MORBUS CHRON -FULL INTERVIEW.

NAME: Morbus Chron
THEY ARE: Twisted Old School Death Metal
FROM: Stockholm, Sweden
FOR FANS OF: Autopsy, Death Breath, Autopsy
LATEST RELEASE:"Sleepers In The Rift" (Pulverised Records)
SONGS TO CHECK OUT: Coughing In A Coffin, Creepy Creeping Creep, Red Hook Horror
WHERE TO FIND THEM: http://www.facebook.com/morbuschron 

http://www.myspace.com/morbuschronband

If you google the words Morbus Chron you will find very unpleasant pics of people suffering from an inflammatory bowel disease called "morbus chron" which has some very ugly looking symptoms, a perfect moniker for a band dealing in equally ugly death metal which sounds like the bastardised offspring of Autopsy's "Mental Funeral", Morbus Chron's sound echos the twisted atmosphere and dark humour of said classic album and it is firmly safe to say that Autopsy is the bands biggest musical influence.  As Robba the bands guitarist/vocalist said himself when asked about the bands influences

"Autopsy of course. Mentioning other bands would be unnecessary" That says it all really. 

The bands debut full length album "Sleepers In The Rift" was released on CD by long running Singapore based extreme music label Pulverised Records in 2011 and is one of the most talked about and eagerly anticipated underground death metal releases of the past year judging from what I have seen online, the band have definetly made a noticeable impact upon the scene. The album (produced by Nicke Anderson of Entombed/Death Breath fame who is also apparently related to one of the band members) comes wrapped up in gloriously striking colourful extradimensional artwork which depicts somekind of ahem pardon the old school death metal pun - tentacled lovecraftian sick bizarre defaced creation on the front courtesy of the talented hand of artist Raul Gonzalez and is a perfect accompliment to the bands twisted horror death metal. The album is due to be unleashed on vinyl this year by Belgian Death Metal label Detest Records. 

The bands current line up is 

Edde - Lead Guitar/ Vocals
Robba - Guitar/ Vocals
Dag - Bass
Adam - Drums

Robba (guitar/vocals) answered my questions. This is the full interview I did with him, an unedited version was posted up on the Terrorizer Magazine website late last year.

Hails please give me a quick background history on the band and who does what? Please tell us a little about each member, age, hobbies?

We formed in 2007, at the age of fifteen. Three guys that went to the same school. Edde, Steffe and I. When the news broke out that I had received a guitar for christmas I was asked to join their band. Rehearsals consisted of trying to play Metallica and Slayer-covers and recording as much as possible. I think we did almost three demos that we didn't release. We used a porta studio and we never really understood how to make it sound not like shit. Eventually we finally got some songs up on Myspace and was quickly asked to participate on Resurrected in Festering Slime. 

Steffe is long gone now, but at nineteen me and Edde are still doing the same thing with the help of Adam - drums and Dagge - bass. 

You have recently just had your debut album "Sleepers In The Rift" released on Pulverised Records, I must congratulate you guys on creating a stinking modern day DödsMetall classic, please tell the readers a lil about this album in your own words and what they can expect from it. Are you totally satisfied with how it turned out or would you like to change any things?

Thanks for the kind words! I would never go so far as to say we've created a modern day death metal classic, although I believe we've managed to spawn something which is honest and fulfilling to ourselfs. It is our view on how Death Metal should sound. People shouldn't expect anything else than that.

About making changes.. You know, we had the record done months before it actually got released. During that time you had more than one opportunity to listen to all the songs and finding stuff to dislike. But speculating about that is just as useless as an asshole on your forehead. 

Did the recording process go pretty smooth or was there some stress? 

First we had a week. Then it was five days. Then Nicke got sick and we ended up finishing it in three and a half days. Some bands are able to record a full album in one day. We could never do that. We're not first take guys. But somehow we did it in that short time. I remember it as a smooth process, although because of the nature of things, of course you felt the occasional stress. 

