Transcript of an interview I recorded with ELIZE RYD of AMARANTHE - 20200923. Full article here. MAL-
It's good to talk to you again. I spoke to you right when the Helix album was about to come out. How did that album go for you? ELIZE- Oh, it went great. It was very well received and it was very inspiring to see the, you know response since we were like, talking about this chorus stuff sound wise and like the DNA of AMARANTHE and that kind of led us to the Manifest which is like now we're manifesting what the core is, so it was a very important album to us and it was awesome like to have had that in our back since Nils was that was Nils' first album and and yeah, we just like now we felt so much more confident and everything was in place. And yeah, the Helix was a very good like beginning of what's happening now, so it's a we're very happy about it. MAL- How did you go with lockdown? Did it affect the recording at all? Were you already done? Were you in different cities? Did you all manage to get together? How did it work? ELIZE- Yeah. Well, we had booked the studio with Jacob Hansen in Denmark a while ago and two days before we were supposed to go there we got a message from Morton our drummer who lives in Denmark saying that tomorrow they going to close the borders at 12 and they will not allow anyone anymore. So me and Olof we had to pack our bags. We stayed up all night and we took the first train in the morning and headed over to Denmark which was a very strange experience. It was like a Zombie Land like there was nobody it was only the two of us traveling that direction because obviously everybody else was leaving to go home. You know we were going in and they were like, 'what are you guys doing? You know that they closed the borders, right?' And we're like, 'yes, that's why we're, you know, heading this way because we're going to studio recording an album'. It was just so weird, and then Olof had planned to go back to Gothenburg and record his guitars there. But obviously we couldn't cross the border so we rescheduled and we recorded the guitars in Denmark instead. Johan could not come over, so he recorded his bass in Finland with Joonas Parkkonen and I think they turned out great by the way. So this is probably something we will continue with like thinking about, you know, good things happening also in these kind of situations where you have to do something that you didn't plan, and Nils and Henrik weren't certain if they could make it, but they were able to make it because they came later and then the government's had started to speak more about yeah, if there is job to work to do then it's fine as long as you keep a mask and you keep distance and all this kind of stuff. So it was a battle and also we couldn't invite guests obviously, like usually we have friends coming over cuz we stay there for two and a half months and also it was like only on the last three days or so that Olof's wife could you know come over so I think it affected us very much emotionally actually which probably shows in the album. MAL- So, how did you get Nora in then? ELIZE- Oh, we didn't get her in, she was recording in Finland? And this is something I would like, of course, maybe regret the most because it would have been awesome to make the recordings with her in the same room. But yeah, it had to be done like that on the other hand because of the covid we knew that people didn't have any tours. So everybody was available and therefore we could invite extra guests. MAL- That's a win. ELIZE- I mean, usually everybody's not home. So nobody's you know has the time to do anything. But now we knew everybody was just sitting at home. So we were like 'hey, do you want to join the album?' It was very easy in that sense. So we really took the opportunities that were given. MAL- Tell me about the song viral. When was that written and was that just a bizarre coincidence or.. ? ELIZE- It was a bizarre coincidence in one way because Olof did the riff at home before we went to the studio and I was writing the vocal melodies to that and the title was already made up, but it was also to me it was a little bit hard to write, you know, a melody and lyrics around the word 'viral'. So I was like, how can you make that sound cool, you know, but then like we were in the studio and we were in the coronavirus has and where we just you know felt that why not just take the opportunity and like use this song to make it about the current situation and then all the lyrics and the vocal melodies just came very easily inspired by that very situation we were in so.. MAL- Is it more harsh vocals on this album or is that my imagination? ELIZE- Oh, that's a very good question. I don't think it is more. MAL- It's just my imagination playing tricks on me then. Has the current situation push back release date at all? And what are the plans? Okay. ELIZE- So this is the case if I will be hundred percent honest the release date for the album was always always planned on October 2nd, but then we were going on a United States tour and we wanted to have the album out, the song with Nora for example so that we could you know play these songs live on that very tour. We were asking to release it earlier than planned and also for me, of course, I was awesome because we released every single album in October. So I was like Yay finally releasing an album in some other month like August, but then yes, the tour got cancelled and then there was no reason to like put it the release earlier. So then it went back to the original planned date which was 2nd of October and yeah, so now we're back in October like same as always but yeah. MAL- How is the situation opening up for bands over there for actually playing again because I've seen some gigs advertised and some people playing gigs in like drive-in theaters sort of, you know open air with people congregated like sheep in little pens. How is the situation going? When can you tour? ELIZE- Good question, Yeah, I heard about it as well like over in the United States that they had this drive in I think also in German actually. MAL- Doro did one I think. ELIZE- Yes. Yes, you're right and also Beyond the Black that we were supposed to tour with or we will tour in April if we are allowed to, and that's the thing that we plan so far touring wise. In Sweden we can be now up to 500 people in the same event. Yeah, like for us, AMARANTHE at least anyways, we have only planned to do the tour starting in April and it's going to be big venues all over Europe. So I mean, of course the more the time goes and the closer you get to that that the more nervous to get. MAL- Now, some bands are doing the live stream thing. There's three happening this weekend that