Artist: Harms way  

Date:   4 September 2006

Bringing some sunshine and smiles to a face not always used to such expressions of delight, we grab head honcho and founding member Freddie for a chat about the bands new album.

MM - Would you like to start by introducing the band to our readers and telling us a little bit of background about the band and how it came to be?
HW - It's me Freddie and Erik on guitar, Dim on vocals and bass and Stipen on drums.  I started HARMS WAY with Dim 2003 after I laid my old band TERRA FIRMA to rest.  I had known all the band members since years back, Dim and me even did go in the same class for 2 years in school.  So we are kind of a new band but we have all played in different bands before which have released albums etc. 

MM - The band's name 'Harms Way' - what's the story behind it?
HW - HARMS WAY was the title of the last album I recorded with TERRA FIRMA.  I wasn't too keen on using it as a band name because of the connections to TERRA FIRMA.  So at first we were called ROOT OF ALL EVIL but Erik was so much in love with the name HARMS WAY that I changed my mind.  ROOT OF ALL EVIL was also maybe a bit too black metalish name for us, HARMS WAY fits us better.

MM - What were your musical intentions when you started work on the new album?  Any special destination in mind?
HW - To have a good time.  Trying to not sound like everybody else does today.

MM - How long did it actually take to write the songs and were there any left-over that didn't make the album?
HW - I write songs every day.  Recording riffs and ideas into my computer on my guitar, bass and programming drums to them.  All kinds of shit from bluesy hard rock riffs to punk and black metal etc.  So it's hard to say how long it took, some riffs are 5 years old on the album and some are brand new.  The songs on the album were those that were finished first and therefore they are on the album.  There were some songs that didn't really work out in the rehearsal room so they dropped before we it the studio to record.  To be honest I don't like how the first track AS TIME GOES BY came out on the album.  The other guy's like it but I'm not too keen on it, sure there are some really good parts in the song but in a total I don't like how it sounds on the album, which is a bit sad since it is the album starter.  We had to decide the order of the songs before the mix was ready to save time so therefore it's first on the album, we thought it was the perfect starter on the album first but I don't after recording it .... Personally I rather have had it stuck in the middle somewhere.  I know a lot of people who have heard the album and like the song so I should just shut the fuck up about it.  I think the songs sounds better live.  I'm like working on different songs all the time so it's impossible to say how long it took..

MM - Are there any songs in particular on the new album that have a special meaning to you?  If so which song's and what's the story behind it?
HW - All of them.  But specially 9 OUT OF 10 which is about the feeling I had when a person that had meant a lot to me since I was a kid died.  To make a long story short, I had broke up with my girlfriend and had no place to stay.  So this guy who felt like my older brother I never had did let me stay at his apartment until I found a place of on my own.  One day I came home after a rehearsal and his girlfriend was in tears on the balcony and the police were there.  I entered the apartment and he is fucking passed out/dead on the floor (heroine overdose, I didn't even know he was doing that shit), 3 hours earlier he was alive.  This is the feeling after the police, ambulance and his girlfriend and his body left the apartment.  I was there alone and his things were there and it all looked the same but he was gone, but it was like he still was there.

MM - What is the band's mission, to conquer the world musically or just have a good time with good friends?
HW - Both ... haha ... No honestly it is about to have a good time and get rid of all aggressions, hate and depression inside.  If we conquer the world, fine but not our goal.

MM - How would you best describe the music on the new album 'Oxytocin' and who do you feel it would appeal to the most?
HW - People into metal and stoner rock, in other words people with taste.

MM - What sort of audience reactions have you been getting at your gigs?
HW - Very good, people can't believe we only played 3 gigs so far.

MM - The bands influences are very varied from early Iron Maiden to Venom and Kiss, how have these bands helped with producing a sound for Harms Way, or haven't they?
HW - These bands among others were something I listened to since I was a kid.  So they have probably influenced me in one way or another.  But I can't really say we sound like those bands or do we?  Hard for me to say.  We try to drive our own way.  But I guess all humans are more influenced from the world around us than we want to think, from music to how we look and live.  All you could try is to not follow all trends there is, even in metal.
 
MM - Are there any plans to tour in promotion of the new album either in Sweden or further a field?
HW - We are looking for a booking agency.  We wanna tour the entire world.  But a the moment nothing is booked.  If anybody knows of a good booking agency, let us know.

MM - Sweden has always been a hot bed for quality rock bands, with all these bands about is it easier for a band such as yourself to travel further into Europe to get recognition?
HW - I don't think so.  If I like a band I don't give a fuck where they are from as long as they are good.  I think the best bands are from England, U.S. and Germany who have some great old thrash bands as well.  What do we have in Sweden ... Bathory and At The Gates, but that's about it in my opinion.

MM - What would you say was your best career decision you have ever made both as a band, but also as individual band members?
HW - This question seems more to fit a band that has played for a couple of decades like Stones or Purple.  HARMS WAY is kind of a new band so it's hard to answer this one.  As an individual band member it must have been when I started HARMS WAY.

MM - If you had to hard sell your new album, could you say in five words why our readers should go out and but it?
HW - BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

MM - Now for a fun question, if you were marooned on a desert island without any food, which member of Harms Way would you eat first?
HW - A great and tough questions but I'm afraid that my answer is a bit boring but I would rather starv.  All of them seem to taste like shit but maybe Dim just to get him to shut the fuck up for once ... haha.

MM - Finally, is there anything you would like to say to our readers out there?
HW - Check out our website ... www.harmsway.se and www.myspace.com/harmswaysweden and buy our album it is a must in your record collection. 

Thanx for the interview. 

Best regards Freddie & HARMS WAY !!

MM - Thank you Freddie, you've been an absolute sweetheart in taking part in this for us.  We wish you and the band every success for the future.

 

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