All Interviews
Sonic Syndicate
Sonic Syndicate
Posted on Mar 28, 2006
by Anders
Sonic Syndicate a relative new Swedish death metal band, delivering modern melodic death metal, catchy and easy to get into, blending the traditional to newer era of melodic Swedish death metal with the American wave of metalcore in a convincing way. The band released their debut album "Eden Fire" late last year on Pivotal Rockordings. I hooked up with bassplayer Karin and guitarist Robin to find out what fuels the band and why they deliver the metal they do.
Hi there, how are things in Sweden as we speak?
Karin: Hey. Things are good, but I am a bit tired as we speak. Being a Sunday and all!
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you deliver melodic death metal in Sonic Syndicate?
Karin: I am Karin Axelsson, born and raised in Falkenberg, Sweden. Unemployed at the moment, turning 20 in two weeks! Why I deliver melodic death metal in Sonic Syndicate?...Well, that's easy: I love the music, I love being with and playing together with the guys. Music is the biggest and most important thing in my life and this is something I love to do.
A small introduction of the rest of the band, together with a bit about what they contribute to the band with, will be great as well!
Karin: I am the bass-player and I also do backup vocals. Roger and Robin both play guitar, John is our drummer and Richard does the screaming.
Late last year your debut full length "Eden Fire" was released, how has the album so far been received?
Robin: The album has sold more copies than we thought it would sell. Things worked very well when we released it and many of the Swedish magazines and newspaper wrote alot of great things about it, which gave a hell lot of promotion. Some radio stations in the U.S. played the whole album some days in the week, which turned out that we landed on the Top 20 most wanted bands on the radio. We also did a few radio interviews which was pretty cool.
What do you feel about it today, now when you have had some time to digest the material on it?
Robin: I'm really tired of it of course, the material is pretty old. I still like the album, but I can't listen to it much. And of course, now when it has been released for a while and we've listened to it alot, we would change some songs a lot if it were possible to re-record it. But that is normal for every band when they've listened to their album for some months.
What did you initially expect of the album, and has it so far fulfilled your expectations?
Robin: Everything I expected about the album, has fulfilled my expectations really. I wanted a album that was heavy, hard and fast but also melancholy, and some times even pop-ish. And I feel that the album has all those five things. As I said before, if I had the chance, I would change some things now afterwards, But I'm really satisfied with this album as a debut album.
The album is made of 3 new tracks and your 2 EPs "Extinction" and "Black Lotus" re-recorded, why did you choose to do it like that, instead of making 10 entirely new tracks?
Robin: We felt that the 7 old songs were good enough to be on "Eden Fire". But we re-arranged, re-produced and re-recorded the songs to make better versions. The record label had set up plans for us, the album and everything, and by that time, we had three new songs, so we got into the studio right away and recorded the stuff we had.
Which of the material do you in the band find the best?
Robin: We like the three new songs best because they feel new compared to the other seven tracks. They are also more like a mix of what we listens to normally in the band, everything from Killswitch Engage to Atreyu.
I'm way more into the 3 new tracks, they kinda kicks the old material's ass, and especially the track 'Enhance My Nightmare', where you let your bassplayer Karin do some vocals, that works really well, will we hear more of that in the future?
Robin: Thank you, and I really agree. 'Enhance My Nightmare' is the song we made when Karin first joined the band. And she told us that she could sing, so it felt pretty cool to experment with Karin's clean vocals with our rough screaming vocals. And it turned out pretty cool. I don't know if we'll make more songs like that, with female vocals, because we haven't included clean vocals in all the new songs.
Who are the main songwriters in the band?
Robin: It usually is Roger (Sjunnesson, guitar) who does the core of the songs, but it's Roger and me together who finalize the songs. Well, everyone in the band has a touch of writing the music, because we also change some things at rehearsal. It feels like this is the perfect way for us to write music, because it goes pretty fast.
Where is the inspiration for the music found and have there been any certain events and such that have influenced any of the music?
Robin: As you probably could hear, we've been influenced of bands such as In Flames, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu. Alot of Swedish metal (Gothenburg-metal), but we also draw inspiration from American metalcore/hardcore. If you mix those genres, you'll get Sonic Syndicate.
Can you pull out 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and the sound of Sonic Syndicate?
Robin: In Flames (the whole "Soundtrack To Your Escape" album), As I Lay Dying (Every song they did since the last album) and Bullet For My Valentine (Every song they ever made). Thoose bands/songs gives us alot of influence, and we'll probably never get tired of listen to those bands.
The band started out as Fallen Angels, though changed your name to Sonic Syndicate, after a demo and the 2 EPs, how come?
Karin: We really felt we needed a new name. At the time of the change we were recording out debut album "Eden Fire" and we felt that if we are going to change the name, now would be the time to do it. We were sick and tired of the name "Fallen Angels" which we also thought didn't suit us and our music anymore, so when Richard came up with the idea to change name into "Sonic Syndicate" it just felt like a natural thing to do.
