Sweden's Grand Magus has surprised many by releasing last year's Wolf's Return.
The band seems to have gone in a faster, more aggressive direction than in any of their prior releases. To Find out more we spoke with the band's mastermind, JB, also known for the vocalist for Michal Ammot's Spiritual Beggars:
Hi There! I'd like to start with your latest album, Wolf's Return, first, what's the idea behind the title?
Hello, JB here. I hate to start off being difficult, but I never answer this type of question. I want the listeners to find that out for themselves, you know? There is of course a definite meaning behind it and when you read the lyrics and listen to the music, you will understand.
The artwork for it is great, was it done by Hugh Gilmour again? What is its meaning?
Yes, Hugh Gilmour did all the artwork for Wolf’s Return, he’s a great guy to work with and he understood what we needed right away. I’m very pleased with the way it turned out. Another great thing about him is that he’s very flexible and can do lot’s of different styles and things like that.
The album sounds great as well, who's Oneman, and what kind of a sound vibe did you try to get on the album?
Oneman is a very musical and talented guy that we got to know when we recorded our first demos as Grand Magus. He’s a great engineer and has got many ideas about arrangements and harmonies and stuff like that. He plays quite a big part in the way the album turned out. We said: “this is what we want” and he just made it happen. The sound in itself was quite important for this album. I wanted it to be a lot clearer and sharp compared to “Monument” and I think we succeeded in doing that.
Do you enter the studio with the material completely written, or do you continue to improvise and jam during the recording session?
The material is 99 % finished before we enter the studio, but there is room for improvisation with the vocals and guitar solos. The basic stuff is already done though, we don’t “jam” in the studio, but we can try different arrangements if we feel that something didn’t work the way we wanted it to. Oneman had quite a lot of input in the vocals and solos, and I consciously had them very sketchy to leave room for his ideas.
The album is probably the most "Metallic" one you've released, was that a specific choice you've made for it?
Absolutely. We wanted to do a 100 % metal album, but still retain the heavy aspect that we’ve done before. We also made a conscious decision to do faster stuff on this album, like Kingslayer and Repay in Kind.
Grand Magus - band photo by Anna Ledin
Some listeners even claimed the album to be doom-power metal, do you think that's a fair description?
Well, if “power metal” is “Metal with Power” then I agree. I DON’T think that we sound like what is generally called power metal though, with weak ballads and cheesy guitar sound and someone who sings like a little girl. I think Wolf’s Return combines melody with power and a certain doom feeling. Early Manowar combined with Bathory, Candlemass and Rainbow, ha-ha!
I'd like to get back to the band's roots for a bit, how did you guys start out?
Fox and me started the band in 1998, got a new drummer, Fredrik (Trisse) in 1999, recorded two demos. Got signed by Rise Above Records in 2000. The rest is as they say, history…
I understand you've worked with Dismember's Fred Estby as a producer, in what ways was his production different than your current sound?
Fred produced and mixed our debut album and he was great. The sound on the first album is very old-school hard rock and very heavy. Sounds like Judas priest 1998 but with steroids. I love Dismember and Fred is a close friend of mine. I couldn’t have asked for a better start for us as a band than having him at the controls. The upcoming Dismember album is awesome by the way.
What would you say influenced your music the most, stoner? Old school metal? Doom?
HEAVY METAL.
Grand Magus - band photo by Anna Ledin
To what extent were Black Sabbath an influence on you?
A huge influence, especially the albums with Dio. Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules + Born Again with Gillan. The first album I bought with my own money was Paranoid. I was ten years old. Basically all Sabbath albums are fantastic. The first four, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage… I could go on and on.
How do you view your infusion of Swedish and folk motifs in your music? Do you find it relates to stoner and doom metal?
We do Grand Magus music. I couldn’t care less if it relates to a style or not. Our music is done from the heart and with emotion, that’s all.
What were the reactions from your fans upon listening to a track such as Repay In Kind?
The overall response has been incredible. People seem to really appreciate the fact that we always try to take everything a bit further with each album. This album has crossed over to a lot of people that hadn’t heard us before and I think song like “Repay in Kind” play a large part in that.
Does the new material create a different vibe in your live shows then you used to have?
Yes, we have faster songs now than in the past and I think that makes the live performances a lot more dynamic.
Do you see yourselves continuing the album's direction in your next release?
At the moment, yes. Everything we do is based on emotion though, so we always keep the door open..
What live shows are planned for the band now?
We’re going to do a full European tour early next year, supporting a legendary band. Can’t say more than that at the moment.
That's it, thanks for doing the interview!
Thank you for your support and interest.
Alon Miasnikov
