Interview with Christer 'Krunt' Andersson

"Tad Morose have come along way since their early days since the release of their debut album 'Leaving The Past Behind', which the band have certainly done. With 7 previous releases under their belts the future is looking very bright for these Swedish Power Metal hopefuls. Once again I manage to interview Christer to find out more about what the band have been up too since the last interview. The bands new stunning album 'Modus Vivendi' is without doubt a classic Swedish album with plenty of offer, and if your a fan of Savatage & late Black Sabbath 'Tony Martin' era then this bands music is certainly for you. Here's what Christer had to say to the following question, so read on Metalhead!!"

Looking back at your career, is there anything you would like to change or regret?

"Well Jase I think it is always best to be wise afterwards and I don't really think I would change anything except for the fact that we should of taken care of things a little better in the early stages of our career. As we went along I think we learnt the hard and long way!! I guess we have to be lucky because we have achieved things that some bands would not even have done."

What would you reaction be if your old label Black Mark got back in touch with you and offered you a better deal than Century Media, would you take it?

"No I would not!! We know the owner of the company & so I would not consider it."

Looking back at your previous albums, how well do you think each album sold?

"I am not sure how well each album sold, we did get statements from Black Mark but they could of just been made up, we will never know!! I think our first album 'Leaving The Past Behind' sold about 6-7000 copies, 'Sender Of Thoughts' about 10.000, after that I am not sure.

Do you think it was cheesey for Black Mark to release the best of album 'Reflection's, another cashing in album?

"Well I think it was good for them because they really made some easy money on that release, but for us I think it was just a load of shit and they did that because we were signing to Century Media. We could not stop them from doing that legally, so there you go!!"

So how do you see each previous album as a progression up until the new album?

"I think when we were signed to our old label our difference between each album was a different stop for each album. I think from the album 'Undead' onwards things have changed for the better. I think we have found our own identity now and since we have signed with Century Media we feel that it has become a steady path and I think the last 3 albums are pretty much similar within the music. We have not changed any band members since the release of the 'Undead' album, so that has a lot to do with it."

Do you think you will ever change your style in anyway for the next album?

"Well you never know? It maybe more progressive or more straight forward, only time will tell!!"

Do you ever see any of the old band members, if so what are they doing now?

'Well we still see them, our first drummer Danny now lives in Italy and is doing Disco Music, and he is now a drum roadie, he is a really nice guy, we are still good friends. I see the keyboard player Fredrick from time to time and he lives south of Stockholm and when it is holidays he comes and visits us all. The former vocalist Krulle I speak to him from time to time as well, he is doing a band in Stockholm, but I don't know their name. Rossie, our first bass player still lives in Bollnas, so I see him as well and he has a band with Charles from 'Lefay' little brother, and they recorded a demo tape, which I will send you.'

Getting back to your label, are you happy with the way they are looking after you?

"As a musician, you can never be happy with your record company (laughing), realistically we are happy with the way they are looking after the band."

Do you still get been compare to the likes of 'Savatage' and 'Sabbath' (Tony Martin) era?

"Yes we still do get compared to those bands. We also are been compared to everybody now. A lot of journalist's seem to think we sound like U.S. old school Power Metal (ED: I think you don't!) and then there those who say we sound like a typical European Heavy Metal band. I really don't care less what they think!!"

'Matters of The Dark' saw the band doing a successful tour around Europe and it also included one UK show, how exciting was it for you to be playing the UK, and do you also feel that you could of played more shows in the UK?

"Well we do lack when it comes to touring, and yes it would of been nice if we played more shows in the UK, one day we hope too!! It was s shame that we only did the one show in London, the same thing happened when we played the Milwaukee Metalfest, we here there for a week and we only played the one show which lasted 40 minutes. We could of done a mini tour with another band, but there you go, shit happens!! We still keep in touch with the guys from 'Demon' and we last saw them at the Swedish rock festival last summer. The show in London was great because for some reason we were the headlining band, and Demon were the special guests."

Ok Christer, moving on, why did you decide to call the new album 'Modus Vivendi', what does it mean?

"Well it is Latin, and it mean's 'A Way Of Life', and the reason why we chose it was because it seemed to suit the bands music & identity pretty well actually. I guess it could be 2 people living together and accepting each others ways of life, such as religion or political believes. I guess when it comes to song writing within the band we never agree upon anything and we get pissed off with each other. So if you put an outsider into our studio and ask them what they think about Tad Morose writing songs they will tell you that they do not agree on anything, and there will be no more albums by this band because these guys cannot make their minds up when it comes to writing songs. In the end we all know we will have a record released."

Did you have any other titles for this album?

"Yes we did, we were going to call it 'Life In A Lonely Grave', which is also a song on the album. From day one we always wanted a title for the album which was not a song from the album and this time I think we achieved that. I think it is a lot better if the title is not a song from the album, it gives it more of a character."

So why did the art work for the album?

"It was done by Jan Meininghaus, who has worked with Brainstorm, Zonata etc.. and he had never heard the music from this album, we just gave him the title of the album and left the rest to him to do, and I think he has done a great job!!

I see you used Fredrik Nordstrom to mix the album, was it easy for you to work with him and are you happy with the end results?

"Well I did not go myself, as I was too busy with my house and work, but Urban went along with Per who helped us record it. He is a very talented guy and easy to work with, he did a great job on the album. For once in my career I am happy with the way it has turned out. We produced the album ourselves and I think we are getting pretty good as producers. I feel that maybe a producer would be nice just to see what they could bring in for the band, if you know what I mean?"

Are there any songs from the new album that you like and why? What about least favourite songs, is there any?

"It's kind of strange really because when we all sat down to listen too it and we had to decide on what running order we wanted the song to follow in and we could not make our minds up, it was so hard because all the songs really do stand out for us. So we asked the label to sort out the running order and I think they did a really good job for us!! There are no songs on the album that we dislike."

How long did it take to record the new album?

"It took only 2 weeks to record, it was all down to our budget really, we had to save some of the money for the mixing with Fredrik, so I think it turned out really well. We recorded the album on the evening and weekends, because we all work during the days."

Are you planning on recording a promo video or maybe releasing a DVD in the near future?

"Well we are not doing a promo video, our label does not think it is worth our while. They are also not interested in releasing a DVD either (ED: are they mad??) We have so much raw material, some of which you recorded for us, that we can use that as a DVD, which I think we may do in the near future. I think we will sell it through our fan club and at concerts."

What sort of press reactions has the album been receiving and how well is it selling, if you know?

"As far as I know Jase, it is selling very well, and I heard the first pressing sold out so they had to make some more. Our label are not telling us the amount of albums sold so far to date. I think we always seem to get good reviews from the press and this time it's been even better for us."

So when will we see the band on tour?

"We are going on tour with Edguy & Nocturnal Rites only in Scandinavia and we would love to do the full European tour with them, but Brainstorm are their special guest's. Nothing else planned yet, but we maybe playing Bloodstock festival in the UK, not sure yet."

Well Christer, thanx for the interview, take care and I hope to have another beer with you in the very near future. Do you have anything so say to your fans?

"Yeah thanx for the support, we hope you like our album. We hope to see you on tour soon. Thanx for the interview Jase."

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