Sweden has many successful exports to the world ranging from household furniture and safety focused motor vehicles of an acquired taste to somewhat amusing ‘nature’ films and various pop acts of unfathomably huge success. Given that many Swedes are generally studious and that the pursuit of music, albeit traditional forms, is encouraged, it is not overly surprising that the heavy metal genre, with its intricate song structures and expressive virtuoso outlets, should be embraced. It is however, interesting that Swedish metal bands are now massively influential worldwide given that mainstream pop in that country would presumably be more dominant and incredibly lucrative.
For years, metal bands such as Opeth and Meshuggah have forged new and exciting roads in extreme music that has left some bands in countries like the U.S. and the U.K. looking on for inspiration. In fact, a number of Scandinavian metal bands are now substantially impacting on a music scene once virtually owned by American thrash legends. Focusing on Swedish bands given their recent tours here, Australian Guitar’s Paul Southwell chatted to the core songwriters of Opeth, The Haunted and Meshuggah to find out how their sound and guitar playing has evolved within successful music careers that are steadily growing in stature.
Meshuggah
Since their inception in 1987, Sweden’s Meshuggah have been lauded by just about everyone from technical music publications to metal music industry circles. Progressive, inventive, crushing, relentless and possessing an astoundingly clear live sonic mix, the eight string guitar originators were finally in Australia recently for their first ever tour here. Anyone that was there experienced one of the heaviest live shows ever to grace these shores. With recorded releases that include epic songs, experimental pieces, grinding metal and direct pile-driving riffage mixed with free jazz virtuoso guitar soloing, they exceed the metal genres confines beyond expectations.
Double kick drum figures and jarring, circular guitar riffs contrast regular time signatures with mind melting polyrhythmic variations, adding to the exceptionally different sonic ride. Australian Guitar’s Paul Southwell chatted to rhythm guitarist, producer and song writer Marten Hagstrom, prior to one of their live shows. He discussed topics such as being original, creative, development of their signature eight string guitars and their ongoing quest for bringing undiluted metal music to the forefront of uncompromising music, running against the grain of an otherwise product driven music industry.
With the anticipation of their tour it would be expected that the signature eight string guitars were in tow and they were. ‘We have our second guitars from Ibanez as they’re the best. We just bought three guitars for this run’, says Marten. But getting a solid lineup of guitars wasn’t easy as many years back since when their blistering album Nothing hit, the guitars were below their standards. He comments, ‘we were really pressed for time with the deadline for the OzzFest tour and we didn’t get the eight strings so we played it on the seven strings tuned down. The drum production was not even close to what we wanted. Later, Fredrik Thordendal [lead guitar] started remixing it. So it was, ‘here’s how we wanted to present it’.’
Their eight string guitars did not stuff up as such, it just took a while for the production.
As Marten puts it, ‘we started talking to the guy who does Nevborn guitars but he couldn’t push it out without delays so that was mainly the reason for delays. Until now, we’ve ordered Ibanez guitars in pairs since we are looking for worldly reliability in a live situation. Ibanez really wants us to explore but we order in pairs because it sucks if they do something terrific and we’ve got only one.’
One of the challenges of an eight string is delivering clear power chords. ‘Technically it is not a problem but it sounds weird’, says Marten. ‘On the ObZen album there is some power chord riffing on the eighth string. We didn’t do any power chord stuff at all to begin with on a non eight string and having it tuned like an eight string, ‘cos the pitch would go in between the strings,’ he reveals.
Marten continues about the guitars, saying that, ‘some guitars have floating bridges. The mechanics are good with the fine tuning but it is not a comfortable tail piece to chug way at. Your palm rests just after where strings bend over the saddle. You’re resting it all the time so it is uneven or not sturdy enough so you are going to lose balance. These are thirty one inch scale length necks so they are different to seven string guitars or the eight string style Universe with an extra string.’
Given the differences between an expanded seven string and a pure bred eight string, it is fair to comment that the latter are more or less are designed within baritone guitar settings. Marten agrees, then advises on the pickups used. ‘We use Lundgren pickups which is something that Ibanez don’t carry. I can understand EMGs when you’re playing clean sounds but for us it hasn’t worked in the past. Pickups are a tremendous difference.’ He reveals also that the design aspects make the guitar emphasising the neck through body construction. ‘I’ve tried the Ibanez 808 [with the bolt on neck] and it plays tremendously but there is no real sustain to it. It’s an RG model with eight strings. People will say, ‘the eight string sounds great but I can’t get that low tone’. Well, you’ve got a twenty seven inch scale and it is not neck through.’ Even their endorsers don’t get away lightly.
