A: Hi There! Can you tell us about the new album?
M: Well, it's some thing we've been talking about for some time, we get a lot of people asking us about were can they find our old demo, and our first EP, so instead of people paying ridiculous amounts of money for them on E-Bay or something we decided to put them on a new CD, also there's a bunch of unreleased tracks, some of them we're on the Japanese editions only until now, and also there's a live show we recorded in Poland.
A: Was the live show specifically planned as a live CD?
M: No, actually it's the audio part of the DVD we put out, the show was recorded for it originally,
A: What about the b-sides and unreleased material, where did they originate from?
M: Mostly it's stuff we thought didn't fit the albums at the time, or we thought wasn't good enough, but now, when we sat and listen to them we actually thought they were pretty good, they just seemed un-fit in the context of those specific albums.
A: did you do any re-mastering on the tracks?
M: I spent hours upon hours on the re-mastering, trying to make them sound good.
A: Do they sound like the modern material?
M: They're all from the last few albums, so they sound up-to-date, and now the sound is better as well.
A: Why a b-sides album and not a new studio one?
M: Actually there's a new album already recorded and ready to be released, it'll probably be released in the fall, so this is sort of a teaser, something of a special thing for Dark Tranquillity fans that have everything else.
A: Regarding that live DVD you spoke of, what does it contain?
M: Well, at first there was supposed to be the live show and a long interview, but we decided that's not enough, so we did a bunch of other stuff, there's some live stuff from Germany, Paris and Greece, there are almost all the videos we did, there are picture galleries, and some other stuff.
A: You returned recently from a tour in Japan with Soilwork, how was the tour?
M: It was great! Japan is amazing, the people there are the nicest people there are, and they are really loyal and passionate about metal, it was an amazing experience as it always is going there,
A: Why Soilwork?
M: They are good friends of ours, its actually the second time we toured there together, a couple of years back we also did a tour there together, they have something of a similar music style, so they're a good band to tour with.
A: Now, the band has gone through plenty of musical changes through the years, at certain points going deeper into the electronic and gothic genres, what caused that gradual change?
M: We always want to evolve and change, its just the what we are, every records we say: let's do something else this time, I mean, we've been together for fifteen years now, and we never want to get bored with what we do, after the Mind's I records we decided that the next one will sound completely different, and that's the way it happened.
A: But your latest studio album, Damage Done, is more aggressive, more reminiscent of the older stuff.
M: That's just the way we felt at the time, the new album, the unreleased one is also aggressive, I do a lot of screaming there, less clean vocals, I mean., I like to scream (laughs)&
A: You've recorded almost everything you've done in the Fredman studios, with Fredric Nordstrom, have you thought about recording somewhere else? Diversifying the sound?
M: We talked about it, but the thing is it wont really matter, we just go into the studio, get a little space of our own, and do our stuff, there's no real production or anything, we just write everything down, and then record it, so recording anywhere else wont make a difference, and we like it there, its just minutes walk from my house, and it's a place we know quite well.
A: Regarding the changes in style the band went through, were they influenced by current music, are there certain bands that influence you to do so?
M: I like a lot of stuff, and of course it has it's influences, when we started out there was only death and thrash , and there wasn't the internet or something, so you could know just about everything, but now its different, there's loads of new stuff, and new bands, and you really cant get to know all of it, but what I like is music with passion, people that try and say something, that their music seems passionate, I like artists such as Ozric Tentacles, Jeff Buckley, there are also a lot of new and interesting death metal bands around.
A: Have you heard our countrymen, Orphaned Land, your label mates?
M: I did actually, I got the promo, its good stuff, interesting, I mean I connect more to Swedish folk of course, but what they are doing is new, its unique enjoyed it.
A: What about touring? Are you going to support this album?
M: Not really, since this is not exactly a new studio album, when the new studio one will be released we'll do a serious tour to support it.
A: Did you consider doing a show here, In Israel?
M: I'd love that, I think there were plans for us to do it, but some thing didn't work, I'd really like to come over there, we are going to perform in Greece in three weeks, so its not a problem.
A: Well, I'd sure like that to happen, anyway, thanks for talking to me, and goodnight!
Alon Miasnikov
