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Interview with Anders Olsson from Neptune

The band never really took off back in the 80’s, but despite the unexpected loss of their lead singer, they are now back and stronger than ever. Guitarist Anders Olsson tells us the legend of Neptune.


When did you become part of Neptune, and how?

The first time I ran into the guys in Neptune was when they were out looking for a support band for a gig they arranged for invited record companies, as I recall, it was sometime during the fall of 1984. For some unknown reason, they asked the band I played in if we were interested to take that slot, which we did. About half a year later I was contacted by Neptune and asked if I was available because Jan Granvik had moved on to Glory North and they needed a new guitarist to take his position.

How did your reunion happen? What led to that decision? And how was the response, both initially and now, a few years later?

In late 2017 we were contacted by Cult Metal Classic who had found out that there were quite a few songs by Neptune that never had been released on either CD or vinyl. A few days after Cult Metal Classic contacted us, the band meet up for the first time in 35 years to talk about memories and collect what everyone had left in tapes and photos from the 80’s. All said and done, it didn’t take long before we gathered all the material needed for the Land of Northern release, and then we were just waiting to get the album in our hands. Need to say, at this time there were no plans to restart the band even if I think a few of us started to think about it.

Once the information about the album release came out, we received a lot of positive responses on both email and social media from all over the world which really came as a surprise for us. As we got closer to the release, we had the idea of shooting a video to promote the album release. We arranged some equipment in a warehouse and with some simple lighting, a smoke machine, and a few cameras, we were some 35 years later once again standing next to each other playing our songs.  

Well, if only performing playback to our old tapes, we really felt, let’s do it. Let’s see how far we can take this, and not long after that, various offers to play at festivals and venues started popping up. We were taken by surprise. We really tried but struggled to get a sensible setlist at such short notice. The demand we put on ourselves meant that two guys from the original lineup chose to step down and the rest is history. Since then, have we released 2 EPs and another full-length album, and if the pandemic hadn’t gotten in the way, we would probably have been out playing a lot.

Anders Olsson from Neptune.

Ray Alex tragically passed away not long after the reunion was made official. How could you possibly recover from such a loss?

At the time when Ray Alex passed away, we already had a festival booked in Greece and we were in discussion with Muskelrock and The Abyss. To get the machinery going, we had started recording several songs for an upcoming album, where Ray had recorded some demo-vocals for us to get a better grasp of the song structure, 2 days later he was gone.

We took a two-week break to rethink what to do. I think Roland, being Ray Alex’s younger brother felt this is over, we can’t take this any further. But after some mourning and thinking, we decided to cancel the Greece gig but do the Muskelrock festival and The Abyss gig, to honor Ray Alex. Once these gigs were done, the Neptune machinery was up and running, and it couldn’t really be stopped.

Do you think Neptune’s story would have looked different today if the band had actually managed to get a record deal some time back in the 80’s?

Probably, it’s known that we never manage to land a record deal at the time, and we were really lousyat tape trading, it actually took many many years before the demos started getting any word of mouth. The first real evidence that the demos had been traded someway is the collector’s item; Metal Knights – The Resurgence of Swedish Steel where the song Enemies was included, but that was nearly 20 years after the song was recorded.

If we had one or two records released during the 80s, we would probably have held out until the Grunge came and knocked out many 80’s metal bands like a viral pandemic. And if we had released a real physical album during the 80’s, we would have had a much better legacy to build on today. As it is now, there is a lot of mysticism behind our demos and even if they have managed to spread far and wide, it is by no means a good basis to stand on as if you had one or two real physical albums released in the 80’s.

Better late than never: in the last 5 years, a full-length album, 2 EPs, the Land of Northern compilation, as well as the Legends From the North box from Jawbreaker Records have materialized. Will you continue to produce releases in the same tempo? Or what other plans do you have for the future?