You recorded it with Nicke Andersson producing, what was it like working with him? I must say he got a killer sound. I also read he is the older brother of one of the bands members aswell. Is he cool and easy to work with?

It was a way to secure a sound that would fit our vision. On top of his knowledge, he is also very easy to work with. We had a great fun time and I think that Nicke really captured that feeling of joy, smiles and laughing babies. 

How did you hook up with Roy and Pulverised initially? Are you happy with the work they have done for the band so far?

I think they got a hold of the demo. Anyway, I received a mail where they clearly said that they wanted to sign us for an album. Right now we're very happy with their work. Of course things move slow, they almost always do with this kind of stuff. But when the wait is over and you're sitting there with your sweat and blood embodied on a record, everything is sun and flowers.

The albums artwork is very striking, how did you get involved with the artist who designed that cover? Whos idea was it for that artwork? And what do you think of it? 

All the praise to Raul Gonzalez. It's not like we had ideas that he took inspiration from. The truth is that the painting was already done and he just happened to have it for sale. So, it was not made for us in any way. What we think of it? We think so highly of it that we chose it to be the cover art. It is an insane interpretation of the Netherworld, or so we perceive it. Maybe it's the inside of an anus? Ask Raul about the specifics. 

I have only seen great responses from people about your album so far, how do you feel about the overall response and review so far?

The response has been superb and people are way too kind. We really couldn't be happier with the feed back. Some say really big things about us and while that feels weird, it's really rewarding as well. We enjoyed the writing and recording, so we're excited that people are enjoying it back. 

What bands fuel and shape the sound of Morbus Chron? I am guessing Autopsy is a main influence?! You guys are probablys the most Autopsy sounding band to crawl out of the Swedish underground since Murder Squad in my opinion! 

Autopsy of course. Mentioning other bands would be unnessecery. 

Describe Morbus Chron in 5 words only

Not, interested, in, this, question.

Is the "Creeping Creepy Creeps" 7" still available? If so where can people pick it up from?

I don't think so. We've been out of stock for a long time. You might have some luck over at Detest Records. But just google the fucker and you should find it somewhere.

I saw Morbus Chron got the Autopsy seal of approval, how does that make you feel? Have you met those guys in person? Were they cool with you? What was your first introduction to Autopsy? And what were your thoughts when you first heard their music?

I can't speak for the other guys, but they played with Autopsy at Hammer open air in Finland. I did not attend and therefore I missed out on smoking grass with Reifert hahaha. But I personally met them last year when I went to Maryland Death Fest to see the reunion gig. I flew all the way alone and had brought some demos and shit. I nervously tapped Reifert on his shoulder when he was selling merch and asked for a picture. We got out and had a quick chat and I gave him and Coralles a tape. I was basically star struck to the extent that I couldn't say anything else than "cool, awesome, sweet", and that was it. 

First time I heard Autopsy was when Edde brought a burnt CD to rehearsal. It contained various Death Metal bands. I think the second track was "Ridden with Disease" and it was easily the best of the bunch. 

Do you guys play live often? what can people expect from a Morbus Chron live show?

No we don't actually. It's been a couple of shows each year, but no tours or anything like that. People can expect to be entertained.

Are there any plans to tour in support of the album outside of Sweden and within Scandinavia? would you like to tour Europe or USA?

I think we are okey with how things are right now. But if we got an offer to tour the US, I would most likely be the only guy in the band to say no. I'm know Edde and the guys want to play more than we do, but I believe we've reached a solution that works for everyone in the band. We record and release music and play the occasional show. I like it that way and that is probably going to be our recipe for a long time. 

You recently played the Fenriz curated Live Evil festival in London, how was that experience for you overall? Which other bands did you really enjoy at the festival?

I was feeling really sick the whole trip and sang with abnormal chest pains. Half of the gig was clean shouts because my throat was so shit. I've actually been hospitalized for two weeks now since we got home and I'm writing this in a hospital bed while I'm eating way too much medication. But enough about me.. We all liked the dedicated people there, especially the guy with the home made "Creepy Creeping Creeps"-back patch. The atmosphere was great and the bands were killer. It's one of those rare festivals where you want to watch every single band play. Antichrist ruled. So did the singer of Deathhammer. 

