Weird-as-hell metal. Overlord Industries mixes every kind of metal there is, and turns it into pretty cool sounding tunes. An interesting act, well worth looking into!
We started the interview by e-mail on the 28th of October, and ended it on the 20th of November.

Howdy Patrik! I assume you�re the one who�ll be answering my questions�
Let us jump right into the flames and skip the boring, and oh-so-standard, biography question. Let�s see if I�ve got things straight here� You�re three guys � You, Patrik Ylmefors on guitars, Peter Strandg�rdh on bass and vocals, and Olle Dyrander on drums. And from what I understand you�ve been around since �02, but that I�m not really sure of� Just tell me how far off the truth I really am, hehe�
I think that you know that better than me, because I honestly don�t know if we begun in 01 or 02 or whatever. It�s been a few years, that�s about all I know and care for. To keep track of time passing by is overrated in my opinion, I usually really have to think about how old I am and I have no idea about how old the most of my friends and family members are and I only know what day it is because I go to work from monday to friday. If I didn�t work I would probably stop caring about that too.

You�ve released at least four demos:
Die Konspiracy of the Midi Drum Translator, 2004
Wissen, Kreativit�t und Macht, 2004
Superunderground Vehicle, 2004
Pissingonanazi.com, 2005
� Have I missed anyone?
That�s all our demos, but as I said before you probably know more about when they were released than I do, we just keep producing songs and release demos when we have enough of them without caring whatever happens in the outside world. Usually when we start sending out the finished demos we already have enough material for the next. So to us, all songs have been old for some time when we finally release them. I sent pissingonanazi.com to you about a week ago and we have already recorded the drums for our upcoming, still untitled, demo.

To release three demos in one year is quite unusual, and if a band releases that many it�s usually really low-quality stuff by really untalented musicians. But you seem to be quite serious about your music. Are your fingers just itching to compose?
Most bands produce low-quality stuff, no matter how many demos they release in a year in my opinion. I hope Overlord Industries is different. And yes, I think about riffs, drum patterns and song arrangements all the time. When I brush my teeth, when I work, when I eat, when I watch a movie. Always. I enjoy composing more than free porn.

You also seem to have a hard time deciding what genres to play, as you compose songs of pretty much every known metal sub-genre, hehe. May it be thrash, death, black, grindcore, whatever� Seems like most bands would stick to one or two genres, and really go at it. But you seem to compose whatever you feel like, without thinking about what everyone else will say or think.
I think that we have a certain style, certain kinds of riffs that pops up in all our songs, but with lots of other ideas surrounding them. But I also think that the Overlord Industries style is more obvious in the arrangements of our songs than in the actual riffs. It is correct that we have flirted with most metal subgenres, and we for sure play some black, thrash and death riffs, but I actually hesitate to call us a metalband, because I think we are beyond that. The only metal genre that we musically feel connected to is black metal, but Overlord Industries is still far away from that mentality, it�s just some riffs, song styles and so on that connects us. I guess that we share the same basic ideas that norwegian BM had in the very beginning - That metal has become boring and predictable and that all band should really strive towards finding their own expressions. We have a really hard time explaining and describing to outsiders what we sound like - Currently one of our favourite descriptions is Napalm Death playing Franz Ferdinand songs (and produced by Satyr?).
We have also noticed that it seems to be of extreme importance to metalheads that a band who seems to belong in the metal genre sticks to one kind of music and follows the rules of the particular sub-genre. In many other kinds of music it�s not that important, 16 Horsepower, for instance, records pop, country and straight rock�n �roll songs and more to that all on the same album. But nobody cares, because the music is good. That would be really tough for a metal band to pull off - Sepultura made an attempt on Nation but the critics don�t seem to like it too much, but I think it�s a really good album.