Absolutely, as of today, we have more than 25 songs demo recorded and I’m pretty sure that 7-8 of them, if not more have the quality that we want and expect for an upcoming album release. It’s too early to say anything about a release date, but I’m hoping for an early spring date in 2023. With that said, it’s not a secret that we wanted to play live as much as possible and that the pandemic put a bit of a halt to that, and the number of bands that now are fighting for a slot in these festivals and venues is massive.

The author G.G. Sundin and Anders Olsson, one late night in Uppsala 2022.

What’s the connection between Neptune and Gotham City?

That Neptune and Gotham City connection happened before my time, but here are my findings.

The original Neptune was on hiatus while Tommy Mikk was doing his military service. In one way or another, Ray Alex and Jan Granvik continued to work together, and a really short-lived lineup of Neptune started sometime in late 1984 or early 1985. Worth mentioning, this lineup wasn’t approved by the original band members, because the band was only on hiatus. Björn Melander had just recently left Gotham City and moved to Stockholm to seek new opportunities when he got appointed as a bass player in this “Ray & Jan” version of Neptune. To quickly start up the band, they took two older Neptune songs; Burglary Man and Enemies as well as two songs that Björn brought with him; Poem and Afraid of the Beast. Incidentally, Poem was a reworked version of Gotham City‘s Fight and Die.

The songs that Björn brought to the band were partially recorded with Jonas Östman just before Björn left his hometown Umeå. The foundation of the songs (drums & bass) was recorded in Umeå and the vocals and guitars were recorded in Stockholm. Enemies and Burglary Man, were re-recorded with this new but very short-lived lineup of Neptune. All these recorded versions can be found on the Land of Northern album. Earlier versions of Burglary Man and Enemies can be found on the cassette Join the Battle on the Legends from the North box. So, the Gotham City connection is mainly Björn Melander and the style of songs he brought to this short-lived setup of the band and of course Jonas Östmans on drums on these two songs.

Get the Legends From the North 3-tape box set now! The 3 tapes in the box spans 40 years of Neptune’s career, from 1980 all the way up to 2020. In total, the three cassettes contain 38 songs, including several demo tracks that have never before been released to the public ear.

 

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Paganfire interview

Recently we had the pleasure of interviewing Nonoy Padrejuan, guitarist/vocalist from Paganfire. Hailing from Quezon City, Philippines, Paganfire has been wreaking fear and death for the last 15 years. True underground warriors to the core, the band has never been taking it easy or waited for success to suddenly come knocking on their door. Instead they have been collaborating with countless labels and bands from around the globe, spreading forth their brutal thrash metal like a horde of plague-ridden black rats.


Paganfire has been active since 2003. Tell us how the band got started!

N: Greetings mate!!! Actually me and Jay [Drums] got together in 1999, under a different name, playing covers of our favorite bands. After 2 years, our then bassist/vocalist Dennis thought of the name PAGANFIRE, and we used it since then. Come 2002, Alvaro [bass/vocals] and Rowell [guitars] stepped in, and we played around the Metro Manila area actively. It was 2008 when Rowell got replaced by M.A. and from then there was no turning back!!

 

Judging from Metal Archives, you guys have released only one full length album [2013’s Wreaking Fear and Death], but an extreme number of splits and other releases. How come? Do you even keep count of them?

N: Apparently it took us quite a while before we managed to do the debut album, we are not on a rush anyway, and right now the 2nd album’s creation is slowing down too, but no worries, we are keen on working on it a lot sooner. There was no conscious action to flood the world with splits, it just happened, WRITE, RECORD, RELEASE, D.I.Y. or die!! Let’s just say we never backed down from any project proposal, it is always a pleasure to work with fellow maniacs from everywhere anytime! NO, I haven’t counted them lately, perhaps when I update my list, but for now, the barrage will continue. BARRAGE OF NOISE!!!

 

How does your song writing process usually take place?

N: There is no definite time frame when we work on a song(s), some just take a few hours and sessions of rehearsals, while others are way too hard to finalize. Normally it’s either me or Alvaro who presents a new song or two at rehearsals, and from then we work on it, letting the METAL flow naturally, jam and bang our heads to it. That’s the way we do it, and let’s see if it will change sooner or later.

