Rockezine.com interview with Impious on Nov 11, 2004

with Valle on Nov 11, 2004

Hellucinate is the first album that Impious released on Metal Blade records. Time for me to ask this band some questions.
		You’re a band from Sweden, what is it with this country that just doesn’t seem to stop giving this world great metal bands? I think it’s because all Swedish bands have a very clear goal: Practice till your fingers bleed, and then you might go on a tour... there they have free alcohol. Hahaha!
		Since you are from Scandinavia and make death/thrash metal, Impous is probably compared to a lot of bands coming from that region. How does Impious differ from the other Scandinavian bands? Sure, you get compared to bands no matter where you’re from. People just love to compare it seems. I have to say we are not even trying to be different or original. In my opinion too many talented bands sound like shit, just because they try to do something different. We just want to play the music we like, end of story. If people like what we do, fine. If not, listen to something else.
		You chose to release Hellucinate on Metal Blade. In the past you released 2 albums on Black Sun Records and 2 on Hammerheart Records (now called Karmageddon Media). Why did you make the switch to Metal Blade? Hehe, would you rather drive a Fiat or a Ferrari? That’s about the same thing. But seriously, we just felt we were ready to step a division or two. And when Metal Blade made us the offer, we felt it was a natural step for us. We are very happy with the label now.
		A lot of bands release an album every 2 or 3 years. For the last 3 years you put out a record every year. How do you come up with that much quality material in such a ‘short’ time? Well, that’s not really the whole truth. Since ´98 we have released 4 full-length albums. That’s 4 albums and 1 MCD in 7 years.
		I read you recorded some cover songs in the past, also for a tribute cd. Does playing songs from other bands help you write your own stuff? In other words do you get inspiration out of playing covers? Yeah, cover songs are great fun! We don’t record them because we’re out of ideas or something like that. We just enjoy it because you don’t really have the same responsibility as when you record your own material... and yes, once in a while you get really inspired. Try it, it’s fun!
		I think the record sounds really good, production wise. Could you tell something about the recordings, the studio and the long hours it took to make this album the way it is? We recorded the drums, guitars and bass at Studio Mega. We basically recorded everything ourselves. We have recorded there several times, and I have done some engineering work there, so I know the studio pretty well by now. The vocals and solos were recorded at Studio Deadline, my own place. And then finally we mixed the album at Studio Mega. The album was produced by me, and mixed by me and Chris Silver. He’s the owner of Studio Mega.
		In October the people from Europe can check Impious out live. You will be touring with Amon Amarth. What can we expect from an Impious live show? We’re back from the tour and we had a blast! The whole tour was a big success, and I think we made a lot of new friends in the crowds. The feedback was awesome! From Impious you can expect only one thing: Pure energy that will blow you away!
		What is the band working on right know, what are the band’s future plans? At the moment we have a little break now after the tour and everything. But I have actually already started writing new material and I must say it sounds very promising. Other than that, I hope we’ll get to do a couple of shows here in Sweden; we really look forward to that. In summer 2005 we are booked for a few festivals, but it’s not official yet.
		Any last words, anything I forgot? Thanks to you Jeroen for this interview and your support! All readers should at least check out our album Hellucinate. That’s an order! Cheers!!
(Jeroen Habets)