Tiamat have never been a band to rest on their laurels. Progressing from death metal beginnings to being the world's premier goth metal band, Tiamat have never seen the point in standing still. Well, until now.
UM forced Tiamat member Anders to plonk himself down before a computer to answer a few questions for the UM readership via the medium of email. Philip Whitehouse is cracking the whip.
Ultimate Metal would like to thank Anders for taking the time to fill in this interview and Rian Turner of Century Media for setting it up.
Ultimate Metal - As a band, you have changed and progressed your sound so much over your career to be almost completely different from your beginnings. Do you feel there's much more progression to be made, or have Tiamat settled into a groove?
Anders - Well, that's kinda hard to say, it's not like we set out to change everything before every album, it just sort of happens, as we are into songs, every new song takes itīs own way in the studio, and we just follow and see where we end up, to me thatīs a cool way to go, cause noboby's more surprised than we are, when we see where we went!
UM - Tiamat now are typically described as a goth-metal band. Do you agree with that definition? How would you define your music, if at all?
A - I donīt categorize music, other than in good or bad, but if someone says weīre goth metal, dark rock, hard rock, whatever, it makes no difference to me, to me weīre just a very good hard rock band!
UM - In the past, Tiamat's lyrics have been almost solely focused on negative emotions and downbeat subjects - what inspired the change to writing songs like 'Vote For Love' on 'Judas Christ'?
A - Just maturing, I guess, itīs not like weīve turned into Blink-182 or something like that, other than the statement in the title of vote for love itīs pretty much business as usual, we just donīt want to be thought of only as very depresive brooding kinda people, thatīs pretty far from the truth.
UM - What influences Tiamat's song and lyric-writing?
A - Everything! Books, music, art and life in general, all impressions from traveling, all the people we meet, what goes in must come out.
UM - Are there any bands you're particularly fond of at the moment?
A - Personally, I like the Clash, The Ramones, Midperiod Rolling Stones, Dark Tranquillity's new one, Jesus Christ Superstar with Ian Gillan is the most amazing musical I ever heard, getting back into that again, Gram Parsons, Slipknot, Tool, Mesh, a lot of different stuff, those are the ones that come to mind that I listened to this weekend!
UM - What kind of progression can we expect from 'Judas Christ' to the next album, or is it too early to tell?
A - I havenīt got the slightest idea! Itcould be anything from punkrock to reggae (God forbid - Phil)...not really, but I seriously donīt know!
UM - On a less serious note - is there any celebrity you'd like to punch? If so, who is it and why?
A - There are a lot of people who deserve a good beating, but Iīm not into slagging people in public, if they meet me they will know...
UM - Finally, is there anything you have to say to the Ultimate Metal readership?
A - Thanx a lot for having me here, Thanx for the support and hope to be able to get over to you guys for a proper tour in the near future! Hopefully C-ya soon!
Tiamat's newest album, Judas Christ, should be available from Century Media now.
Century Media Records
