For the third time in five years, a bunch of today’s most dreadful metallers [Dan Swano, Peter Tagtgren, Blackheim, Jonas Renkse, Martin Axenrot] join to commit the inexplicable : the ultimate old-school death-metal masterpiece. After several nights of intense man-hunt, I finally caught one of these psychopaths. Four-strings strangler Jonas explains us his reasons for such a malevolent act in september 2004.

 

>First of all, i’d like to know why you decided to continue the Bloodbath experience ? I remember i read around 2000 (when the "Breeding Death" ep was released) that it would remain an instant project.
We couldn\'t keep away... We had more deadly dozes of death-metal in us that needed to come out or anyway explode sooner or later. When you feel the urge, why not give in to it, be spontaneous, enjoy the fun, create a piece and let others know what you\'re about. Bloodbath, as a unit, is all about getting together as a few friends and like-minded musicians/fans focusing on a specific genre we all grew up listening and played with our own bands that eventually ceased somewhere during the end of the 90\'s. With Bloodbath you get a quick fix of those formative years again, a trip into nostalgia land. Entertainment.

 

>Now in 2004, Bloodbath has known a few line-up changes or reorganisation. Could you please inform the readers about the new line-up ? & why Mike Akerfeldt left the band ? Each one of you has a very busy agenda. Is Opeth the true reason for his departure ?
Yeah it is. If you consider the level Opeth are on now, its not possible for Mike to commit to any activities in Bloodbath any longer. We all know the guy is probably one of the top 3 death-metal vocalist in the world, so it was a shame to see him go. But make no mistake, our new vocalist Peter Tägtgren smashes all non believers to dust and steps up as one helluva mighty replacement. Tägtgren has a wider range in his voice, all the way up from the "bat" screams down to the guttural but yet so articulate death growls. Our new drummer, Axe, is also on the top of the hill. The dude put down all his drum parts in two days without having heard the songs before he came down the studio. That’s how you define a professional.

 

>Did you hesitate for a long time before you chose Peter Tägtgren to replace Mike at the mic ? Were you thinking about some other

guys to do the vocals ?
Yeah we were thinking of approaching some others, some of the old gods. Vincent from Morbid Angel.... Van drunen from Asphyx/Pestilence... Tardy from Obituary... but before we even got in touch with guys of that calibre, the idea of using Tägtgren popped up. We were a bit hesitant at first since he\'s known to be more of a screamer than a growler, but he insisted he could do it and i think it was a challenge to prove to himself and everyone else he could master the low brutal style. We were very very happy with the way things turned out with Tägtgren.

 

>How would you present this brand new album "Nightmares Made Flesh" ? What are the differences with the 2 previous releases ?
The new album is a lot more varied. It also has a more modern touch and it\'s the most serious release of the three. On the previous releases we just went all the way for the old-school factor, celebrating direct influences as close as we could. On this new release we stepped everything up quite a bit and pulled out a little bit more of Bloodbath\'s own identity, born through the new line-up\'s talents and efforts.

 

>Curiously, this is not Dan or Peter who produced the album. Why ?
They felt it could be nice to leave that to someone else for a change. Being only the musicians they are and having a real pro producer/engineer take the technical burden off them. I totally understand that desire. It\'s important to keep the "fun" vibe, and not replace it with a "job" vibe.

 

>Now that Dan Swano plays guitar, i find an old Edge of Sanity feeling stuck to the songs. For him, Blackheim & Jonas Renske, is it like a kind of resurrection through true death-metal, a genre they haven’t play for a while ?
Yes, as I said earlier, it\'s a trip down memory lane. A celebration of what we shared back in the days. A time where all the pressure and serious drama surrounding our main bands can be temporarily overshadowed by excitement, fun and simply a damn good time.

 

>How do you compose inside Bloodbath ? Do you often rehearse all together ? Is there a kind of leader who usually brings each song bases ?
We have never rehearsed one single time with Bloodbath. Everything is done on our own, like this time we all wrote 4 songs each and then sent them our to each other and said &

quot;ok look, this is my vision of death-metal, let me hear yours...". Then we meet in the studio and just start recording day one. We hung out ‘til it was ready then we split and the party was over...

 

>Lyrically speaking, is it gore & horror based in the old way ? What are these stories about ?
Horror, madness and gore all the way. Perhaps written in a little bit more sophisticated way than other bands. The songs are not different to a horror movie containing all those elements. A lot of clichés and limited topics, but that’s the way it has to be, if it’s gonna be called death-metal in the end.

 

>Now, i must admit the first time i listen to "Nightmares Made Flesh", i was a little bit disappointed. I found the new songs less brutal & morbid. But the more i listen to it, the more i get addicted. & finally i find it more subtle & melodic. Is there a mystery for such a result ?
I think this has to do a lot with the production on the album. We went for more of an american sound this time, which is a lot cleaner than the swedish. It still has a lot of crisp and power and compared back to back with many other releases, it remains above, like a punch in the face.

 

>A few bands in Sweden now play old-school death-metal like Vomitory, Coercion, Kaamos, Paganizer or Insision. Are you in good relations with those guys ?
Some of them are worthy of what they do and I wish them all the best.

 

>I’m sure both your agendas must be overbooked but did you plan to tour with Bloodbath ? It would be awesome.
We\'re currently checking into this right now. Keep your ears and eyes on alert.

 

>Bloodbath is like a metal dream team, like the Death-Metal Globe Trotters. But what do you answer to people who think it was first a pure commercial strategy ?
Well, then I gotta be a living product, because I didn’t know fun, passion and instinct was the same as a commercial strategy.

 

>What is the worst question you had to answer in your career ?
Some dude asked me how big my bed was. Utterly important I guess....hah!

 

>Thanx for your precious time, last words are yours.
Head over to www.bloodbath.biz and buy some merch ! Thanks a lot for the support. Stay metal !