SOURCE – The quality of the recording of Axeorcism is phenomenal. Can you tell us about the producing process for this record?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – Thank you! We worked really hard with it. It’s recorded and produced by ourselves in our own studios. Martin Haglund mixed the album and he did a great job. We have worked with him before and he lives in the same town as us so the choice was obvious for us. I think we have modern sound to our oldschool songs. The guitar sound is fat but cutting at the same time, and that was really important to us.
SOURCE – The band’s last album, Axeorcism, got a well-received response. Was the band surprised at the publicity that album got?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – We are pleased with the album ourselves, but of course you never really know what people will think. We have gotten mostly great reviews and we are super happy about that of course. We have a somewhat unique sound with the core being thrash metal, leaning towards heavy metal sometimes, and the heavy metal vocals, most seem to like the combination. We sure do! Although Nils Patrik is a heavy metal singer, he sings pretty aggresive so it’s a good fit.
SOURCE – Have you experienced any differences in how the foreign press treats you and the band compared to how native press and media treats and writes about you?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – Not really, we have had good press (for a small band) both in Sweden and other places aswell. It has been pretty cool, and Metalville Records has done good promotion for the album. Mostly websites, webzines, podcasts, video interviews, but some oldschool papers aswell.
SOURCE – The Sweden scene and sound are legendary. What is it like to be a part of such an intense and iconic genre?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – It sure is. We don’t reallt think about it though. The competion is pretty tough I guess, and now days it seems like you need to have some sort of gimmick to become a big band. A lot of Swedish bands got their breakthrough because of that. That’s nothing for us though, I just listen to the music. Entombed, At the Gates, Dismember, those kind of bands are Swedens real treasure. When the competition is tough, it makes you work harder!
SOURCE – Are there any plans to shoot any more videos for this album?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – So far we have released lyric videos for CC Cowboys, The Devil’s Sperm and Sea of Pain. We are working on another one as well. We probably won’t shoot any “real” videos, we ain’t got the budget for that. Low budget metal videos are tricky, it easily turns into shit. Hopefully we can make a good “real” video with our next album!
SOURCE – With how much the music industry has changed over the past few years, where it’s now all about streaming and Spotify and downloads instead of actual sales, as an artist how do you even determine if an album is successful or not these days?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – That’s a good question. I guess you will have to measure both, but even then you can´t be sure when comapring yourself to others, since some bands probably buy streams etc. It’s hard to reach a lot of listeners beacuse of how easy it is to put out music today. We will determine the success of the album in how much people that has heard it like it. It’s about the quality, not the quantity. But ofcourse, if we sell many albums or have alot of streams, that would be extra cool!
SOURCE – To make any type of money nowadays, fans have to buy T-shirts and go to live shows to support the band. How important to you is perfecting the band’s live show?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – It’s very important, regarding how we sound and the way we rock the fuck out on stage. We are rehearsing now to make our debut gig with Rifforia at a Swedish festival this summer. Later this year we hope to get out on the roads touring. We will bring our A-game. Me and Marcus old band Tuck from Hell was a celebrated liveband when it was around, so we will try to live up to our own standards.
SOURCE – What’s next on the Rifforia roadmap?
Nils Fredrik Johansson (Drums) – Except for live-shows we have allready started with the next album. We have a couple of songs in the making, and a lot of riffs. Meanwhile we will also be active on social media, ready to interact with anyone who reaches out. That means a lot to us.
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