1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
JD, guitarist, songwriter: As we're in the middle of releasing THE SUFFERWELL much of our time goes to promoting and trying to reach out. We have a show in our hometown on the day of the release so we're preparing for that and besides that we're preparing to print up some new merchandise, Sufferwell t-shirts, hoodies, posters etc.
2.You have a new album coming out in June, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction the new recording takes and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
JD: Overall this album feels more genuine and worked through. We (Robin) have worked extremely hard on the orchestrations and that have resulted in that the songs feel more like they belong together. The songs on Ode To Quietus for example were written over many years where we had a lot of member changes, so they were a mishmash of very old an newer riffs where perhaps not all were built to carry such symphonics.
The Sufferwell is a lot heavier, a little darker, more powerful and have better song structures. Probably a result from that we could focus more on the songs instead of tutoring new members. :)
3.According to the Metal Archive page, the band has been around since 1993 but remains very underground and obscure what do you think has been the cause for that?
JD: 1993 is a misleading year actually. We were four teenagers that started out in a Sepultura influenced band back then. Then came the Gothenburg wave and in 1997-98 we brought in a keyboardist and a new vocalist, we changed musical direction and that's when Meadows End got born.
We recorded a demo, Beyond Tranquil Dreams, and after that it got bumpy. University studies came in the way, members got ill and some grew tired. Years of demos and periods of hibernation followed and not until one or two years after the release of the EP Dead Calm Rise in 2006 we decided to really give this a try. In 2009 we found the last missing piece in vocalist Johan Brandberg and then it was time to start working on Ode To Quietus.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
JD: Many of the songs deal with the dark and fucked up sides of our everyday society. KINGS OF GREED for example, the world's 85 wealthiest people have as much money as the 3.5 billion poorest people on the planet. Society is so stuck in money and materialization that it's sick.
FUNERAL OF A PORCELAIN DOLL is about getting some loved one, a child, a partner or the like, ruined by rape, incest or even murder. And the perpetrators most often gets away, repeating their deeds.
5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Meadow's End'?
JD: We actually got the idea from a page on the web that were named "At The Meadow's End". Some of us were deep down in fantasy books and games back then so we found Meadow's End fitting. We later changed to Meadows End due to technical and graphical reasons.
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
JD: The 'best' show was probably our comeback here in our hometown in 2009. We had struggled for quite some years and didn't really know if we could pull it off to get back again. The feeling of standing on that stage, headlining, people were crazy, barriers were overrun and the feedback we got were immense. That was a big moment for all of us. Besides that it has to be a gig in a town called Sollefteå in 2012, the place were shutting down for good so the liqour was cheap on sale. The audience even headbanged while we tuned our instruments between songs, the atmosphere was indescribable.
Live we try to give our 110% and interact with the audience. We love when they are a part of the show, coming up on stage headbanging, cheering over beers between songs etc. If we get the audience to let go and perform with us, then we're satisfied. :)
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
JD: We only have two shows booked atm, the festival gig on the release and then one in the fall. We've had a hard time finding any booking agencies to hook us up and finding gigs ourselves has always been hard. The competition here in Sweden for example is killing and our geographical position doesn't make things easier unfortunately.
8.According to the fb book the band is looking for a label, what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for your musical style?
JD: Our melodic/symphonic music has been very well received in southern/middle Europe so a label with muscles/connections to take us on a European tour to start with would be perfect. We've had our eyes upon some labels that really looks interesting that have the kind of genre we explore, Napalm Records with Ex Deo for example, just to mention one.
We're actually planning quite long ahead and at the moment we can see at least two more albums to be created.
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death and symphonic metal?
JD: We have often felt that we've lurked somewhere inbetween heavier death metal and softer melodic metal, many thinks we're to soft while many thinks we're to heavy. But we've never played anything else than what we love ourselves so with Ode To Quietus we really started to get respons from all over the world. Since our music lands somewhere between those two fields we've really needed to reach out to find our fans, but the response we've got from fans of our music has been overwhelming. Hopefully The Sufferwell will get us even further.
10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
JD: The jump from OTQ to The Sufferwell can feel quite far if you listen to them, but much of that is production and now that we know what we can pull off production wise we will probably expand on what sounds really good and make that stand out even more in the future. But mostly we go with guts and intuition and that is often what has turned best for us. So we'll continue on the road The Sufferwell has turned us into and develop that even further.
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
JD: That's a tricky question for us. We're a six man piece and many of us have quite different taste in other music. Johan for example is a big fan of faster and darker music like Watain, our drummer Daniel is a big fan of Gojira, I (JD) am deeply in love with Katatonia myself. So we cover a wide spectrum of influences and I guess that goes into our songs without us even getting the whole picture of it ourselves.
During the Meadows End startup we had great influences from band such as Embraced, Dark Tranquillity, Gates of Ishtar and In Flames. Nowadays it's not that simple anymore, guess we somewhere have our own style coming out of it.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
JD: All of us are video game enthusiasts, loud, screamy NHL tournaments on our parties is not unusual. Our lead guitarist Rik hates everything that has to do with sports however. Besides that, four of us has kids and that take up a lot of our time of course, watching movies and television series and cheering on our hometown hockey team, MODO Hockey.
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
JD: We really hope that you will enjoy THE SUFFERWELL, we're extremely satisfied with the results and hopefully we'll see you on the road in the future! We also have plans for our next recording already so stay tuned! Thanks a lot for the Interview! Cheers! / JD
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