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Interview for DEATHTHRASHER
MAGAZINE by ARMANDO MUTILATOR :
DT:
Hello FREDRIK, how do you feel
today? ...when did you start palying?
Fredrik: Hola
ARMANDO! I’m allright, tired as all hell though! CANOPY was created in 2001,
but it wasn’t untill 2004 that we had a complete lineup.
DT: Who designed the
CANOPY’s logo?
Fredrik: A good
friend of ours, PETER ALMGREN from the Metalcore band A-BROS. He has also
done the covers for both “During Day One” and 'Will and Perception'.
DT: All the members
of CANOPY are natural from Sweden?
Canopy: We are all
Swedes, however a large part of CANOPY also has Finnish roots.
DT: Was there an
experience that changed your life?
Fredrik: Hard to
say. I live my life on a day-to-day basis. Never was much of a planner. So
everyday is a turning point.
DT: Do you like
DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE?
Fredrik: Can’t say
that I’ve listened to them.
DT: What was the
proudest moment of your career?
Fredrik: The
release of “Will and Perception” and our live gig at Klubben, Stockholm.That
was one killer night.
DT: What were the
biggest disappointments in your career?
Fredrik: I think it
is quite natural to have high hopes for ones band. We know we’re good, the
only dissapointment I can think of, is our inability to get the music out to
more people. However, things are looking better and better each day. Don’t
be suprised if we show up in Peru one day. :)
DT:
Do you think that wearing
chains, blood, make-up and all that stuff is important for you image?
Fredrik: I’m sure
that for some bands having to use some gimmick to sell works very well. We
pride ourselfs on the music we create and don't see the need for any blood/corpsepaint.
I don't have a problem with bands that use it, I just don't see how it would
improve a Canopy gig.
DT: Which do you
prefer and why?
Fredrik:
EDGE OF SANITY or
DIABOLICAL?
EDGE OF SANITY,
naturally. One of the best bands to ever come out of Sweden.
MACERATION or MORBID
MORBID
NIHILIST or
DISMEMBER?
DISMEMBER
ANGELA GOSSOW or
JOHAN LIIVA?
JOHAN LIIVA
anyday, ANGELA has a shit growl and is popular only because of her gender. (For
some good female growls, the American band 'TIDES OF ESTUARY -
http://www.myspace.com/estuary' should be checked out instead)
HENRIK LARSSON or
TOMAS BROLIN?
HANRIK LARSSON
DT: Are you
satisfied with your “During Day One” (2004)?
Fredrik: Yes,
considering how it was our first demo we’re happy with the songs we made
then. I think if we had written the same songs today, they would have been a
bit different. As we recorded the demo ourselfs there are flaws in the
production that also could have been improved if it had been recorded in a
bigger studio.
DT: Are you into
Serial Killers?... do you know who is THOMAS QUICK? ...tell me your opinion
about people like ED GEIN and TED BUNDY?
Fredrik: Just like
many other in the Death Metal scene I find serial killers to be rather
fascinating. I wouldn’t consider them an influence on my lyrics, but
interesting from a sociological point of view.
THOMAS QUICK
–
I’m guessing he's the most
famous Swedish one. I think he’s confessed to about 30 murders, but he’s
only been charged with 8 of them.
EN GEIN / TED
BUNDY - Who
hasn’t listened to SLAYER? :) 2 crazy American killers. ED GEIN probably
being the most interesting one of the two.
DT:
Actually, what topics do you
consider in your lyrics?
Fredrik: With me,
it’s usually an odd creation. I don’t always have a predefined concept in
mind when I start working on lyrics. I'll just write whatever is in my head,
and then spawn more things based on what I wrote. Much of the lyrics to
“Will and Perception” was done in that fashion, yet, together with the
lyrics Jonathan wrote a red thread can be found. “Will and Perception” is
about a man’s struggle to find a purpose and truth, once discovered his
madness sets in as he sees the flaws in the structure of society, at the
brink of suicide is where we leave him.
DT: Are you into
drugs?
Canopy: We never
say no to some good 'ol alcohol.
DT: Do you remember
PUTREFACTION MAGAZINE?
Fredrik: It rings a
bell, I might have some laying around the house.
DT: What CD’s /
bands have you been listening to lately?
