Once
heard, forever smitten. Like an orgasm in the middle of the night,
Swedish rock gods Enemies Swe have produced an album that is sure to
have all sleaze rock fans crying out in ecstasy.
With their debut album 'Behind Enemy Lines' soon to hit the
shelves, the band really do ... 'go behind enemy lines and take no
prisoners'. We catch up with lead singer Rickard Andersson to find
out more about the hottest band to hit the scene in a long time.
MM
- Please, introduce the band to our readers. Who are the
members of Enemies Swe, when was the band formed and where do
you call home?
We are 5 guys from a small town called Skövde in Sweden with a
lot of music in our hearts, who started to play together in
2001. The members are: Rickard - Vocals, Marco - Drums,
Simon - Guitar, Pontus - Bass (new member since 2004),
Andreas - Guitar. |
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MM
- How would you describe your style of music to someone who isn’t
familiar with the band and who do you see your target audience as being?
We just play Rock n Roll, but you can call it
whatever you want. I think it is so many ‘names’ in music
today. I’ll remember when Ac/Dc was named “a punk group”
from Australia by British press in the 70’s. I don’t take that
as detailed description of what their music stands for. I want my
audience to be honest. So if we suck, I hope they will be honest
tell me that, but I’ll promise you that we try to kick everybody’s
asses in the audience every time we play our songs.
MM - Where does the name ‘Enemies Swe’
originate from, and what does it represent? Can you remember any of the
other names that were toyed with at the time?
I don’t like to explain about how many times we
have changed our name, but I’ll give it a try (again). First we
called our band ‘Sludgebucket’, but People in Sweden couldn’t
spell it or pronounce it. It’s more like French word for them
back home in Sweden. So we changed it to The Enemies (I checked on
internet, and that name was free to use). A year ago our label got
a mail from a management, they told our label that they got some
‘emoshitpunkhardcoreband’ from US called them self The Enemies.
They intend to sue the balls of us and our label if we try to keep our
band name. So we changed our name to Enemies Swe. So it’s
a long boring story. Enemies is just a name to us, nothing else.
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MM
- Generally, are you a pessimist or an optimist by nature?
Is your glass half empty or half full?
I think I’ve got a bit of them both.
What? Do you think I’ve got mental problems, this is just like
the intelligence test before you go to military school here in
Sweden. I think? Every bad situation has something
good!
MM - What bands/artists have influenced
you the most over the years?
Aerosmith, Ac/Dc, Kiss etc. |
MM
- The band are currently signed to Plugged records for the release of
your debut album. How well do you think you fit in with the label
and its fellow bands? What was it about Plugged records that made
their offer the most attractive deal on the table?
I think we’re doing good at Plugged Records.
About the other bands: I don’t bother or care. I don’t think
non of them got what Enemies got.
MM - How does the songwriting process work within Enemies Swe? Is
it mainly one or two individuals, or more of a team effort?
Me and Marco did a lot of stuff on
‘Behind….’, but now we’re working more together. First we
do some of the music on our own, riffs, melodies and other stuff .
Then we try to jam them out in our rehearsal-room, to get the right
feeling. We didn’t do that before, but this is a new thing in
our song writing. We’re working a lot with the right feeling.
Just like the old bluesmen did.
MM - Your new album ‘Behind Enemy Lines’
sounds fabulous, would you like to tell us a little bit about each of
the songs on it and any stories behind them?
Powertrain: Is just something
that ‘runs you over’ It’s fast and heavy at the same time.
The lyric is stolen from ‘Volvo Powertrain’ we got this large engine
company in our home town. Marco is working there and he did a
‘working class’ lyric for the song, just like Bon Scott did when he
was alive.
Enemy: It’s a metal song with a hook, so It got to be our first
single. But It’s still a metal song….
Mainstream King: Southern rock meets Sleaze. Some Circus of Power
vibes in it.
Sliced and diced: It’s the Guns n’ Roses ghost speaking
through Enemies. One of my favourites. It’s a kick ass
song!
Nasty Idol: My voice sounds like Zodiac Mindwarps´. It’s
not a Power ballad. ‘Don’t believe everything you see’.