 

To my ears, your music sounds like thrash metal of the most extreme kind – a bit like Sadus, Hypnosia or early Kreator. How would you describe your own music? What are your influences?

N: AARRGGHHH!!! I am glad you are reminded of such legends with what we do! Paganfire plays true underground thrashing metal, no more, no less. Bare, raw and filthy thrash metal!!! As a band we are into thrash, heavy metal and punk, as individuals musical influences are many! And it is indeed excellent that we have a common area of interest and that is thrash metal! Other non musical influences would be movies, books and the fact that we are living in a third world country that will swallow itself whole very soon!!

 

What kind of books and/or movies is that?

N: Practically we read and watch a little bit of everything, but most of the time it is the horror/occult movies and books that stand out, and of course the biographies of some interesting personas like dictators, serial killers, criminals, despots etc etc.

 

Tell us more about the situation in the Philippines in general.

N: The Philippines is in a near self destructive state, I think it is just a matter of time before everything spills over, ravaged by politicians and their self appeasing ways. I bet you have read about the thousands killed by the useless drug war, the endless political bickerings, social media propagandists, and now our soaring inflation rates. Would you believe we have third world wages against first world prices?? Our president is a lunatic to say the least. In general, the Philippines is in a poor, zombified state. Now we’ll see what the future will bring.

 

How’s the metal scene over there?

N: I cannot call it a “scene”, it was always a group of individuals whose activities resemble a “scene” to me. Sure enough you have the standard (bands, zines, maniacs) which is not totally a bad thing, but I want more, more hardcore metal maniacs, more controversial zines, more hyperactive non trendy bands, etc etc. Perhaps we can say I don’t like the scene? Whatever!! Whatever works for them, as far as Pagafire we’ll just walk our own path and do our thing, regardless of what is happening or is popular to do in this “scene”.

 

With several new releases coming each year usually, you don’t seem like a band who like to sit still. What’s next for Paganfire? Total world domination?

N: Kudos to you for noticing that!!! We can say that we are very active indeed, as I reply to this interview, we just did a pair of weekend shows in my hometown, we went 500 kilometers from Manila, and it was a worthwhile experience to say the least, and we are now planning the next shows. If somehow the possibility of touring Europe and other continents happens we’ll gladly do that, but as of now, none of that will happen soon. As for the release onslaught, keep your eyes and ears open, as I have been informed that the test presses for the next vinyl release will be ready and some months ago our friends from Brazil’s VDM productions vomited forth their version of our debut album “Wreaking Fear and Death” with different layout and bonus tracks of course! And yes, as far as I am concerned that is what a true D.I.Y. underground band should do: write, record and release!!!

 

 


Jawbreaker Records would like to thank Nonoy and Paganfire for the interview, and give our eternal respect for their dedication! This is the true spirit of the underground, this is the way it should be done – WRITE, RECORD, RELEASE!

 


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Out now: Knallpulver – Fundamentalt Systemhat

JAW-012 is out now!

This new cassette is the debut 4-track demo by brand new metalpunk band Knallpulver. This power trio from Gothenburg, Sweden is an infamous bunch of misfits consisting of Kalle Mossberg, Niclas Ingelman (Armory) and August Holmström (Armory).

Read on for a short interview with guitarist and songwriter Niclas “Ingelmeister” Ingelman.

 


Hail! Can you tell us the story behind Knallpulver and how the band came into being?

The story about Knallpulver begins a night at The Abyss [Gothenburg’s local heavy metal pub – Editor’s note] in April 2017. The singer Kalle who plays in pop band [!] nowdays wanted to scream and yell on some songs and asked if I had some project in mind. I told him that I had thought about writing some metalpunk-songs and it would be awesome if he would like to write some lyrics and do the vocals. After that I wrote 4 songs really quick and Kalle wrote the lyrics. Then we needed a drummer, so we just told August that he had to lay down some drums on the tracks. He had no choice then, so he did it. Everthing was recorded in the summer of 2017.

