All Interviews
Submission
Submission
Posted on Apr 5, 2006
by Anders
Submission is a fairly brutal yet melodic and technical thrash metal band from Denmark. They have just released their debut full length "Failure To Perfection" on the French label Listenable Records. I hooked up with vocalist Steven Qvist and got answers to all my curious questions.
Hi there, how are things in Denmark as we speak?
Hey… Well, they are great. It's just fucking cold at the moment.
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us how you ended up on the path of metal back in the days?
I'm Steven Qvist(vocals) from Submission. My first encounter with metal music was at the tender age of 10. When one of my friends introduced me to Sepultura's "Chaos A.D." By first listening I wasn't impressed, but after a few spins on the stereo I started to pick up, what these guys were trying to accomplish. And from there on it just took form.
A small introduction of the rest of the band, together with a bit about what they contribute to Submission with will be great as well!
The other members of Submission are Kasper Kierkegaard (guitar), Christoffer Petersen (guitar), Morten Lowe Soerensen (drums) and Boris Tandrup (bass).
You are right now ready with your debut full length "Failure To Perfection", how does it feel to have the first album released?
It feels great! It's nice to finally have accomplished one of our goals. It's something we all, have dreamt about since we started listening/playing music, so it's just a great feeling.
How do you in the band feel about the album, did it turn out as you wished and intended?
We are in general pleased about the outcome of the album. Of course in retrospective there are things we want to change, I think it's that way for every musician! But we actually couldn't be more happy about the album.
How has it so far been received by the press?
It has been received with quite good reviews and response. Of course there have been some people/critics who have criticized the album, but that's how the world goes around, there will always be people who don't like you. The way we think about it, is that we can't make everyone happy, so we don't try! We simply make our music as we like. But in general the response has been better than we thought it would be.
What do you expect of it?
Of course we hope that people like it, so we can get the opportunity to come out and play live shows. Because in the end that is what's cool about metal, fucking playing it live. To make this short and understandable, we simply want to conquer the world. Hahahaha.
You have been picked up by the ever-growing French label Listenable Records, how is it to be with them and how has the cooperation so far been?
Yes… Well Listenable Records is a great label! We've all liked many of their previously bands, and have always felt that Listenable was a good and descent label, so it was absolutely a great thing for us that they were interested in our music. Working together with them, has so far been a positive experience, we've been treated very well! So no complaints about them.
What do you expect of the label, and how sure are you about they can fulfil your expectations?
We expect a form of co-working environment were both the label and band can work together in and around the band's/label's best interests. And as said before, there has been such an environment so far. We are confident that our label will 'perform' when we need it.
Who writes the music in the band and what do you wish to tell with the music?
The music in the band is created in a union-ship, we collectively add our thing to the music. Usually Christoffer or Kasper comes up with a riff, and then we try to mould a structure around it, by putting layers upon layers, of different drums, bass and vocals. Until we hit something we all like. The thing we want people to experience when they hear Submission is our understanding of what metal should sound like. We are not trying to pull of some kind of greater illusion, we make our music they way we do, because of ourselves.
Where is the inspiration for the music found?
Our inspirations are found in many different things. We are of course inspired by many of the great metal bands out there, such as Darkane, Nevermore, At The Gates, Invocator etc. but we also listen to a lot of other things like punk, jazz, blues etc. Our inspiration is what pleases us, and what makes us inspired!
Can you pick out 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and your way of making music?
Hmm… That's a hard one! Personally I would be Pantera with '5 Minutes Alone', Slayer with 'Threshold' and Soilwork with 'Like The Average Stalker' simply because they are bands/songs that have a great sound, and makes me want to headbang from here and until next winter.
What would you like to accomplish with your music?
Haha… wasn't that question just answered in one of the other questions? What we want to achieve with our music, is to keep making metal as we like it! And get the chance to play across different boarders. And hopefully people will like the music we create.
Which lyrical themes have you touched on the album and do you have a message with the lyrics?
The lyrically themes on the album aren't a one-way theme, there's no connection between the tracks on the album lyrically, except that most of the lyrics are about "state of mind". With that I mean that mostly the lyrics are about things we've experienced by ourselves, or something that has triggered something inside of us. The Lyrics are about everything, from war, mental illness, ex-girlfriends to politics. We don't have one subject which is our main theme. I personally don't make any messages in my lyrics, because they are mostly written about things I've felt, done, tried. But if people can relate to what I've written, then that's just a bonus.
