This interview with L-G and ALX was conducted by Danny Kaleda on 2RRR’s
Monday Night Metal 88.5FM. Where Swedish is spoken I've spelt it how it sounds as that's the best I can do:)
Danny: It must be feeling funny sort of going back to those old albums saying "How do we play that?"
ALX: We’ve changed them around a little bit, the songs, ‘cause they’re like… we didn’t touch them for a long while ‘cause they’re really, y’know, fast and complicated for us these days…
D: Oh are you getting old now, are you? Don’t tell me that!
ALX: No, no. Slow and lazy, basically. So, but it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be energetic and, er…
L-G: Intense
ALX: sort of injuries, I hope!
D: Full of injuries?
ALX: It’s going to be Mayhem.
D: Mayhem. So do you know anything about what Australian crowds are like? Or are you hoping that they’re…
ALX: Narda
L-G: Niente
Both: Niet!
D: Niet!
ALX: We don’t know anything, but it seems, y’know, it’s full of nice people here so it’s going to be cool.
D: Yeah, so it should be alright. And your scene in Sweden. You’ve got a lot of good bands come out of there, Misery Loves Company, um…
ALX: Yeah it’s about 2 million bands…
D: 2 million bands?
ALX: …eight million people! Everbody’s in a band...
D: Is that right, is it?
Both: Yeah.
ALX: Yeah I mean there’s like, all y’know Pop, Rock and all kinds of metal and it’s like… it’s good, good metal scene, not enough clubs to play, but it’s good.
D: Well that’s about the same here, you get a lot of people in bands, everybody’s in a band but there’s not enough clubs to play in… So if I walk down the street of Sweden, main centre street of Sweden…
ALX: Ah half the metal bands in Sweden. If you walk down… in Stockholm, y’know, it’s like everybody knows everybody pretty much and…
D: Right
ALX: It’s a small city.
D: And I’d say "Do you know Entombed?" and they’d say "Yes", would they?
Both: Yeah
D: ‘Cause sometimes you could walk… If you walk down Sydney, yeah it’s sort of popular but not really… y’know, it’s okay, they wouldn’t know a Cryogenic would they?
Arash (Promoter): Just down at Parramatta they would, I reckon.
D: Down Parramatta, yeah, Parramatta! Are you looking forward to this in-store? We’ve got an in-store happening for you in Parramatta too on Saturday.
ALX: Love in-stores
L-G: In-stores are fun!
ALX: When there’s more than 4 people!
D: Have you done those in-stores with 4 people in them before?
L-G: Yeah, loads of times.
ALX: In America we went, like, a couple of years ago…
L-G:In the middle of no-where…
ALX: It’s fun, and you just pretend you’re just a normal customer and look…
D: And look at a CD!
L-G: And you see the table with the pens and it’s like, "Oh who’s going to be there? Oh it’s me!"
ALX: No, it’s fine, we go to, like, really small cities and no-body’s really heard of you
D: Yeah
ALX: and it’s like… that’s cool.
D: And you sort of hide in there and… I can imagine what it’s like! And what have you got planned for um further on down the track, you’re recording new music? And you’ve changed labels…
ALX:Yeah I mean we… we’re gonna go home at the beginning of March. The last show we do is in Tokyo on the 3rd of March and then we’re gonna go home and start trying to put together a new album.
D: Yeah.
ALX: And hopefully have it out later in the year… and hopefully come back here later in the year as well!
D: Yeah. Oh well, hopefully we can. It should be alright for you, I’m sure we can accept you here again. As long as you don’t cause too much trouble…
ALX: If the nice guy at customs let us in again!
L-G: Yeah!
D: What’d they do? Did they harass you when you came in through customs?
L-G: Uh yeah.
ALX: He was surprisingly gentle with the rubber glove! …. No, he just went through everything.
D:He went through everything?
L-G: Everything. You know how you have to fill out these forms? and I had some honey, and some apples in it, y’know, but I didn’t… like, I said "No".
D: Oh, right.
L-G: But then I was… er… almost fined $55.
D: For not declaring your apples and your honey?!
L-G: Yeah. But I got away with it. So they weren’t doing their job.
D: Oh jeez. Oh that’s alright… And where’s your first show? You’ve got Perth, I believe the first show…
ALX: Perth.
L-G: Perth it is, yes.
D: And…
ALX: 14th…
D: The 14th It’s gonna warm up. Are you staying later on after the show? Or are you basically, er, the promoter’s throwing you in and throwing you out?