Their tunings remain constant. ‘It is standard tuning straight down that comes to a Bb note on the seventh string and an F note on the eighth. But, the whole standard tuning is half a note down since back in the day when it was more thrash metal oriented,’ observes Marten. Checking if has metal gone into obligatory a seven or eight string guitars, it is clear that Meshuggah were on the case before the vast majority. ‘This was something that we knew was going to happen beforehand’, says Marten. ‘We were one of the first bands, like Fear Factory, to use that sh*t outside of the guitar hero world. So, when we came up with the eight string we were like, ‘this is poxy’, because we need the eight strings in order to have the instrument work properly but having that extra string would make so many people ask questions. I would rather have a four string ‘cos it was all about the scale length. But we use the whole fret board so we have to have eight strings.’
Despite the riffage, that primarily rhythm guitarist Marten pummels the world with along with his band mates; he has also started to do some more solo work in recordings. Even fans might not be aware of this previous exploration. ‘On the last part of ‘Straws Pulled at Random’ from Nothing, I played the solo but Fredrik plays it live, ‘cos I don’t like lead guitar playing. People always think that I won’t play anything above three strings up but I write a lot of sh*t like that. I don’t see them as leads. A lead, when it is superfluous, is mandatory solo playing. If the drummer were to do that in every f**king song, people would go nuts. I grew up with everyone around me trying to be the guitar hero.’ Marten, aware of the great soloists such as Van Halen and Yngwie clarifies that those idols, ‘were playing music, not just going through scales.’
Lead guitarist Fredrik, when doing solos, is clearly influenced by progressive fusion pioneer Allan Holdsworth. So, with that kind of pedigree, Marten avoids most leads, saying that Fredrik ‘has been that expression for us all the time. If it doesn’t suit the song, we scrap it.’ As for the complex rhythms, method comes into the learning process.
‘There is a lot of memorising to do but you know, this is AC/DC, what we do is 4/4, well two percent maybe is not where that is 7/4 or something else simply divided into something. The odd time signature and the patterns thing kind of falls naturally.’
So, in truth, the guitar riffs in Meshuggah tracks, for the uninitiated, are running along but the drumming is changing against it, altering the starting notes and confusing us all.
Seeking explanation, Marten offers that, ‘yeah, the riff is running over the 4/4 yet it is how certain groupings sit. You don’t bother moving the figure back to beat one instantly, you are using the figure to become a different part every time it is played. When we are rehearsing, Tomas [Haake – drummer] just sits there and plays 4/4 to get the pattern or groove. When I write the songs, I write the drums all the time. It is pretty rigid and everything is pre-determined.’
Adopting an effectively homegrown production role then is not too surprising. ‘We self-engineer and self-produce. There is nothing that we don’t do ourselves because we are control freaks. This is our product and we know what we want out of it. We do it ourselves because someone else is going to f**k it up’, Marten admits with a laugh. ‘We’ve been approached by different producers and we always turn them down. It might really be a good thing but if it is not then we would have wasted something that we could have done ourselves.’ Direct and to the point, as expected.
Asked about how much time the band has to write, record and experiment, their focal point reveals how being picky in the writing stage of album creation gives their music the greatest impact, as Marten states clearly. ‘Most of the time, it is just writing. When we start to feel like we are getting close to having ten or eight tracks then we are start to try shifting focus over to getting it to Tomas so he starts learning the songs. Then when he’s got that down, the recording starts but we never rehearse as a whole band.’
Asked why this is the case and referring to recent productions, Marten replies that, ‘we record the demos on Cubase with Drumkit from Hell so what I present is a finished demo with drums and Fredrik does the same.’ Even with the drummer previously doing software duties instead of the real studio attacks, the group mentality still pervades. ‘That is something that helps us because you can feedback off of each other. It is a writing period where we just write and when we start to feel mature enough that this is going to turn out to be an album, then we switch.’
In the studio, amplifiers used are mostly Line 6 varieties but to get that distinctively crushing sound live, we ask if there pre amp and power amp separations? The truth is that the confines of touring gear means economics plays a strong factor in gear choices. To clarify, Marten concurs, saying, ‘we are still using Line 6 and running the bass through the POD XT Pro.’ His next thoughts on amplifiers and touring speak from experience.
