About 1� year ago I moved to a new town, a town not really famous for its metal bands. So it took me almost a year to discover the first one located in the area - Body Core!
I interviewed Dan and Markus on MSN February 8th.

Hey guys� Let�s just start this off by you introducing yourselves to the readers. No bio, but just a small presentation�
Dan: Im Dan, vocalist and art designer for body core. I play random rhythmic instruments too
Markus: And I'm Markus, the guitarist, I play the almighty trumpet too, of course.

Hehe, trumpet you say. Quite an unusual instrument for a death metal-oriented band to have, wouldn�t you say?
Dan: Well, we didn't know there were any rules, and it sounded good so we threw it in
Markus: Hehe, right! It kicks ass. It really lifts the song.
Dan: If it sounded great to have harmonica on blastbeats we would put it there, but Im sceptical. Maybe we'll try that next week?
Markus: We could at least try it. It would be a shame if we didn't and it sounds great

Yeah, maybe so� Well, you�ve been around since 1997, but it seems that it�s not until the last couple of years that people have started to really noticing you as a band. Do you think that�s a correct assumption of me to make?
Dan: Yes, because we sucked before. Haha. We were not mature enough for the material
Markus: Sadly, we were a little ahead of our times. People didn't really understand.
Dan: We kind of found our sound around 2001 and then kept evolving it and mutating it as we got better and better at our instruments. It was a maturing process. I didn�t know shit about music in general when we started
Markus: Do we know shit now?
Dan: Yes, I would say we know how to make catchy yet extreme music
Markus: Haha...you have a point there. Probably because we don't obey the rules. Or should I say "the rules"

Was it intentional from the start not to �obey the rules� when writing your music?
Dan: Well, we are easily bored, so playing straight metal was never what we were about.
Markus: No, we just don't know them. You have to stretch out and beyond!
Dan: And into the hallway?
Markus: Indeed! Maybe even to the front door
Dan: We always liked weird music.
Markus: And there's already so many bands playing standard Death, and in my ears they're quite boring.
Dan: We started out in markus parents basement with a drummachine and put every instrument we could find down there on the recording. So it was quite mixed musicstyle from the beginning
Markus: Yeah! haha...those were the days!

You said you found your sound in 2001. But what was the turning point for you then, that made you define your style?
Dan: A memberchange, we upgraded. We got more determined to push our musical abilities and not stay in the same spot. It has been a slow progression towards a more technical style of music.
Markus: It had evolved for some time, we're still evolving. The stuff we write today is more "avantgarde" and technical than the stuff we wrote six months ago
Dan: Our drummer gets better and better each time we rehearse.. next recording is gonna shit all over all of our other demos. Im getting more and more into jazz and fusion now, mixing that with metal is superb
Markus: I have to agree, I'm not that into jazz and stuff...yet. But it does give an extra dimension to our music
Dan: Im always looking for music that push the boundaries of conventional music

Where would you say you draw your influences from then? The Swedish zine Metal Heart said that you might be able to become the Swedish version of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Is that a fair comparison to make?
Dan: Well.. no. Dillinger is �ber-technical and dissonant as hell. I love dillinger and so does our other guitarist micke. But we'll never be THAT technical, and neither would we like to be. Theres one dillinger escape plan and they do their thing well.
Markus: We probably don't want to go all the way there. Although it was a flattering comparison
Dan: Sure it was flattering, and we have influences from them. But we dont sound like them, not that much

Hehe, the death metal version of dillinger then?
Dan: That sounds better
Markus: Haha...maybe so. I wouldn't give up the groove for the world.
Dan: If dillingers tourbuss had smashed into iniquity's buss and the members got mixed up

Haha, I like that description... Well, you�ve gotten some pretty good reviews with your latest compositions, from some pretty big magazines/zines too. Did it come as a surprise to you that people really got into your stuff? You even got to play at Tivolirocken, a pretty big event that has hosted some really big names throughout the years.
Dan: Yeah, after years of no response it was cool. And the reviews are great too. Swedenrock has been supportive of us
Markus: Well, the Tivolirock gig kicked ass. We were really happy to play there. But we've actually never had a "bad" review. But they've gotten better. And that's great.
Dan: Right, but the gigs are better and better. We dont play for 5 kids in some school now, we play in front of 100-200 people instead. It's fun to see kids singing along to my lyrics
Markus: The gigs are far better now than before, and it's really fun to hear that people enjoy our music! Like, after gigs, when the audience comes forward and thanks us for a great gig. We should thank them!
Dan: Right! You took your time to listen to us and headbang. Thank YOU

