Interview With CREOZOTH (LARS JOHANSSON)

Lars Johansson teamed with some experienced musicians and formed Creozoth playing classic Heavy Metal that drew the attention of MER site that send him the following questions.

Metal Express Radio:
Can you please introduce Creozoth to the MER readers?

Lars Johansson:
Well, me and Janne comes from Candlemass. And Torbjorn has been working with : OZ, Redfun, and Michael has been singing with Malmsteen, X-plode and others. All of us has been playing for a long time, and therefore knows exactly where to put their limits or expectations.

MER:
Can we consider Creozoth a full time or a project band?

Lars Johansson:
I would like to say that it is a band. A project is something put together just for the moment and that is not the case here.

MER:
What are the differences between writing music for Candlemass and for Creozoth?

Lars Johansson:
Oh that is very simple. Leif writes the music in Candlemass and me and Mappe make chords and lines that works together. And so I write all the music material for CreoZoth.

MER:
Did you compose all the songs especially for Creozoth or some of them are songs that didn’t make in a Candlemass album?

Lars Johansson:
As I just explained, I wrote the songs for CreoZoth only.

MER:
The album is in stores for quite a while; what is the metal scene’s response to it?

Lars Johansson:
I must say that I am really happy with the response we’ve got so far.

MER:
Do you read the album reviews? What is your response to the negative ones?

Lars Johansson:
What can I say, people are free to think whatever they like… still only 1 out of 15 reviews maybe finds it not so good, maybe because they’re comparing it to Candlemass… And it is not really the same theme here.

MER:
Can you pinpoint Creozoth’s musical influences?

Lars Johansson:
A very difficult question.. I think we all like the roots of metal from the 70s, 80s and even later than that, there is not any special band or so, just the influences from those years, modified with a rather modern production idea. I think that’s the way we worked it out.

MER:
Whose idea was to give the band this strange name, Creozoth?

Lars Johansson:
Of course it was my weird idea.

MER:
Are you happy with the album’s sound? Is there something that you’d like to change?

Lars Johansson:
I’m so happy about the sound, it didn’t sound the way I felt it in my head, to begin with. But it turned out to be even better all in all when mastering was done and all that. It always sound a little different in the end, from your own point of view.

MER:
What was your composing process?

Lars Johansson:
Oh that is something I don’t have any control over. Riffs just pops into my head, then they stay there for a while. After that, they come out with verse and chorus lines. Now that can take a week or it could take 2 month, after that I’ll go for the melody and then the lyrics.

MER:
How long did the recording/mixing process last?

Lars Johansson:
We recorded the backgrounds during 6 weekends, and then there were vocals and solos during spare time over like 6-7 month, two different mixing situations and two masterings. Then it was all done.

MER:
Is the fact that Creozoth comprises two Candlemass members an advantage or a disadvantage?

Lars Johansson:
An advantage of course. With a little puzzling, everything works. And there will not be any double booking or any other worrisome.

MER:
Are there any tour plans?

Lars Johansson:
Not at the moment, just trying to get some festival gigs to check out the pulls of the band, and the audience response.

MER:
What are your personal musical influences?

Lars Johansson:
Beside the guitar heroes that’s been following me since youth, a lot of classical music, and a big portion of blues & jazz.

MER:
What do you do when you’re not writing or composing music?

Lars Johansson:
Working at my daytime job.

MER:
Do you consider playing music as a regular job?

Lars Johansson:
I wish I could, but then you would probably have to be on the road 10 month a year. And that will not happen.

MER:
What names can we find in your best guitarist list?

Lars Johansson:
Oh man… Jimi Hendrix,Jeff Beck, Uli Roth, Frank Marino, Joe Satriani, Snuffy Walden and much more.

MER:
What is the latest news from Candlemass camp?

Lars Johansson:
Rehearsing and recording some songs for the new Candlemass album.

MER:
Last time you played live in Greece your show was rather short in time; what happened?

Lars Johansson:
We came with 2 different flights, and the other guys flight was verry delayed.

MER:
What can we expect from Creozoth in the future?

Lars Johansson:
At least another album or two.

MER:
Thank you for your time. Say anything you’d like to close this interview.

Lars Johansson:
Stay loud, stop the wars and save the planet.