‘For guitar sounds, sometimes we run through the POD Pros and sometimes we run through the Vetta II heads. We’re running them through Axe Effects on this tour ‘cos we cannot bring six Vetta heads on tour as we’ve got a lot of cross patching. We got six heads for free from Line 6 but just to f**king drag it around, man, I’ve got case with my heads and it is like a refrigerator, it is super heavy. We’ve got two of those, one for Fredrik and one for me and it doesn’t work out. So, we’ve been going with Axe Effects now and we’ve been trying to talk to Line 6 about incorporating some of that stuff but their development side is not really on the forefront right now. We are happy with the Vetta IIs as they are excellent heads.’ Essentially, they have their own strategy.
Any guitar head still has to ask why they’re not using say a Mess Boogie these days?
Bluntly, Marten says that, ‘it doesn’t work.’ He continues, remarking that, ‘Mesa Boogie are great but all you’ve got is one sound. With the patching we have, I am one side with my rhythm sound and Fredrik is on the other side and whenever he patches into the lead, which is a stereo, I go in stereo with my rhythm sound but with a latency so that I become two guitar players.’ Taking the metal experimenting further, a solution is reached on maintaining a strong and constant rhythm sound with their amp set-ups. ‘You do not lose one side when the lead guitar goes on. It is messy ‘cos we are sending signals back and forth with Fredrik running a foot controller. To do that with the Vettas we would have had to have had three heads each and that doesn’t really work. So for the Axe Effects we’ve got two SKB cases and that is about it.’ With the interview completed, Marten and company later proceeded to play a concert of unparalleled sonic assault and driven musicianship with a performance that rewarded patient Australian audiences.
Opeth
One of the most consistently awe inspiring metal bands in the world today is Opeth who originated in Stockholm, Sweden. Initially black metal, their musical output soon veered towards more progressive and eclectic territory by combining metal with folk, jazz, blues and some classical influences within extended arrangements. Vocalist and guitarist, Mikael Akerfeldt continues to write songs that are akin to musical journeys with intertwined lyrical themes and various reprises of some pieces linking albums and concepts. Heady stuff at times maybe but thoroughly rewarding for both the listener and the artist. In Australia for the fourth time and in support of the remarkable Watershed album, Australian Guitar Magazine was fortunate enough to talk to Mikael about guitars and other Opeth related topics.
Two classic Opeth albums are Deliverance and Damnation which effectively co-exist. Sadly, the recording of them was fraught with numerous problems including lack of rehearsal time. Looking back at that chapter, Mikael simply states that he hated it. ‘Some good songs, of course, but I don’t have good memories of the recordings. I cannot really look away from the fact that it was just a horrible experience. But the Deliverance songs are some of my favourite songs to play live because they are so harsh.’
The quality products of that studio environment are interesting given their stresses. Mikael recalls with a laugh that, ‘it was a kind of desperation in a way and I was taking on too much work. But, the reason that Deliverance sounds the way that it does was because I knew that I was doing the softer stuff with the Damnation record so I wanted it to be a contrast.’
Things obviously improved for Ghost Reveries and despite some inevitable yet potentially worrying personnel changes, it seem the latest album of Watershed was something of a high point in production efficiency that also aided creativity. Working from around 8am daily in the studio with a new found work ethic has yielded great results in songwriting and the final product. In fact, many metal critics regard it as the best album of 2008. ‘You can’t compare. It didn’t really hinder us in any way like the creative side or in making it a natural recording. It was having it scheduled that helped everything. There is no real goal or master plan when I’m writing for an album. Some of the songs don’t really have a classic structure with a verse and chorus.’
Commenting on internal band concerns, he is careful yet forthright. ‘The band wasn’t doing well for the last three records, to be honest and you could feel it. I was carrying a lot of weight on my shoulders and we didn’t really communicate that well. But we had glimpses of it. Opeth was always my baby and I wasn’t really looking to go elsewhere to take care of my musical needs. For Blackwater Park and the Still Life record especially, we were such a tight unit and just clicked better together whilst Deliverance was everybody doing their stuff. I don’t dare to think about how much time and money we wasted on not working while we were in the studio.’
