1.Can you update us with what is going on with the band these days?
-Well, we´ve just released our brand new album and we´re kinda waiting to get out on the road basically, hehe. It´s been too long since we were out playing for an audience and with these new killer songs it should be fantastic. We also have a new guy in the band called Jonas Blom who actually has written most of the music so it´s a new fresh Army with lots of more energy to enter 2011.
2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how
does it differ from previous releases?
-It´s more aggressive basically. Longer songs with more twists to them. Not that many typical 3 minute songs. We kinda wanted to go away a bit from our earlier sound and to take away some of the melodic elements. And the reason for that is because longtime member Mikael quit in 2009 and he wrote like 50% of the music. Now we wanted to start over with a new approach. We discussed on taking the Army to a new level and by that we wrote 9 songs that fits perfectly to eachother and that has lots of surprises for the listener which makes needs him to stay sharp and alert throughout the album and that´s a great thing. I think the overall sound is more brutal and more death metal.
3. The new album has a very powerful sound, are you happy with the way
it was produced?
-Yeah, we are very satisfied. We recorded the album at Black Lounge for the second time with producer Jonas Kjellgren and it was a very relaxed session. He created a really awesome sound for us and it´s even better than on Grim Tales because it´s way too good on GT. Too clean and too perfect to be a death metal release. On The dark epic we discussed on making the album to sound more natural and more raw which gives it more of a live feeling and it gives the songs more life for sure.
4. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjecs the new releases explores?
-I explore a lot of different stuff but it´s everything from true events like the Jeffrey Dahmer and Annie Palmer incidents to war and religious stories but there is definitely no satanic stuff within the lyrics even if people might think that. But they are way more brutal this time. More straight on and more death metal.
5. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
-When I first started out back in 2004 I was thinking of doing something completely on my own so I called myself One man army for a couple of days but then when I realized that I wanted to create a whole new band instead I kinda just added some words to the name, haha. Nah, seriously, it´s obviously a mixture between action and horror which defines this band very much. Rambo meets the living dead. Damn! What a movie that would have been(. The real inspiration though, for such a long name comes from the old bands from 60´s that has one name for the frontman and another name for the rhythm section and I think it´s pretty cool to have brought that into the death metal genre.
6. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far, and
how would you describe your stage performance?
-We have done a lot of great shows. Both big and small ones but I can´t really say what has been the best. We did some really nice shows on the Bodom tour back in 2006 but then we were a new band and we weren´t experienced as a band even if we had a lot of years individually so I guess that we are stronger today even if the Bodom tour will be a memory for life. We try to put out as much energy as possible on the show. We´re not saving ourselves and we´re trying just as hard weither there are 10 people in the audience or 1000. Can´t wait to get out on the road.
7. Out off all the bands that you have toured with or done shows with,
which one did you enjoy the most?
-Children of Bodom for sure. They were the nicest guys ever. But we have toured with other great acts like Soilwork, Hypocrisy, Unleashed, Gorefest and Amorphis so it´s been a great ride so far.
8. What are some of the touring plans for the new releases?
-We actually don´t have any plans yet but hopefully there will be a couple of festivals this summer and then maybe a tour in the fall. Time will tell.
9. How would you describe the artwork on the album cover, and who was it
that created it?
-Bjoern from Killustrations did the artwork. It´s totally awesome and it really shows this new Army even on the cover. General Grim is gone and now we have brutalized the band with the Grim Reaper instead and what is more death metal than the reaper himself? The thing is that we wanted to do something different this time cause all our previous work was the same and I´m not that guy that wants to do the same stuff over and over again even if I more or less came up with the ideas to the old ones. There was time for a change and Killustrations was very much into creating something wicked. So now we have a coverart that very much fits the title and can be described as death being all around us on daily basis. It´s everywhere and it´s ready to strike but you don´t know when. That´s a true thing and it really fits the lyrics as well.
10. On a worldwide level, how has yournew album been recieved by
death/thrash fans?
-So far I´ve only read a couple of reviews but I´ve noticed that the Swedish magazines doesn´t like us that much, haha. But in other countries people has a totally different saying about it. Although I´m quite confident that a lot of people will dig this album. We´ve put so much energy into creating this so it would have been a shame if this would be the last stop for us. So support us and buy the album(
11. Are there any current side projects besides this band, or is this a
full time line-up?
-One man army is No 1 for everyone involved in the band but many of the guys has other projects as well cause we don´t play 24/7 with The Army so there´s definitely time to do other stuff. But I don´t have any other stuff. I put my spare time on other things in life.
12. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
-Now we are so into The Dark Epic so my guess is to start where this album ends but it´s impossible to say cause I don´t wanna think about new material just yet even if Jonas already has a couple of new tunes. It´s too early. I wanna recharge my batteries and get inspired again. Earlier we released one album/year but now there will definitely be like 2-3 years in between albums. We need to have that extra time to really come up with the best possible result instead of rushing into things.
13. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your
music, and also what are you listening to nowadays?
-Bands that has inspired us since the beginning is Metallica, Slayer, Death, Morbid Angel, Testament, Judas Priest and Bolt Thrower to name a few. But I´m also inspired by other acts like Kiss, Ac/dc and The King of course even if you don´t hear it in the music. These bands and artists are still the ones I listen to at home but of course there are other bands as well. I actually bought Badmotorfinger and Superunknown with Soundgarden the other day. Damn, what great albums. Why didn´t I own them already??
14. Outside of music, what are some of your interests?
-Now me and my girlfriend has bought ourselves a new dog. A Labrador which is 10 weeks old and this takes a lot of the time. But beside that I watch a lot of tv series, movies and I play a lot of playstation 3 and tonight there will be some Call of duty-world at war(. I also have regular job but that´s another story, hehe.
15. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
-Well, thank you very much for this nice interview. Take care dude and to all the readers: Please check out the new album The Dark Epic… It´s an aggressive and interesting piece of art that grabs a hold of you from the start. You won´t regret it!!
Cheers,
Johan
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