Bass, Vocals
Fredrik Folkare - Lead Guitar
Tomas Mĺsgard - Rhythm Guitar
Anders Schultz - Drums

Discography:
Where No Life Dwells (1991)
Shadows in the Deep (1992)
Live In Vienna '93 (live 1993)
Across the Open Sea (1993)
Victory (1995)
Eastern Blood - Hail To Poland (live 1996)
Warrior (1997)
Hell's Unleashed (2002)
Sworn Allegiance (2004)
Midvinterblot (2006)
Hammer Battalion (2008)