Speaking of expenses, taste in musical instruments are also at the higher end. Most of Mikael’s guitars are Paul Reed Smith [PRS] guitars and of exquisite quality. A signature model guitar is underway as well. Discussing this, he says, ‘we’re looking at doing a guitar with two versions. One SE and one higher ranged version. I use 24 frets so when they presented the Modern Eagle single cut guitars at NAMM, I said, ‘I want one but with 24 frets and a tremolo’ and they mumbled away that they’d never done anything like that.’ It transpired that PRS did stray from tradition for Mikael and made him a one-off guitar. ‘It is perfect and it is my best guitar, made out of the best pieces of wood. I think it has a Tremonti pickup under a PAF shell. But it’s beautiful and ebony. I’m looking at putting in a piezo system next’, he reveals.
Asked how he started to play PRS guitars over other brands geared more towards metal, he is clear on what aspects his guitars of choice fulfill. ‘I wanted the sound of a Gibson and a Stratocaster. The PRS is a combination of those two, for me. I like playing the Strat but it is not what I can really use in Opeth. I love the sound of a Gibson but I don’t like playing them as much as a Stratocaster. Besides, they’re heavy and fragile. You can throw a Strat into a wall and nothing happens.’
As a two guitar band, now with new lead guitarist Fredrik Akesson replacing Peter Lindgren, the divvying up of guitar duties in Opeth appears to be a democratic process of sorts. However, it is unique for a twin guitar band that both guitarists played all the electric rhythm parts on the latest album. ‘What we did for the albums was we both played everything for the rhythms as we were really tight playing together’, says Mikael.
The results were good so they stuck with it. But the acoustic duties still remain primarily with Mikael. ‘I did most of the acoustics and Fredrik did most of the solos. I like playing leads but I can’t play fast and he’s much more accomplished than I am so I see myself as the slow hand of death metal, he says, laughing. ‘He can play tasteful heavy metal solos but also some bluesy stuff like the trade offs in ‘Burden’. He also takes care of stuff I was struggling with playing and singing at the same time.’
‘I’m not looking to become a great guitar player. I more want to play what I have written and not be limited by my abilities. I love playing acoustic guitars and I worked in a guitar shop for a couple of years that only sold acoustic guitars. We had the general agency for Martin guitars in Sweden. I’m by no means an accomplished finger picker but when it comes to metal, I guess, we’re a bit special. Fredrik was a bit stressed by that fact but he’s practicing now.’
The amplifiers Opeth use a chosen on reliable quality of sound and roadworthiness. Mikael, not one to explore the intricacies of amp construction simply knows what works. ‘I play regular 100 watt Laneys and Fredrik plays Marshalls. I don’t really know what type of speakers and f**king tubes, I just want it to sound good. I don’t use distortion on the amps; I have it all in my pedals. I have a Boss GT-6, I’ve always been playing Boss pedals and for my style they are great. I’ve got these multi effects ones and they are just so easy for everything. It sounds good in pretty much every amp. Frederik plays into the Marshall JVMs and uses distortion from the amp then uses pedals after. But he has more of a traditional set up as he likes the tube set up whilst I don’t really care.’
Melodic interludes throughout Opeth’s music might infer acoustic guitars on stage but given the demands of singing, playing intricate parts and using pedals, Mikael has not yet opted for a foreground guitar stand to change from electric to acoustic during live song performances. Instead they use acoustic simulators. ‘It doesn’t sound as good but it sounds okay’, he admits. ‘We did a tour when we had the acoustics with us a couple of years back. I think I’m a better acoustic player but it is just so fragile, in a way. I have Martin guitars and I do not want them to get busted. Also, you only use them for one or two songs so it’s like, ‘ah, f**k it, it sounds okay’. But once we get the piezo system fitted into the guitars then I think it is going to sound so much better.’
The Haunted
The phenomenon of Gothenburg, Sweden spawning a slew of well honed and stylistic metal bands such as In Flames, Soilwork and Dark Tranquility owes something to the founding members of The Haunted. This includes guitarist Anders Bjorler and his twin bassist brother Jonas when they formed the melodic death metal band At The Gates almost twenty years ago. After that disbanded, The Haunted was formed in 1996 and since then they have toured with a diverse selection of international bands, released now classic albums and risen above the imitators by always striving to evolve in their sound on each new album. Recently here for their latest versus album tour, we managed to summon Anders for a post-gig meeting.
On the experimental side of things, The Haunted, whilst tight live, has plenty of sliding guitar riffs. Also, their melodic sensibilities put them well above the usual thrash metal fodder. Anders comments on how they got their own sound. ‘The band’s sound is a result of playing and listening to each other. It depends on whom we play with but for me, it is just a mixture of everything you hear. I guess that most metal or thrash bands only listen to metal. We listened to classical music when we were kids and grew up with folk music. Per [Moller Jensen – drums] is into jazz. So, we have a big spectrum.’