Fredrik:
NILE - Annihilation of the
Wicked / In thier darkest shrines
MESHUGGAH - Nothing
/ I
THRONEAEON - Godhate (or is it GODHATE - Throneaeon, great band either way)
DT: What do you know
about Peruvian Metal Scene?
Fredrik: Sadly
enough, nothing. I’d more than welcome some tips on good Peruvian death
though!
DT: We mention a
name, and you give us your thoughts:
Fredrik:
DAN SWANÖ
He’s amazing,
just listen to “Crimson”. We’re also in debt to him for being so fucking
cool. He did some clean vocals / guitar solo for us on “During Day One”
which just sounds awsome!
DISMEMBER
Another great
Swedish Death Metal act.
EDGE OF SANITY
We all worship
EoS.
ENTOMBED
They've had
thier ups and downs. I really liked “Morningstar”, naturally such albums as
“Left Hand Path”, “Wolverine Blues” and “Clandestine” are essential to any
Death Metal fan.
GRAVE
I’m glad
they’re back! GRAVE was one of my first Death Metal bands, “Into the Grave”
is great. JÖRGEN SANDSTRÖM has some of the best growls ever.
ANTON SZANDOR LA VEY
I wouldn’t
believe in his form of Satanism.
MICHAEL JACKSON
I feel sorry
for him. He's got some serious problems.
ALEISTER CROWLEY
I should read
more by him.
UNLEASHED
I think they've
passed thier former glory. Together with GRAVE, UNLEASHED was my first Death
Metal band. I saw them live at “2000 Decibel”, a small festival in Sweden,
earlier this year, and it was pretty boring actually.
DT:
How many copies has you sold
of your “Wild And Perception” (2005)?
Fredrik: We only
printed 100 copies of “Will and Perception” mainly due to moneyissues, and
of those 100, we might have 7 left. We're going to do a re-print of the CD
and print up at least another 100, if not more.
DT: Tell us about
the work of DAN SWANÖ on CANOPY please.
Fredrik: More of a
fluke than anything actually. Before my time in CANOPY, when the other
members were searching for singers, they had an add up on a Swedish webpage,
and SWANÖ answered with something along the lines of “Hey, this makes me
want to sing again”, since they had listed him as a wanted influence of the
new singer. JONATAN and DAN kept in touch, and when the time came to record
“During Day One”, we asked him if he wanted to help us out with some clean
vocals and perhaps some guitar work, and he happily accepted. Incredible if
you ask me!
DT: Do you consider
“Wild And Perception” (2005) like your best work?
Fredrik: To date,
yes. The sound on the new demo is great, and the songs are the best we’ve
written so far. It’s something anyone that enjoys good death should listen
to.
DT: In what musical
direction will CANOPY be heading in for the next production?
Fredrik: We will
probably be using the same studio/producer (OLA ENGLUND of the
Deaththrashing band SUBCYDE - http://www.subcyde.com).
Musicwise we had some thought of doing a 4-5 track EP with old school Death
Metal covers and one new song. We’ll see what happenes.
DT: Are you into
STAR WARS?... what do you think about EPISODE III?
Fredrik: I enjoyed
the first 3 STAR WARS Movies (read: 4,5,6). The new ones I think have
somewhat lost their touch, or perhaps it's that I'm not 10 anymore. In
particular 1,2 were pretty bad. The last one got better in my eyes, probably
since it was a lot darker and not so much a movie for kids.
DT: Do you know who
is ELIN LAVONEN?
Fredrik: No clue?
Google says she plays bass for “ATHELA” and “ETERNALLY DEVOURED”, however,
I’ve never heard of those bands. :)
DT: Where can people
order your stuff?
Fredrik: From our
webpage!
http://www.entercanopy.com
During Day One : Europe - 5? / World $8
Will and Perception: Europe - 7? / World $10
Both : Europe - 10? / World $15
We take orders through PayPal mainly, however if people wish to order
by sending cash, that works too. All cash orderes should be sent well
concealed to:
Fredrik Huldtgren
Fornbacken 49, 5tr
152 56 Södertälje
SWEDEN
DT: Your last growl
for DEATHTHRASHER’s readers?
Fredrik: Thanks for
reading! Visit our homepage at:
http://www.EnterCanopy.com where you can download ALL songs for free.
There is also some live videos and clips up on the webpage. If you like what
you hear, join our forum, and tell us so!
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