What are your thoughts behind Sonic Syndicate, what do you want people to read out from the name?
Karin: We want people to hear something new and fresh with the name, we feel that it also fits the music.
Who writes the lyrics in the band and how important are the lyrics compared to the music?
Karin: Roger is the one behind our music. He writes almost everything, but Robin also writes a lot of stuff together with him. Richard is writing all our lyrics and we never interfere with that, because they are really personal to him and we think he is a really good writer.
Where is the inspiration found for the lyrics?
Karin: Once again, the lyrics are personal to Richard and they are mainly about his life and experiences.
Which lyrical themes have you touched on "Eden Fire"?
Robin: I think the themes of the lyrics are mostly about love and death, and to lose someone that you really care for. I really like the lyrics, since they are "true stories", and are about Richard and his personal life.
If you feel like it, you are very welcome to pull out 3 of your favourite tunes on "Eden Fire" and tell us about the background for the music, what the lyrics are about, the ideas of them and so forth!
Robin: The songs I like the best are 'Jailbreak', 'Enhance My Nightmare' and 'Soulstone Splinter'. I don't know why I like those songs the best. They are also the top 3 favorite songs to play live.
How did you end up with the album title "Eden Fire" and what are your thoughts behind it?
Robin: The title "Eden Fire" was the best title for this album, since it fit along the lyrics much better then the other titles we'd come up with. And if you look inside our album-booklet, you'll see pictures of something that is totally destroyed and up in flames. It looks like a paradise that's been ripped up, and since "Eden" is the paradise, it fitted well with "Eden Fire".
You'll play here in Aalborg in the end of April, are you looking forward to it and what can we down here expect of the gig?
Karin: We are really looking forward to visit Denmark again. And hopefully we'll be coming back more often. You can expect a real energetic show, a lot of sweat and metal. It's going to be great!
How is it going with the creation of new material, are you working at full speed on new material and when can we expect to hear some new music from you?
Robin: We are working alot and really hard for the new material. It will kickass! It's way better than the material on "Eden Fire". I don't know now but it's possible that you guys will hear one or two new tunes from us.
How do you look upon the future of Sonic Syndicate?
Karin: It's hard to say really. But of course I hope that we'll get out and play a lot more outside of Sweden and over all. Spreading our music, meeting new people and stages of the world.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with us?
Robin: Here's my top 5 albums (no special rank or order):
Story Of The Year – Page Avenue
Alice Cooper – Trash
Bullet For My Valentine – The Poison
UnderOath – They're Only Chasing Safety
The 5th best album is either The Used – In Love And Death or Funeral For A Friend – Hours
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
Robin & Karin : Thank you! Go and catch us when we're out on the road, you'll not be dissapointed!
Karin: Hey. Things are good, but I am a bit tired as we speak. Being a Sunday and all!
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you deliver melodic death metal in Sonic Syndicate?
Karin: I am Karin Axelsson, born and raised in Falkenberg, Sweden. Unemployed at the moment, turning 20 in two weeks! Why I deliver melodic death metal in Sonic Syndicate?...Well, that's easy: I love the music, I love being with and playing together with the guys. Music is the biggest and most important thing in my life and this is something I love to do.
A small introduction of the rest of the band, together with a bit about what they contribute to the band with, will be great as well!
Karin: I am the bass-player and I also do backup vocals. Roger and Robin both play guitar, John is our drummer and Richard does the screaming.
Late last year your debut full length "Eden Fire" was released, how has the album so far been received?
Robin: The album has sold more copies than we thought it would sell. Things worked very well when we released it and many of the Swedish magazines and newspaper wrote alot of great things about it, which gave a hell lot of promotion. Some radio stations in the U.S. played the whole album some days in the week, which turned out that we landed on the Top 20 most wanted bands on the radio. We also did a few radio interviews which was pretty cool.
What do you feel about it today, now when you have had some time to digest the material on it?
Robin: I'm really tired of it of course, the material is pretty old. I still like the album, but I can't listen to it much. And of course, now when it has been released for a while and we've listened to it alot, we would change some songs a lot if it were possible to re-record it. But that is normal for every band when they've listened to their album for some months.
What did you initially expect of the album, and has it so far fulfilled your expectations?
Robin: Everything I expected about the album, has fulfilled my expectations really. I wanted a album that was heavy, hard and fast but also melancholy, and some times even pop-ish. And I feel that the album has all those five things. As I said before, if I had the chance, I would change some things now afterwards, But I'm really satisfied with this album as a debut album.
The album is made of 3 new tracks and your 2 EPs "Extinction" and "Black Lotus" re-recorded, why did you choose to do it like that, instead of making 10 entirely new tracks?
Robin: We felt that the 7 old songs were good enough to be on "Eden Fire". But we re-arranged, re-produced and re-recorded the songs to make better versions. The record label had set up plans for us, the album and everything, and by that time, we had three new songs, so we got into the studio right away and recorded the stuff we had.