Swedish bands, in general, tend to take on wider influences which indirectly makes their music more interesting than their U.S. counterparts. Anders does not mince his words when discussing his thoughts on the current metal core scene either. As for keeping in time amongst irregular time changes, it is all about the riff. ‘If it has a groove we’ll do it. A lot of the music in metal is very much based around triplets. So it’s not regular 4/4 all the time’, says Anders. ‘I’m really tired of the newer metal scene as it is not very creative and is just based around the new American metal core. It is not good sounds in the traditional sense. They don’t have good verses and choruses. It is just a mish mash of everything with screams and breakdowns. If it doesn’t have a strong chorus I don’t like it, even if it is extreme.’
For the guitars he uses, the Japanese custom brand of Caparison are his instrument of choice. Not a real surprise though given that a number of Swedish bands and associated artists use them in preference of other more well known brands. Aside from the quality of the guitars, the company’s level of customer service is a main reason Anders stopped using ESP guitars. Ironically, his model of guitar is not too dissimilar to a PRS guitar.
‘Yeah, it’s very similar to PRS. I think they ripped off the model and made their own.
I like ESP but we had collaborations with them many years ago and I wasn’t very happy with their artist relations. Nothing ever happened and I never got any guitars so I switched to Caparison when I was introduced to them. They give me six guitars a year. It is really special, that company, it is very small and everything is hand crafted. ESP has an exclusive handmade series that is more expensive.’
For the pickups he uses, he states that EMGs remain in there because he’s too lazy to swap them. ‘The pickups are regular EMGs but that is mostly due to laziness. I’ve tried guitars with passive pickups and I like them but I’m too lazy to change them out and try it so I just keep on going. The JB Seymour Duncan, for instance, is pretty good.’
Similarly with amplifiers, whereby what works or sounds good is best. It is either the boutique German Engls or Peavey heads. Anders says, ‘we normally play a Peavey 5150 or a 6505 on tour as we were pretty relaxed and knew how it works. The German amp has totally different, distinct channels and includes a very good clean sound. We also have a semi distorted channel and two different lead channels.’
‘For the last three albums Tue Madsen and Ant Farm produced us and helped us with amp and the guitar set ups. I just know if it is good or bad. We don’t have a vision like Meshuggah, because they sound the same for twenty years. We changed our sound for each album. We are more schizophrenic in a way but I think that’s important in music to find new ways all the time.’ Live they use their sound man to deal with any pedal type effects. As Anders puts it, he only uses ‘the amp distortion and a tuning pedal because the sound man does all of the effects from front of house so we don’t have to worry on stage. He knows where to put in the delays and chorus.’
Given his heritage and the influence of his band on numerous other artists, the concept of pursuing the virtuoso side of playing was never on the agenda, despite holding respect for some well known shredders. Furthermore, when it comes to the thrash down picking style, it was a happy accident. Anders reveals that he is self taught. ‘I was never interested in playing fast. If you don’t have feeling or the right kind of balance I’m not interested. There used to be more down picking in our early days because that is how I learned to play guitar. I didn’t know how to play up and down, I never learnt that so that came later. It is now just strenuous and unnecessary. We are better at playing faster now than we ever were but we do it if it sounds good. I’m pretty bored with the whole metal scene nowadays as it is just a competition of being the fastest.’
Generally, when bands create something that later is heralded as seminal and classic, it takes a while for the influence and respect to come back around, usually in the form of one-off reunion tours. But for At The Gates, it seems Anders did have a clear intent and a particular theme in mind when recording Slaughter of the Soul. Anders confidently states, ‘yes, of course, we had in mind to make a short record with very strong catchy songs with strong choruses. Slaughter of the Soul is that. If you look at the older albums they’re experimental and have certain qualities but for a favourite I would go with say Terminal Spirit Disease, which has more mediums of writing. It is like death metal initially.’
Going over The Haunted’s back catalogue, there are different styles, accentuating more thrash or more melodicism melded with intense death metal. So, when Anders is asked which album best represents their sound, he replies after a moment of consideration.
‘I’d say The Dead Eye. It is just natural that every record is different because we had Marco Aro singing on two records. Replacing a singer is a big change, so of course that’ll be a new style. For composing songs and the sounds it is the one with which I’m most comfortable’. A brief sojourn, years ago must have really helped Anders find his muse.