Ok, but for a band who are serious about their music, and that have released a bunch of demos, you haven�t shown off a very powerful sound quality. How come you haven�t put more energy into the production?
Because we live in the most miserable parts of Sweden it�s hard to find decent studios, and if we do, then they�re really expensive. The first three recordings were done at the house of a friend of ours, Davido Morbido, for about 1-2000SEK in total production cost. We are actually one of the first bands that he has recorded so he was, and is still learning how to produce a record. For pissingonanazi.com that changed when we bought some recording equipment ourselves and recorded it in our rehearsal room. I think it has a decent production.
Right now we are recording a new demo, still untitled, in our rehearsal room. But as most things are pure misery up here in the cold northern wastelands there is currently no heat at that place, so we have actually rehearsed the record with our outdoor clothes on, and when we tried to bring an electric radiator to the rehearsal place we blew a fuse and had to do a break-in in an office that�s in the same building to replace it. So you spoiled southerners shouldn�t expect too much production wise, we have actually tried as hard as we could to get a decent sound - The good thing is that it�s getting better for each attempt.
And by the way, what IS good production anyway? I mean, all of Children of Bodom�s albums has a good production but a really thin and boring sound, and the band still sucks no matter how friendly their albums is to the ears of the listeners. Mayhem�s Wolf�s Lair Abyss sounds really rotten and disgusting but I absolutely adore the sound of the drums on that album, and the bass sounds just right too. So I guess the beauty really IS in the beholders eyes.

From what reviews I�ve read everyone seems to say you�re a band that have potential, that you�ll probably develop etc� How does it feel to always be called a potential band, and not saluted for what you�ve already done?
Olle thinks it�s because somehow critics and listeners tries to put us in the Death Metal genre, and as we aren�t �t a death metal band to begin with - People get disappointed! But it actually feels good, we have got some good reviews but when reading those it feels like reading about another band - Bad reviews is much more fun - especially at metalcentral.net - they must hate us by now as they are not even close to having a clue to what this band is about. They, as most metal fans, want clones of bands that they have already heard and when they hear music that focuses on stuff they are not used too they react with confusion.
It would have been a lot easier for us if we had been born in Norway, not only wouldn�t we be a part of the European Union, but critics would initially have placed us in the (progressive?) Black Metal genre and that would at least be closer to the truth than placing us in the Death Metal genre.

Well, what do you think of my reviews of your two latest demos then, are they decent enough? Hehe�
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even thogh most people are very narrow-minded and wrong most of the time. But none the less.. Well, it�s strange that you complained about the song CFF from Superunderground Vehicle because that song has got extremely good reviews from just about everyone else. And you also said that Something In Common from our latest demo reminds you of Viking Metal - You couldn�t be further from the truth.. that�s a genre that we will never try to incorporate in Overlord Industries music. Even though I am a huge Bathory fan I would never even try to play things like their "Viking albums". Something In Common is known as the Disco Song when we rehearse - I just can�t figure out how the hell you listen when you hear Viking Metal in it!

And what do you think about your already released demos � Are you completely satisfied with your work, or do you feel that the critics are right, it�s still just a beginning?
On the two first demos we where definitively learning, and I regard them more like demos, but from Superunderground Vehicle and on I think our recordings are more like real records.

But if they�re more like real records and not demos, have you sent it to label�s to try and get it released?
Nope, we haven�t. I don�t know why though. I guess it�s because we know that the music we make has certain qualities, and for a band who works close to the black/thrash/death-genre there is little point for us to try to be signed because the records would never sell anyway so it would just be about boosting the ego going "yeah, we�ve got a record deal blah blah blah". I guess that deep down we kind of leave all that to more insecure bands. But this doesn�t mean that we are not interested in getting people to listen to our music (just send us a mail at and ask for some demos), it�s just that I doubt that a record company could help us in any significant way.
But I think that it would be a good idea to at least send out some 10-20 to some smaller labels just to have a go at it. I mean, who knows? We could at least give it a shot, just to have tried and failed.