Who is writing the lyrics, and where is the inspiration for them found?
Mainly it's me who writes the lyrics, but on "Failure To Perfection", Kasper wrote the lyrics for 'Deathride To Escape' and 'Warhunger'. Also Boris wrote a lyric on the album called 'Reject Ignite Burn', the rest is written by me. The inspirations for the lyrics are as said, found in our everyday lives, whether it's something we feel or something we've tried.
What are your thoughts behind the album title and what do wish to tell with it?
The title is something Boris came up with, after he had wrote the lyrics to 'Reject Ignite Burn'. The lyrical part was something like system failure to perfection. We all like the sound of it, and felt that the title could mean a lot of things. So it would be kind of an open interpretation for people. Our thoughts behind the title were that nothing is perfect, no government, no religion, hell not even our band. Hahaha... It's a title which suits the people who listens to our music, they can decide themselves whether it's political, personal or something completely else…
The cover artwork can also be interpreted in more than one way, how do you wish people to see it and what does it symbolize?
The artwork of the cover is made by Svencho from Aborted. We gave him our name and the title for the album and asked if he could make a cover that suited us, and the first thing he made was the cover that's on the album. We all liked the cover, especially because of the close relation to our name. There's not any particularly symbolism in the cover, we just felt that it presented us in cool way. We've been asked if our name/cover has something to do with the filmmaker (Theo Van Gogh), who made a film about muslims called Submission, and was killed after the release. Our name and cover has nothing to do with that. We simply like the cover, nothing else.
Are you soon heading out for a tour to support "Failure To Perfection" or isn't there anything planned yet?
We are currently planning a DK-tour which is almost done. And an EU-tour which hopefully should start in the fall this year. Right now, we are working on new material for the next album.
You played a gig in Aalborg in January with Demolition Inc. how did that go and how did the audience receive the music?
It went quite well, we tried out our new material on the crowd, and they seemed to like it very much. Besides that we didn't have the most successful gig, the monitors were broke, and the sound wasn't that good either. But we are actually kind of used to it now, so we pulled it off anyway.
How do you look upon the future of Submission?
Well hopefully we'll be touring a lot, around the world, and finishing our next album.
Do you care to share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Meshuggah – Destroy Erase Improve
Death – Human
At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
Darkane - Rusted Angel
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
You're welcome… Check out "Failure To Perfection", it's a combustion to your ears… Stay metal.
Hey… Well, they are great. It's just fucking cold at the moment.
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us how you ended up on the path of metal back in the days?
I'm Steven Qvist(vocals) from Submission. My first encounter with metal music was at the tender age of 10. When one of my friends introduced me to Sepultura's "Chaos A.D." By first listening I wasn't impressed, but after a few spins on the stereo I started to pick up, what these guys were trying to accomplish. And from there on it just took form.
A small introduction of the rest of the band, together with a bit about what they contribute to Submission with will be great as well!
The other members of Submission are Kasper Kierkegaard (guitar), Christoffer Petersen (guitar), Morten Lowe Soerensen (drums) and Boris Tandrup (bass).
You are right now ready with your debut full length "Failure To Perfection", how does it feel to have the first album released?
It feels great! It's nice to finally have accomplished one of our goals. It's something we all, have dreamt about since we started listening/playing music, so it's just a great feeling.
How do you in the band feel about the album, did it turn out as you wished and intended?
We are in general pleased about the outcome of the album. Of course in retrospective there are things we want to change, I think it's that way for every musician! But we actually couldn't be more happy about the album.
How has it so far been received by the press?
It has been received with quite good reviews and response. Of course there have been some people/critics who have criticized the album, but that's how the world goes around, there will always be people who don't like you. The way we think about it, is that we can't make everyone happy, so we don't try! We simply make our music as we like. But in general the response has been better than we thought it would be.
What do you expect of it?
Of course we hope that people like it, so we can get the opportunity to come out and play live shows. Because in the end that is what's cool about metal, fucking playing it live. To make this short and understandable, we simply want to conquer the world. Hahahaha.
You have been picked up by the ever-growing French label Listenable Records, how is it to be with them and how has the cooperation so far been?
Yes… Well Listenable Records is a great label! We've all liked many of their previously bands, and have always felt that Listenable was a good and descent label, so it was absolutely a great thing for us that they were interested in our music. Working together with them, has so far been a positive experience, we've been treated very well! So no complaints about them.
What do you expect of the label, and how sure are you about they can fulfil your expectations?
