Switchblade interview: "The latest album is always what represents Switchblade better"

From the depths of the European underground, the Swedish sludge / drone heroes Switchblade, come for a sole performance that is expected to destroy our eardrums. Despite the fact that their original frontman Anders Steen, is not around anymore, Thomas Bertilsson (drums) and Johan Folkensson (guitar), managed in 2012 to create their best record to date, so their upcoming show is something more than greatly anticipated. Only a few hours before their show, we managed to talk a bit with Thomas for many interesting matters such as Anders departure, Switchblade’s course until today and about the future of the band.

Hi there. Last year’s record was the first one that made as a duo because your partner for years, Anders Steen wasn’t in it. How do you feel about it?
Well, we're really happy with the way the album turned out. For the last couple of albums it has been me and Johan writing all the music so in that sense, the difference wasn't that noticeable really. And we were pretty used to practicing as a duo since Anders lived out of town for a while. The recording process was pretty smooth since there was only the two of us recording the basic live tracks together. But of course it's a bit different without Anders.

I have to say that you caught me by surprise when I first read that you would replace Anders’ vocals by calling these three prestigious guests. How did these collaborations come up and why did you choose these three particular gentlemen?
We were not trying to have "famous" guests on the album just to get some attention. It's rather three great friends of ours who we admire and we felt could bring something unique to the album. The Cuckoo's mantra-like vocals work great on the monotonous parts, David's melodic vocals work great, and it's great to hear Jonas growl again.

Another special guest was Per Wiberg on Hammond organ. Why did you choose to replace the bass lines with the Hammond? Do you think that this specific instrument can offer more than a bass?
We haven't really replaced the bass lines. Johan use 2 guitar amps and 1 bass amp with an octave pedal so it really sounds like a bass. The Hammond is than added on top if it all to add an extra dimension. Johan played a little bit if Hammond on the [2009] album and we felt that we wanted to take that a step further so we asked the best player we knew. I'm a big fan of Hammond-driven 70's heavy/prog so I'm really happy Per wanted to work with us.

Is there any chance to see one of these gentlemen to become a full time member of Switchblade or are there any thoughts about hiring someone else as a full time vocalist?
We feel pretty comfortable being just a duo so I don't think we'll add a full time member any time soon.

If you don’t mind, could you tell me why Anders left in the first place? Were there any thoughts about disbanding? What kept you going?
Anders felt that he lost the motivation to be in the band and didn't want to slow us down so he stepped aside so to speak. There were never any bad feelings between us or anything. No, we never thought of breaking up the band and we feel that we still have a lot music to write and a lot more to accomplish.

Now that it’s just the two of you, how do you plan to attribute your music live? Are there going to be any vocals?
We play some shows as a duo and some shows with guests. Johan uses 2 guitar amps and 1 bass amp so the sound is very similar to what it used to be with a bass player in the band. We have always used some samples between the songs and sometimes within the sings as well and we use that even more now with some vocals buried deep in the mix. David have toured with us and done vocals quite a lot too.
It seems to me that since 2000 when your debut came out, you keep expanding the same monolithic song and that is the reason why you don’t name your records and your songs as well. Is it some kind of a journey?

What are the themes that you’re exploring and what sentiments do you try to pass to the audience?
Well, we do think that we have always had some sort of "red thread" running thru all our material and those we just evolve and going in different directions is just something that has come naturally for us to keep things interesting for ourselves and the listener. The reason to why the albums don't have any proper titles is because we feel that the latest album is always what represents Switchblade now.

You also run Trust No One Recordings. Tell me a few things about that. How and when did it start and what need did it push you to involve with music distribution? Is it difficult to run a small diy label like this?
I started TNO in 1994 and it has always just been a hobby for me and around that same time I started working at a distribution company so my daytime job kind of goes hand in hand with running the label. As it's always been something I do at my spare time I've never really had the pleasure to make money from the label or anything. So I would say that it's quite easy to run a small label.

Terra Tenebrosa are currently the only band (apart from Switchblade) in Trust No One. What do you think of them? What can we wait from their second record?
Yeah, I mostly do 'one-off' releases so for the moment it's just Switchblade and Terra Tenebrosa who are on the label. I love Terra Tenebrosa of course, otherwise they wouldn't be on the label. I think that even though their music is quite 'unaccessable' they have the potential to become very popular. They knew album is a good continuation from their debut but is even more dynamic. I think people will love the album.

Do you think that there is room for evolvement in the drone doom genre? Should there be a limit in experimentation?
Yeah, you should always try to evolve and take it a step further to not stagnate and become bland.

What other plans do you have for the future? I know it’s pretty soon yet, but are there any plans for a new record?
We have a little bit of material and plans to record a couple of songs for a 12" or something similar in the not to far away future.

Which were your favorite albums for 2012?
There were quite a few really good albums that came out last year but some of my favourites were the new albums by Eagle Twin, Astra, Black Magician, Aluk Todolo, Diagonal, Necrovation.

Thank you very much for your time. The last words are yours. Doom on.
Thanks alot for your interest in Switchblade.