We needed some patience, but on May 2nd, 2008, the ninth studio album of Tiamat, entitled 'Amanethes' will be in the shops. Well, as sweetener we had the excellent DVD 'The Church Of Tiamat' (2006) meanwhile and a compilation was launched at the world, but it has been since 'Prey' (2003) that the Swedish masters of melancholy regaled us with a number of new creations. This has to be celebrated! We started with a page full of questions and here you can read what the intriguing vocalist/composer/guitarist and mastermind Johan Edlund told us about the newest developments.
When we start at the very beginning of the album: I think the lyrics of the first song 'The Temple Of The Crescent Moon' are a bit autobiographic, isn't it?
Yeah, absolutely. We tried to pick up things where we ended with 'Prey'. It is already five years ago. That is why this song starts with a bit of an overview of what happened.
Usually a Tiamat album is written is a quite short amount of time. Is this the case with 'Amanethes' as well?
No, this time is a bit different. We had lots of time to work on it and some of the songs are older. Some of them, like the last song 'Amanes' for instance is five years old. Of course we changed it through the years, but some of the old ideas remained.
The album was mainly recorded in Greece. That was a new experience for you, I think?
(hesitates) Yes and no. We have been travelling so much, as a band but also me on my own. I don't see myself as Swedish. I have been living for three years in Greece now because of my girlfriend. So I am starting to know a little bit of the country and first Lars came over for the drums. Later on our bass player Anders and guitarist Thomas came to Greece to lay down their parts. But the mix was done in the Woodhouse Studios in Germany as usual, by Siggi Bemm who helped us out with the DVD recordings too.
There is a song with a Greek title 'Katarraktis Apo Aima'. What does it mean?
Something like waterfalls of blood.
Do you start to speak Greek language already a bit?
(smiles) Not really, but I start to pick up some things. Some nice words, moods… Greece is a country with a very fine culture, a nice history, and an environment that is very inspiring for a musician. Even some things in the language may be a source of inspiration.
I found some influences of Greek mythology as well…
Not so much really. They always have something to do with our daily life. Every time I use symbolism of mythology, I use it as a symbol of my personal life. That's what I did with Sumerian mythology in the past as well. Same goes for the name Tiamat itself. It has little to do with Sumerian mythology itself, it is more used as symbolism of things in everyday life. People have something they can relate to when they listen to the music of Tiamat. It is nice to be connected through music with emotions people will recognize.
You also told me once that it is hard to filter the flow of information of nowadays life…
Isn't it? It is coming from everywhere and it makes people forget what really matters in life. Do things you enjoy, be together with your family and people you love… Most people live in a rush from morning till evening to earn money and forget about the real values of life. The stress of modern life does not bring happiness I think. At least I am not interested in that way of living. There are so many things I can do. I have a lot of free time, but I would not want to spend it on work. I love free time.
That is one of the advantages of being a musician…
Yeah, for me it is the reason why I became a musician.
The contract with Century Media was finished and 'Amanethes' is the first record for Nuclear Blast. Why Nuclear Blast?
Because they were interested, and I mean really interested. There were some labels that tried to sign us just because they were sure to sell a few copies when they have the name Tiamat. But Nuclear Blast was not only interested in the name but in the band itself. They believe in us. And they know what they can expect. We do our thing the best we can.
Did you play often live in the meantime? The last time I saw you was at Graspop festival, a very good gig!
Yes, I liked it too. We have always been playing from time to time. As long as I can remember there were no times when we had no booked shows for the future which indicates that we are continuing in a pretty good way.
Last time we talked you planned to go to Ukraine for the first time for a gig…
Yeah we went there.
What about this experience?
Well, I really got drunk on the flight (laughs). I went there with my girlfriend and she was interrogated at the airport in Kiev. I was totally wasted, I got extremely pissed and I started arguing with the military and almost got arrested. We had to take a next flight to a small village on the Black Sea and they had opened our bags and they stole something from our bags. I freaked out and ordered to meet the manager of the airport (laughs), got into a big argument with him and eventually I was escorted from the plane by the police. I almost ended up in Ukraine jail to be honest (laughs). But well, we did the show, we played the festival and I did not sleep at all. We went back the next day, it was quite a horror trip, but the festival was fine. But travelling was a nightmare. And I had three flights to come to the show and three flights back. We left the stage about half past one in the night and at four o'clock we had to wake up to go back to the airport for our flight in the morning. When you play at festivals the travelling will be heavy most of the time I guess…
Well, it depends. At Graspop for instance we had a flight in the evening. We could sleep as long as we wanted and had a calm check in and flight back. But well, that is not always the case. A lot of stress and no sleep at all and sometimes there are more comfortable situations, it depends. The shows and the audience are always fun, that's a relief.
Are there plans to tour now?
Yes, festivals in summer and a tour in autumn.
Who did the female vocals on the record?
Two friends from here.
There are some orchestral arrangements on the album too. Is it a dream of you to work with a real orchestra some day?
It depends on what kind of songs you write. If I would have the idea to record a full orchestra it would be great to achieve that and to do it. But for this album I did not have the feeling that it was needed.
I think the album is a good blend of what you have done in the past and what you are now. I love the dark vocals, a kind of Nick Cave feel they have…
That is what I have been doing for a while now I think, that I like very much. It comes very natural for me. I do not have to struggle to sing that kind of songs. That is my natural voice. I struggle a bit more when I have to sing high or to scream, then I need a lot of energy. But the more low vocals I can do anytime.
Low vocals are better to express melancholy…
The voice should fit the lyrics, what I want to express, that balance is what I am trying to find. The lyrics are different. Some are more thoughtful and deep. Some are more direct and they have to be sung in a different way. A screaming voice would fit better to a song like 'Raining Dead Angels' for example.
Some bands told me that they want to do as much as possible by themselves and have control in everything. Is Tiamat a band like that sometimes or not?
It really depends. If I get suggestions from the record company to do something with somebody else they believe in, I am open-minded, but so far it has not happened to me. So far it seems… well, it takes a lot to be Tiamat. Even if you are super-talented, it does not mean that you can do what we do. There are no other people better in being Tiamat than we.
And you are the only original member, so it took a while before a line-up was settled for good…
I don't even know if it is settled for good yet. At the moment everything is good and fine, but I don't look too much to the past and we don't look too much to the future either. We better concentrate on what is here now and at the moment we feel confident with the new album. We don't think too much about what's going to happen or change.
If you look back on the making of this record, which words will come up in you to describe the process?
I don't know, I am glad it is done because it took so long and there were so many problems before we could do it. Sometimes I was worried and I even wondered if we were ever going to release a new album. It is the first time we had such a huge hiatus between two records (five years). But we did. Not yet, but at least our job is done.
You did the artwork. Can you tell a bit about the symbolism?
The record deals a lot with religion and that is why she is holding that paternoster in her mouth. It is a symbol of Greek orthodox religion.
What does the title 'Amanethes' mean?
It is like a mourning song, a Greek version of a song you cry out in anger or sadness.
Something like the fado in Portugal, but more a requiem?
