Hellride interview with Grand Magus
Chris Barnes
Certainly one of the most exceptional metal albums of 2005 is Grand Magus’s brilliant Wolf’s Return. The stoner rock influences of the band’s past have been buried beneath six feet of roiling Nordic metal fury… Songs like “Blood Oath” and “King Slayer” show the band have been steeped themselves heavily within the influence of the storied Black and Death Metal past of their native Sweden. Hellride Music’s Chris Barnes talks in depth with Grand Magus helmsman J.B. on making of Wolf’s Return.
Hellride Music: Hey guys - many thanks for the interview time and thanks a ton for making what will certainly be one of the top Heavy Metal releases this year, Wolf´s Return. I can´t tell you how refreshing it is to hear good heavy music with clean, strong vocals. The cookie-monster thing is getting me down.... anyway, speaking of Wolf´s Return, it´s certainly a departure in sound from your two previous releases. Tell us about that - why the "more metal" approach this time around?
J.B.: Hi there Chris and thank you!
Well, you’re certainly correct about the “more metal” thing. I think we all felt that Monument was about as slow and bottom heavy as we would want to make a record and there was no point in repeating that. Add to that the fact that I’ve more or less stopped listening to 70’s stuff and almost exclusively gone into death and black metal, it was pretty obvious what the direction was gonna be. I’ve always seen Magus as a metal band, this time we wanted to make sure it came across…
Hellride Music: To my ears, it most certainly does. It definitely comes from a darker place. The sound on the new one is powerful and displays really what I consider a perfect production for your sound... maybe the best percussion sound I´ve heard since Crowbar´s last effort, guitars strong, bass evident but not overbearing and your vocals right up front in the mix where they deserve to be. Tell us about the recording and production for Wolf´s Return... how was it working at Resync in Stockholm and just who is "Oneman"?
J.B.: Thank you very much. We rehearsed like motherfuckers before entering the studio this time and I think it shows. As with Monument, it was just us and Oneman in the studio. We did everything the same way as before, very meat and potatoes. Drums, bass, guitars – then leads and vocals. Nothing fancy there. Then Oneman mixed and mastered it together with us. The goal was to have the album sound really ferocious and aggressive, but still natural sounding with a “breathing” quality. Oneman is a very musical, knowledgeable and inspirational guy that we were fortunate enough to meet when we did our first two demos. He’s a huge contributor when it comes to harmonies and stuff like that, just a great asset for us. He’s also a quite a wizard in the sound department, he knows exactly how to get where you ask him to go.
Hellride Music: I´m listening to "Blood Oath" as I type this - what a song, only eclipsed perhaps by the awesome title track. How did you guys write for this album? Is it a process of piecing together various ideas brought in separately by band members or do you write together? Or neither??
J.B.: Thanks again, “Blood Oath” turned out well.
We mostly jam stuff in the rehearsal place we have, try different things, tempos, drum patterns, riffs. We are all involved in this creative process, but I kind of steer the ship. It’s probably my favourite part of being a musician, everything is allowed and when you get inspired and things fall into place, it’s absolute magick. Sometimes, things don’t work out though and then you just scrap the idea, but it might turn up as a part in another song, you know?
Hellride Music: Let´s talk about the artwork - who came up with the concept and is responsible for the artwork? Also, the back cover - anything to do with the song "Blood Oath"?
J.B.: Hugh Gilmour! He did Monument for us as well. This time around, I just sent him the title and he came up with the cover almost exactly as you see it now. He’s actually pretty famous and among other things did the latest Bruce Dickinson album. He’s also a very nice guy and got me a signed copy of Venom’s Black Metal a couple of days ago, so I have nothing but praise for the man, ha-ha! He had lunch with Cronos for fucks sake! Check out www.gilmourdesign.co.uk. The back cover…. what do you think, hmmm?
Hellride Music: If I was a bettin’ man, I’d say “yes, the back cover is the visual for ‘Blood Oath’. But then again, I’m not a bettin’ man. I think it´s great you guys got to work with Gilmour, the guy is awesome... Will you guys be touring to support Wolf´s Return and if so, with whom? I know it´s expensive as hell, but any plans to do shows in the states?
J.B.: Well, we have a big support slot in Europe that might be happening… Can’t say anything more at this point in time though… Just keep your fingers crossed for us! Regarding the US… Who knows? If the record should take off in a big way, maybe? As you said, it is not really realistic for a band at our present level to think about touring in America. Having said that, I would obviously love to come and play in the States at some point, we’ll see what the future brings…
Hellride Music: If I can bring you guys back to your early days for a minute... how did you first capture the ear of Lee Dorrian and how did that lead to your self-titled first recording coming out on Rise Above Records?
J.B.: We did two demos and got in touch with Music for Nations actually. They had a distribution deal of some kind with Rise Above at that time and the guy at MFN forwarded the stuff to Rise Above. I had some communication with them and they wanted to hear more. We then did a very rough recording of all the songs that we wanted to make an album out of. We just hammered it out in a weekend. Sent it to Rise Above and the signed us. So there is actually a “even more primitive version” of the entire debut album… Anyway, we then got Fred Estby of Dismember to record and produce the debut. It was recorded in “das Boot” studio in Stockholm where quite a lot of good Swedish metal has been recorded, we did it on analog 2-inch tape totally live. Very old-school, I did all guitar solos in one day, ha-ha!
Hellride Music: No Hellride interview would be justified without me asking you guy what you´re currently listening to...
J.B.: Unleashed – Sworn Allegiance
Immortal – Sons of Northern Darkness
Mayhem – Chimera
Accept – Restless and Wild
Judas Priest – Defenders of the Faith and Painkiller
Hellride Music: Great list! The new Unleashed is quite good…Thanks again for the interview and the incredible new album... any words you´d like to leave us with?
J.B.: My pleasure! Thanks for your support and interest. In all of life, remember that a sacrifice demands a sacrifice…
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