All Interviews
Non-Human Level
Christofer Malmström
Posted on Feb 7, 2006
by Anders
Non-Human Level a project brought to this earth by Christofer Malmström, a man most of us know as one of the guitarists in Darkane. Besides his engagement in that band he has made his own musical madness and dubbed it Non-Human Level. With him he has bassist Gustaf Hielm, singer Peter Wildoer and drummer Ryan van Poederooyen all 3 really competent gentlemen. The music has its base in death metal, but is very technical, melodic and over the edge, a real treat for us who likes our metal challenging and well-played. I hooked up with Christofer and here I finally have the answers for you, after they initially ended in the grim vortex of cables and servers for a while, before they reached their final destination, which is here.
Hi Christofer, how are things wherever you are in the world, right now?
Hello! I'm in Sweden again after a six week US tour together with Fear Factory, Soilwork and Strapping Young lad.
Will you please start off by introducing yourself, tell us what drives you to make metal and how you got into the metal scene?
I am a guitarist in the Swedish thrash band Darkane and I have also recently recorded my solo album Non-Human Level. I've been playing metal for 14 years now since it's the only way for me of getting my inner energies out. The first band I played in was called ZanineZ and we played kind of regular eighties metal like Helloween and Iron Maiden. My second band was called Agretator and we played for 7 years. The style was very technical in the end.
An introduction to the rest of Non-Human Level will be great as well, together with a bit about why you found that they were the ones who should be in the band?
I wanted to play together with other musicians than I normally do, and I wanted really good ones. I've got Ryan van Poederooyen (drummer of Devin Townsend Band) on drums, Gustaf Hielm (ex- Meshuggah) on bass and Peter Wildoer (drummer in Darkane) on vocals. I was looking around for good musicians and when those people crossed my path I asked them to join, and they were totally into it from the beginning.
You have just released the first Non-Human Level album, how has it been received?
It seems to have been received very good I think! It is not a haste of work and most reviewers have noticed that. I've put my heart and soul in it, and the fact that it is a very guitar oriented death metal album might make it more interesting for guitarists as well.
How do you in the band feel about the album?
I am very proud… both of the music and the members I have had the fortune of having on the album. I've got my dream team.
What do you expect from it?
I just hope people will like it. There's a lot of work behind.
Did it turn out exactly as you had imagined when you started to record the material?
When I started working on it I didn't know where it would go in the end… but something like that, I guess.
When did you get the initial idea for Non-Human Level?
I started to write the first half of the album in 1999 when I came up with the idea to create a solo project. Then some years (and Darkane albums) passed and then last year I completed the last 4 songs. So it took 5 years to write it, but I did a lot in between. There is one song ('Water') that was written back in 1994, but at the time I didn't know where to use it.
How long did it take you to get the idea and thoughts of the band structured?
I asked Gustaf back in 1999 to join the group and Ryan and Peter around 2003.
Have you been writing all the music, or have the rest of the band had a saying as well?
I wrote, arranged, engineered and produced the album (except for the drums that were recorded in Vancouver, Canada) by myself.
What would you like to accomplish with Non-Human Level?
It's a way of fulfilling myself I guess. I wanted to see what an album exclusively written by me would sound like. I also wanted to play together with other musicians in a project since I've almost always been playing together with the same group of people.
Where do you find inspiration when you write music?
Everywhere. I listen to a lot of different music styles… metal, jazz, fusion, classical and a lot in between.
Do you have to be in special mood when writing, or does it just come to you?
I would say that it just comes to me… but not very often. I'm a very slow songwriter.
How do you know when you have written material suitable for Darkane and for Non-Human Level, how do you differ between the 2?
It was really hard sometimes, but most of the times I decided before it was written that I was gonna write for that or that band.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 that have meant a lot to you, they way you write music and the sound of Non-Human Level?
Death 'Lack Of Comprehension', Entombed 'Living Dead' and Slayer 'War Ensamble'. I've also studied classical compositions and that has influenced my writing a lot I think.
What about the lyrics, are you writing them, or did Wildoer do them?
I wrote them too.
Is there a message in the lyrics and where has the inspiration for them been found?
I write a lot of different things… like people with extremely large egos, people that never trust anyone else and therefore never give themselves a chance to bond with others. I've also written about catastrophes like 9/11 and when a ship called Estonia sunk in the sea outside the Swedish shores in 1994 and 849 people died.
What are the thoughts behind the band name and what does it symbolize for you?
It can refer to the lyrics where people are going through stuff that wouldn't be considered human. It's also a joke to the other musicians that we shall deliver the music on a non-human level.
How does the future look for Non-Human Level, is it a one album project, or do you expect to put out more albums?
The main idea has always been that it's only a one album project because I wanted to do something else than Darkane, but you never know what the future holds.
Do you plan to keep the same line up as now, and how does it look with live performances from you?
If we ever do a live show I would of course want the original line-up. I would also have to add a rhythm guitarist since there's a lot going on guitar wise.
To push you a bit, when will we see a new album from Non-Human Level at the latest?
