Memory Garden Interview

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  1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

  1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?1. We have been working on the new album since the summer of 2011, and a year or so before that we started to put together the songs for it.
  Right now everything is finished, the album "Doomain" is being released on the 15th of april. We're rehearsing again and look forward to start playing live as soon as possible!

  2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material and how it differs from previous releases?

  2. I think it 's very difficult to compare and tell exactly what the differences are. Some parts of the songs are about the heaviest and most doomy we have ever made. We still have the mix between really heavy power metal and doom,
  and that makes it more fun and varying to play. Also a few progressive parts are found in some songs. All these elements have been with us since -98 at least, so I guess there's not too many differences today but the songs are way better if you ask me.
  One thing is that we have put more effort in the vocal-melodies to make it a bit more catchy and memorable, and the songs might be a little more structured than before. We did a lot of riff-stacking in our older stuff.
  Some songs actually fit that way but others not so much.

  3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the newer music explores?

  3. The biggest influence for most lyrics are the cruelties in this world, and different ways people are being exposed to it. For example a pedofiliac priest, dangerous unquestioned religious leadership, mr "angel of death" Joseph Mengele, a devastated world and so on...

  4. When can we expect a new album?

  4. It will be out on the 15th of april.

  5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

  5. A few of our best or most memorable shows for ourselves must be Wacken Open Air, Sweden Rock Festival, Up the Hammers in Athens Greece plus another show in Athens with Candlemass and Grand Magus. Also Headbangers Open Air in Germany was cool.
  We always try to do the best show we can of course, though we are not a band with a specific image or any theatrical stuff going on. Just doom'n roll and a few hard-ass poses 

  6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?

  6. No touring plans at the moment. But we are in contact with a few festivals in europe, and if the economic parts work out hopefully we can get some cool gigs during the year.

  7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom metal?7. I think we have been pretty well received everywhere we have played. However, our gigs in Greece felt really special for us. Everybody was so dedicated, it was well organized and the fans really made us feel loved! I remember a show in Germany where there was like 90% powermetal bands with swords and other shimmering shit on stage...Not the right place for us, both us and the audience agreed on that!
  But we get a lot of nice words from all different places in the world, so we can't complain.

  8. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

  8. Well, Simon has been very busy with Wolf the past year. I think they are about to record a new album in the near future.
  Nightingale is also in the process of making new songs and we will probably start recording during the summer. Andreas has his other band Evil Conspiracy, they are about finished with a new album as well.
  So, there are a few other things going on. Hopefully nothing of it will cause a major collision...

  9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

  9. Probably pretty much the same path we've been on since the nineties, but who knows? Every album has had a little different feel to it, but of course that is also about the whole production and not just the songs themselves. We have found a type of powerdoom that we are comfortable
  with, guess there won't be no drastic changes.

  10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

  10. It's hard nowadays to find new inspirational music, a lot sounds copied and pasted from something else. We can appreciate all sorts of genres, from folk music to thrash to the hardest death metal. I don't listen that much to doom metal, one spin of Candlemass every once in a while will do the trick for me. Two bands I recently got interested in are Omnium Gatherum and Anubis Gate. Very melodic, atmospheric and powerful. AG being the more progressive of the two.

  11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

  11. There's not much time left for other hobbies. We all have daily jobs and families, so just getting the band together for one or at the most two times on the same week is good.
  Other than that for me, just a few visits at the gym now and then.
  Stefan likes to get his hands dirty, he's fixing up old VW cars when he gets a little extra spare time. I know Johan and Simon likes photography, Andreas on the other hand....hmm. Not sure about him. Maybe he is into genealogy... 

  12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

  12. Thanks for your interest in Memory Garden, I hope you will enjoy the new album and come see any nearby show.
  Cheers!

  Tom Björn, Memory Garden