Relapse Records, how did they approach you? Do you feel it’s important for your evolution as a band to be supported by such a well known label? After more than a year with them are you guys satisfied with the way they have been treating you? U- We recorded demos for the second record and had some labels we were talking to about pressing the record but we again had the conundrum of being a band with 10-15 minute long songs whose preferred medium is vinyl. Our friend Matt works in the art department at Relapse and he played the demos we had made for Orion Landau and a couple of other folks at their Portland office and they all really liked it so they reached out and made us an offer which was far better than any we were considering with anyone else so we went for it. As for our evolution and the effect Relapse has on it, they definitely provide more support and visibility for us. I am sure we have been offered better tours and shows because of our affiliation with them and they have been great to us. They are a busy bunch of folks but they really care about underground metal and heavy music and they do a good job running an independent metal label. MH- The first fruit of that relationship was the album ‘Cosmic Random Violence’ from 2014, how would you compare this one with your debut? Do you think that there are many differences between both works? What inspired you guys when creating ‘Cosmic Random Violence’? U- I am personally proud of everything we have done but I feel that "Random Cosmic Violence" is the product of us evolving and finding more of a singular sound of our own than the first record had. When we wrote that first record, we were coming at it with a wider mix of styles and ideas. Less had solidified in our vision for what we were trying to do. We had a theme and an atmosphere we wanted to create with the newer record and we wrote the album with a more cohesive vision behind it. The theme of the album was influenced by Carl Sagan's "Demon-Haunted World". Joel and I were writing lyrics influenced by cosmic themes and reflecting on the arrogance of
humanity and religion in particular in contrast to the vastness of the universe and it's indifference to the human condition that we are all so consumed by. MH- How’s been the live action? You did a five week tour through the US and Canada alongside Ufomammut, so how was that? U- We have been playing a lot of great shows with bands we are honored to share a stage with. Soon we are playing an awesome show with Wolvhammer, Atriarch and Dispirit and we just played shows with Godflesh, Buried At Sea, Unearthly Trance, and Acephalix to name a few we were really excited about. The tour with Ufomammut was probably the high point of our band's career thus far. We had a great time, we all became closer friends and we also really hit it off with Ufomammut and played some of the best and biggest shows we've had the privilege to play thus far. MH- So is this your first time in our country? Do you know anything about the SWR fest? What expectations do you have? And what can we expect from Usnea? Leave a final message for our readers. U- None of us have been to Portugal yet and Usnea has not toured Europe either so this will be our debut. We are all very excited for the fest and impressed by the lineup to say the least. We have been told by our friends in Bell Witch and Ufomammut that Portugal is a great place to play so we are anticipating having a great time. As for what to expect from us, we promise to get up on stage and play our hearts out and in the process push a lot of sound and oppressive heaviness your way... Will you receive our dark offerings?
Sweden has been for some years one of the greater exporters of Heavy Metal. MONOLORD is a Swedish trio that delivers a Heavy Doom sound that will make the walls of your house shake. Their latest album ‘Vaenir’ from 2015 was very well received by the fans all over the world!! Read what they had to say and enjoy some Dooooooooom!!!
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MH- Hi guys, so how are things over there in Sweden? What’s new on the Monolord boot camp? Start by presenting who is behind each instrument.. Esben Willems: Hi, all good here! In between tours at the moment, which means working on new music, always inspiring. We in the band are Thomas Jäger on vocals and guitar, Mika Häkki on bass and me on drums. MH- Can you tell us briefly how did you three hook up? Did you guys knew each other before starting Monolord? EW: Thomas and I first got to know each other playing in the boogie rock band Marulk, and Monolord actually started off as a side project to that band. I knew Mika from earlier collaborations, so when he entered the room to audition for bass we all felt right then and there that the band had found its form. MH- Since the start you’ve been working with RidingEasy Records, so how did they get in the picture? It’s been cool to work with them? EW: Thomas hooked up with Daniel at RidingEasy Records already back when Marulk was still active, via Instagram actually. When Daniel heard the first Monolord demos he instantly wanted to hear more. So we delivered more and we've been working tightly with the label since then. They're a great example of the new labels that has been gaining ground the last 3-4 years. A lot of music fans are more than fed up with over processed image music that's barely more than market adjusted disposable background noise, and RidingEasy is a vital part of the counter reaction to that. And we're proud to be a small part of it as well. MH- Let’s go to ‘Vaenir’ your recent work, for what I saw recording, mastering etc was all done by yourselves, so it’s better to have a full control on what