ALX: Ah it depends on the flights, I guess.
L-G: I think we’re catching the morning flights, if I’m not mistaken…
Arash: Yes, we’ll be hanging around Sydney for a couple of days and, uh, before we go, just tomorrow’s all we’ll be here.
D: So you’ll be here for a couple of days and…
Arash: Then on to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, back to Sydney for the show.
D: And then you’re not going to stay for a week for a holiday or something like that?
L-G: We… I would!
D: You would?
ALX: Yeah well we’re going to America straight on the 19th, we’re flying to LA.
D: And then you’ve got, what, a tour or something over there?
ALX: Yeah we’ve got, like, 5 weeks in America, then back to Japan, and then back home.
D: Oh gee whiz. Have you got your Frequent Flyers up? Miles up?
L-G: Yeah we have!
ALX:Just signed up!
D: Oh you’ve just signed up for it? And another question is, obviously, are you married? Or got wives or girlfriends or anyone?
L-G: I’ve got 7 kids.
D: Seven kids?!
L-G: No, no, none of that yet… No. Not yet.
D: Not yet? Well we’ve got plenty of candidates here, haven’t we, in the back of the studio? Is that right? ... NO! No, no, no, not at all! …. Alright, here’s another track from one of your later albums, I can’t remember where it is, we’ll just hear what the CD Player says. You’re listening to 2RRR’s Monday Night Metal, FM 88.5, we have Entombed in the studio… of course they’re playing in Sydney…
Track 1) To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
Track 2) Tear it loose
D: Triple R's Monday Night Metal, and...
Both: Hello
D: You're still here!
Both: Yes
D: Amazing! Haven't thrown you out yet.
ALX: Ah no.
D: So what sort of bands do you like, y'know, were influenced by, y'know like obviously you listen to something else, have you got something in your tapedeck that you listen to? Do you listen to just local bands or you listen to, I don't know, Bolt Thrower or something like that? Any favourite bands? or...
Both: Bolt Thrower???!!!
ALX: I like COC. NIN... Tom Waites...
L-G: Fraun 242. We listen to whatever is good. Doesn't have to be one thing.
ALX: No limits.
D: So when you go round everybody, obviously all the bands, local bands give you, or the bands in that town all meet you and say "Oh listen to my CD, listen to my CD". Do you pile them all up and listen to them eventually? or...
L-G: Yeah
ALX: Make good frizbees...
L-G: No, but it's, y'know, a lot of it sounds the same, y'know, but sometimes you find something that's different. That's important for us y'know.
D: And do you take much recognition of it or you just sort of, y'know, take a bit of a listen to it?
ALX: Yeah
D: You've got any other side projects by yourselves? Y'know, like do you do other things outside Entombed or Entombed is it?
ALX: No no, not us two.
D: Oh you won't say.
ALX: We don't have enough time for that.
L-G: Yeah
D: Not enough time for that? Little side project? Like were you on the plane busilly writing new albums? New songs? No?
L-G: Yeah sometimes
ALX: Always thinking about it 'cause that's, like, everything you see around you or, y'know, you're always influenced by stuff either for melodies or for lyrics, that's something you never stop thinking about, so...
D: So basically do you do any sports or anything like that on the outside of Entombed?
Both: Try to
D: What, soccer? What's the major sport in...
ALX: Calling me a sucker?
D: Okay, "sucker"
L-G: Are we? Y'know, whatever comes in hand. Tennis... that's pretty fun... I try to run every now and then...
D: Right... what is the major sport in Sweden anyway? Is it ice-hockey or something like that?
Arash: Drinking beer
L-G: Yeah
ALX: Polar Bear throwing. Uh I guess it's ice-hockey or soccer.
D: They're the two major sports in Sweden are they? Is it snowing over there at the moment?
ALX: Yeah, snowing or raining in the darkness...
L-G: I think snowing now
D: Oh god. Can you handle the weather here in Sydney? In Australia?
ALX: It's beautiful
L-G: It's excellent
D: So has Arash told you about, um, where you're going? Like basically have you seen any sights at all since you've been here?
ALX: He never tells us anything
L-G: No
ALX: "Stay in your hotel room, I'll be back soon!"
D: "Don't go anywhere! Nowhere!"
L-G: We'll find the time to go out and...
ALX: Tomorrow he's going to take us out
L-G: Yeah
