Carnal Forge Bassist Lars Linden
Interview by Lord of The Wasteland
The last time we interviewed Carnal Forge was back in
December of 2001 when
EvilG spoke with guitarist Jari Kuusisto just as
their fourth album PLEASE…DIE! was released. In the nearly three
years since that interview, the band has released two more CDs,
a live DVD, and gone through every bit of bad luck imaginable.
Tour after tour was cancelled including a potential North
American breakout on the short-lived Metal Gods Tour with Halford, Testament, Immortal, Primal Fear and Amon Amarth. Not
to be beat, the band hit the studio once again and just released
their sixth album, AREN’T YOU DEAD YET?
I was offered the chance to speak with Carnal Forge bassist
Lars Linden on August 1st and being fan of the band, I jumped at
the chance. Surprisingly, just four days later, it was made
public that vocalist Jonas Kjellgren had left the band and was
replaced by Jens C. Mortensen, a former bandmate of Linden’s. No
hint was made of Kjellgren leaving the band during the
interview, so it may have been as much of a shock to the band as
it was to its fans.
During our interview, Lars gave his thoughts on many things
including the endless comparisons to fellow Swedish thrashers,
The Haunted, the band’s bad luck with tours, as well as his own
web design, graphic art and production work.
So it’s another year and Carnal Forge has bestowed upon
the metal community another slice of Swedish thrash! The new
CD—AREN’T YOU DEAD YET?—is out August 10th in North America and
it is a killer disc! [Oh cool! Glad to hear it.] “Burn Them Alive” is just blowing me away. That song is
one of the heaviest you guys have done yet, in my opinion. It’s
very cool! [Killer.]
This is the third CD from Carnal Forge in three years. How
do you turn out the albums so fast?
The main reason is that we have five songwriters in the band,
so it’s very easy for us to come up with material because
everybody is very productive. Each guy only has to write two
songs and we have a full album again, so it’s pretty easy for
us. We could be faster if we weren’t so lazy, but at the same
time, I don’t see any reason to release more than one album a
year (laughs).
Whose head is that with the bullet through it on the
cover?
I have not a clue to be honest. It’s some German guy
(laughs). I did the last three covers, but this time, there was
no time for it, so we had Century Media take care of it. I don’t
know. We started in the studio and I was already working on a
couple other covers.
Like all of the other Carnal Forge albums, the music was
recorded at Studio Underground, but Jonas Kjellgren recorded his
vocals at his own studio, Black Lounge. Why do you continue to
record in two studios rather than do everything in one?
We all live in different cities. I live in the same city as
Studio Underground, the other guys live in another city and
Jonas lives in another city. He’s got his own studio so it’s
pretty convenient for him to work in his own place. He can work
any hours or any days he wants. We are producing everything
ourselves so it’s just really convenient for him. He doesn’t
have to travel to get to the studio. It’s just around the
corner.
How much time does he dedicate to the studio besides
working with Carnal Forge? Is it still operative when you guys
are on the road, or does he run it himself?
He is the producer in the studio and that is what he tries to
do when there is no touring and stuff like that.
You are also a behind-the-scenes guy who works in the
studio. Do you enjoy the production and engineering work more
than actually playing in the band or vice versa?
I prefer recording other bands than I prefer recording
myself. It becomes so fucking serious, so it’s more fun to
record other bands. In the band, I really like the writing of
the songs and the touring. That’s the parts I really like the
best.
I had a look at your website (www.llproduction.com)
yesterday and I was checking out the different CD covers that
you have done. One that really stood out was for a band called
Asperity. [Thanks.] Do you take your own photographs and then play with those
on your computer?
Yeah. Usually me or someone else takes pictures that I will
work on and distort. For the new CD, I was already working on
the Asperity cover plus we left for Poland to record a DVD for
three days. Then we returned to the studio and I began working
on the cover for the DVD. We were in the studio for almost two
months, plus I had to take care of the look for the new website.
It’s kind of hard for just one person to do everything so I just
had to let that go.
I noticed that you have updated the Carnal Forge website
with the new look for AREN’T YOU DEAD YET?. Do you still
maintain the site fully yourself or do you have help?
I do it myself.
Where did you first learn web design?
I bought a computer to use as a demo machine to record songs.
