When I first heard this Swedish band's new album "Bloodwork - Techniques Of Torture", there was something that caught onto me. Great death metal, straight ahead, but with a technical twist and a great atmosphere. I hooked up with bassist Niklas Samuelsson and below you can read his answers to my questions.

Will you start off by introducing yourself and tell us why you create and play death metal?

My name is Niklas Samuelsson i play bass. I like playing Death Metal beacuse of the intensity and the aggression in the music.

A short introduction of the rest of the band and a bit about their strong and weak sides will be great too!

Jonas Matsson, Vocals – Great dude with an awsome voice. The only thing bigger then his talent is his belly.

Kristoffer Andersson, Guitar – My best friend and an innovative guitarplayer, is never afraid to try something different and new.

Markus Lundberg, Guitar – Wicked Guitarplayer and brilliant songwriter, can lay down those shredding riffs and great solos.

Stefan Kronquist, Drums – The Drummer from hell, has made some major progress in the last years and is still getting better by the minute

You are soon ready with your debut album “Bloodwork”, how do you feel about the album?

Bloodwork isn’t really our debut album, we released an album in 2002 (“Euthanasia…Last Resort”, released by I Hate Records, I guess I need glasses, Ed.). But it was released on a pretty small label and didn’t reach that many people. We are all very pleased with the album, both the songs and the production. It felt real good even before we started recording the album, we knew we had a bunch of great songs and the recording session went really well. Working with Devo as a producer worked out great, he made us deliver our very best.

Have you received any reactions on the album yet?

Just from friends and relatives... they think it rocks and they think its much better then our last album.

What do you expect from the album?

I don’t really have any real expectations but i think it will be more successful then our last album, both due to better and bigger distribution and more advertising and the fact that it is so much better.

What do you want to accomplish with Sargatanas Reign?

We want to be able to make our music heard by as many people as possible, I’d like to be able to make a living by playing my music.

Who writes the music in the band?

Markus and me makes most of the riffs.

How does the song writing process work in Sargatanas Reign?

We make all our songs together in our rehearsal place, as said before Markus and me makes most of the riffs, then everyone contributes to the arrangements.

Where is the inspiration for the music found?

That’s a difficult question to answer, inspiration can be found everywhere, but i suppose that most of our inspiration comes from movies and our twisted minds...

What can trigger you and make you write a song, a riff etc…?

Most of my riffs comes from hours of riffing infront of the television... that’s were i write my best stuff.

Can you mention 5 bands and 5 albums (not necessarily with the mentioned bands) that have meant a lot to you personally and to your song writing?

Morbid Angel - Domination, Mayhem – De mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Metallica – Black Album, King Diamond – Conspiracy, Obituary – Slowly We Rot

Will you initiate us in your lyrical universe?

The lyrics on bloodwork tells the tale of a serial killer, his acts and his mind, Markus and me are the main lyric writers.

Can you pull out your 3 favourite tracks from “Bloodwork”, and tell us a bit about the history behind the track, a bit about the music and the lyrics?

Chaos Theory. The music is pretty straight forward and contains both fast and slow passages, the lyrics is a look into the schizophrenic mind of the serial killer.

Come Greet Me Crawlers is probably the most catchy song on the album, this one was among the first ones written for this album, it didn’t sound at all like it does today, it has undergone many changes, the lyrics stands out as it doesn’t really have anything to do with the story mentioned earlier because it is written by Jocke Göthberg from Dimension Zero.

Techniques of Torture. This is our album opener, a fast and furious song with a really strong verse, the lyrics tell of our friends wicked deeds.

Who writes the lyrics in the band?

Markus writes most of the lyrics and i contribute a little.

What are your thoughts behind the album title “Bloodwork – Techniques Of Torture”?

We think it sums up the story pretty well.

Do you have any touring planned, in support of the release of “Bloodwork”?

No, not yet.

How do you think the future seems for Sargatanas Reign?

We hope that the album will be successful so we can get on the road.

Will you share your 5 favourite Scandinavian albums with us?

Mayhem – De Mysteris Dom Sathanas
Kaos,Kris & Helvete – Käftsmäll
Cardigans – Gran Turismo
Thåström – Mannen Som Blev En Gris
Kent – Vapen & Ammunition

Thanks a ton for answering my questions, if you have anything to add, feel free to do it now!

Sargatanas Reign website

[This interview was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]