We expect a form of co-working environment were both the label and band can work together in and around the band's/label's best interests. And as said before, there has been such an environment so far. We are confident that our label will 'perform' when we need it.
Who writes the music in the band and what do you wish to tell with the music?
The music in the band is created in a union-ship, we collectively add our thing to the music. Usually Christoffer or Kasper comes up with a riff, and then we try to mould a structure around it, by putting layers upon layers, of different drums, bass and vocals. Until we hit something we all like. The thing we want people to experience when they hear Submission is our understanding of what metal should sound like. We are not trying to pull of some kind of greater illusion, we make our music they way we do, because of ourselves.
Where is the inspiration for the music found?
Our inspirations are found in many different things. We are of course inspired by many of the great metal bands out there, such as Darkane, Nevermore, At The Gates, Invocator etc. but we also listen to a lot of other things like punk, jazz, blues etc. Our inspiration is what pleases us, and what makes us inspired!
Can you pick out 3 bands and 3 songs that have meant a lot to you and your way of making music?
Hmm… That's a hard one! Personally I would be Pantera with '5 Minutes Alone', Slayer with 'Threshold' and Soilwork with 'Like The Average Stalker' simply because they are bands/songs that have a great sound, and makes me want to headbang from here and until next winter.
What would you like to accomplish with your music?
Haha… wasn't that question just answered in one of the other questions? What we want to achieve with our music, is to keep making metal as we like it! And get the chance to play across different boarders. And hopefully people will like the music we create.
Which lyrical themes have you touched on the album and do you have a message with the lyrics?
The lyrically themes on the album aren't a one-way theme, there's no connection between the tracks on the album lyrically, except that most of the lyrics are about "state of mind". With that I mean that mostly the lyrics are about things we've experienced by ourselves, or something that has triggered something inside of us. The Lyrics are about everything, from war, mental illness, ex-girlfriends to politics. We don't have one subject which is our main theme. I personally don't make any messages in my lyrics, because they are mostly written about things I've felt, done, tried. But if people can relate to what I've written, then that's just a bonus.
Who is writing the lyrics, and where is the inspiration for them found?
Mainly it's me who writes the lyrics, but on "Failure To Perfection", Kasper wrote the lyrics for 'Deathride To Escape' and 'Warhunger'. Also Boris wrote a lyric on the album called 'Reject Ignite Burn', the rest is written by me. The inspirations for the lyrics are as said, found in our everyday lives, whether it's something we feel or something we've tried.
What are your thoughts behind the album title and what do wish to tell with it?
The title is something Boris came up with, after he had wrote the lyrics to 'Reject Ignite Burn'. The lyrical part was something like system failure to perfection. We all like the sound of it, and felt that the title could mean a lot of things. So it would be kind of an open interpretation for people. Our thoughts behind the title were that nothing is perfect, no government, no religion, hell not even our band. Hahaha... It's a title which suits the people who listens to our music, they can decide themselves whether it's political, personal or something completely else…
The cover artwork can also be interpreted in more than one way, how do you wish people to see it and what does it symbolize?
The artwork of the cover is made by Svencho from Aborted. We gave him our name and the title for the album and asked if he could make a cover that suited us, and the first thing he made was the cover that's on the album. We all liked the cover, especially because of the close relation to our name. There's not any particularly symbolism in the cover, we just felt that it presented us in cool way. We've been asked if our name/cover has something to do with the filmmaker (Theo Van Gogh), who made a film about muslims called Submission, and was killed after the release. Our name and cover has nothing to do with that. We simply like the cover, nothing else.
Are you soon heading out for a tour to support "Failure To Perfection" or isn't there anything planned yet?
We are currently planning a DK-tour which is almost done. And an EU-tour which hopefully should start in the fall this year. Right now, we are working on new material for the next album.
You played a gig in Aalborg in January with Demolition Inc. how did that go and how did the audience receive the music?
It went quite well, we tried out our new material on the crowd, and they seemed to like it very much. Besides that we didn't have the most successful gig, the monitors were broke, and the sound wasn't that good either. But we are actually kind of used to it now, so we pulled it off anyway.
How do you look upon the future of Submission?
Well hopefully we'll be touring a lot, around the world, and finishing our next album.
Do you care to share your 5 all time favourite albums with the readers of Nocturnal Horde?
Meshuggah – Destroy Erase Improve
Death – Human
At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power
Darkane - Rusted Angel
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to add it now!
You're welcome… Check out "Failure To Perfection", it's a combustion to your ears… Stay metal.
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