And then I started screwing around doing graphics and covers and
stuff. Then I began screwing around with websites. I learned a
little on my own and then I took some courses, too.
Does that provide a decent income for you?
(Laughs) No, not really.
I don’t think there are any wealthy web designers out
there (laughs).
No, not these days. I had a good time before everything
crashed when you could do almost nothing and get a lot of money.
That was for about half a year and then things went down.
The title of the new CD is, of course, AREN’T YOU DEAD
YET?, but on the PLEASE…DIE! album, you had a song called
“Please…Die! (Aren’t You Dead Yet?).” Are the two somehow
related?
Not really.
It can’t be a coincidence?!
No, it’s not a coincidence either. What happened was that the
song “Please…Die!” wasn’t supposed to be called “Please…Die!
(Aren’t You Dead Yet?).” It was a fuck up but it came out that
way and we liked it.
Is there a progression with the CD titles and covers at
all? On PLEASE…DIE!, you have the guy with his hands tied about
to be executed. Then on THE MORE YOU SUFFER, the guy is getting
smacked around. Now on AREN’T YOU DEAD YET?, the guy has a
bullet in his head. Is there a pattern happening?
Yeah and I hope he’s dead on the next one (laughs)!
(Laughs) So, what will you call the next record then? IT’S
BURIAL TIME or what?
No, it will be WHO’S NEXT? (laughs).
When I was first reading about the production of the new
CD on your website back in the spring, there was a song called
“God’s Enemy #1.” Did that song get left off the CD or was that
just a working title that got changed?
We recorded twelve songs but we decided to only have ten
songs on the album, except for Japan. That song got voted out.
Will it turn up somewhere eventually?
Yeah, I think so. For the last album, we recorded fourteen
songs and had twelve on the album. The rest got spread out as
bonuses and stuff. This time we felt there was too much. It was
better to have just ten songs.
There is a guy listed named Dino Medanhodzic, who plays
the lead on “Decades of Despair.” Who is he?
That’s a little 17-year old guy from around here that plays
in a band called Mausoleum. They haven’t released any albums yet
but they are in the studio right now recording their debut
album. He played the first half of the solo on “Decades of
Despair.” It was just one of those days where Petri [Kuusisto,
guitar] was just fed up with soloing. He had just run out of
ideas I guess (laughs). Dino was around so we called him and
told him to come on down and do whatever he wanted.
And you say he is only seventeen years old?
Yeah! He is very talented. That’s a band to look
for—Mausoleum. I’m not sure if they are going to keep that name
because there is some band from Israel or something that is
already called that. They might change the name.
Well, I think “Medanhodzic” will be pretty easy to
remember (laughs)!
Yeah, you should check it out. I listened to it a bit in the
studio and it sounds pretty wild.
Are they recording at Studio Underground then? Are you
producing them or is Jonas at Black Lounge?
They are at Studio Underground. I’ve been away on holidays
but I just came back here the other day and went down and had a
sneak listen on the computer (laughs).
Earlier, you mentioned the new Carnal Forge DVD—DESTROY
LIVE—that was also just released. I know that you recorded it in
Poland while you were on tour with Gorgoroth. Was that recorded
the same day as Gorgoroth got into all the trouble for having
the naked women on crosses and almost got arrested?
Yeah, I saw that shit.
(Laughs) Really? Oh man…that must have been wild?!
It was pretty fun stuff (laughs)! It’s very stupid they got
in trouble for that. I mean it was no big deal really, in my
opinion.
Was it not as bad as it was made out to be?
Well if you have 130 goat’s heads on the stage…is that
terrible? I mean the stench is terrible but it’s not really
scary to me.
How about the naked women up on the crosses?
(Laughs) Yeah, that was kind of cool! We thought they were
dolls! We were talking and saying, “Look at the fucking dolls.
That’s fucking stupid” and then they started to look all sweaty
and I was like, “Hmmm. The doll moved! Shit, the doll
collapsed!” I guess they had a hard time up on the crosses
(laughs).
I would sure love to see that footage! I heard that the
Polish police confiscated the tapes, so it may be lost forever.
Yeah, it should look good. There was a lot of fire and stuff.
Our show was a little softer,…well, not softer but not so many
special effects. We are a little more straight up (laughs)!
