A Dirty Dozen with NINE of WORMWOOD – June 2019

According to a recent press release: “WORMWOOD have signed to Black Lodge Records. With their unique melancholic, majestic and dark sound, Wormwood has found their perfect match with Black Lodge Records. Together they’ll march through the Swedish bogs, forests and mountains to show the world their own and unique take on Swedish black metal.” We get vocalist Nine to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

What might take some time to grasp is the concept behind the album. Everyone can read the lyrics, translate them and get a basic understanding, but if you dig deeper you’ll find a deep-rooted meaning. All of these stories have something to do with the known and unknown souls who lost their lives during the harsh late 1800-hundreds. Not only during the famine which struck Sweden in 1867-68, but the everlasting imprint. The scars from the past will echo throughout generations.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

When growing up I was never interested in becoming a musician. Never had the aspiration to pick up the guitar, drums or any other instrument, but what I loved was music. I started around 1996 to listen to extreme music, with bands like Amorphis, Therion, Dissection, Sentenced, In Flames and so on and so forth. Sure, maybe not ‘that’ extreme, but extreme enough for me back then). So when I was in 8th grade or so, I actually did try to do some vocals, but not because I wanted to become a musician, but because the school kind of required it. Then the years passed, and at around 2003 or so, I joined a garage band from my old town and it was absolutely horrendous in all aspects, but I got a taste of what becoming a musician could be, so I pursued it… four years later when I joined the Stockholm black metal band ‘Withershin’. From there I crafted my art, perfected my singing technique which led me to try something different, which was Wormwood in the 2010-tens, and here we are.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I will skip the clichés of rambling up old Darkthrone, Mayhem, Satyricon (I got into them a bit later). but growing up it was definitely Therion and Sentenced. I listen to many other bands, but those two really enthralled me, and I still listen to them till this day.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Dan Swanö, Christofer Johnsson, Warrel Dane, Patrick Walker and Akira Yamaoka.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

There are two people that comes to mind, first of, of course; Dan Swanö. The uncrowned king of metal. With bands like Endge of Sanity, Pan.Thy.Monium, Bloodbeath and Nightingale and being a part of mixing old Dissection and Katatonia, it would just be a tremendous honour to do anything with him. Secondly, it would be Akira Yamaoka. The person who created the music for the Silent Hill games. Eerie, mechanical, melancholic and perfect. To create a strange soundscape with him would be one of the biggest things I could do.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

So far, our three releases are quite diverse. But if I should talk about the newest one which is due to release 26th of July, I’d say we are redefining what melodic black metal is from Sweden. We’re adding a big dose of melancholy, a sprinkle of atmosphere and a bit of folk music, to create our distinct sound. What makes me cringe? People labeling us (just like I just did).

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Not having any money.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We all hate and love each other. Especially when you’re tour. You can’t think of doing this with anyone else than your brothers, but you also want to be so far away from them. So, we all cook (Except D. Johansson), we all drink, we all do crack, eeh, crack and it would be T. Rydsheim who would play some acoustic.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

2017, Roadburn. I saw Warning play Watching From a Distance in isn’t entirety, and after the gig me and a friend went to a bar to just recuperated after the best live gig we ever saw, and then he walks in. No one recognizes him, and after a few more sips I dared to introduce myself and we spoke for a bit. I was in awe.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

I’m very happy with my current job.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

All missteps that have happened have happened and there is nothing you can do about it. What you can is to learn, and try not to repeat them.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

How could I chose anything else than my favourite album of all time? To have been a part of Watching From a Distance by Warning would have been beyond amazing. Especially picking the brain of Patrick Walker about the lyrics. They are so soul crushing and deep. I can’t express how could this album is.

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Category: Interviews