THREE DEAD FINGERS – Interview with vocalist / guitarist Oliwer Bergman and guitarist Remy „Fiskis” Strandberg

„… Right now, we are 16-18 years old. (…) Playing live is the absolute best thing we know. (…) We don´t like to label ourselves as one genre, we just play whatever metal comes to our minds.” – THEWW DEAD FINGERS

Hi guys! Why is Metal your music?

Oliwer: We play metal because it is a genre we grew up to love and any other genre would not feel natural. It was just meant for us to play metal from the start.

And what’s so special for You about this music?

Oliwer: Metal is way to get your feelings out with gut twisting riffs, heavy drums, screaming and lyrics that actually means something deeper. Going to metal show is like therapy for the soul. You don´t find that feeling in other genres, not me at least.

Which bands do you listen to the most?

Fiskis and Oliwer: We listen to a lot of bands (Not only metal, we actually listen to a lot of DnB, old school rave music and dark indie), but our main influences are rooted in 90s metal like Korn, Slipknot, Sepultura, In Flames, Soulfly and so on…

How old were you when you founded THREE DEAD FINGERS?

Oliwer: Me and Gustav were around 10-11 at the time, but it was just us playing around on our instruments in his living room back then haha. It became more serious about two years later when we recorded our first EP/demo.

Now how old are you?

Fiskis: Right now, we are 16-18 years old.

I started a band in my youth and I know how important it was to come up with an appropriate band’s name. Why did you choose this name?

Oliwer: Its actually pretty fun story, I came up with the name at my dads friends house when I was around 8 years old. We were having a barbeque and i burned three hot dogs and the name just came to me. So i told my dad that when I grow up, my bands name will be „Three Dead Fingers”. Its a stupid name, but stupid brings attention, and it stands out.

Well, the story is really funny, and the name creates completely different hypotheses, hahaha… Were there any other options?

Oliwer: The first name i came up with was also when I was very young (around 6 maybe), and that name was „Diesel”. But we went with Three Dead Fingers a couple years later.

And rightly so! In Poland, in my teenage years, the realities were completely different than today. There was a serious problem with getting instruments and sound equipments. Today there is no problem if you have a money. Did your parents provide you with the equipment?

Oliwer: My dad used to be in a lot of bands back in the day (Tribal Ink, The Uppercuts), So he already had a lot of equipment that I could use. So I was pretty lucky. Nowadays we buy equipment ourselves, but yes our parents has been very supportive since we started.

So your relationship with your parents are good. They let you play noisy music, and first of all they let you go on tours in Europe…

Fiskis: As said, they support us all the way and wishes for us to succeed with our dreams. They let us tour because they know the importance of PR, and they know how much we love it, haha. Playing live is the absolute best thing we know.

Speaking of concerts. You play a lot shows. Who did you play with, what are you proud of?

Oliwer: I would say when we opened Sweden Rock, thus opening for Iron Maiden, Stone Sour, Judas Priest and many other great bands. For me, my best memory from that was when I got to meet Corey Taylor for a brief second. I just stood there and cried for the rest of Stone Sours set, haha.

In 2020 you played the tour in Poland (also under the medial patronage of Metal Center). What are your memories of that tour?

Fiskis: Oh that shit was fun, I mean real fun. Getting out to play for such amazing crowds, with amazing bands and getting to meet fans abroad. Life on the road is always the best. Getting to see new places and experience new things is never a bad thing.

Oliwer: Easily one of the best experiences ive had, and I would love to do it again. All I have from that tour are good memories, even if our van broke down mid-tour and we got stuck in Poland for a little while. But thats a part of the whole touring experience I believe.

Do you remember a club in Warsaw VooDoo Club where you played?

Oliwer: Yeah, really cool place. The sound guy didn´t seem to be enjoyng Anton´s piccolo snare sound, but overall a great atmosphere and a enthusiastic crowd. We´ll definetly come back there one day.

Do you have any musical patron? Manager or promoter? There are many pitfalls for inexperienced and young bands, especially in the field of show business.

Oliwer: We don´t have any of that, we book and manage ourselves. So we usually refer to me as the manager if anyone asks. We have gotten ripped off by promoters and such before, and people don´t seem to wanna build bands anymore. Nowdays, it´s all pre-established bands with money that make it big. It is all about money upfront, Pay to play and independent releases, which is a little boring and predictable i would say. I hope it turns around soon, and record-labels start signing bands for their talent and music, despite how their financial state may look like. Take your percentage, but help your bands make it.

You paly professionally in your instruments and vocals! Have you taken any lessons? I saw the bassist Gustav playing with his fingers (not only three fingers but five, hahaha…). It’s a rarity in extreme Metal.

Fiskis: Me, Oliwer and Gustav used to take lessons when we were younger, and thats actually where me and Oliwer and became friends. But this was not for long, and I would say we are mostly self-taught. Because we started Three Dead Fingers so early, we ´ve had a couple years to work on our playing abilities. And yes, Gustav is amazing. A god-tier bass player and bandmate. We are very lucky to have him.

Oliwer, on the other hand, sings very cleanly and create greate screams and growlings. Are these growls supported by something, some vocal effects?

Oliwer: Nope, my vocals are as pure as can be. They may be supported by effects such as anger and despair, but nothing more. And thats how we want to keep it.

Generally speaking, you are playing an extensive arrangement of melodic Thrash Death Metal. Do you compose the songs yourself, does someone help you?

Oliwer: We don´t like to label ourselves as one genre, we just play whatever metal comes to our minds. And if we like it, we´re releasing it. Yes, we write it all by ourselves. We mostly record demos at home, send it to the others and then rehearse the songs. And suddenly, you have yourself a full album, haha.

You are in a rebellious age. What do you want to convey in your texts?

Oliwer: Our texts are mostly about feelings we have, events that effectes our lives and how we reflect the world around us. Basically anything that feels right. The most important thing is that you can feel the lyrics in the music, and in the way I sing them.

Your second album “All Worlds Apart” from 2021 was released by the Spanish label Art Gates Records. Why was this label chosen?

Art Gates was chosen because they we the only label that actually answered us. Its hard these days to even get a record label to listen to what you have to offer, but Art Gates are great in the sense that they give newer bands a chance to score a good first record-deal.

I think this album brought you even more fame, hahaha… How do you deal with it as young people? For now, I have this interview with you. Later it might be hard, hahaha…

Oliwer: Haha no I wouldn ´t say were fameous at all. Maybe known about, but we have a long journey ahead of us still. But I would say it is good to start doing this at a young age if you want to make it. The younger you are and the better your music is, the greater your chances of success become.

What are your plans for 2022?

Our plans right now is just to write more music, try to tour if possible and just play live a s much as we can.

How did the pandemic influence on your situation?

Fiskis: Gladly the pandemic is over, but it has had a huge impact on us and other bands. We missed many opportunities to play live, but we had time to write lots of music. So I think All Worlds Apart wouldn´t been as good as it is if it wasn´t for the pandemic. But we´re done with that shit now, and it can hopefully only get better from here.

So thank you for the interview and I wish you continued success and that even Nuclear Blast Records would call for you!

Thanks for the kind words! Best Regards, Three Dead Fingers.