There are a couple of live clips on the new CD. Are they
taken from the DVD? They don’t seem to be on the promo that I
was sent unless I just can’t figure it out (laughs).
Oh they aren’t? Okay. That’s too bad. They are from the DVD.
The songs are “Baptized In Fire” and “Welcome To Your Funeral,”
I think.
I guess I’ll just have to go and buy the actual CD myself
then (laughs)!
Oh, that’s too bad. Life’s tough (laughs). I think we
recorded twenty songs for the DVD.
I saw that! There is a ton of stuff on there.
Some of it was from the Metal Gods tour in New York and some
is from Tokyo.
Do you plan on coming back to North America and hopefully
Canada for this record?
We hope so! We are going to tour here in Europe in September
with Pro-Pain for a couple weeks and after that I hope we can
get back over to the States again. It was kind of abrupt last
time (laughs)!
I had heard a bunch of different stories about what caused
The Metal Gods Tour to end, but can you tell me first-hand what
the reason was?
To be honest, I know as much as you do. It was always rumors.
We never really got anything on paper of what really happened.
The tour was supposed to play in Seattle, about 120 miles
from where I live, and I was floored when it was announced that
the bands weren’t going to make it. That was a killer tour! We
won’t get to see Halford’s solo stuff again and, of course,
Immortal has broken up since then, too.
I think the whole Halford and Judas Priest thing was kind of
up in the air then and discussions were going on. We don’t know
why. We got a call about two minutes before the second to last
show and we were like, “What is going on? Why isn’t anybody
talking?” Someone said that the rumor is that the tour is done.
And soon we found out, okay the tour is off tomorrow! Then we
had to go on stage! Fun, fun, fun (laughs)!
(Laughs) No kidding!
It was kind of a weird feeling. It was great as long as it
lasted and it was great to meet all of those bands, too. I had
never seen Immortal before. They were cool.
Meeting Rob Halford must have been cool, too? I just saw
Judas Priest five days ago on Ozzfest and he still sounds
amazing!
Oh yeah.
It’s cool that he’s back with Judas Priest but pretty
shitty for you guys and the rest of the bands that came all the
way over to North America and only got to play seven shows.
Yeah, seven out of 32 or 34, I think? Oh well, I hope we get
something going here for the winter. I guess Century Media is
working on it right now.
You guys also got kind of a raw deal with the Exodus tour
in Europe. What went wrong with that one?
From the beginning, it was like five bands and we were
supposed to play number three and then they got more and more
bands. Soon there was like a hundred bands and we were playing
first, second or third from the beginning. Things kept on
changing all the time and we were just like ENOUGH! We dropped
off and said we were out. The thing was, after a couple weeks,
they sent home a few of the bands and if we had stayed, it
probably would have been us. That’s too bad.
You had another tour lined up with Misery Index that got
cancelled. What happened there?
(Laughs) Just call us “the band of cancelled tours” (laughs)!
This time, there was somebody who was supposed to book the bus
but they didn’t book it in time, so suddenly they realized that
every bus in Europe was booked because everybody was out on tour
and doing festivals and shit! Wow, what a big surprise (laughs)!
I mean, we WANT to come out and tour. This isn’t Carnal Forge
trying to hide away. You leave things in the hands of other
people and you end up fucked in the end.
Well you did manage to get in a couple of festival
appearances already this year—Sweden Rock and Fury Fest. How did
the fans respond to the new material?
Very good. It’s been really nice.
How many songs are you playing from the new CD?
We haven’t decided really. When we did Sweden Rock and Fury
Fest, we only played a couple. When we get out on tour, we will
play more, though. Maybe six or seven or something.
Play “Burn Them Alive.” That’s all I ask (laughs).
I promise you we will (laughs).
I have a few questions about the new thrash scene that is
coming out of Europe. Every single article, review, interview,
press release…anything…compares you guys to The Haunted. Does
Carnal Forge ever get tired of being compared to The Haunted?
Who?
(Laughs) I think they are a band from Sweden. Maybe you’ve
heard of them? They are called The Haunted?
(Laughs) Who? Who is The Haunted? Never mind The Haunted
(laughs)! No, it’s cool. I mean we know the guys and Carnal
Forge and The Haunted kind of started out the same year, but
they got ahead a little bit because of the old stuff they did as
At The Gates. They got more attention at the start which kind of
got them ahead of us. One day, we will beat them down (laughs).
