Interview with Roger Sundqvist of Godhate

Interview with Roger Sundqvist of Godhate – By Noel Smart

 

SDM: Are you currently playing with Godhate?

 

Roger: Well, I have been in and out of the band several times so I understand why you’re asking. But, the answer is yes. In 2009 I got back in the band and now I’m destined to stay until this band break up for good. In case they don’t throw me out before.

 

SDM: Why did the band change the name from Throneaeon to Godhate?

 

Roger: Mainly two reasons; First of all, we felt we didn’t achieve new goals with the band any longer. We were stuck and we started to feel that the name perhaps was a big part of it. Often people couldn’t get our name, pronounce and spell it either. We kind of wanted a new start and began with a new name.

 

SDM: What happened to the previous drummer Simon?

 

Roger: (Tony answered this one since I don't really know the story.) Simon was a young guy. Talented for sure, but he wasn’t really a team player. He was very anxious in the beginning but when we toured the US he began to question his choice. After we finished the US-tour he had decided he wanted to finish school.

 

SDM: How well did the press and fans react to the latest release “Equal in the Eyes of Death”?

 

Roger: People have always liked our music. When it comes to the press it’s about the same. We use to get 7 to 9 out of 10. But with "Equal…" the reactions have been even better. I have heard stuff like “The best record of this year”, “Even better than Aeon” et cetera. So it feels like the wind blows in our direction.

 

SDM: What drum gear did you use on the latest recording? Did you use triggers? What drum module did you use, if triggers were used?

 

Roger: I have used my own drumkit for all of my records. This time I use my Sonor Force 2001. Two bass drums 22", two toms 12" and 13" and floor tom 16". I use my Ddrum4 module, but only on the kicks, and the other drums are only acoustic. The cymbals I use are: Ride 20", 3 Crash 18" and one 16", 2 China 18", 1 mini china 8" and one splash 10". For this recording I used cymbals from different manufacturers, for the next recording I planing to use cymbals from same brand

 

SDM: Tell us about the cancellation of the US tour because of Immigration issues in the USA?

 

Roger: We told the promoter that it was their turn to get in touch with the embassy to get all the papers in order since we had done our part. We told them we were short on time, but they said it was ok. Three weeks prior to the tour we got to know that time had run out. We worked with it for more than a year so this was really bad news for us. And it felt very bad first telling people we would come and play and then cancelling it. But they said everything was settled and we needed to promote it.

 

SDM: Why do you classify Godhate as the second-era of Swedish Death metal? Could you explain what you mean by that in detail? Would you put Godhate in the same category as Old School Death metal?

 

Roger: To answer this question simply without writing an essay, this is our point of view. The first wave of death metal was influenced by thrash metal and punk. Bands like Metallica, Slayer, Venom, among others. Bands like Entombed, Bolt-thrower, Napalm death, Morbid Angel who started out in the late 80´s. Then there came a new era with people who were influenced by those last named bands. They started out in the early 90´s. That’s were we think we belong. Then came black metal and after that a third wave of death metal with bands like Blood Red Throne, Insision, Black Dahlia Murder, Aeon, Psycroptic, and a bunch of bands. We never tried to play the new stuff, but stayed in the old style, so perhaps you could call us old-school.

 

SDM: What do you think of the new wave of Death Metal out there, such as Brutal Death and Death-core?

 

Roger: I’m not to fond of it, as it tends to be just a technical show with blast beats and gravity blastbeats. It might be interesting from time to time. Kind of impressing, but in the long run I don’t want music to be impressing I want feeling and emotion. Dave Lombardo is the shit if you ask me.

 

SDM: How strong Is the scene in Sweden for Godhate’s type of Death metal?

 

Roger: It has been bigger, but it feels like it’s coming back a bit. We will see what the rest of 2011 holds in store for us. I’m always hoping for some stage divers like in the early 90´s, but I guess people are too afraid of getting hurt today.

 

SDM: Will we ever see gravity blasts in God Hate’s material?

 

Roger: There are already fast drummers who do their thing good and they can do their shit and I’ll do mine. I’m proud of my drum style. I will of course develop my drumming, but I have no desire to compete with the fast drummers.

 

SDM: How are the endorsements coming along with companies such as Slagverkskompaniet, Musikshopen, and Masterworkcymbal?

 

Roger: I don´t want to talk about my deals, but I feel it has been a great work between me and the endorsers.

