Interview with Jimmy Lundqvist, Entrails

- Hello, Jimmy! Let's start with your latest album, "Obliteration". How do you see this album now? Is there anything you would change? How could you present this CD to someone who is just about to discover your band? 
- Hello there! Obliteration you say, well, I'am still pleased with the overall stuff and if I would change something I would make another mix to it. It was a mistake to explore sound that Entrails and I won’t feel comfortable with. It's more or less my own thoughts about it, but I prefer the fat sound with monster drums and guitars that’s dripping flesh, like we had on the other albums. I would say to new listeners to explore us from the beginning and begin with the demos and listen to the albums in the right order and "Obliteration" would be the last one for them to explore…

- Tell us about the recording sessions, how did it go? How long did it take you to finish everything? Once again, you worked with Dan Swano, how could you comment on that longtime partnership?
- We worked very fast. No need to record and record for days to have it perfect. That’s not the true way to do it. And yeah, its not the true way to record digitally either, but that’s the way we do it. We recorded all the drums in a few hours. Too much takes and fooling around for the best result wasn’t the idea. Usually the result becomes great anyway. No need to be perfect in death metal. Not many of the 90´s bands used click or shit like that. It was more feeling and more natural if it was recorded without.. After the drums were recorded, it took us a few days to record guitars and bass and all vocals and you could say 3-5 days of intense recording in total, and then our mixing man Dan handled the mix. And yeah, we use him as he knows us and gives us what we want. As he is a Swede, it makes it easier to work with him. And there is no need to change that partnership for now until I can mix myself in my own studio. Still needs to learn to give it a more pro touch on my work. 

- Why did you part your ways with your guitarist, Mathias Nilsson? How did you find him a replacement, Penki? Did his play style and enthusiasm brought to your music any new flows? 
- He left because of his other projects and he didn't have time to perform in Entrails as I needed. But no hard feelings and we are still great friends and talk a lot. Penki is a fresh and a young kid (half my age) and is deeply into this kind of music and a damn good musician, he is into playing as much as it's possible. So far he hasn’t had any inputs to the music as he came along when all the material was done, but he has some good ideas.  

- How could you comment on the lyrics of this album? Is it a conceptual one? Obliteration of what is described on this full-length? 
- Jocke who wrote all the lyrics had all insane ideas in his head. I didn’t want to try to give him any suggestions. That would have ended up in chaos. Haha. He did a great job to write the lyrics, and it's about death and stuff like that, nothing new really. Read the lyrics and make your own thoughts about it.

- Alright, your previous opus, "Raging Death", got a great list of guest musicians, including Kam Lee, Jorgen Sandstrom, Rogga Johansson and Dan Swano. Tell us, how did you come up with that idea? What was your choice based on?
- Yepp, I had a dream to have a kind of special guest theme on a song called "Death League". I had many more names in the beginning, but it ended up with those 4 in the end, including our own singer and I must say it turned out to be really cool.

- As far as I know, this album was partially recorded at your own studio, The Crypt. Tell us a bit more about your studio. Why didn't you record there the album completely?
- Yepp. That’s totally correct. Back then I didn’t have stuff to record, so we did those recordings in a nearby village and then we did all other stuff back home. And today I have all the tools to do such recordings and also renamed the studio to Bloodshed studios. And I work in that studio when I get some free time after my ordinary work and social life with fiance. Either make own music or helping others to record or if a mix is needed, in that way I learn more and more and someday I might have more to do and could have that work for a living, but so far that’s very far away. 

- Since you moved from F.D.A Rekotz to Metal Blade, how did you feel about those guys? Are they helpful and supportive? 
- Yeah sure. The guys I am in contact with are really nice. I didn’t expect that much from them to be supportive more than they are and so far so good. No need to complain, we are signed to deliver music to them and they gives us all information we need, and they release the stuff and everyone is happy. 

- Let's get back in time, to the very origins. The band was formed in 1990. What was the original line-up? How did you meet each other?
- In the early days it was me and my best friend Fredrik, we played music together in different shapes and with other local friends, it was first when we decided to play Death metal. We had Billy and Tobias to join the band and to be a solid permanent band. But shit happens and the guys left after a while with various reasons and I did the band on my own in a few years together with some other friends that I knew, who eventually helped me with some crappy recordings for fun. 

