9000 JOHN DOE – Interview with the band

9000 John Doe has levelled the danish metal scene for a number of years. Their hardcore-inspired metal comes with a cheeky smile and with an experience and energy that has given them many fans on the Danish metal scene. They’ve even had some success on the hip-hop scene, with features by Jonny Hefty and Jøden.

The band is now ready with their sophomore album “The Spirit of The Firewolf”, on which everything from production to songwriting has been lifted to a higher level. There is less focus on partying and much more focus on heavy, ass-kicking riffs that would make their 90’s idols proud. 9000 John Doe’s North Jutland charm has remained, but it’s now accompanied by a certain amount of seriousness and confidence, in the way they deliver their songs on the upcoming album.

“We have never worked as hard and focused on an album like we have with this one. There have been many emotions in play, and the result is the heaviest record we have ever made. There’s more Focus on metal and details, but we haven’t completely discarded our rock-ish side.” states vocalist Tommy Knøs.

The album is produced by Jacob Olsen in JBO Sound, which has contributed to a more unified and solid sound image, which compliments what we have, without hesitation, named the band’s best release to date. The sophomore album will be self-released on April 27th 2018, and the band will be joining Illdisposed on tour in October 2018.

This interview was prepared by Prime Collective…

Can you explain a little about your band name and music style?

The name indicates where we are from. 9000 is the zipcode of our hometome Aalborg. John Doe means an unidentified person/corpse. So the name could mean 9000 unidentified corpses, which we think is pretty cool. Our music style has been called a lot of things: Hillybilly Hardcore, Rock N Metal, Death Roll, Bølle Rock, Punk Rock, Groove Metal, 90’s metal, til Guns n Roses meets Pantera, Pantera meets Beastie Boys. In general, we have been inspired by the soundscape of heavy rock’n roll and oldschool heavy metal, where the groove is essential.

We don’t care what box people put us in. We just go on stage and say “We are 9000 John Doe, and we play Hillybilly Hardcore”, and then we burn the place down.

How do you think your music stands out, and why should readers give you a chance?

Our music is in your face with exstreme energi, which makes it impossible to sit still to. Our album “The Spirit of the Firewolf” is made to make you feel good and release you rage. We think alot of modern metal lack a bit of edge, which makes everything so nice listen to, however we think we have constructed a soundscape which is raw and heavy with a lot of attitude.

What can we expect in connection with your album release? Do you have any concert plans, music videos or collaborations that you can reveal?

“The Spirit of the Firewolf” releases april d. 27 and the same day we host a release party at 1000Fryd, Aalborg. We are going to play with “Earn Your Scars” and the DJ’s form “Er det den nye med Slipknot?” (Leadsinger Tommy is one of the DJ’s). And then we are going on a DK-Tour with Illdisposed and Prevail. We are looking forward to joining them and play on big venues.

What is your ambition with the band and what are your future goals and aspirations?

The plan is to plan as many shows we can, and reach as far out as possible. We dont know where this ends. We believe that this album is the best one so far, we have created. And hopefully it can make way to get show in Germany. The crowd are insane there!

If you were to recommend a song for a new listener, which song would you recommend?

The album “The Spirirt of the Firewolf” is a good way to start. But if it is one song, I would suggets “Hellstorm”. It is a kick in your face, and gives a good indication of what our new album sounds like.