MER:
Recently you guys released your new album, My Blood … how long have you been working on it?
MICHAEL:
After we released When Death Comes we started to work on 2 new songs and “Monster” was one of them. After 3 months we had about 4- 5 songs ready and 2 months before hitting the studio we did the rest of the songs and “Thrasher” was the last one!
MER:
Do you think that My Blood follows the same line of music that you guys maintained in the 80s?
MICHAEL:
Yeah, in many ways … we really love playing this music. We will always try to develop the songs and try some new things as long as we are true to what we like. I think My Blood has a lot in common with By Inheritance for example! I know a lot of people think we have more Power Metal influences now due to our singer, but I really don’t think there is so much Power Metal now than there used to be. We have always considered ourselves to be a melodic Thrash band!
MER:
Do you think that you have progressed since then?
MICHAEL:
We became better musicians, better songwriters, and a better live band. On the new album we tried new instruments like Bouzouki, Mandolin, and different acoustic guitars. We also did our first instrumental song ever.
MER:
Some of the lyrical themes seemed deep, especially from tracks like “Mi Sangre”, “End Of Eternity”, and “Death Is An Illusion”. Can you tell the Metal Express readers what those are about?
MICHAEL:
“Mi Sangre” is about the way you are as parents giving your best to your kids (My Blood). You can help them but you cannot live their lives. They have to learn by themselves — sometimes the hard way. Also, musically you hope your children will follow the taste of good music (Metal)!! Death Is An Illusion is about the subject: Do we really die? Is there another world? Where do we go from here? etc. “End Of Eternity” has some of the same vibes as “Death Is An Illusion”, like where does it all end and why!
MER:
What is your personal assessment of the work with your rather new vocalist Soren Adamsen?
MICHAEL:
It’s very positive … he is a good guy and frontman, very easy to work with and really down to earth compared to our previous members! In short, he is a good friend!
MER:
Although every front man, or musician, brings out something of his own to a group, do you really think that Adamsen changed something in Artillery’s approach towards Thrash or music in general?
MICHAEL:
A singer will always make the band sound a bit different and Soren has made the songs more diverse than before. But, I still think you hear that its Artillery who’s playing no matter who is singing due to the way the riffing is done!
MER:
What about the future plans of the band? Are there tours / festivals on the horizon?
MICHAEL:
We will be hitting the road in the next couple of months in Denmark, Germany, some East European countries, and probably South America!
MER:
As a guitarist that can be considered one of the pioneers of technical Thrash, do you think that the ’80s style of playing Thrash Metal is virtually gone nowadays?
MICHAEL:
I will say there are still vibes from the eighties, but you are right in many ways — Metal just sounds very ”Modern” now in many ways and that can both be a weakness or a strength. It’s a matter of what you like!
MER:
Are any ideas for new material in the works?
MICHAEL:
Yeah some ideas already have started to show up, so I guess we’ll have 2 or 3 new songs ready in a couple of months.
MER:
Do you have a final message to send out to your fans and all of the Metal Express readers?
MICHAEL:
We really appreciate the great support we have got after we reunited the band and we’re looking forward to playing for you Metal freaks! CHEERS!
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