Albums of Purgatory Interview Anata's Henrik Drake

Albums of Purgatory: Thanks for the interview

Henrik Drake: No problem.

AoP: Firstly, whats the band up to?

 

HD: Well, we are rehearsing a lot right now. We are both preparing for future gigs and rehearsing new material for our next album, which we will record in October 2002. We are about to sign to an other label. We haven't closed the deal yet so I can't mention which it is just yet. But it's better and bigger than Season of Mist that we released our previous stuff on.

AoP: How would you describe the Anata sound?

HD: Brutal yet melodic, somewhat technical and progressive death metal. Music with lots of contrasts in a controlled unite, something like that...People tell us that we are a mixture of the American sound and the Swedish sound, and that's maybe true but we don't think of it that way. We just write the music we want to listen to.

AoP: How did Anata start back in '93?

HD: I have no idea as I became a member in '96. I think that they (only Schälin  [vocals/guitar] are still in Anata) rehearsed in someones house to start but that's history.

AoP: How did you come to be part of the band in '96?

HD: Well, the previous bass player we're tired of rehearsing and wanted to put his time into making new tattoos on his body or something like that. I had known Fredrik Schalin and Robert Petersson from co-head banging at a At the Gates gig in '95 haha and so they asked me if I wanted to join the band.

AoP: Had you been in any bands before that?

HD: Yep. But they were all crap where I had to comprimise to satisfy the other members so they would stay in the band. I wanted to play death metal and they didn't so when the offer from Anata came I dumped the other guys before the could say Toto,

AoP: Can you remember your first gig? How did it go?

HD: It was a kind of crappy gig in Falkenberg, Sweden. We where filling in for Ablaze My Sorrow with one days notice. We played for songs and the drum set broke into pieces in the first song so it wasn't that good but people seemed to like it so...

AoP: Which bands have enjoyed working with the most?

HD: The most fun band to play with are BIRDFLESH from Sweden. They are crazy, very funny and easy to get along with. We've also played with bands that were very stuck into some kind of image problem. Like a band from Stockholm with a name starting with the character "D" (not Dismember). They didn't want to chat before or after the gig. They were just too cool for us. But I can understand them, they suck big time and having an evil image might just keep the none talented audience's attention up for a while.

AoP: What are your favourite Anata tracks?

HD: Oh, that's tricky. from "Infernal..": "Released When You're Dead" and "Dethrone the Hypocrites". From "Dreams...": "The Temple", "Enigma of Number Three", but on this album the tracks are more equally good I think.

AoP: What are your favourite all time songs?

HD: Haha, this is hard. Have to think here...Maybe "Egyptian Danza" with Al DiMeola. "Stargazer" - Rainbow, "Keeper of the Seven Keys" - Helloween. "Song for America" - Kansas. "Prime of Passion" - Lemur Voice, "Hippest Flopp" - ACT. Some Symphony X and Slayer songs maybe also.

AoP: What was the first record you bought?

HD: I think it was Alice Cooper - Thrash or Metallica - "..and Justice for All". No it was Europe - "the Final Countdown" hahahaha

AoP: What would be your dream band line-up?

HD: The present Anata line-up, no just kidding.

Drums: Sean Reinert

Bass: Thomas Miller (Symphony X) or Barend Tromp (Lemur Voice) or Shawn Malone.

Guitar: Al DiMeola, Michael Romeo (Symphony X), Marty Friedman (maybe)

Keyboard: No keyboards please.

Vocals: Steve Walsh (Kansas)

AoP: Do you have any funny stories you can share with us?

HD: I can tell you that outside of our rehearsing room in an abandoned factory some organisation (charity) are collecting stuff to send to Balticum or something. Here we have found some really weird and funny stuff like "the Animal Keyboard", and lots of old wheel chair toilets (!). 

I replaced Conny's drum chair with one of those retard toilet vehicles but he wasn't to happy with that.

AoP: What do you think of the state of metal and music in general today?

HD: NU-metal or what it's called suck so much that I can't find words for it. The sad thing is that Linkin Park and Limp Pisshit has become some sort of models for all new bands to look up to. Sad, very sad. I don't listen that much of the music that comes out these days. Allthogh I really like the new Bal-Sagoth album.

AoP: and finally, what do you see in the future for Anata?

HD: Touring. That's what we all have in mind right now.

AoP:Thanks for your time and good luck

HD: Thanks to you too.