What did you think when you were made a Fenriz band of the week? Are you guys big Dark Throne fans?

I respect the guy and there's no denying that he knows good music, so we're flattered that he enjoys our stuff.

About Darkthrone. Goatlord is amazing. I also enjoyed Soulside Journey. But I can't really give you an opinion on most of their work, because I haven't heard it. Like I said though, Goatlord is one of the finest pieces of music Death Metal has ever brought upon us. It's fucking genious. 

lyrically where do you get the inspiration from to put pen to paper?

As soon as I have a title, most of the words write themselves. Just a quick story about something detestful and disturbing. But some of the album lyrics and a vast majority of the new stuff will be about cosmology and everything that is celestial. You always write about things that interests you and at the moment I'm afraid it isn't Zombies, hehe. Maybe Space Zombies. 

The Swedish death metal underground has been producing some killer new bands in recent years apart from yourselves there is Maim, Invidious, Repuked, Miasmal, Bastard Priest, Vanhelgd etc.., which fellow Swedish bands would you recommend to the readers to check out? 

Of those you listed I would recommend each one. I like Degial and Graveless. Eviscerated as well if they're still around. The same goes for Nauseant. 

What about locally, what bands would you recommend from any style?

Ehh.. I really have no idea. Except for the death scene I don't really know so many local bands. I've given it some thought to see if I can come up with anything but the problem is that most bands, whatever their style, suck ass. All the members have other bands though and I would recommend each one of them, but that would be cheesy. I know I'm probably forgetting loads of good bands. There are just so many bad ones in the way.. 

Whats your opinion on the current worldwide death metal scene? the old school vibe and attitude seems to be back with a vengeance!

In an old interview for Terrorizer, we said that we wanted to sound like the 80's and look like the 80's because we missed it and felt we were born too late. All the metal sucked ass and we wanted to bring back the old vibe. It seems to be moving in the right direction now and maybe the young bands who were trying to revive the scene played a part in that. I'm not really interested in standing still and sounding the same though. It is time for the revival to evolve into a path of continuation instead.  

The name Morbus Chron is pretty sick, did you call yourself anything else before settling with that name?

Back in 2007, before I joined, Steffe and Edde called themselves "Lifeless". I remember their song "Eaten by the rats", it was awesome.   

How do you think Morbus Chron will be remembered in say 10 years time? Where can you see the band then and yourself musically...still creating the same kinda musical filth?

If we would play the same kinda musical filth we'd get bored pretty fast. You'll hear when we record the new songs that there is a wish of trying something slightly different from the usual. That is while still maintaining the core sound. Evolvement is the key to keeping people and especially yourself interested. Maybe we'll be remembered as the band that had it's singer killed by the other members because he wanted to play experimental black metal jazz. Or maybe we're still around ten years from now and playing punk. Who knows?

I know Dag also plays in the band PLAGUEBEARER are any of the other members involved with other bands or projects?

Like I said before, all of the members have other bands. Adam plays in the rock trio Red Strike, as well as in The Giesagöebbels with Edde. Dagge plays drums in Ho Chi Minh Howlers and bass in Plaguebearer. While I do have some projects, I quickly lose interest in things and a lot of ideas are never realised. But I'm working on something cool too!

What albums have been blasting on your stereo recently? Apart from the new Morbus Chron of course!!

I've been listening to Carbonized a lot. Their Screaming Machines album is fantastic. Interesting to say the least. Other than that I haven't really listened to much music lately. 

What are you plans for rest of 2011 and also 2012? Can we expect a return to the UK ?? what are your future goals?

Recording and releasing a new EP. The songs are done and we should begin rehearsing them soon. So I'm really excited about that. Never say never, we might see you again.

The last words are yours, many thanks for answering my questions, please plug any available merch.

My pleasure. Black Orb.