SOURCE – How would you compare the recording process of Dystopia to your prior efforts?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – Most of it was pretty much the same as always. Ever since we (together with Ereb Altor) put our own studio together the process has been pretty similar, not the least due to the fact that we have unlimited time and access.
The absolutely biggest difference this time is that the drum recordings were done in just a couple of days. Since our current drummer Victor resides in another town he came in and put the drums on tape (ehrm… hard disk) over a weekend. Usually we tend to spread out the recording sessions over several months.
SOURCE – This new record has some breathtaking artwork. Can you tell us who created it and a bit about the concept?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – It is created by Gustavo Sazes – who also was reponsible for our earlier albums “Born From Shadows” and “Silent Ruins”.
Simply put, It represents how mankind slowly and collectively “walks” towards our own armageddon without giving it a second thought. But perhaps there is a glimmer of hope, someone who dares to look in another direction…
SOURCE – The quality of the recording of Dystopia is phenomenal. Can you tell us about the producing process for this record?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – When – as in our case – being able to work without virtually any time constraints, we of course had the opportunity to analyse the product and if needed go back and re-record parts, fine tune the mixing and so on. We have Jonas Lindström and all the hours he put into working with the sound and mixing to thank a lot for the end product.
SOURCE – Are there any songs on the record that were more challenging?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – None of them are really that hard to perform from a technical standpoint, but I remember having slight problems figuring out some of the vocal parts on “Forged by Fear”.
SOURCE – The album has a strong start with Beyond The Horizon Can you talk more about this song and video clip?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – We thought it best to start off the album directly – no intros or stuff like that – with a little more upbeat (well… at least mid-tempo) and perhaps more “easy-listening” song in hopes to grab immediate attention. The lyrical theme is also kind of current (or at least was in the pre Covid-19 world).
We wanted the video clip to be simple bare bones and stripped down, as can be seen. We were allowed to use a local venue a day for free and had a friend with some video editing experience shoot and edit the video for us. Simple as that.
SOURCE – Do you have any fears about what the fan expectations are on a record versus how you satisfy yourselves as musicians?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – Yeah. I mean… you never know what fans might think of an album or a song, so we try not to dwell on that while writing and recording. It’s impossible to make everyone happy anyway.
But when you have the end result there in your hand that “wonder what the fans might think of this”-ghost haunts your mind a bit.
SOURCE – What other plans do you guys have for this year in support of the album?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – At the moment we have nothing but cancelled gigs.
SOURCE – You’re keeping yourself busy and keeping everybody positive during this hard time. My last question for you is there anything else that you want to say or add about the album?
Daniel Bryntse (guitars, vocals) – I just hope people out there give it at least a listen or two with an open mindset. Stay safe!
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