Which of the material do you in the band find the best?
Robin: We like the three new songs best because they feel new compared to the other seven tracks. They are also more like a mix of what we listens to normally in the band, everything from Killswitch Engage to Atreyu.
I'm way more into the 3 new tracks, they kinda kicks the old material's ass, and especially the track 'Enhance My Nightmare', where you let your bassplayer Karin do some vocals, that works really well, will we hear more of that in the future?
Robin: Thank you, and I really agree. 'Enhance My Nightmare' is the song we made when Karin first joined the band. And she told us that she could sing, so it felt pretty cool to experment with Karin's clean vocals with our rough screaming vocals. And it turned out pretty cool. I don't know if we'll make more songs like that, with female vocals, because we haven't included clean vocals in all the new songs.
Who are the main songwriters in the band?
Robin: It usually is Roger (Sjunnesson, guitar) who does the core of the songs, but it's Roger and me together who finalize the songs. Well, everyone in the band has a touch of writing the music, because we also change some things at rehearsal. It feels like this is the perfect way for us to write music, because it goes pretty fast.
Where is the inspiration for the music found and have there been any certain events and such that have influenced any of the music?
Robin: As you probably could hear, we've been influenced of bands such as In Flames, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu. Alot of Swedish metal (Gothenburg-metal), but we also draw inspiration from American metalcore/hardcore. If you mix those genres, you'll get Sonic Syndicate.
Can you pull out 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and the sound of Sonic Syndicate?
Robin: In Flames (the whole "Soundtrack To Your Escape" album), As I Lay Dying (Every song they did since the last album) and Bullet For My Valentine (Every song they ever made). Thoose bands/songs gives us alot of influence, and we'll probably never get tired of listen to those bands.
The band started out as Fallen Angels, though changed your name to Sonic Syndicate, after a demo and the 2 EPs, how come?
Karin: We really felt we needed a new name. At the time of the change we were recording out debut album "Eden Fire" and we felt that if we are going to change the name, now would be the time to do it. We were sick and tired of the name "Fallen Angels" which we also thought didn't suit us and our music anymore, so when Richard came up with the idea to change name into "Sonic Syndicate" it just felt like a natural thing to do.
What are your thoughts behind Sonic Syndicate, what do you want people to read out from the name?
Karin: We want people to hear something new and fresh with the name, we feel that it also fits the music.
Who writes the lyrics in the band and how important are the lyrics compared to the music?
Karin: Roger is the one behind our music. He writes almost everything, but Robin also writes a lot of stuff together with him. Richard is writing all our lyrics and we never interfere with that, because they are really personal to him and we think he is a really good writer.
Where is the inspiration found for the lyrics?
Karin: Once again, the lyrics are personal to Richard and they are mainly about his life and experiences.
Which lyrical themes have you touched on "Eden Fire"?
Robin: I think the themes of the lyrics are mostly about love and death, and to lose someone that you really care for. I really like the lyrics, since they are "true stories", and are about Richard and his personal life.
If you feel like it, you are very welcome to pull out 3 of your favourite tunes on "Eden Fire" and tell us about the background for the music, what the lyrics are about, the ideas of them and so forth!
Robin: The songs I like the best are 'Jailbreak', 'Enhance My Nightmare' and 'Soulstone Splinter'. I don't know why I like those songs the best. They are also the top 3 favorite songs to play live.
How did you end up with the album title "Eden Fire" and what are your thoughts behind it?
Robin: The title "Eden Fire" was the best title for this album, since it fit along the lyrics much better then the other titles we'd come up with. And if you look inside our album-booklet, you'll see pictures of something that is totally destroyed and up in flames. It looks like a paradise that's been ripped up, and since "Eden" is the paradise, it fitted well with "Eden Fire".
You'll play here in Aalborg in the end of April, are you looking forward to it and what can we down here expect of the gig?
Karin: We are really looking forward to visit Denmark again. And hopefully we'll be coming back more often. You can expect a real energetic show, a lot of sweat and metal. It's going to be great!
How is it going with the creation of new material, are you working at full speed on new material and when can we expect to hear some new music from you?
Robin: We are working alot and really hard for the new material. It will kickass! It's way better than the material on "Eden Fire". I don't know now but it's possible that you guys will hear one or two new tunes from us.
How do you look upon the future of Sonic Syndicate?
Karin: It's hard to say really. But of course I hope that we'll get out and play a lot more outside of Sweden and over all. Spreading our music, meeting new people and stages of the world.
Will you share your 5 all time favourite albums with us?
Robin: Here's my top 5 albums (no special rank or order):
Story Of The Year – Page Avenue
Alice Cooper – Trash
Bullet For My Valentine – The Poison
UnderOath – They're Only Chasing Safety
The 5th best album is either The Used – In Love And Death or Funeral For A Friend – Hours
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
Robin & Karin : Thank you! Go and catch us when we're out on the road, you'll not be dissapointed!
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