The latest would in that case be never.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Death – Human
Yngwie – Rising Force
Meshuggah – Destroy Erase Improve
Strapping Young Lad – City
Steve Vai – Passion And Warfare
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
If you like intense brutal, yet melodic death metal played by skilful musicians you should check out Non-Human Level! Take care of each other and have a great Christmas! Thanks for the interview!
Hello! I'm in Sweden again after a six week US tour together with Fear Factory, Soilwork and Strapping Young lad.
Will you please start off by introducing yourself, tell us what drives you to make metal and how you got into the metal scene?
I am a guitarist in the Swedish thrash band Darkane and I have also recently recorded my solo album Non-Human Level. I've been playing metal for 14 years now since it's the only way for me of getting my inner energies out. The first band I played in was called ZanineZ and we played kind of regular eighties metal like Helloween and Iron Maiden. My second band was called Agretator and we played for 7 years. The style was very technical in the end.
An introduction to the rest of Non-Human Level will be great as well, together with a bit about why you found that they were the ones who should be in the band?
I wanted to play together with other musicians than I normally do, and I wanted really good ones. I've got Ryan van Poederooyen (drummer of Devin Townsend Band) on drums, Gustaf Hielm (ex- Meshuggah) on bass and Peter Wildoer (drummer in Darkane) on vocals. I was looking around for good musicians and when those people crossed my path I asked them to join, and they were totally into it from the beginning.
You have just released the first Non-Human Level album, how has it been received?
It seems to have been received very good I think! It is not a haste of work and most reviewers have noticed that. I've put my heart and soul in it, and the fact that it is a very guitar oriented death metal album might make it more interesting for guitarists as well.
How do you in the band feel about the album?
I am very proud… both of the music and the members I have had the fortune of having on the album. I've got my dream team.
What do you expect from it?
I just hope people will like it. There's a lot of work behind.
Did it turn out exactly as you had imagined when you started to record the material?
When I started working on it I didn't know where it would go in the end… but something like that, I guess.
When did you get the initial idea for Non-Human Level?
I started to write the first half of the album in 1999 when I came up with the idea to create a solo project. Then some years (and Darkane albums) passed and then last year I completed the last 4 songs. So it took 5 years to write it, but I did a lot in between. There is one song ('Water') that was written back in 1994, but at the time I didn't know where to use it.
How long did it take you to get the idea and thoughts of the band structured?
I asked Gustaf back in 1999 to join the group and Ryan and Peter around 2003.
Have you been writing all the music, or have the rest of the band had a saying as well?
I wrote, arranged, engineered and produced the album (except for the drums that were recorded in Vancouver, Canada) by myself.
What would you like to accomplish with Non-Human Level?
It's a way of fulfilling myself I guess. I wanted to see what an album exclusively written by me would sound like. I also wanted to play together with other musicians in a project since I've almost always been playing together with the same group of people.
Where do you find inspiration when you write music?
Everywhere. I listen to a lot of different music styles… metal, jazz, fusion, classical and a lot in between.
Do you have to be in special mood when writing, or does it just come to you?
I would say that it just comes to me… but not very often. I'm a very slow songwriter.
How do you know when you have written material suitable for Darkane and for Non-Human Level, how do you differ between the 2?
It was really hard sometimes, but most of the times I decided before it was written that I was gonna write for that or that band.
Can you mention 3 bands and 3 that have meant a lot to you, they way you write music and the sound of Non-Human Level?
Death 'Lack Of Comprehension', Entombed 'Living Dead' and Slayer 'War Ensamble'. I've also studied classical compositions and that has influenced my writing a lot I think.
What about the lyrics, are you writing them, or did Wildoer do them?
I wrote them too.
Is there a message in the lyrics and where has the inspiration for them been found?
I write a lot of different things… like people with extremely large egos, people that never trust anyone else and therefore never give themselves a chance to bond with others. I've also written about catastrophes like 9/11 and when a ship called Estonia sunk in the sea outside the Swedish shores in 1994 and 849 people died.
What are the thoughts behind the band name and what does it symbolize for you?
It can refer to the lyrics where people are going through stuff that wouldn't be considered human. It's also a joke to the other musicians that we shall deliver the music on a non-human level.
How does the future look for Non-Human Level, is it a one album project, or do you expect to put out more albums?
The main idea has always been that it's only a one album project because I wanted to do something else than Darkane, but you never know what the future holds.
Do you plan to keep the same line up as now, and how does it look with live performances from you?
If we ever do a live show I would of course want the original line-up. I would also have to add a rhythm guitarist since there's a lot going on guitar wise.
To push you a bit, when will we see a new album from Non-Human Level at the latest?
The latest would in that case be never.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Death – Human
Yngwie – Rising Force
Meshuggah – Destroy Erase Improve
Strapping Young Lad – City
Steve Vai – Passion And Warfare
Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
If you like intense brutal, yet melodic death metal played by skilful musicians you should check out Non-Human Level! Take care of each other and have a great Christmas! Thanks for the interview!
Back
All content Copyright 1999-2006 Nocturnalhorde.com. Powered By...
