What has "Skullcrusher" that makes it better than "Laughter of destruction" in your opinion?

Well, it's tighter, heavier and more intense, and we've of course evolved
songwriting-wise. I'm very satisfied with the sound we got this time, brutal
yet not messy. I think we got a far better drum sound on "Skullcrusher".

Are "Skullcrusher" and "Laughter of destruction" going to be released in Indonesia? Why so far instead of in Europe?

Nothing is totally certain yet. But we're waiting for a contract from Code666 Productions (Italy) and it's most likely that we'll sign with them. They will release the "Skullcrusher" EP and Ledo Takas Productions(Lithuania) will release it on 7" vinyl. There were also some plans on
releasing "Skullcrusher" and "Laughter of destruction" in the Phillipines (and not Indonesia as I falsly told you before) but I don't know what will happen with that now. So, the EP will be released by Code666 in Europe (and a whole lot of other places too).

Why did you decide to record "Skullcrusher" by yourself rather than with
a record label?

It was supposed to be released by a label that we used to be in contact with, but they decided not to answer our attempts to contact them. So after waiting for them to answer us and for them to send the contract we decided to go ahead without them. Therefore we recorded "Skullcrusher" by ourselves (but now it looks like Code666 will release it though).

Can you tell me the band's history since the SCYTHE days?

Ok. In 1996 Mikael (drums) met Joel (guitar). It turned out that they had
rather similar tastes in music. So, after some conversating they decided to
meet up at the rehearsal place a few days later. A little later they
expanded the line-up and Glenn (vocals) joined the band The following year
Tommy (guitar) and Stange (bass) filled the additional empty spaces. In
December they recorded their first demo, "When the night betrays the light",
in Real Music studio. I t contained four songs ("Dark clouds gathered", "An
allurement nocturnal", "When the night betrays the light" and "Victory in
blood") and music-wise ti was a matter of mid-tempo Black/Death Metal.
Shortly after the recording Stange started missing rehearsals, so he was
discharged from the band. That's when I entered the whole thing. We started
writing and rehearsing new material, and when we had six songs ready we
entered the Sunlight studio. The result was the "Laughter of destruction"
demo (containing "Once a future might", "Abyss ascendant", "Scythe - Blade
of destruction", "Without a reason", "Act of retaliation" and "Segerstrid").
The music had evolved into rather fast, intense Black/Death. We sent the
demo to a couple of labels and were offered, I think, three deals. Baphomet
records' deal seemed very good, so we decided to sign with them. But after a
while they stopped anwering our mails. So, in the summer of 2000 we once
again entered Sunlight studio and recorded "Skullcrusher", which contains
"Preparation - aggression" (which is an intro), "Skullcrusher", "Let the
bloodshed begin", "Laughter of destruction" and "The ultimate overthrow".
The few 'zines we've sent it to and friends who have heard it seem to really
like it. On "Skullcrusher" we've evolved into more Death/Black Metal. It's
heavier (we've tuned down the guitars, which most probably have contributed
to that) and our Death Metal influences show more than on the "Laughter..."
demo.

Are you playing live to support "Skullcrusher"? Do you play SCYTHE songs
in your gigs?

Nae, we haven't released "Skullcrusher" yet, so no gigs to support it. But
we have planned to play here in Stockholm during the winter/early spring.
Nothing is certain though. ON the latest gig we did (which was also our
first) we played one SCYTHE song, "When the night betrays the light". But I
don't think we'll play it now. We'll most probably play maybe two songs from
"Laughter...", all four from "Skullcrusher" and maybe one or two new ones.

I have read that the influences in the band are not only black and death
metal but also classic thrash metal. How does this reflect in your music?

Mostly that a few Thrash smelling riffs appear in our songs. I think we
also strive to get that feeling of intensity that many classic Thrash bands
have. Arrangement-wise I think we're not too close to Thrash.

Which are the advantages of recording in a legendary studio such as
Sunlight?

Well, you know what they're capable of. And you get a brutal, pounding
sound in Sunlight. Jocke is also into Black and Death Metal and understands
it very well, so he is very easy to work with. Another positiv thing is that
some people get interested right away when they hear that it's recorded in
Sunlight (we been asked about it in every interview we've done for example).

Are you composing the follow up to "Skullcrusher"? Will it be a full
lenght record?

We have written about four new songs so far. The contract with Code666 is
for the EP and a full length album. So our next release will most probably
be a full lenght album, yes. We have no plans on when we're going to record
it or anything like that though.

Are there any concepts behind "Skullcrusher" and "Laughter of destruction"?

No, no real concepts that follow the whole release through. Except for
death, all lyrics are about death (one way or another).

Do you concentrate in BLOODSHED or the different members of the band
have personal parallel projects?

Tommy has a side project called KINGDOM DECAYED. They play some sort of
melodic horror Black/Death Metal with a dose of keyboards. There are some
other project, but that's the only serious thing. But BLOODSHED is
everyone's top priority.

Some words for you fans?

Keep you eyes open for "Skullcrusher". Check out our website for news
about the release, gigs and there's also a sample from the EP. If you feel
like writing us - do so (preferably via e-mail). The "Laughter of
destruction" demo can still be ordered from us (4$ within Europe and 5$ in
the rest of the world).
Live in sin, die in defecation!

Interviewed by Federico Marongiu

Laughter of destruction - demo (1999)

Skullcrusher - MCD (2000)

Tommy - guitars

Glenn - vocals

Joel - guitars

Mikael - drums

Robin - bass/growls