About a month ago you played with Intohimo. And if I�ve been correctly informed the guys in Intohimo are quite heavily into Christianity, and they also play hardcore. Was it your first crossover gig?
Dan: Hmm, we've played so many places... we have probably played with some hardcore band before. Or are you talking about crossing over religions?
Markus: We have played with HC bands before. But if we've played with christians before...dunno. Probably.
Dan: They are everywhere haha

hahaha... I was thinking more of the musical part of it... But ok, what about the religious part, where would you say you stand? 'Cause metal is usually thought of as anti-religious (unless talking about satanism)
Dan: Well, im an atheist, and Im not too happy about people shoving their beliefs down my throat. But intohimo never mentioned their religious beliefs all night. So it was not a problem. Im not a rabid satanist or anything. We are pretty muted when it comes to religion and politics in the band
Markus: They were great. Really nice guys. I don't care much for religions
Dan: Never been a big deal. I could sing about satan, that would give me nothing
Markus: Exactly. satansatansatansatansatansatanBLOOODsatansatansatansatansatanHEALLYEAH!
Dan: My lyrics are an outlet for my emotions, so screaming satan 666 would be boring. I might sing blood thou. Blood is sexy
Markus: haha. Hell yeah?
Dan: No, never hell yeah
Markus: Damn! I'll scream hell yeah next time we play, in a break
Dan: I can live with that. I feel that its more relevant to sing about say.. sex then religion

You�ve played in Kristianstad and H�ssleholm quite a bit, two towns where neo-nazis have got quite a stronghold. Something you�ve come across during maybe a crossover gig (as neo-nazis usually aren�t too fond of hardcore as it�s considered to be �leftwing�)?
Dan: Nope, never been approached by a nazi, not that I can recall. And they never tried to kick our ass either. haha

Well, I don't know to tell you the truth, you guys might be nazis, hehe...
Markus: Well, we might... I'm not too fond of nazis...
Dan: Our bassplayer nicklas, who is markus brother is pretty fucking leftwing. So is markus right? I dont have time for politics
Markus: Hell yeah! Stalin is the man. But H�kan is secretly the head of AFA (Anti Fascist Action). He's always worst

How do you mean worst?
Markus: First, he's a drummer, isn't that enough?
Dan: Markus is on drugs right now; our drummer is not politically active at all
Markus: Yeah, I'm only kidding. H�kan is no way a member of AFA and I'm not into Stalin

I kinda got the fact that you're kidding, 'cause outing your friend as the "head" of AFA would be a death sentence, hehe.
Dan: We just have a strange sense of humour. H�kan can barely function as a human, I dont think he could run a political career
Markus: Naah, he can handle himself. He needs some new drumskins anyway

If I�m not completely off the track here, you�re working on your debut album right now, true?
Dan: That is correct. We will do a two song promo to shop around a bit. And if all the wanking recordlabels think we suck we will record the whole thing ourselves, distribute it on our own label and all of that
Markus: Right!

Ahh, I see... 'Cause my next question would be if you�ve received any offers from labels. Never gotten any interest?
Dan: Well, there have been some, but then they havnt gotten back to us. One in japan.. eclipse I think. And die hard from denmark I think
Markus: They just don't understand.
Dan: Everybody who hears it say that its competent enough and so forth, but then nothing happens
Markus: A little irritating it is, yes
Dan: So if the next promo doesnt work, we'll do it ourselves
Markus: DIY!

Well, do you think you'll get their full attention with your new material?
Markus: Hopefully so
Dan: They fucking well better
Markus: haha. It's their loss!
Dan: Its the most complex, catchy and technical crap we have ever put together. So I think its a good chance

How do you think your fans will response then? Any risk of them leaving your crowd 'cause it just got too technical and artsy fartsy?
Markus: Haha...artsy fartsy?!
Dan: Nah, its just a little more of everything. It�s not completely different, just more of everything
Markus: As I said before, we would never give up the groove and catchiness of our music, we just add more interesting elements to the music to keep the listener, and us, interested
Dan: Right, playing the same 4 chords over and over aint our thing. I have an attention span of a 5 year old. So if I hear the same thing over and over I get bored, If Im gonna break some bones something on stage, it better be during a great song
Markus: If a song doesn't kick ass on stage and it's impossible to go crazy when we play it, we won't do it. haha...yeah, you DO have a five year olds attention span.
Dan: No big secret. I should have a time-out corner. When I get too ADD I should go sit in it
Markus: An interesting thing is that we've actually get more fans the more technical and weird we get, at least this far
Dan: People seem to like the alternative to metal we give them. Its a little of this and a little of that. It appeals to more than just deathmetal kids
Markus: Something for EVERYBODY *clich� warning*