Should Knallpulver be regarded as a side-project or a full-fledged band? Will there be more releases and perhaps live gigs in the future, or is this a one-off release?

Knallpulver is a side-project, we have never even had a rehearsal. But I want to record more songs and do more releases, nothing planned right now but because it is a side-project I don’t feel any hurry. We haven’t really talk about any gigs, I think it would be fun to do at least. We will see when the first request comes in I guess…

Tell us about the name Knallpulver. How did you choose this name, what does it represent to you, and how would you describe its meaning to non-Swedish readers?

The name is awesome. Knall means bang, thats pretty cool and pulver means powder, pretty cool as well. So bangpowder becomes super cool.

The lyrics seems to be filled with satirical humor and with no small dose of social criticism. Any comments regarding the lyrics and how they should be interpreted?

Kalle wrote all lyrics and he describes it like this: “The lyrics have a genious balance between substance and humour. The kind of lyrics you feel compelled too like because you fear to be perceived as dumb or have lack of humour if you do not like them. The lyrics are like a more complete and mature literary version of Mulholland Drive and Dr. Strangelove.”

Finally, let’s talk about the actual music… What influences where incorporated in the writing of the songs? How would you yourself describe Knallpulver’s music?

Well at least I tried to do punk songs with the classic HM-2 guitar sound. I was influenced by a lot of Swedish crust acts such as Skitsystem, Disfear and Martyrdöd. But because I am a metalhead and love to play guitar it always comes in a lot of influence from heavy metal as well, especally in the guitar work. If you would like to spit in your boss’ face [who wouldn’t?], then Knallpulver would be the perfect soundtrack for it.

Anything you can tell us about the recording process?

The recording process went really easy. I recorded the guitar and bass at home and then re-amped it in a rehearsal room with a real amp. The drums was also recorded in the rehearsal room and was done by an evening. And after that we just recorded the vocals one evening there as well. Then I mixed and mastered it and everything was done. Went really fast and smooth.

Thanks for answering these questions. Any final words?

Give your money to Jawbreaker Records!


Well spoken!
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Nidhöggr interview

To get ourselves ready for the upcoming release of Nidhöggr’s new tape Draugr here on Jawbreaker Records, we decided to interview the band’s guitar player and mastermind Hveðrungr about Nidhöggr’s origins, present and future (as weaved by the norns). Give it up for Hveðrungr, who some of you might already know from speed-thrashing-Exciter-style outfit Under Attack or from his past in Pagan Rites and Styggelse.

Can you tell the readers a little about the idea behind Nidhöggr? How did the band come into being?

I (Hveðrungr) started this band myself. I recorded one song and tried to recruit other members. This was in 2013 when I left Gothenburg and quit as bassplayer for Styggelse. I also quit my role in Pagan Rites for the same reasons being the number one reasons, distance. I could not travel this long several times a week. Later in 2014 I found myself in Nidhöggr with members in four different towns. Not a change for the better but we manage to go forward.

Why have you chosen the Icelandic/Norse theme?

The Norse theme is chosen as a perfect way to describe what going on in the world today. Ragnarök is upon us as all countries are busy showing of muscles. It does not need anything big to tip this mountain of shit over and make us all start killing each other. I also feel a connection to all of what some call “Norse mythology”. Like all religious stories it is all basically metaphores to describe other things. Iceland itself has nothing to do with me but the language is the closest we get to old Norse dialects today. But we only got half a lyric, a verse in old norse so none should get hung up on this.

Basically we are a metal band. And we do metal. Our personal beliefs may differ and it does not reflect why we do what we do.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Inspiration comes from a lot of stuff. When I write songs I draw influences from everything in my record collection, like Bathory, Nifelheim, Tormentor, Root, Immortal, Emperor, Mayhem, Marduk, Master’s Hammer, Accept, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Exciter, Manowar, W.A.S.P…. But most stuff turns out to be quite 90’s black metal.

