Interview

Bloodbath Talks New Vocalist And "Grand Morbid Funeral" Album

The Swedish metal extremists from Bloodbath have been through their fair share of ups downs - from front men changes to one lengthy hiatus after another due to the main projects of each member - but they keep marching on to hold the death metal banner high.

Currently on its third vocalist following the departure of Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt, Bloodbath is now led by new vocalist Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost.

To go along with the vocalist swap, Bloodbath's latest album of dark and dirty death metal, "Grand Morbid Funeral," is out now.

Following the official release, we caught up with Bloodbath's Per "Sodomizer" Ericksson to find out how the new front man joined on, when we can expect the band to hit the live stage again, and gauge the likelihood of the band's former vocalists ever performing live with the group again.

xFiruath: From the teaser posts online it seemed like you guys actually recruited Nick Holmes quite awhile back. When did you originally bring him on, and how was he chosen? Were there auditions with other potential recruits?

Per: I think it first came up when Katatonia and Paradise Lost toured the States together a few years back. I can’t really remember exactly how everything went down, but I’m guessing there was a lot of alcohol involved. Nick actually auditioned by sending over his vocals on some old Bloodbath tracks and that decided is for us. We did look into a few others, but we never got to the point where we asked people to send us audition tapes.

xFiruath: How's the fit working so far with the new member and how do you feel he changes the sound of Bloodbath?

Per: So far, so good. Replacing the singer obviously changes the overall sound for any band. Nick brings a dirtier sound to the table, and that was exactly what we were looking for. We wanted to make a filthy album, and I think we did just that. It’s too early to say how the fit works since we haven’t actually ever played together.

xFiruath: Will this lineup be performing live in the future, or is this to be a strictly studio version of the band?

Per: Yes, this is the line-up you will be able to see at a few festival next year.

xFiruath: Aside from the vocals, what's different musically this time around, and what sounds will remain familiar for long-time fans?

Per: Every Bloodbath album to this date has been different. I never write songs with “this has to sound like Bloodbath” in mind, and I don’t think Jonas or Anders does that either. When I wrote for this album, I tried to keep the riffing as simple as possible. I didn’t do a very good job since I have a few riffs on the album that I can barely play myself, but that was the angle I chose. But I think that long-time fans will recognize the energy and the somewhat catchy hooks that are mixed up in the mayhem.

xFiruath: You guys just dropped a music video for “Church Of Vastitas,” can you tell me about how that came together?

Per: Yes, I wish I could tell you about the video, but I didn’t even know there was a video in the works. All of a sudden there was a video for “Church”. I haven’t seen it to be honest, hahaha.

xFiruath: Fill me in on the “Grand Morbid Funeral” recording process.

Per:Since I don’t live in Sweden anymore, I did all of my recordings in my home studio.I sent my demo files to Sweden where Axe recorded the drums in Ghost Ward Studio. Then I got the finished drums sent back to me, and I recorded guitars and bass on my songs at home. When all they was done I flew to Sweden, and we recorded the vocals together in Katatonia’s studio in Stockholm. So, yeah, it was spread out all over the place.

xFiruath: Will Bloodbath be re-recording any old material with Nick, or re-releasing any of those classic albums in the near future?

Per: No, I don’t see the point in doing that. Every Bloodbath album sounds the way it should already.

xFiruath: Bloodbath has had three main vocalists, all who offered a different slant to the death metal delivery – do you think there's any chance we'll ever see Mikael, Peter, and Nick all on the stage at the same time for some mind blowing triple vocals or trade offs between songs?

Per: I’m guessing if we ever did a “last show” that would be a cool way to do it. But I don’t think people should hold their breaths for that to happen on any of the upcoming shows.

xFiruath: Fill me in on how the album artwork came together and what we should take away from the imagery.

Per: I wasn’t involved in that process that much, so I don’t know. It looks a lot like what the album sounds like though. We don’t really have a lyrical theme on the album. We were four people writing lyrics and I didn’t read any of the other guy’s lyrics, and no one read my lyrics. I could have written a song about pink elephants and the cover would have looked the same anyway.

xFiruath: We're almost at the end of 2014 now – what's on your metal “best of” list for this year, and what's coming out soon you are looking forward to?

Per: I only bought one record this year and that was Mastodon's “Once More ‘Round The Sun,” which is absolutely fantastic. Apart from that I don’t really listen to that much “new” music. Every now and then I find a new album that I like, but that doesn’t happen that much anymore. I guess I’m getting old and grumpy. I’m excited about the upcoming Tool album of course and I’m also curious about the upcoming Ghost album.

xFiruath: The Bloodbath guys all come from various other outfits - other than the obvious major bands (Katatania and Paradise Lost), what projects are the guys active with these days and do you have any dormant projects that will get resurrected soon?

Per: Well, since Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Opeth are bands that tour a lot, there is not much room for other projects. I know that Axe has a little project on the side and I might have something in the works. I can’t really speak for the rest of the guys.

xFiruath: Anything else you'd like to say?

Per: I want to take the opportunity to thank all our fans out there for all the support, we would be nothing if it wasn’t for you guys.