Even Christan hardcore kids�
Markus: Seems that way.
Dan: Right. They seemed to like it. They even slamdanced and that sort of shit, punched the air and whatnot

hahaha.... That's HC for ya!
When do you think you'll be entering the studio to record the promo tracks?
Dan: As soon as possible... but at our speed I would guess april may? During the spring
Markus: haha...yeah...speed is sadly not one of our gifts
Dan: Speed and time. We would need more hours in a day to get more stuff done

What do you hope to get out of it - a major label contract, or what?
Markus: Good question
Dan: Well. A label, It doesn�t have to be major. All I want to do is play... go on a real tour you know, and a label can give you that

Not if you go DIY!
Markus: The problem with DIY is connections and time.
Dan: Right, thats why we want a recordlabel to release it, so we can tour europe and misbehave
Markus: We don't have too many connections in the music world, and most of us sadly doesn't have that much time to spend on the band right now.
Dan: Label = tour. And thats really all I want
Markus: Hopefully.

What's keeping you preoccupied - personal life, other bands...?
Markus: For me it's work, have to make a living
Dan: I have no other bands, and thats the way I want it. Nicklas and micke play in another band. I have crappy jobs on the side. So I breathe for this band to work
Markus: Yeah micke and Nicklas are fucking cheaters. Cheating on us for far too long now....
Dan: All other things I do around is just to play. I work so I can play in the band
Markus: Same here
Dan: I eat so I can play in the band
Markus: haha, I eat because I like food
Dan: So we see

Tell me about the cheaters then... What's the other band?
Markus: They call themselves The Great Decay. Much influences from singer/songwriter
Dan: Some emo-constellation. Its totally different music. Nicklas is the leadsinger of the band, and micke plays drums. So they have other positions there. It doesn�t interfere with our creativity so we let them do it
Markus: It might actually broaden the bands total creativity
Dan: Maybe baby. In my sparetime I paint, and do artsyfartsy things like movies. The whole band pitches in on the moviepart. You can download some stuff from our homepage
Markus: Yeah, that's what we do, movies and music. Takes quite some time from our lives

Yeah, I've read about the Gore-something movie...
Dan: Gore gathering. Its a fun flick. Made it in 2 months, so its pretty short. 18 minutes
Markus: It's a "short" movie. Hehe...If I remember correctly they wanted it to be 5-10 minutes. You can't do a splatter that spans 5-10 minutes.

Who?
Dan: The moviefestival we made it for. Swedish gorefilm festival. In Karlskrona?
Markus: It was a collaboration. Or is it Karlshamn? I can NEVER tell them apart. The one to the east
Dan: Karlskrona I say. Movies are fun to edit but a pain in the ass to shoot. So it takes a while for us to start up these projects
Markus: I think it's quite fun to shoot them too, as long as it's not 20+ hours
Dan: Sometimes, mostly it sucks

Got a new movie planned?
Dan: Im writing a thing right now. Its gonna be shot in Trollywood (Trollh�ttan). But its gonna take a long time before we are ready to shoot. The script needs alot of work
Markus: Yeah Lars Von Trier wanted to join, but we said nay.

haha, oh yeah, Trollh�ttan... Another neo-nazi stronghold... I'm starting to see a pattern here
Dan: Crap
Markus: I think I see a pattern here...You see neo-nazis everywhere. I've never seen any. Only their stickers.
Dan: Yeah, paranoid. I dont think they exist, it�s just a legend
Markus: It's a myth
Dan: Invisible nazis

Just 'cause you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you, hehe�
Well let�s reminisce a little here. Which accomplishment would you say you�re proudest of so far � a particular gig, recording, song�?
Dan: The latest gig in our hometown where we packed the place. Wall to wall with people who wanted to see us.
Markus: Yeah, it kicked ass. But the gig at Tivolirock was also cool. Dangerous...far too much space to run around on
Dan: Yeah, HUGE stage. But I liked the latest better cause we knew they were there for us and not the other 10 bands at tivolirock. They sang along and wore our T-shirts. Thats love to me

