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An absolutely killer act mixing harsh black metal with angst-ridden crustcore. I thought it would be interesting to interview the band and see what they had to say, and so I did. We did the interview by e-mail between the 21st of June and the 2nd of July. Hey there! Let�s start with you presenting yourself � who�ll be answering the questions and what other members the band consists of. Hotbild is: Anders � Guitar Tobbe � Vocals Eken � Drums �stling � Bass The questions will mainly be answered by Anders and Tobbe. You started in 2002, but under a different name. I�m not really sure, but if I remember it correctly it was Excruciating Terror or something like that. What made you decide to change name? The main reason is that we thought Hotbild was a much better name that suited our music in a better way than Excitativ Terror did. Another reason is the fact that no one could spell or pronounce the name. Hmm, so what does Excitativ mean then? Never heard the word before� Excitativ Terror is terror used as an instrument to wake up the masses. To make them revolt. We got the name from a book about different political movements. There was a part in it about russian revolutionary anarchists. And they used this kind of terror. Before I received the Vemod demo I had only heard a couple of mp3s with pretty horrible sound quality. So I was very positively surprised, and I instantly fell in love with the harsh crustcore and the cold black metal, mixed in with the self-hatred and angst. I�d say it was something new, adding such huge amounts of black metal to the crust. What were your intentions when writing the songs back then? Were you trying to create something new and innovative, or just trying to mix two genres you love into one band? The mix of crust and blackmetal comes naturally when we write music. We just try to create dark and brutal music. Some of us comes from the blackmetal scene and some from the crustscene so we just write music we like. These two genres sounds great when you combine them. So how did you guys come together, since you�re from two different scenes originally? We had played together in a couple of band before. Ludvika is a small town, so everybody who�s into extreme punk/metal know each other. And there isn�t many people here who�s into that kind of music. Have you gotten a fan base from both scenes? Don�t really know how many fans we have from the blackmetal scene. What were people�s reactions to the Vemod demo? We got quite good response on the Vemod demo with good reviews. Don�t believe we got any negative response on Vemod actually. A couple of years ago I received an e-mail from a guy claiming to be re-releasing the Vemod demo as a CD, I think he called the label Vaginanus. But afterwards it all went silent and I never heard from the guy again. Who was that guy, and why did it never happen? No idea, the last thing we heard was that the cd was being pressed and then we never heard from the guy again. I Skuggan Av Livet was re-released by the Swedish label Halvfabrikat Records� sublabel Halvkass Produktion, but only as a cd-r with pro cover. And it really surprises me that you�ve just released yet another demo by yourselves, and not on an actual label. I mean, your stuff is just way too good to be demos. Didn�t Halvfabrikat show any interest for more releases? When we were going to play our �comeback� gig (due to the LVM matter we couldn�t rehearse for 5-6 months) the Knivsta punkfestival we thought that we needed to record a couple of new songs to show that we�re back. �I blint raseri� was planned and recorded in just a few weeks before the show so there wasn�t any time to ask Halvfabrikat or any other label if they were interested. We decided to release it as a demo ourselves just to get it out in time. By the way we�re probably going to record some new songs later this summer so if any labels out there are interested just contact us! How have people responded to the new demo so far? We haven�t got any reviews yet, but we got good response from those who have heard the demo. You seem to have had some bad luck with labels, as you were also supposed to release a split 7� on Anarkopunx Records, but that never happened. What was the deal there? Don�t know. There�s still some talk about that split 7� but we don�t really know what�s going to happen. And not only have you had bad luck with labels, but also personally (as some might understand from the lyrics). In late 2005 one of you tried to commit suicide, and you also mentioned a LVM matter on your site. And if that�s what I think it is it has to do with drugs, custody and forced rehab. I will not ask you to go further into these matters if you, yourself, don�t want to add anything else to it. But what I don�t understand is how you managed to keep the band together during all this� It�s more like the music kept us together. The band and the music and the fact that we really believe in our music is the thing that keeps us going, without Hotbild things would probably be much worse. But we admit that it have been difficult sometimes. We had our arguments and our struggles. A lot of crust bands, especially Swedish, today sing about how terrible their lives are, what misery they�re in; it�s all just pain and agony. And I have a feeling that most of these bands are just experiencing some run-in-the-mill teenage angst that comes from growing up. But in your case it seems to be the real thing. And so I�m curious how you guys feel about the bands that are just going with the latest trend, and not actually having it all that bad? We can�t say who�s really feeling bad or who�s just going with the latest trend but you should never follow the latest trend, whether it�s angst, politics etc. We have absolutely no respect for the kind of bands that changes their music, lyrics or image just because that�s the stuff that�s selling best at the moment. Angst is nothing to strive for. But on to a funnier subject, well at least for us who weren�t involved. You guys seem to have a tendency to get into trouble and wind up in accidents. When you were going to record the Vemod demo you crashed your car on your way to the studio. And somehow one of you managed to break his wrists in a shopping cart accident (?). Now first of all I just gotta ask how you accomplished that one? And second I wanted to ask you about the car crash. How did you get to the studio, and how delayed was the recording? The funny thing is that we drove all the way from Ludvika to Sollefte� (quite a long way) and we just had a couple of kilometres left to go when we crashed. The guy that owned the studio came and picked us up.. so the recording wasn�t any delayed at all, but the car was a complete wreck. The shopping cart accident occurred one summernight when our bassplayer and drummer got the bright idea to, drunk of course, ride a shopping-cart downhill. We always get into trouble, there have been a few injuries and accidents since we started the band. By the way; do you guys have any bands or side-projects other than Hotbild? Yes we play in a few other bands, but Hotbild is the main priority. Hehe, ok. But you don�t wanna reveal what bands? No not really...ha ha.. Nothing that serious. Ok, so I think the interview�s coming to an end. But before we go I still have my standard questions to ask. Latest record you bought? Anders: Vargsang � Call of the nightwolves Tobbe: Uncurbed � Welcome to anarcho city Latest record you listened to? Anders: Tsjuder � Demonic Possession Tobbe: Cyness � our Funeral oration... Latest book you read? Anders: Alexander Solsjenitsyn � H�gra handen och andra noveller Tobbe: Stig Dagerman � Dagsedal Latest show you went to? Anders: M�rder at Knivstapunken Tobbe: M�rder at Knivstapunken Crappiest record you�ve bought? Anders: Don�t know. Tobbe: No idea This might seem like bad taste, but the following question is actually one of my standard ones that I ask everyone, just simply because the subject interests me. If you ever decided to commit suicide, how�d you do it? Hijack an airplane and crash it into a big, important american building. That was the last of �em. Anything I should�ve asked that I�ve missed? Thanks a lot for your time and best of luck in the future! I hope you�ll get some albums out there! Thanks for the interview! Keep up the good work! Related links: Hotbild For a closer look at Hotbild's discography please click here |