SOURCE – Congratulations on the new album At War With Reality, first of all. You guys have been doing this on and off for more than two decades now. How do you maintain inspiration and not just get bored and sleepwalk through it?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – Well, there’s been some long serious breaks in the timeline.
Between 1996-2008 there was nothing. And also after 2008, we didn’t do anything until 2011 again. I guess the secret is not to do TOO much. We keep everything in perspective and just try to have a good time. We try to maintain our day jobs and keep it on a level that we are comfortable with, without the situation dictating us. We decide collectively what we want to do (and when to do it). We have grown a lot since the early days, and we are more in harmony with things at this stage. We are at a very relaxed, inspirational level at the moment. I think the main thing is to not think of this as some kind of “job”.
SOURCE – How would you characterize the band’s sound now compared to back in the ’90s?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – Well, it’s in the same style as then, only better executed and well-played.
We have grown a lot as musicians, and of course that shows a more maturity in the playing as well as the overall sound. We might be closer to Slaughter Of The Soul or Terminal Spirit Disease in terms of songwriting these days, but this time we also re-visited some ideas & melodies of the past era. We have all been huge fans of Alf Svensson’s work in the early At The Gates, so that was a natural thing to re-discover. The melancholic, disharmonic style of the early days. There are some of those parts as well on the album.
SOURCE – When did you starting writing the songs that became At War With Reality?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – I started writing around May 2013. Just after I finished my solo (instrumental) album ‘Antikythera’. I wanted to give a shot at writing a metal album, and of course, after having left The Haunted, At The Gates was on my mind. I sent out the first song to Tomas and Jonas, just to get a reaction, and to inspire them. Things just escalated from there really quick, and we went head on into the writing of the album.
SOURCE – How did you decide to work with Fredrik Nordström again on this album?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – Well, we wanted to record in Gothenburg, and since Fredman is one of the few good studios left, it was a pretty easy decision for us. We likes to work with Fredrik in the past, and wanted to re-visit the history.
SOURCE – Are there plans for a traditional video for that song or any others on the album?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – We want to avoid the ‘traditional’ on all levels, including video treatments. You will find out soon enough I guess, but it will be something a bit different for sure. We always try new ways with everything (artwork, videos etc..)
SOURCE – Do you have any specific expectations for the album?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – I hope people listen to it before they judge it. We have put in a lot of work this time, and at least WE are satisfied. That’s a good place to start at least. If people enjoy the album, well, that’s just a bonus.
SOURCE – What do you think of the melodic death metal scene today? Which bands set themselves apart from the rest of them?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – I don’t really follow the death metal scene (and haven’t been for 20 years or so). My inspiration for this genre is still the old school bands like Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Death etc.. But inspiration for melodies etc comes from everything else like Jazz, Classical Music (Prokofiev etc..), Folk Music, Ambient.
SOURCE – Is there something you’d like to achieve and haven’t achieved yet?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – Within At The Gates, not really. We are all pretty overwhelmed that this is even possible. First doing a very successful reunion tour in 2008- and then releasing a new album on top of that. We are very happy and feel privileged. We don’t take anything for granted.
SOURCE – How much has Internet helped to get your band name around to people’s lips? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the internet in your opinion if we only try to keep the main focus on your band activities?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – Of course Internet has helped a lot. Both as a tool for people to actually listen to the band, but also spreading the word of the band in social networks, forums etc. The whole computer revolution has helped to a lot. Giving ordinary people a chance to record professional sounding demos/records for a very low price.
I don’t care so much today about the internet personally, especially not social media, but I think it’s a good tool to reach a lot of people very fast. As a marketing tool it’s very useful.
The downside might be that people tends to get lazy. They don’t go to shows perhaps? Since they know the show will end up on youtube soon anyway.
SOURCE – What are the future plans for At The Gates?
Anders Björler (Guitars) – We will just continue having a lot of fun traveling the world and playing for our fans. Then we’ll start writing material for a follow-up to ‘At War with Reality’