- Who came up with that name? Did you have any other versions on the list as well? What was your first rehearsal place?
- Don’t remember who came up with the name, we were in the library and were looking in an English lexicon to find cool words/names we could use and when Entrails came up we said it was a cool name to use. Didn’t know there were other bands with the same name, but if we did we wouldn’t care about it. The first place we had for rehearsals is the same place we use now. It’s a converted woodshed my dad and brother built in the 90´s just for having a place to play instead of being inside the house. The drums and all equipment wouldn’t fit in there and parents would be insane of the volume also... haha

- How did it happen that you never released any demo or any other record? But you recorded something, didn't you? Di you still have those tapes? 
- We did record a few times in a real studio near my home, but we didn’t have anyone who could mix or help us make a demo good enough to release. That would have cost us money and that’s something we didn’t have, so we could use it when there wasn’t any activity in there. All of those times we were in that studio, we only made copies for ourselves, for having as a memory. Of course they became poor after a few years and it was too late saving them before they became damaged, with lost sound and too much noise on the tapes. I have tried to restore them with some tools but I haven’t fulfilled that mission yet, so when I have and the result is decent I might let them face the world on a release in the future. But there is nothing I will do in the nearest.

- Did you perform live shows? Do you remember some of your first gigs?
- In the early days we performed once at a competition for music bands and musicians. Death metal was more or less new at that time and didn’t fell the judges ears well. But we scared the hell out of some people there and that was fun. Then it took a whole bunch of years until it happened again. 2010 was the year Entrails began a new era with performing again.

- What do you remember about the early Swedish underground? What were your favorite bands? Did you prefer European or American schools?
- Not much really. I know I listened to a lot of different music back then. Before I was totally sold to DM I had power metal and thrash and heavy metal from the 80´s as my nr 1.. Metallica, Slayer, Halloween, Iron Maiden, Accept, Judas Priest and many more were deeply in my soul as the music I worshiped. And when DM came in the end of the 80´s it took a while before I did like it and when the Sunlight bands came with full force in 1990 I was completely overwhelmed by this sound and from that day it still is Goosebumps on my arms when I listen to it. That massive wall and fat sound. That’s what I must do was my first thought. I do listen to both American DM and European but I still prefer the early 90´s.. To me there haven’t been any album released after 95 that could change my view or ear to a newer style. 

- Eventually, the band died out. So, how and when did you decide to resurrect Entrails? Did you plan to bring some of the original members?
- Not really. I asked the first guitarist who still lived near but he was into other bands and didn’t want to change bands. The others were not available or living nearby. When I first decided to bring back Entrails, it was in 2008, I was listening to the old tapes and found out it was easy to create music if you only had a good PC and some drum programs and stuff like that. So in the beginning I just recorded for fun just to have some stuff on MySpace. But I wanted more so I had help from Matthias to get Jocke on vocals and from that it all began once again.

- Alright, tell us what's going on now? Are you working on the new album? What are you plans for the near future?
- For the moment Entrails have changed members a bit. Drummer Adde and singer/bass man Jocke have left for new blood. New guys are Martin “fjalar” Michaelsson and Tommy Carlsson. Two really good musicians that will bring Entrails into a new dimension I hope. But of course with the 90´s feeling, that’s a promise. 2 shows have already been done with a good result. More and more songs are in the learning so we can make good set lists of mostly of the recorded material in the nearest future. There will be a new album recorded but when that will be done is impossible to say. Otherwise, there are some shows booked to take care of. Couldn’t plan major because we had to be more comfortable within the band and have a big knowledge about many songs we could play. 

- Thank you very much for this interview. Is there anything you would like to add in the end?
- Well, keep supporting your metal, we are doing this for you and it wouldn’t be possible if nobody bought the music we make. That’s the hard life. And follow us at facebook.com/entrails666 for the latest info and updates. See you out there somewhere
/Jimmy