It’s about admire rock stars, they could be real assholes sometimes.
I admired a lot when I was a kid, they were my heroes then, but today
some of them are real assholes.
Elvis in Brooklyn: It’s about Elvis obsessions. I think
the Americans have named a real disease ‘Elvis Obsession’, I saw it
on TV. Some people think they are Elvis or some people think
he’s still alive or moved to mars or something. So I wrote a
lyric about that and I lend a lot from the original Elvis lyrics.
Superstar: Shotgun Messiah is a band (friends) from our hometown.
I think this song got a touch of their spirit. They were good and
Tim Sköld still rock with Marilyn Manson today. Good work for a
small town guy from Skövde.
Glam Star Cabaret: The first song we made, a mix between Ac/Dc
and Faster Pussycat.
Back with the bullits: I don’t have so much to say about that
one, I wrote some cliché words here and there. I think Andreas
has more history to tell about that song cause he wrote it.
Hello Hell: We tried to do a dark one with a ‘Hells Bells’
feeling, but It didn’t work out so well. I think this song
sounds more The Cult. And that’s ok cause we like The Cult very
much.
Rock n Roll School: Ac/dc, Kiss, Quireboys with a Ramones lyric.
Classic Rock till you drop.
MM - How
long did it take for this new album to be created from the initial
conception to the finished product?
Too long! One year or something.
MM - The band have performed live at a number of prestigious festivals
in Sweden. How does it feel to take part in such huge festivals and
perform your songs in front of so many people?
It feels great to play in front of so many people,
but we like to play for a small audience too. I can say that we are not
very particular about playing in full houses.
MM -
Do the band have any plans to tour in support of the new album
and will we be lucky enough to see you over in the UK some time?
We don’t know so much about that yet, but if you ask our
labels, they will give you the answer. It would be fun to do a
promotion tour in the UK. Or support a British band like
Tokyo Dragons or something. I think we would rock their
moustaches of their faces (he,he). |
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MM -Which song do your
fans enjoy the being played live the most and why?
I think they like ‘Enemy’ best cause everybody could understand that
song, it’s got that sing-along chorus.
MM - What are you listening to these days yourself? Old classics or
modern bands? Do you ever listen to music that is very different from
what you do, if so what?
We search every day for music to get inspired of.
I just have discovered Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, really good blues.
I listen to Detroit, Chicago soul from the 60’s. And I collect
Glam/sleaze albums from the 80’s. Last week I found a group
called Dirty Looks from LA. Not so good but hairy sleaze!! And
I’ve got all Rod Stewart albums on vinyl today. I think next
album’s gonna get a touch of old British rock n’ roll from the
70’s Faces, Zeppelin, Stones.
MM - What's the 'grand plan' for your band? Are you aiming for anything
like fame, fortune, artistic acceptance etc?
Our biggest goal is to get out of this goddamn
country. It’s so cold in the winter.
MM - In three words, how would your best friend describe you?
That I would be ‘Mr talk too much’ but nice.
I’m a very social person.
MM - I believe the bands song ’Hello Hell’ is to included on the
sound track of the UK horror movie ’Demon Hunter’, wow that must be
so exciting for you guys. How did that come about?
I don’t know? I think our label must have sent a copy to right person
or something?
MM - OK, a two part fun question now. (A) If
you could have anyone locked in a room so that you could torture them
for a day, whom would you choose, and how would you torture them?
I would choose the Gallagher brothers in Oasis.
I would torture them with playing Tigertailz songs over and over again.
(B) Now turn the tables. Who would you most like to be locked in a room
with for a day and how would you like them to torture you?
(My god, not with Tigertailz songs). I think I would be locked in with
Justin Hawkins. We could have falsetto duels. I think I’m gonna
lose big time. That’s a kind of torture.
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MM
- Tell us one thing about yourself that not many people know.
I’m a happy father. I’ve got a daughter called Indra. (named
after a Indian thunder god).
MM -
What’s the most precious thing in your life right now, who or
what could you simply not live without?
My family, the most important thing in life now and forever.
MM - Finally, is there anything you would like to say to all our
readers out there?
Check out our web: www.enemiesswe.com.
Take care of each other, Maybe we see you on tour.
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