NOCTURNAL RITES – Interview mit Nils Eriksson

Hello Nils! As there has been happening much in the NOCTURNAL RITES camp at the moment, I want to know our readers some news about you… Let´s start with your 10th anniverary this year. Do you still remember, how you thought of founding NOCTURNAL RITES?

Fredrik formed the band in 1990 and I joined the year after. You know, back in those days we did this as a hobby and just because it was so much fun. We practised at the youth centre and had some shows there as well. We had no dreams of ever touring the world or having fans from all over the globe, let alone sell lots of records and hearing our music on the radio or see ourselves on TV. We just hung out and played music. Today I am very glad we did or else maybe we would have ended up playing something stupid like soccer, haha

What was the main reason founding NOCTURNAL RITES?

Because at that time everyone Fredrik hung out with were playing music in one way or another. There were a lot of kids into metal and especially the interest for death metal was growing very fast. I joined because I had always wanted to be in a band and Fredrik and Tommy (drummer at that time) were really cool guys.

You played death metal and your band was called NECRONOMIC before NOCTURNAL RITES. Why did you change the band name and style and took a different singer?

Like I said, at that time in our area pretty much every kid was into Entombed, Unleashed and bands like that. Death Metal was huge and I guess it was easy for us to start playing this kind of music. It didnt take long though before we started incorporating influences from what we grew up listening to good old heavy metal. For us this was a natural step and nothing we planned. Haha, I guess we were ahead of our time a bit. We were already mixing death and heavy metal in 1992. So the glory for this style should go to Umeĺ and not Gothenburg! We got the new singer because we felt we were a bit cornered with the death metal vocals. We wanted to take things all the way.

Why did you re-release the first two albums In a time of blood and fire and Tales of mystery and imagination?

Because the first album was released on a very small label with insufficient distribution and was out of print within a year after release. Since then we have received emails pretty much on a daily basis from people who want to get the album. We felt the time was right now after ten years to finally make it available again. Throwing in the second album was just a bonus, as well as all the other stuff on there (the newly recorded versions, the Japanese bonus songs ad the video enhancements).

You had two shows with a philharmonic orchestra in Umea in the beginning of April this year. Why that? And how did you feel about the whole thing?

Because we were asked to join and because the conductor and arrangers were top notch. How could we say no to having an internationally acclaimed conductor as well as more than 50 musicians with us on stage? It was a dream come true. The two shows were sold out and nothing short of amazing, to say the least. Everything was recorded for future use and the material looks absolutely brilliant.

Let´s come to the new album ?Grand illuison?. What is your favourite song of ?Grand Illusion? and why?

Fools Never Die because its so simple and straight forward. No beating around the bush, just simple and catchy metal in fine form. I also love Still Alive because its very melodic and catchy but at the same time very rough and aggressive. I think this balance between melodies and aggression is our finest trademark. We manage to write very catchy songs without them sounding like pop songs. Never rust is another favourite for the same reasons as Still Alive.

Who had the idea of bringing ski world champion Per Elofsson to your music and finally play on your new disc?

I cant remember, but I guess we were all involved in deciding what guests to bring on the album. Per and I went to school together and we also hung out a bit when we were kids, so we I knew him a bit. We just thought the idea was hilarious because of the fact that he listens to metal, plays guitar and was the world champion in cross country skiing three times over. We wanted to be the first band in history to have a guest like this on a metal album.

There are also other guest musicians on your CD. What functions did they have and why did you ask them to play? Do you think, you are not good enough without them? Was it just a namedropping thing?

It was to make the album a bit more interesting for both fans and the media. I personally love guest appearances and I think the fans to so as well. They all made the songs they played on very special for us. No, I think we manage just fine by ourselves, but this was a way of making the album a little bit more interesting and to make it stick out from what we have done before. We had never had any guests prior to this.

You again recorded in the Toontrack studio in Umea… How was it after more than one year being in the studio again?

Great. We always have a good time with these producers and this time we made sure we had enough time, we were well prepared and we had lots of discussions on how to get things to move smoothly. The recording was very cool indeed.

