SOURCE – After two successful records with Danse Macabre and Venenum, what would you say the band wanted to accomplish in terms of songwriting and performances for the latest album Necro Sapiens?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – We just wanted to keep going and develop ourselves, take all the lessons we learned from our previous efforts, and create something that felt right for us. We are really proud of what we created and cannot wait for you all to listen to it.
SOURCE – What do you feel defines Necro Sapiens as a Baest album?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – We recorded the whole thing live in the studio with a minimal amount of dubbing – just us five guys playing and having fun, and that is probably what most defines the album as a Baest album. We managed to capture some of that live energy that we felt were missing from our previous efforts, and we were really happy with the result.
SOURCE – This new record has some breathtaking artwork. Can you tell us who created it and a bit about the concept?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – It is created by Mitchell Nolte. We wanted to have a futuristic, space-like environment that reflects the concept of the album.
Lyrically we are dealing with a post-apocalyptic world where this slave species “Necro Sapiens” are the inhabitants. They are slaughtered and tortured for fun by the upper-class who are immortal.
They are ruled by the almighty Czar who lives in a parlament, where you rent mercenaries for torturing your slaves. It takes some inspiration from George Orwell’s 1984. The guy painted on the cover is the Czar.
SOURCE – How important do you think are singles and EPs in this era in comparison to full length releases?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – Well it is important to have singles to release before albums, to keep your fanbase happy. They want the music and we want to share it. EPs are important because it allows you to release music between albums, so it is a nice way of always being able to share something with your listeners.
SOURCE – There’s a lot of old school death metal out there. How do you feel Baest stands out?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – We definitely do a lot to bring the best show every night, write the best albums we can and basically keep the business running. We try to be the best Baest everyday. That is the only thing we can do, and it is difficult to speak for anyone other than ourselves on that matter.
SOURCE – You’ve been working hard on the road the last few years, did the coronavirus give to time to relax at all? Did you work on any home brewing?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – We definitely had some times on our hands that we were not expecting. But we used all the lost energy on writing and recording Necro Sapiens, and I think it is safe to say it would not have been the same album, if we had not found ourselves with this huge amount of time all of a sudden. But now it is not fun anymore and we want to hit the road again! Hopefully it will happen sometime this year.
SOURCE – What concerns do you have about the world that we live in today? What do you think the average person needs to work on and think about most to make this world a better, safer, and healthier place to live in?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – Be kind and helpful always. That will do I think.
SOURCE – What’s going on with Baest from this point forward?
Svend Karlsson (Guitar) – We will continue to do what we have done so far. Bringing the best Baest there is all of the time. So more touring, more albums, more merch!
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