I know of, any plans for AMARANTHE to do that? ELIZE- We have discussed it. The only thing that we are, you know, kind of we discussing and we think it's maybe a little bit unfair is that we want to play the new songs from the new album in front of an audience when we do it the first time, because we want the instant feedback and we will not get that if we'd making a live stream and also maybe we would love to have that kind of organic reaction since it's the first time we've we play these songs and of course we could do a live stream where we could play only old songs, but aahh, I don't know, it's hard It's tricky, but I think we are very addicted to the audience and dependent on the audience. I say maybe on that question. We will maybe do it before the year is over or maybe not but it depends on what the fans want. We also want to know what are like what people expect. I mean, I think it's kind of nice to put out music videos like real music videos with new songs, and that's probably more fair presentation of the new album instead of us like sitting in an empty venue playing our music, but let's see. MAL- I'm going stir crazy sitting at home not being able to go to gigs. And I'm sure you must be as well because that is your outlet. How much of an affect has it had on you? Have you managed to keep yourself busy and sort of get through it? ELIZE- Well, luckily because of this album coming out, we have been very busy and we have been we talked every day to our management, the record label who is now actually they have time for us which is not the case if they would have some other releases planned. They wouldn't speak to us every day, you know, we're kind of Lucky in that sense. And yeah, like most bands we could have delayed the release until next year if we would think it's you know that important to be able to play shows immediately, but we actually wanted to release the album now and yeah all these like I said the music video recording, the interviews they wouldn't have happened if it wasn't because of the album coming out. So that's why I am happy that yes, we are busy not in the same sense, but still your brain is like activated and and focusing still on the music like always so I'm not sure I like after October maybe if we would talk then, you know towards like December or something. Maybe I will be a different state of mind. MAL- So we've got 'Manifest" coming out October 2nd. I like the album. I really like it. I tell you my favorite tracks and that is 'Fearless'. (Elize-Yay) 'Adrenaline'(Elize-Yay) and 'Do Or Die'. (Elize-Awesome). What stories can you tell us about any of these songs? Can you elaborate on anything? ELIZE- Sure. Well, 'Fearless' has an obvious message. It's a great thing to be fearless and we want to like inspire people with this song and this is what I also believe that we have been, and the track is like yes, very up-tempo and oh, yeah, I love I love this song as well actually if I'm allowed to say that, about my (Mal-Of course you are) and other than adrenaline. It's I think it's also very similar to Fearless where we want to present a feeling of something and it's a dedication to people who feel this way about maybe some other person in their life or, for me, or the fans when you are going on the stage or in the live show, that's also something that gives us adrenaline and that's like a dedication to that feeling. That's one of the things I actually personally love the most it's it's a little bit like TOTO inspired which would be super weird if you compare TOTO with AMARANTHE, it's not too many similarities, but it has an interesting touch to it, I guess and yeah, it's probably one of the most charming songs we ever written like it's kind of cute, actually. That's why I think it's nice that you like it. MAL- I'll have to listen for the Toto influence. ELIZE- And then the 'Do Or Die' of course, it's about yeah how we felt about the environmental situation fires, the virus is now also on top of that which was we weren't aware of that this situation was coming when we first released the song It's a also like a statement in a way showing the fans that we do really care about these things and it's very nice being an artist and being able to give your perspective on the situation. MAL- How's Nils fitting in now because he hadn't been in the band very long when 'Helix' came out. How's he going now? ELIZE- Three years, we're together now, and two and a half. So yeah, of course that makes a big difference. I remember that I was actually really nervous because I didn't know what to expect from Nils on an album with AMARANTHE songs. So that was like, I mean, these are the things that you naturally wouldn't want to feel any worries about while writing and recording an album. And of course, this is not the case with the 'Manifest' that we have gotten to know Nils very well both in the studio and outside and I mean, I've heard this voice in my in-ears live I would say almost every day for two years. It was very nice to lose like basically feel like you know where he sounds the best and you know have that kind of confidence while writing the songs. So that was really important. MAL- AMARANTHE have got the most amazing vocal dynamic going because you've got three completely different sounding vocalists all somehow working together. I suppose you don't know how you've managed to pull that off. But can you throw any light on that? ELIZE- From my perspective, like I've already mentioned before that. I am very, you know, I let the feelings decide. I let my emotional intelligence decide everything and not so much, you know other kind of thoughts and it's like you just feel when you want that kind of voice like guess that's the answer to the question, if a song decides or you decide where you want the song to go and then you put the vocalists in where you feel like you want the most of the topic you want the most out of the topic. So if there is something, or recording the song where you just feel like you need something new to kick in every time, that's when we change around things and some songs actually don't allow these changes and that's why we also decide to have some songs where it's more or less the same vocalist leading this track. MAL- Elize, thanks so much for talking to me, best of luck with 'Manifest' coming out on October 2nd, and we hope that you get out on the road soon, and have a great time there and do well. ELIZE- Thank you so much. I wish you the same and I hope that you can do your little trip out through Europe and all these awesome festivals with your wife next year. MAL- Maybe next year. Thanks. Thanks for your time. Comments are closed.
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