 

SDM: Tell us about your own studio! Do you track many projects and bands?

 

Roger: I have had a couple of bands that I have recorded, but nowadays the studio is only for me and GODHATE. The new covers that I mentioned earlier are recorded in my studio, which is called Studio Garm. It has been going pretty good actually and I think the result will be really awesome. In the future it might evolve and become a decent studio where bands can record their demos.

 

SDM: Why do you think most people in the death metal scene consider “Throneaeon – Neither of Gods” to be a death metal classic? Do you find similarities in this album, with maybe a band like Deicide or Vader?

 

Roger: We were very inspired by Deicide and Morbid Angel in the beginning, so of course the influence was there. We tried to create something more of our own and there are many elements that were new to us. Vader has never really been an inspiration to us. We looked upon them as Morbid Angel copies, even if they were a good band that we listened to.

 

SDM: How often does Godhate practice in the run of a month? How often do you practice by yourself? What sort of exercises do you do when practicing?

 

Roger: We try to meet up in the rehearsal room about 6-9 times a month to play our old songs and write new material for the upcoming album. I try to pratice about 2 to 3 times extra to be better and learn new techniques for both my feet and hands, and to develop my own drum style. For now I practice the heel-toe technique.

 

SDM: What is the key to having a great drum sound/production during recording? What are some tips you can give us?

 

Roger: If you want to record acoustic drums then you have to tune your drums until your satisfied with your sound, then you have to use good drum microphones. For me it´s very hard work to tune both of the bass drums in similar tone, so I use triggers. I go the easy way there! That´s not all, you always need a good engineer behind the mixer and the computer. So here are my tips for a good recording session: Good thing is to practice on your drums and of course with the songs you are going to record, that makes the work alot easier.

 

SDM: How important is it to play to a click track when recording and to have good skins on your drums when recorded?

 

Roger: For me is the click track a very good help to keep the right tempo through the hole song. Even if I use click track, I think there are both advantages and disadvantages. I feel that you might lose some of the groove and dynamics when recording with click track. A good thing with click tracks is that you can use copy paste in the music to get it right, if needed. Many albums of today are very monotonus and miss some of the dynamics. If you go back to old school music, old school music still has the right feeling and it doesn’t feel like that with today's musicians, sounding like machines on the album. Nowadays people are expecting that you play with click track, otherwise they might think your out of step. About old or new skins when your are recording… I prefer to use new skins because it tends to hold the tuning and achieve a more fat sound than old skins. I think it is very important with new skins because old skins sound very flat and often lose the tone.

 

SDM: How do you record the drums for an album? Do you play to bass tracks first or something else?

 

Roger: Nowadays Tony pre-record a demo with programmed drums on all songs. When we all have agreed on the songs and when it´s time to record, I simply save the guitars and put a click on it, then I work with it for a while to get my own version of the songs. Then Tony almost always agrees with my work and it´s time for me to record my drums. I record it this way – drums first and then bass, rhythm guitars, and finally guitar solos and vocals.

 

SDM: Will Godhate continue anti-religious themes in their lyrical content for the remaining of their career?

 

Roger: Tony is the one who’s writing the lyrics. With the next album, Tony's writing new songs an has a couple of ideas on lyrics. We might get an explanation why our lyrics are so anti-religious! The way I see it, it will continue.

 

SDM: Who are some of your influences?

 

Roger: I listen to different styles of music, it´s not just Death Metal. Some of my influences are bands like Deicide, Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Vader, Running Wild, Entombed, Marilyn Manson and many more.

 

SDM: How do you get that awesome Snare drum sound on your snare for each record? Is there anything you do special with the snare? How do you achieve a perfect balance between the snare volume and double bass?

 

Roger: It is very important to make sure that the snare's not out of tune! If it seems to be out of tune it can be difficult to get the sound you are looking for. I have used triggers on my snare on almost all the old recordings with Throneaeon/Godhate, exept the first Demo. I have found out that I have to work a lot with the frequency on the snare and bass drums to get a perfect balance between them. I´m not really satisfied with my sound yet, but I´m still working with the drums to find the right sound. I really like to record the drums without triggers, I can get a more organic sound that way.

 

SDM: What do you look for in a cymbal, for tour or studio?

 

Roger: I use the same cymbals both in the studio and live. I always try to find a cymbal with perfect sound and good quality, and not to expensive of course.