Beseech: interview with Erik Molarin

Even though Beseech formed in the early nineties, the first demo was released in 1992 and the first full-length was ready in 1995, the first official album appeared in 1998. What took you guys so long? 

It's not easy to get your first contract so I think that 3 years from the first demo to the first contract is good work. But we ended up on a lable that wasn't too good. They didn't have the money to release what we made. So we had to change lable and ended up on Metalblade who released the album in 1998.

How did you manage to pursue Metal Blade Records to sign up Beseech? What were, in your opinion, the main attractions of From a Bleeding Heart?

Back then it was something new with Male/female vocals in doom metal, so I think that's what made Beseech so special. Metalblade wasn't a hard catch, we sent in a demo and then we signed the contract.

I know that your hometown Boras is quite near Gothenburg. Were you ever tempted to play Swedish death metal?

I've heard the first demotapes of Beseech, and they actually are more deathmetal than doom or goth. So we've been there already. Now we don't feel any urge to make Beseech a deathmetal band, even though we take some inspiration from the genre.

Your next album, Black Emotions, was released in 2000 through Pavement Music, a record company well known for bands with a more aggressive approach. Why did you part ways with Metal Blade?

Well, Metalblade didn't have what wanted so we started to find something else. And when finding Pavement we thought it would be perfect for us, we were wrong. They didn't support us at all.

I know that Travis Smith did the Black Emotions' artwork. How did you get to collaborate with him? Have you given some suggestions to him or let him design the booklet as he considered?

He also did the artwork on "Souls Highway". We tell him what we want to say with our music, and then he makes something out of that. And he really made a great job.

I think it was Robert that contacted him because he likes his artwork.

Black Emotions also meant taking distance from the doom/death of the beginning and turning toward a more gothic metal approach. The feedback to this album was extraordinary. Tell me more.

Beseech has always been a developing band and taking the step from doom to gothic is kind of natural. It's not a too big step to take. We've always wanted to stay ahead of the rest, and I think this album was perfect. People loved it because it had something new, and the songs were great.

In 2002, a Canadian movie company asked you for some Beseech songs in order to put them on the soundtrack of a horror movie. Have you had the chance to watch Alien Agenda 5 - Alien Conspiracy? Did your songs fit in any way with the subject?

I think that I'm the only one in the band that has actually watched it. I'm a big fan of b-horror movies and this one was great. In it's own way.

The music did fit in, but the lyrics didn't. But hey, it was a fun thing to do and I loved it.

Souls Highway was the first record for your new home, Napalm Records, and also the debut of Erik Molarin on lead vocals. Could we consider 2002 the second birth of Beseech?

Yes, I think that Beseech changed in many ways making "Souls highway". We gave Lotta more space, and we changed our sound pretty much. And as I said before Beseech is a developing band, and this was another step into something new.

Was Between the Lines your first video? Give us some details about the making of, the concept, the filming sessions. Did it make its way to TV also or just the Internet?

The first video was made a long time ago, and I think the song was "Last chapter". Then there was a video for "Manmade dreams". So "Between the lines" is the third video.

I don't think that "Between the lines" made it to TV, but we had thousands of downloads so we consider it a success. We recorded parts of it in a theatre and some parts in the woods outside Borås.

Klas Bohlin left Beseech just before releasing Drama, after a ten years “marriage”. Was this a blow for the band? Is the name of the album related somehow with his departure?

We had a long talk with Klas when he said he wanted to quit the band. So we all understood eachother. He wanted to try something else, and we're just glad he didn't stayed in Beseech if he didn't want to.

So it wasn't a blow for the band, actually it was the other way around. We started to work more as a team. The title "Drama" has nothing to do with Klas at all.

I have noticed, by listening to all your albums, that you have a constant tendency for experimenting. Art in general and music in special manifest themselves in various forms of expression. Should we call this progress?

Yes. Like I've told you a couple of times now Beseech loves to experiment, and this is a part of the developing process. We don't want to sound the same all the time, we would get tired of ourselves if we did. We want to keep our own interest up.

I have read somewhere on your website, regarding Drama, that “the lyrics reflected more attitude than ever before”. What did you mean by that?

On the earlier albums we have been singing alot about the sad moments in life. But we got a little tired of that, so me made songs like "Higher level" that shows our sexual attitude. And we took a couple of steps away from the sadness and more into the feelings you meet in your all day life.

Since this is the 13th question, I will ask you something personal. Dou you believe in superstitions such as 13, walking under ladders, black cats crossing your path or rabbit tails J?

No I don't. We believe that Beseech has a curse though.

Let's pretend that you are in front of 5.000 passionate Romanian metalfans and you were given only 1 minute to convince them to run to the first record store and buy Sunless Days. The microphone is yours.

I wouldn't say anything. If they are at a Beseech-show they already know why they should buy it. I would rather start the gig than talking trash.

Now that the above record store ran out of Sunless Days copies J, let me ask you about the concept of this new opus of yours. Tell our readers what do you think they should know about it.

Sunless days digs into the deeper state of the human mind. We sing about things that people thinks about but doesn't dare to talk about. I don't want to spoil the experience, you should really listen to the lyrics and just think about them a while.

By the way, what are your sources of inspiration?

Everything. Movies, videogames and everything that happens in life.

Have you ever received an offer to come, visit and play our country? I suppose you haven't, but maybe our promoters will read this and feel ashamed for not contacting you.

As far as I know we haven't. But we get alot of emails from Romanian fans. So maybe the promoters should start calling us.

Is there anything you know about Romania except for vampires and Dracula? We have good food, excellent wine and beautiful, bright and willing girls you know J.

I've heard that you have cheap beer. Cheap beer and women are enough for me.

Continuing with this relaxing approach, let me ask you the most stupid question there is. Have you ever made a living out of music?

Not yet, but we're on our way.

Tell me something about your future plans.

Right now we are looking for a new lable. And we are dealing with a couple of them, so we don't have any plans right now more than that.

In the end I would like you to be patient a few more minutes, as I'd like to make a short quiz with you.

Black or white?
Black

Scotch Whiskey or Swedish Vodka?
Whiskey

Back then or right now?
Future

George W. Bush or Saddam Hussein?
Same shit different name

Comedy or drama?
Drama

Black Sabbath or Deep Purple?
Black Sabbath

Mortal or immortal?
Motal kombat

Ingrid Bergman or Greta Garbo?
Greta Garbo

Beauty or truth?
Beauty (truth is beautiful)

Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?
LOTR

Michael Jackson or Prince?
MJ

Snow White or The Seven Dwarfs?
Snow White

Johann Sebastian Bach or Ludwig Van Beethoven?    Beethoven

Use only 1 word to describe the following:

Erik Molarin
Myself

Lotta Höglin
Understanding

Robert Vintervind
Drunk

Manne Engström
Pensive

Daniel Elofsson
Talanted

Mikael Back
Sporty :)

Jonas Stromberg
Hilarious

Thank you very much for your time and patience (I promise that you'll enter the final for The Most Patient Musician of the Year J), it's been a pleasure to talk to you. Please, share a thought with our readers.

Check out our website www.beseech.net for the latest news and so on. Thank you.
      

(interview answerd by Erik Molarin, lyrics, Beseech)