PAGANIZER
Well,
here we have a band that disappears for now. It is a sad new for me,
and I suppose that also for every old school DM fan. Now you can read
what Rogga, his leader has to tell us
1.- Hi Rogga,
first of all introduce yourself to our readers..
Well I'm Swedish and drink lots of beer. I also play death metal and
that's pretty much the full description of me I think, haha.
2.- How were
you introduced in the extreme metal scene? Which cds were the first
you bought?
Can't really remember how it came to be, but I've always listened to
heavy metal so I think I was introduced to more extreme metal sometime
in sixth or seventh grade and then eventually started to play myself.
I had lots of stuff of tape in the beginning but the first albums I
bought myself was Dismember I think.
3.- Let's Talk
about Paganizer... Five CDs, splits, demos, tapes... Well, it seems
it has been a long way till now. Can you look backwards and tell us
how was it from the very first time to nowadays?
Seven years of death metal here... heheh
Well, actually we played long before Paganizer under a different name
with almost the same line-up, or parts of the line-up. Back then it
was really fun just as today, we just rehearsed some songs and then
recorded them at some cheap studio in the local area. Then after some
years it evolved a bit and we got the chance to use better studios as
Sunlight for instance which was very cool indeed. Don't seem like seven
years actually, when I think back it feels more like we formed Paganizer
just a couple of years back...haha.
4.- Well, now
we had a little piece of Paganizer history... I really want to know
why it is put on ice, boys, this sounded great, almost everybody who
listened to it liked it, Why!!!!!!?!?!?!??!?! We want Paganizer back!!!
It's very simple actually. I like Paganizer very much too, and I know
that many others do as well just as you say but in the end it comes
down to economy and line-ups. First of all the line-up problems we had
all the time prevented us from playing live which is a huge part of
playing in a band and the bad economy of the members as well as the
labels we have been on has also prevented us from doing any touring
which is also a great deal of making a band grow. There is always a
possibility that Paganizer will reform someday in the future if we get
enough requests and good offers concerning the band. Time will as always
tell what happens. Maybe the band is dead or maybe it will resurrect
some day. You never know.
5.- Your cd was
produced by Mieszko from NASUM, how was working with him? It is a sad
new his recent death
Mieszko was by far the best producer alongside Swanö I have had
the pleasure to know and work with. It's really a tragedy that he died
the way he did, he had so much more to offer the coming years both musically
and as a person for those who knew him.
6.- Why didn't you include death in your last cd name (No Divine
Rapture)? It seemed that it was going to be present in every title,
guys, hehehh (promoting total death, murder death kill, dead unburied,
deadbanger,...).
;) I had some titles including the word death but they wasn't as good
as I wanted to. So we simply decided to skip the idea this time, but
we planned to keep the word death in future albums. Now it seems there
will be no more albums, but if there's a reunion I have some names saved.
7.-
Well, mow typical questions, How did Paganizer work? How do you create
those DM old school masterpieces?
Simple death metal is all I really know how to write so the procedure
is the same every time; I sit down with the guitar and some beers and
after an hour I usually have three songs ready. Then we arrange the
drums and vocals in the rehearsal place and then we're ready to record...
Very simple but it works for us as we don't play too complicated music.
The last album though took some more time arranging as we really tried
to incorporate some odd riffs and drumming compared to our previous
albums. All in all it worked out well but my fave album is still the
more primitive "Dead unburied". Paganizer is best when we
keep it ultra simple.
8.- What is your
experience live? Which gig you liked the best?
Due to many long breaks and line-ups that has failed we have actually
only played live twice with Paganizer. Both times it went ok, the first
gig was in ´99 or so and the latest one in ´02 just before
we recorded "dead unburied". Live gigs are really cool, but
the problem is that you need to rehearse and to rehearse you need a
line-up...haha.
9.- I really
liked your stuff with Paganizer because nowadays 99 of each 100 bands
sound just the same, Paganizer had their own sound. Well can you tell
me something about your projects now? I know you have been working on
something with Dave and Riky from Avulsed. Tell us everything about
your "side" projects!
Right now the only active band that writes material and rehearse once
in a while is Ribspreader. However the line-up is now the same as in
Paganizer at the time that we split up, so Ribspreader has moved into
even simpler ground than on the debut album and we will remain a trio
and probably don't play live until we have written and released an album
as a trio. So we can do justice to the material on stage, we don't wanna
play any of the Ribspreader material me and Swanö recorded together
as it would sound too primitive and thin as just three members. Dave,
Riky and me are in the first stages of putting a band together actually.
It'll be very dark and primitive and I hope we'll be able to record
an album before this year is over. Besides that I don't do much musically
right now, I have written some songs that I'll record soon with some
friends and stuff like that but that's just for fun and I don't know
if it'll happen at all or not.
10.- Well, a
stupid question, I read somewhere that your family is almost more tattooed
than you now... Tell us a bit of the history of ink in your skin! I
agree that now tattoos are not that rock and roll stuff they were in
the past, almost everyone has one
I started out with a cobra on my left arm when I was fifteen or sixteen
and then it just kept on going...haha. I actually want more stuff done
but it costs a lot of money so this far I have only done both arms.
I have had plans for the neck and legs for years but it always comes
down to economy, but I'll keep on doing tattoos that's for sure as it's
really fun and painful, haha.
11.- Well I leave
you now, I want to know things about Paganizer soon. You can write an
epitaph for the interview now, tell us whatever you want!
Don't mourn the death of Paganizer, as it's the ultimate thing for a
death metal band to be dead... : ) Our last three albums are all very
good I think so be sure to check them out, and if enough people send
me beer money I might consider finding a label that wants to release
all the unreleased Paganizer demos and stuff that I have laying around.
MARCH 2005
Interview by Fran
www.paganizer.com
