Degradead ist noch ein relativ unbeschriebenes Blatt in der Metal-Szene, war die Band doch bis vor kurzem unter dem Banner Septima unterwegs. Mit ihrem Debütalbum "Til Death Do Us Apart" dürfte sich der Bekanntheitsgrad der jungen Stockholmer Band jedoch schlagartig ändern, zelebrieren sie darauf doch eine quicklebendige Mischung aus Göteborg-Death Metal und Thrash Metal und lassen selbst etablierte Bands ganz schön alt aussehen. Wir hatten die Möglichkeit, mit Sänger Mikael Sehlin über Band und Album zu sprechen.

SJM: Could you please shortly introduce yourself?

Mikael: My name is Mikael Sehlin, 21 years old and I do all the vocals in the band.

SJM: Degradead is a quite new band. Could you perhaps introduce Degradead and its members to our readers?

Mikael: Degradead is Mikael Sehlin (Vocals), Anders Nyström (Guitar), David Szücs (Guitar), Michel Bärzén (Bass) and Kenneth Helgesson (Drums). We live in Stockholm, Sweden. With the current line-up we've played since the year 2004.

SJM: Could you tell us something about the name of your band, Degradead? Whose idea was the name?

Mikael: It was my idea, I don't really know how I came up with it, I guess it just came to me. We added dead at the end of the name to make it a little bit more evil... In August of 2007 we had to change our name from Septima into Degradead due to legal rights with the name Septima.

SJM: There's another Stockholm-based band with a quite similar gimmick in the name, Construcdead. Any worries about comparisons? Did you discuss this fact in the band?

Mikael: No, we don't have any worries, we felt it suited us so much that we had to add it, but I really don't think people will compare us.

SJM: Can you tell us something about your musical influences? Maybe it is a little bit surprising that you are not located in Gothenburg…

Mikael: I believe some bands don't want to label themselves, I mean we are Degradead not Gothenburg sound, as we got more technical and advanced to a higher musical level our style evolved into that direction which happens to sound a little bit like the Gothenburg sound. Of course we have many influences from that area, such as In Flames, Dark Tranquility and so on but we have so many other bands to inspire us, like Slayer or Metallica.

SJM: Is metalcore something that you are referring to? What do you think about all the metalcore-bands these days?

Mikael: I would say we play melodic death metal with very melodic choruses. I like all the bands that are coming out today, metal is coming back stronger than ever, and most of the new bands that are coming out today is going for more old school style I would say.

SJM: You have your debut album out these days, "Til Death Do Us Apart". Did you already get reactions to the album?

Mikael: The response to our record has been overwhelming. This makes us very happy of course since it's our first album. We have been looking forward to this for so long so it couldn't be better. Great reviews and such. Also a great response from people who have listened to the record.

SJM: And what are you doing these days when the album is about to be released?

Mikael: These days right now are really stressful, but that's a part of it all that naturally comes along. But it's just fun to work with band-related stuff every day; this is what we want to do. For me I do interviews for the most which is great, we all contribute in some way? Many opportunities are coming up now as the record will be released.

SJM: "Til Death Do Us Apart" has great songs and maybe it is surprising in a very positive way that this is your debut CD. So, is it your first release or did you some demos before?

Mikael: We've done two demos with current line-up, the first one called "Rest In Pieces" and the second one called "Death Row".

SJM: You attracted attention of Jesper Strömblad (In Flames). How did you get in contact with him?

Mikael: Jesper’s girlfriend is a friend of ours since way back, a very good friend. She told Jesper about us and it all went from there, finally he asked us to come to IF Studios in Gothenburg [In Flames' own recording studio] to record the record.

SJM: "Til Death Do Us Apart" was produced and mixed by Jesper and the other In Flames-guys. Can you tell us something about that? What was their impact on the album?

Mikael: Yes, the record was produced by Jesper Strömblad, Björn Gelotte, Daniel Svensson and Peter Iwers. They made us sound better then ever before, Björn produced my singing into a much higher level; they all gave us ideas which we never had thought about before. The whole process went smoothly; they are so professional so it felt like it couldn't go wrong.

SJM: The title track is a real nice acoustic instrumental. How did it end up at the end of the CD, after all the real heavy stuff?

Mikael: Anders Nyström (Guitar) had written this song earlier some years ago and we felt when he tried it out in the studio that it would fit perfectly on the record. It summons up the whole record for me without needing any other instruments or words. I think it's a cool way to get closure for all the heavy songs into an instrumental song. It's different and you always got to try new stuff.

SJM: As I mentioned before, "Til Death Do Us Apart" has great songs. So, what is your favourite song on the album?

Mikael: For me, my favourite song has to be "Genetic Waste". It's an amazing song to express yourselves in.

SJM: Can you tell us something about the lyrics on "Til Death Do Us Apart"? Is there any concept behind the lyrics?

Mikael: Basically all the songs are about the mistrust in humans, how we all have the chance to become murderers and so on. The lyrics are also about death and pain, from personal and the world's experiences.

SJM: Are there any plans for touring Europe and especially Germany in the near future?

Mikael: No, we don't have anything planned but we really hope there will be tours out there for us.

SJM: You have played a high number of live gigs in the past. What can we expect from a Degradead-show?

Mikael: You can expect a lot of energy from us, aggression and heavy, fast and melodic music. We always give 100% when we play, no matter where we play. After our shows you can be sure to expert beer drinking...

SJM: Any last comments? If there is anything you'd like to say or just add what has not been mentioned yet, you’re welcome!

Mikael: I hope you will listen to our record and be inspired by it and keep having a look out for Degradead in the future!

(Eckart Maronde)