With the
release of their stunning new album ' New Religion' we catch up with
lead singer Danny Rexon to find out more about these Swedish hard
rockers.
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MM - Firstly
let me congratulate you on the superb new album 'New Religion'!
Danny - Thanx
man, glad you like it.
MM
- What was it like working with Chris Laney again on the new album?
Danny -
It was great as usual. I mean we
have our disagreements from time to time but I think it’s good to have
to fight for certain things. It’s a game of give and take and in
the end I think the result speaks for itself. He’s a great
producer and knows how to bring the best out of a song.
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MM
- Did you have a vision for the direction you wanted this album to take
from the start or did it just develop along the way?
Danny - We
knew we wanted to push it a little more towards the arena rock sound of
the 80’s compared to our first album which was more of a sleazy metal
album. We wanted to have songs that would sound good on the bigger
stages, ‘cause that’s where we’re aiming to play.
MM
- How would you compare ‘New Religion’ to ‘Loud Minority’?
Danny - As
I said, the style is a little different and overall I think we’ve all
evolved as musicians since the debut album. The song-writing has
improved a lot and I think the new album is stronger on all counts.
MM
- ‘Loud Minority’ was released in 2007, what have the band been up
to for the last 3 years since that release?
Danny - First of all the
album was released in mid November 2007 so it was really little over 2
years between the two releases. During that time we’ve toured a
lot, our original guitar player left so we’ve had to replace him and
of course we’ve also spent a lot of time on writing material for the
new album. The first demos for New Religion that were recorded
during the summer of 2008 so it’s been a long process.
MM
- How long did the album take to put together?
Danny - In
pure recording time it was a little over 2 weeks and then it was mixed
in the same amount of time. So that took little over a month I
think. But as I said we started writing material for the album a
year and a half before we even went into the studio.
MM
- The band were one of the founding bands in the whole “New Wave Of
Swedish Sleaze”, how has the band developed since those early days?
Danny - I
think we’ve gone more towards a wider 80’s influenced hard rock
sound and truth to be told almost every band in the “New Wave of
Swedish Sleaze” - movement sound very different musically.
We’ve always done our thing and tried to build on the kind of hard
rock that was around before the grunge wave hit the world.
MM
- When working with a producer like Chris Laney did the band have more
confidence when you entered the studio knowing what he did with the
first album?
Danny - I think so
yes. I mean we were very happy with the result of the first album
as well as the way he coached us through the process. In addition
to that we had heard some of the stuff he had done since then and
noticed that he had grown as a producer just the same way we had evolved
as a band so we knew we were going to get a better product this time
around.
MM
- There have been a couple of line up changes since ‘Loud Minority’,
how did these changes affect the band and do you think the band are
stronger now?
Danny
- Actually the only change is on the
guitar player spot. Our original guitar player Vic Zino left for
Hardcore Superstar in the spring of 2008 and our current guitarist Andy
Dawson replaced him in May that same year. Personally I think
it’s all been for the better. Vic is better suited for HCSS and
Andy fits our style better and has really contributed a lot to the sound
we’re striving for.
MM
- There has been a great influx of top quality bands coming out of
Sweden over the past few years, what makes you Swedes such a powerhouse
nation when it comes to rock n roll?
Danny
- Not sure but there’s a lot of bands around and the
competition is fierce, perhaps that adds to the quality. Survival
of the fittest.
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MM
- It’s been three years since the debut album will we have to wait
another three years for album number three?
Danny - Again, it was
more like 2 years and 4 months really but we hope to have the next album
out before 2012. That really depends on how this album goes, if we’re
out on the road a lot there isn’t as much time for writing new
songs.
One thing is for certain though, we will not hurry anything
and release a half-bad album. The next one has to beat 'New Religion'
just the way 'New Religion' beat 'Loud Minority'. In my book a
band always has to strive to make the next album their best ever.
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MM
- Do the band have any plans to take to take to the road to promote the
album?
Danny
- Yes, we’ve already started playing in Sweden and we’re
currently working on booking gigs in Italy, Germany, Switzerland,
Austria and Spain. Also we’ve just been confirmed for the
Firefest in Nottingham later this year and I’m sure lots of other gig
opportunities will emerge.
MM
- Finally what does the rest of 2010 have in store for the band?
Danny - Touring, hopefully making it to USA
or Japan this time as well. The album has received great feedback
in Japan so we hope things will turn out good for us there. We
actually sold as many copies of the first album in Japan as we did in
the rest of the world combined, so that sure is a good market for
us.
We'd
like to thank Danny for taking the time out to take part in this
interview with us and look forward to catching the band at some point in
the near future when they hit UK soil. If you like 80's orientated
hard rock with a modern edge then be sure to check these guys out, you
won't be disappointed.
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