Anyway, speaking of your demos, what�s with the weird-ass titles?
All of them started out as jokes when warming up before rehearsals with tea and biscuits (that�s right - we�re though guys). They do have a story and a meaning, but it would take up far too much time, energy and space on your site to tell you all about it. In many ways though they�re reactions on the stereotype metal titles that most bands use. Most metal titles sound the same and have the same kind of meaning. Slayer has already used all cool metal sounding titles, and we have no interest in doing Reign in Blood pt. 2 as we prefer to be ourselves all the time. There is only one Slayer and that�s the way it should be. We just wish more bands understood that.

When your demo titles are so unorthodox, one (at least I) becomes curious about your lyrics. Where do you find the inspirations for your lyrical parts?
Many lyrics have their origins from being at work and most of all wanting to just disappear, and probably all of them is about a specific person or group of people whom we have labelled as idiots. Inspiration also comes easy when walking by the local gasstation late friday night and watching the braindead go ape.

Hehehe�
You seem to be quite a political person (I�m assuming a lot). At least that�s the impression I get when you have a title like Pissingonanazi.com, and reading one of your previous answers when you mentioned the European Union� Ever thought about writing political lyrics?
We do discuss politics between our favourite topics, porn and black metal, during our tea-sessions prior to rehearsal. So I guess you are right in your assumptions - But there is a difference between being interested and involved. We are interested but, at least no longer, involved in any political party. As far as lyrics go, it�s better if Peter answers that particular question.
Peter: The problem with political lyrics (and the people who write them) is that you label yourself as either a la-la-la lefty or a childeating neo-con. And I have no interest in either. The lack of interest, by the way, is one of the reasons why I have to say no to straight out barricade-the-government-buildings type of lyrics. Another being that I�m not naive/stupid enough to think that there is a real possibility for change through some crappy rock lyrics.

And while we�re still on the subject of politics I have to say Pissingonanazi.com is an awesome title � straight to the point and still with a humorous edge! Do you have anything to say about the Swedish neo-nazi situation? Anything you�ve come across, shaked hands with, beaten the crap out of�?
Thanks. The title refers to a vigilante abducting local "raggare" (losers in cars doing circles around gas stations), exposing them to a stun gun and peeing on them leaving them humiliated while at the same time taking pictures of the whole procedure to put up on the internet, the title being the adress. Why "nazi" you ask? Well, most of them are even more narrow-minded than the average metalhead and have opinions resembling those of neo-nazis.

What�s it like on the gig section then, had many gigs/any at all?
We haven�t done a single gig this year, but all in all we have probably done about 10-15 or something. Most of them where we live.

So� You�re busy with your upcoming demo at the moment� What can we expect from it? Any differences influence-wise, maybe?
I think the new demo is more coherent in that it isn�t a song that�s mostly thrash, one old school black song, a disco song and so on, rather it�s more like all songs have all our usual influences. So there�s more variation within the songs.

And how do you think people will respond to the new demo?
As usual. With confusion. But probably only even more this time.

And now it�s time for some questions not really concerning the band, hehe�
Latest record you bought?
Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies
Latest record you listened to?
Ministry - Psalm 69
Latest book you read?
Lords of Chaos (It�s very rare that I have the time to actually read books, maybe if I stopped sleeping altogether...)
Latest show you went to?
Slayer in Stockholm about a year ago
Crappiest record you�ve bought?
Though question... But I would say that Crematory - Remind was a really big disappointment, I hadn�t heard them and thought that they were an OK band. They weren�t.

And if you ever committed suicide, how would you do it?
An old time favourite that I came up with some 10 years ago. To shoot myself in the head while having it in the salad of a fancy restaurant during dinner-time. I don�t really know why, but it seems pointless and strange - much like this band I suppose.

Well that�s it. No more questions to ask here. Thanks for taking your time, and all the best with Overlord Industries in the future! Up to you to end the interview now� Take care
See you on our non-existant tours!

For a closer look at Overlord Industries' discography please click here