You have a past in Pagan Rites, Styggelse and a few other bands. How has your writing style changed through the years and bands you have went through?

The change from Styggelse is that I do write. In Styggelse I wrote one bassline and Larsson changed half of it. Haha.

In Pagan Rites we wrote a quite thrashing EP. Nidhöggr is not comparable to this, even though it sometimes might remind you of this (track 8 of Ragnarök, “The nine”).

Recently you also joined The Ancients Rebirth. Anything you can tell us about that? How is the scene in Falkenberg in general?

Ah… The Ancients Rebirth. We are working on new stuff right now and it’s stuff like I never use to play… Ever. Thoth is a real schooled jazz guitarist and use language I do not. But we seem to understand each other and I practice a lot on my own. If I don’t, this can not work. We are making some progress though. But I can not tell you anything else of when a new release is due.. Not right now.

The metal scene in Falkenberg is small. Some bands and some tour a bit but most of them play a style that doesn’t exist in my own universe. Haha.

Any plans on hitting the stage with Nidhöggr?

We have to rehearse more. We live in three different cities so this takes a while. But this is our goal.

You also run the label Lake of Fire Productions. What’s your driving force that made you start the label? Any plans for the future?

Lake of Fire Productions was started because I was pissed that someone could make money of our records while you had to be a whining bitch to get your own cut. Lake of Fire Productions will only release my own projects in the future due to lack of time.

How would you describe Nidhöggr to someone who has not heard it before?

Hard to say. Second wave black metal. No suicidal whining bitching about how tough your life is bullshit. Our sound is still developing but expect harder and more power for future releases.

Any last words?

Anyone like this – great. Buy the records and order merchandise. If not… Fuck off!

 

Nidhöggr on Bandcamp

Nidhöggr on Facebook

Nidhöggr on Metal Archives



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Facerip

Welcome back Jawbreakers! It is time for another interview, and this time I managed to get hold of Penki “Disembowelman” Samuelsson – usually known for playing old school death metal in both Entrails and Gravestone – to talk about his latest project Facerip. This young band (back then as a power trio) from Växjö, Sweden released their debut four-track demo here on Jawbreaker Records earlier this year. The music sounds like it may have been hidden away deep down underground sometime back in 1987, and now dug up again 30 years later, reeking of radioactivity and dirtier and angrier than anything you ever heard before. It’s speed, it’s thrash, and it’s completely out of control… Let’s get it on!


Tell the readers how and why the band started.

Fucked if I know! I didn’t sign up for this. I wrote one song and asked Nukeromancer to put some nasty witchdemon vocals on it. We uploaded the track to Soundcloud and I thought that would be the end of it. Then Distroyer showed up. He really liked the song and he had some killer riffs laying around, so he basically forced us to put a band together. It all happened so fast that I barely remember recording my parts for the first EP. But hey, it’s one more reason to play fast music and drink beer, so I guess I can live with it!

 

Do you see Facerip as an active band or more as a fun side-project?

At the moment I would probably call it a side project, but we have yet to explore the possibilities. It may change completely. We do plan on playing shows and go to as many places as we possibly can, but so far there is no telling if it will be a few gigs a year or extensive touring. Only time will tell!

What’s going on in the Facerip camp right now? There has been some reinforcements to the lineup, right?

That’s right! We recruited two new members to the band. Dr. Fill on the drums and Bässripper on bass. We are finally a full-fledged band. There are also some new songs written, new riffs riffed and stupid ideas to turn into reality. We just need to find the time to put everything together. When the time is right, we’ll step back into the studio and record our first LP. Faster and dirtier than ever!

 

Where do you draw your inspiration from? Musically and otherwise.

To be honest, I don’t know. Of course I get inspired by the music I listen to, but mostly the inspiration comes out of thin air. All of a sudden I just have to write music or my brain will explode. I can’t explain it. It’s like I wake up with riffs in my head and I can’t go about my day until I get it out of my system.