So what do you hope will come out of Body Core in the future, except the label/tour thingie�?
Markus: THE BIGGEST BAND IN THE UNIVERSE!
Dan: More recordings, experimenting and creating fantastic music. Growing as a musician and as a person. Lots of sex drugs and metal, meeting new people, playing with bands you like.
Markus: Well, that's a much more diplomatic way of saying what I mean.
Dan: Getting drunk in other countries, pulling pranks on my fellow bandmates when they have passed out
Markus: haha....That's a great one. A reason to never pass out in our company
Dan: Hurting myself in new ways, bleeding all over the place. Drinking strange domestic beer. Doing stupid shit that people will find out about, like drinking my own pee. Nailing my hands to other peoples coffee tables. Being slapped by mysterious girls. There�s so much to do

Well at least you're planning ahead
Dan: We love to party, and we like to film it. You can download silly shit from our homepage, where we hurt each other and others around us, movie clips and such.

Some short and easy to answer questions now�
Latest record you bought?
Markus: No idea...think it was a Marduk record, but the latest record I got is Dimmu Borgir - Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia
Dan: Despised Icon - The healing process, I think. Might be Nasum � Shift too

Latest record you listened to?
Markus: Weezer � Weezer. Listening right now
Dan: Im listening to benighted right now, the identisick album

Latest book you read?
Dan: Deadeye Dick by Kurt Vonnegut, and a book about Sergio Leones films. Thats one fiction and one fact for you
Markus: naah...I can't write what fact book I read last
Dan: How to insert hamsters in your rectal tract
Markus: Exactly, have you read it? It's really interesting
Dan: I gave it to you
Markus: Right you are

Latest show you went to?
Dan: Dillinger Escape Plan at KB in Malm�
Markus: Malum, BC and Intohimo at P23

Crappiest record you�ve ever bought?
Dan: Shit! Thats a lot. I sell all shitty records I buy. I�ll go with Rottenness, cant remember the albumtitle
Markus: Exhumed was pretty bad. Oh, sorry. Exhumation - Dance Across the past
Dan: Rottenness - blasphemous gore enjoyment, thats a pretty shitty album

Don't you bad-mouth Exhumed!
Dan: No exhumed are great
Markus: I said I'm sorry, misread

If you ever committed suicide, how�d you do it?
Dan: Bullet to the head, no question. I have a fear of suffocating so hanging or drowning is out o the question. I�d put a double barrel right in my mouth and KA-BLAM
Markus: But what if you miss? Like in preacher? What about falling?
Dan: No, I have a fear of heights
Markus: Pills? Not so much blood there, sorry.
Dan: I think it feels disturbing to become drowsy. So pills are out. Maybe I�d drive a car into a wall.
Markus: I like the idea of a splash against the ground

What about just picking a fight with some neo-nazis and getting your arse kicked? Muahahaha!
Dan: Hehe, I dont pick fights, they pick me
Markus: hah. All neo-nazis are weaklings, I'd kick their asses with my thumbs
Dan: And now we are in trouble
Markus: With risk of getting my arse kicked. Hopefully the mythical neo-nazis have a sense of humour

If you could choose any band, dead or alive, for Body Core to do a split with, which would be the ultimate band for you?
Dan: Spawn of Possession, my favourite metal band. Or Goratory. Fantomas would be cool. Tricky question. I say Mr Bungle, that�s my final.
Markus: I don't know. I don't like other bands. But all of Dan�s suggestions sounds sane

Hehe, oki doki... Well, with that note I think I'd have to say this interview's finished. I can't think of any other questions to ask, actually. Anything I should have asked?
Dan: How we became so attractive. No you did a good job, and I hope we didnt bore you
Markus: Too much
Dan: I would probably talk more about the deathmetal aspect of the band. When some other member could talk about the catchy stuff.
Markus: I would like to mention the black metal elements that play a very big part in our music

Well, what ever you want to say, Dan, just say it!
Dan: I LOVE COCK! oops

hahahahaha
Dan: Hopefully people will check out our music and enjoy it.

Well, thanks for taking the time to do this interview... And I wish you all the best for the future!
Dan: Thanks for your time, and good luck in the future. It was fun. Drop by anytime.
Markus: Thank you for taking time to listen to us rambling




Related links:
Body Core

Photos by Michaela Tietze

For a closer look at Body Core's discography please click here