SOURCE – Your newest album The Ride Majestic is coming out in just over a month on August 28 via Nuclear Blast, do you expect different reactions/reception or do you go through similar motions with every release?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Every time you release an album, you always want it to be the best and most successful album you’ve ever done. So we’re expecting world domination with this one.
SOURCE – Did the new album change direction at any point in recording? Did you wind up with something different than what you expected?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Yes, we had a few horrible events during recording, with unexpected deaths among families and friends, so I guess that those tragedies made the whole album darker, both lyrically and musically.
SOURCE – Nowadays it’s common for long time bands change their sound after some time. What do you see in Death Metal that, even after so many years, you haven’t got bored with it?
David Andersson (Guitar) – For Soilwork as a band, we’re constantly trying to evolve and do stuff that hasn’t been done before, but that still has its roots in some kind of death metal tradition. As long as we feel that there are new concepts and sounds to be found and created within that idiom, I don’t think that we’ll ever get bored with it.
SOURCE – Many new bands have labeled Soilwork as an influence on their sound. How do you feel being a role model for up and coming bands?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Even if I wasn’t a member on the albums done before The Living Infinite, it’s always an honor when other people say that they’ve been affected or influenced by something you’ve done.
SOURCE – Since the Internet makes life easier for people living far away from each other: did you guys actually rehearse the songs during the song writing process or did you send each other digital music files?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Since we all live far apart, we sent a lot of files to each other while preparing for the recording, but Me, Björn and Dirk got together for a week before we entered the studios and jammed on a parts and went over the arrangements, to still retain some of that organic feel.
SOURCE – With how much the music industry has changed over the past few years, where it’s now all about streaming and Spotify and downloads instead of actual sales, as an artist how do you even determine if an album is successful or not these days?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Metal fans are often loyal people who are passionate about music, so there are still people out there buying albums because they want the physical product to really be able to get into the music and get the whole concept with the artwork, lyrics etc. And I think that’s a wonderful thing, and I think that there will always be people doing that.
But of course, these days you’ll mostly have to look at other indirect indications as to whether an album is doing well, such as turnout at shows, social media activity etc.
SOURCE – Bands have a personality, even when there’s one main songwriter and one leader. Where is Soilwork now in terms of how you’d like it to sound?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Since I replaced Peter Wichers, who was the main songwriter for Soilwork for a long time, I think we’ve gone back to a more Scandinavian sound, while still trying to make music that people will recognize as Soilwork. Me and Björn have written the majority of the songs on these latest two albums, and we’ve made a very conscious effort to try and bring back some of that Scandinavian melancholic feeling from the early days of melodic death, while still trying to do something new and interesting with it.
SOURCE – Playing metal/rock for a long time now, what are the goals and ambitions you haven’t reached yet?
David Andersson (Guitar) – A private jet, gourmet meals every night on the road, and the budget to be able to smash my guitar to pieces and set fire to it every night.
SOURCE – Any chance of a Brazilian tour?
David Andersson (Guitar) – Absolutely! We’ve been trying to make that happen for a long time, but for various reasons things haven’t fallen into place. But we’re working on it, and we’ll hopefully get there during this touring cycle.
SOURCE – Good rapping with you. Thanks for your time.
David Andersson (Guitar) – Thank you, and thanks to every Soilwork fan in Brazil! Hope you’ll enjoy The Ride Majestic!
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