This answer probably doesn’t make any sense. It’s hard to answer a question when you can’t wrap your head around your own head. And now I made it even more confusing. I hope you’re enjoying this clusterfuck of an interview!

 

T.F. from Voodus answered something similar when I interviewed him some weeks ago, so I think it makes sense after all. Now, on to the last question; are you still active in your other bands (Entrails, Gravestone and Void)? How does it work to play in so many bands? Why do many people (at least here in Sweden) choose to join multiple bands instead of concentrating on just one?

Entrails and Gravestone are alive and well! Void has been dead for a while. The reason why I play in many bands is not because of creative outlet. For me to say that would clearly be bullshit, since two of my bands basically play the exact same kind of music. For me it’s about people. It’s refreshing to go from one band to another and do the same thing, just with another group of guys.

Balancing three bands is a matter of prioritising, scheduling and respect. If any of those elements goes out of the equation, a band might fall apart. I try to give every band the time and attention it needs, and I almost never run into any trouble. Sometimes you might have to turn down a gig because you were already booked to play with another band, but that’s just something you have to live with. Luckily for me, that has only happened once or twice.


Excellent! I for one really hope for a follow-up to “Radioactive Race”, as well as a chance to see Facerip live in the near future. Meanwhile, you will find the “Radioactive Race” cassette in the webshop. Also check out the following links for more info:

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Voodus

Hello there again, Jawbreakers! The time has come to present the first of many interviews and articles to follow here on jawbreaker.se. The idea behind this part of the website is to give the artists released on Jawbreaker Records (and others too) a chance to express themselves and to give you readers an insight into their wicked minds. First up is singer/guitarist/songwriter T.F. from the infamous black metal band Voodus!

 


Hail! What has Voodus been up to lately?

Hail!

Well, first of all I have to say that we have been on a Scandinavian tour with Mayhem! That was a fucking blast! It was huge for us. To hang out with these legends… Unfuckingreal! We will perform at the Mayhem gig in Gothenburg the 27th October as well.

The day after we will be heading to the Necromorbus Studio for the recording of our first album!

Two years ago, in conjunction with the release of the Nightqueen EP here on Jawbreaker Records, you changed your name from Jormundgand to Voodus. What lay behind that name change?

We did not feel the force any more. All inspiration and magic was gone. We were lost and started to do music we couldn’t stand up for. So we decided to kill Jormundgand! Burn the corpse of the dragon and wait for what to come.

Under deep magical influence the force of Voodus came to me as a revelation. The rest is quite hard to explain, but the magic came back to us, as you can hear in our music! Especially if you listen to the new material! To change name was the best way for us to find our way back to the path again. To start from scratch, with clear minds and burning hearts!!!

Where do you draw your inspiration from? Musically and otherwise.

I don’t know. I can walk through a room and suddenly get a feel of… something… A connection to my creative part of the mind is setting up, then it is just to go with the flow!

Sometimes I get my inspiration from meditation, books, music, stories etc etc.

Can you tell the readers a bit of what your lyrics are about?

The lyrical theme is mainly about my own experiences and struggles with the abysmal depths of my self. The search and the longing for all the things that is beyond. And sometimes the strong connection I can feel between me and “them”, the dwellers of the nightside.

It has to be honest, that’s the most important thing.

The new album will have 3 songs with guest writers as well! I don’t know if they want me to go official with their names yet, so I’ll better shut my mouth about it for now. But the material they have written is true, black and dangerous art!

What do you think happens after death?

Well… I think it is highly individual. It depends on the powers you choose to connect yourself to. You can create your own destiny, both in life and after death.

What is your ultimate goal with your music?

My ultimate goal with Voodus…

If we could make the essence of Voodus to transform to a portal. A black hole of pure death and destruction!  A black sun of true light! A sharp-teethed and venomous mouth of hell! Devouring the creator and the creation. Well, that’s a good thing to work for.


Voodus has released two EP’s, as well as two demos and a full-length album under the name Jormundgand. We are looking forward to the upcoming full-length album!
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Thanks for reading!