Now they are on Century Media, too, so we hope to even do
something together.
They have their original singer, Peter Dolving, back with
them, too.
Yeah, that’s cool.
What are your feelings on the endless string of copycat
bands that have followed the style of Carnal Forge and The
Haunted? Does that make it harder for you to get ahead or does
it make you better and stronger as a band?
I guess I don’t pay enough attention because I don’t really
care (laughs)!
(Laughs) That’s a good attitude! Just don’t worry about it
(laughs)!
(Laughs) I only care about Carnal Forge.
Do you consider Carnal Forge to be a thrash band?
Yeah, I guess. Some people call it thrash, some call it
melodic death and some call it hardcore. I guess it’s a mix of
everything, but we would just say “metal.”
In the promo sheet that was sent along with the new CD,
Century Media called Carnal Forge, “The New Gods of Thrash.”
Well I can live with that (laughs)!
(Laughs) That’s a pretty big title to live up to, though?
Yeah, but we’re doing it good (laughs).
Are you guys happy to see the older thrash bands like
Exodus and Death Angel getting back together and recording new
music again?
As long as good music is being put out, yeah, it’s cool. It’s
cool that old bands that I listened to when I started to play
and listen to music are coming back again.
Who were some of your favorite bands growing up?
Slayer, Exodus, S.O.D., old Metallica…
Not the new stuff? Not a fan of ST. ANGER (laughs)?
(Laughs) Mmmmm, no. Testament…all those bands from the late
80s and early 90s. Pantera, as well.
All of the bands that you mentioned came from the U.S.
thrash scene. Were you not a fan of German thrash like Kreator,
Sodom and Destruction?
Personally, no. Not really. Of course I listened to those
bands as well, but they weren’t among my favorites.
I wanted to ask about the side project that you, Jari and
Stefan [Westerberg, drums] are all involved with, Leech. What
sort of music is that?
It’s not as fast as Carnal Forge. It’s more like old school
thrash. Have you heard the band that I was in before, Slapdash?
I’ve only heard the name.
It’s the singer and lead guitarist from that band. His voice
is a little bit more melodic than Jonas’. There is more of the
gay, sing-along choruses and stuff.
How do you balance your time between Carnal Forge, Leech,
the website, your studio work, album covers?
I don’t know. It just works out. We all have something else
that we do. Jonas has Centinex, Stefan used to be involved with
Steel Attack.
He isn’t working with them anymore?
No.
Are they still around or did they quit?
They split up into two different factions and they both have
recorded new material. I think one of them kept the name.
Has Carnal Forge ever considered slowing down, even for
one song? Maybe a ballad (laughs)?
When it comes to Carnal Forge, that’s the way we want it to
be. We can do anything we want in all the other projects we do,
but Carnal Forge is the way it is.
Do you ever get any pressure from the label to change the
sound or mix it up a little?
They’ve never said anything. We do whatever we want and they
always seem satisfied with that, so that’s cool.
There is an eleven year age difference between yourself
and Petri [Kuusisto, guitar]. Does that big gap affect how the
band writes or what influences are brought to the table?
Yeah but I think that’s pretty good. If you have the right
personalities, then everything goes good together. It’s no big
deal. I don’t really think about Petri being younger than me.
They kind of harass me sometimes because I’m an old man
(laughs). When you work in the studio, most guys are between
eighteen and thirty five, so you kind of forget how old you are.
Well you and I are the same age, so I can sympathize
(laughs).
(Laughs) Well, that’s good. This music keeps us young!
What is it like being in a band with two brothers? Does
the family fighting ever get to be a problem (laughs)?
(Laughs) No, no. It’s Stefan and Jari that are fighting
(laughs). The Kuusisto brothers never fight. They are very calm.
It’s just the rest of you that are at each other’s throats
(laughs)?
(Laughs) No, we’re pretty nice to each other.
Well that is all the questions I have for you today, Lars.
I appreciate the call.
No problem at all. I’ll talk to you next time.
Thanks to Heather at Century Media for setting up the
interview and for the promo.
Band:
www.carnalforge.com
Label:
www.centurymedia.com
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