The
Copenhagen, Denmark-based sludge metal bastards Barricade is back with their second full
length album ”Waker”, which is a fierce stew of social indignation and a
musical pedal to the metal. First and foremost, ”Waker” is the proof of
a band with something to say and a sense of renewing its own expression while
setting the bar high for the alternative metal scene.
”Waker”
will be released September 30th via the band’s own label Black Grain Records on
LP/CD/Digital and today you can check out the album in full with our exclusive
stream, as well as short interview.
SL: Can you give us an insight into how you started playing
music, leading up to the formation of Barricade
We all started playing music when
we were young teens in the early mid 90`s and discovered bands like Nirvana, Metallica and Pantera. Some of us Tejs, Lars and Jonathan grew up
together and have been playing together for a long time in various bands and
genres. Barricade was born in 2010 and Patrick
joined in as a second guitar later that year.
SL: For folks unfamiliar with your band, is there any bands
on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point band to
describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to
try new things?
Well we
have very different influences and bands we like. Our musical background is
very different stretching from Grunge through hardcore all the way to death
metal – but let’s say that we have listened to a fair share of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Mastodon, High on Fire, Raised Fist and Red Fang.
SL: What can you tell us
about your upcoming record and where do you feel it sits within the context of
current doom scene
We don’t see ourselves as a doom
band. We prefer sludge metal. We have some short slow parts in some of our
songs, that have a little doom inspiration. Don’t know were the Doom definition
comes from? :)
Our new record is a kind of “new”
start, in that form that we use to have 2 drummers, but we parted ways with our
second drummer about a year ago and decided to continue with one - which
resulted in a new sound that is more heavy and slow but still with our
aggressive hardcore inspired attitude.
SL: Does anything spring to mind when you think about
the completion of your upcoming record and how is the mood in the camp at
present?
We are happy
and proud that we made this record. It has been tough and hard work not least because
we did almost everything ourselves. We did the recording in a realy nice big
pro studio and Patrick (guitar) did the mix and mastering. Lars (guitar,
vocals) did all the artwork and graphics. The video was done by our drummer Tejs.
So it’s been a long but exciting process. Now it’s done and out in a few weeks,
so the mood is good and positive and we hope people will like our new record.
SL: What stands out as your overarching memory from
the recording sessions?
This time we
had a more “real” feeling to it than we’ve had before. This time we did two
weeks of non-stop recording sessions on vintage gear with Emil Sauer, a very
skilled pro recording engineer and producer. Emil gave us a lot of inputs and
did a great job on working with the basic sound. We had the real feeling of
being in the studio. So a very different process than our previous releases
where each of us would have short sessions of recording you know layer on layer
etc.
SL: With a solid gold album in the bag, how is your schedule shaping up
over the next 12 months?
Thanks J We
don’t have a lot of plans for now. It’s hard to get gigs and tour in Denmark at
our level and music genre. Hopefully we can get some cool support jobs for
bigger acts when they come to Copenhagen. We are planning to do a small EU tour
early 2017 and festivals next summer.
SL: Finally, do you have any final
comments/word of wisdom you’d like to bestow upon us?
Thanks
for doing this interview. Stay true to yourself and work hard for what you
believe in. Love your fellow man and animal despite all the differences you may
have. Teach your kids that everyone is right. Music for all – hate for none.
Cheers
”Waker”
will be released September 30th via the band’s own label Black Grain
Records here , and the album will be accompanied by a string of live shows in DK and beyond.