My favourite song has been ?Fools never die? from the first second on. It is very catchy and it goes into the mainstream. Do you want to enter the mainstream, the kiddy-pop charts with it like Edguy did with their song ?King of fools?? Do you want to keep that theme alive that Edguy once started?

Haha, no We never write songs with anything but what we feel is cool for ourselves in mind. Or else it wouldnt work. Of course, we spend a lot of time perfecting our melodies and try to write the best possible songs. But mainstream charts? We cant sit down and TRY to write hit songs for a mainstream audience. If we did I dont think we would ever finish an album. We just start every album session with a clean sheet and work till we know we have the best possible album written. Thats all we can do. If the mainstream kids like it fine. Then I can buy myself a new car or something.

I also like ?Cuts like a knife? where you worked with Kristoffer Olivius in NAGLFAR. You should do that more often J I really like those aggressive parts within the song itself and it suits very well to Jonny´s vocals.

I agree. Kristoffer did an excellent job on this song and really added some tension to it. It definetly sticks out from the rest of the album and is also one of my favourite songs.

Have you ever thought of using female vocals on one song?

No. But you never know. Can you sing, Tanja? (yes – Tanja)

What are your new songs about? Give a short description about them, please…

Fools never die:

– Very basic, straightforward and catchy song without sounding kindergarten. This is a great live song as well.

Never trust:

– Some really heavy and pounding riffs. This song really came alive in the studio and I am very pleased with the outcome. Jonny sings like hell on this one.

Still alive:

– Heavy, mean and still very melodic our trademark!

Something undefined:

– This one also came alive very much in the studio. This is one Jonnys all time fave NR songs. Great, souring chorus that really lifts off.

Our wasted days:

– Love the solo parts in this song. Nils plays like a god.

Cuts like a knife:

– Probably the song that sticks out the most on the album. It has some death metal vocals by Kristoffer from Naglfar as well as guest performances by Jens Johansson (Stratovarius) and Henrik Danhage (Evergrey). The only song that is more of a story lyrically.

End of our rope:

– An up tempo ballad where Jonny sings like a god.

Never ending:

– One of the fastest songs on the album. Love the main riff in this song as well as the melodies.

One by one:

– Mid tempo song that has some really nice and spellbinding melodies.

Deliverance:

– One of my recent live faves. Very groovy and heavy with a big chorus.

You also added a bonus DVD to your new album ?Grand Illusion?. What will it be like?

It has something like 80 minutes of material from rehearsing with the orchestra, recording the album and behind the scenes and making of the first video for Fools Never Die. It also features all the video clips from New World Messiah as well as the brand new one for Fools

Talking about the tour: What were your wishes for your tour with Gamma Ray and Powerwolf? Were they fulfilled?

We hoped to have a great time do some cool showsand we did. Especially, like always, Spain and Italy were awesome, but also the shows in France were cool and, well, pretty much everywhere.

How were your three concerts with Nightwish that you had a few weeks ago?

They were also very good. One of the reasons we did these shows was to reach a totally different audience. Nightwishs fans are your run of the mill metal fans. They have a very mixed crowd that we felt like throwing some NR at. It worked very well, even better that I had dared dream about. Very successful shows.

Do you plan to have a tour next year?

We will headline in Sweden in November and December and for 2006 we only have a few one off shows planned. But we are working on some tours and ideas and I am sure well have a better idea in a few months.

Do you plan a tour in the USA?

Maybe, I dont know. If we do South America we might as well do some dates in the US. But the US isnt really our biggest market, so I dont know

Line-Up:
Fredrik Mannberg rhythm guitar
Nils Eriksson bass guitar
Nils Norberg lead guitar
Jonny Lindqvist vocals
Owe Lingvall Drums
Discography:
In a time of blood and fire 1995
Tales of mystery and imagination 1998
The sacred talisman 1999
Afterlife 2000
Shadowland 2002
New world messiah 2004
Lost in time 2005 (Re-Release of the first two albums + bonus tracks)
Grand illusion 2005
Contact:
Nils.e@nocturnalrites.com
Nocturnal Rites Fanclub
c/o Tanja Hansen
Neuhauser Str. 39/1
78532 Tuttlingen/GERMANY
nocturnalritesfc@aol.com