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Illdisposed: interview with Jakob Batten

Illdisposed: interview with Jakob Batten
BANDS : Illdisposed

According to my knowledge this is your first interviewfor a Romanian magazine. Which makes me start with the beginning. Why are you called Illdisposed and who came up with the name of the band?
Nobody remembers about the name, but Bo started the band back then.

How was the Danish metal stage when your band was formed? And how do you see it now?
There was just a few bands back then. It was way harder to get a record deal and to play shows. I was in another band myself called Infernal Torment. We released 2 albums before we split up and I joined Illdisposed.

In their history, Illdisposed went through several line-up changes? How did it affect the band?
Difficult to say. I have been playing with most of the past musicians and I think every one of them affected the band in a positive way.

Speaking about changes, Martin Thim joined the band rather recently. Before the release of your last album, Burn Me Wicked, it was said that his presence would influence the compositions in the direction of a heavier sound. Can you confirm this?
Martin didn’t write anything yet and didn’t affect anything. But he probably will for the next album I guess. We’ll see. I don’t really know what he is able to do before I heard some stuff from him.

How would you describe the Illdisposed sound which, I think, deserves a place among famous Danish trademarks.
Groovy death metal. Normally I don’t like to use all these fancy genre descriptions, so when people ask I just say that we play heavy metal.

Which band, in your opinion, is closer to your sound?
I don’t listen much to metal music so that’s difficult to say. But I heard some people mention Kataklysm and Hypocrisy. If it’s true or not – judge yourself!

Several artists have declared getting inspiration from your music. Are you aware of it or it? And if so, how it feels to be the source of inspiration for them?
Yeah I get a lot of emails from bands telling we’re their big inspiration. Also other guitarists write me that I inspire them. Of course that’s an honour. It’s never bad when your work is appreciated.

Talking about feelings, how it feels to be Illdisposed on stage?
It feels good because it’s more a party for us than a concert. We’re the party hosts and the audience are our guests.

Do you have a theory of audience? Are metalheads different from one country or continent to another? I know you’ve played as far as the New Zealand.
In general they’re pretty much the same. But I think we have our most dedicated fans in Germany – which is also our biggest market. But we also have surprisingly many followers in New Zealand. We didn’t really expect that.

I’ve seen your last show in Århus, which is Illdisposed hometown. It was among my best experiences attending a show - there was a continuous bond of energy between the band and the audience. Do you think that Scandinavian countries are indeed the best metal countries as a very common topos is claiming?
It’s always good for us to play shows in Denmark, we always fill up the venues here and people like us. But besides that I don’t think the Scandie countries are better metal countries – especially not Denmark. I think the European metal scene in general is good at the moment.

 

 

What, in your opinion, is a “good metal country”?
Germany

What do you think make people get addicted to your music?
The groove and the personality.

What does Illdisposed prefer: open air or indoor shows?
Indoor shows. There’s too much distance to the crowd at open air shows.

What is the best / worse experience on tour with other bands?
Best: Burn Me Wicked tour 2006 with Demia (NL) + Deadsoil (DE). One big nightliner full of funny guys and party.
Worst: All tours longer than one week. It just sucks to live in a suitcase and have no life.

What was your longest and your shortest show?
We never played more than 75 minutes, it’s simply not possible. We give ourselves so much on stage that it’s not possible to play more.
Our shortest show was somewhere in France in March 2005. Bo was ill and there was almost no people at the show. We played 4 songs I think and Paul Speckmann from Master did the vocals.

Some time ago I read a letter of complaint against Illdisposed, which was posted on your website. At first I thought it was joke and it still feels like that. Can you comment on that episode?
Yeah it’s incredible how stupid some people are. I think Bo said to the audience that we are gay, he always does that to joke. This moron then complained to our manager because being gay is apparently bad for the metal business. What a jerk…

Coming to your last album, Burn me wicked what was first the song or the idea of having a thematic
album with this title. And what Burn me wicked means to you?

The album is not meant to be a 100% thematic album. But most of the songs are about the sad side of love though. It’s something most people can relate to and during the writing of Burn Me Wicked I split with my girlfriend myself. But the positive aspect of that is that I found the perfect girl now and hopefully won’t get burned… wicked!

What is Burn me wicked when compared to 1800-Vindication?
I think it’s more straight forward and honest in a way.
Vindication was written over 2½ years, Burn Me Wicked was written in less than 6 months. All the music is just what came to me in that period, there’s no one else’s influence on it.

Burn Me Wicked was nominated for the best album, best production, best artwork and Illdisposed for the best live band in the Danish Metal Competition, how many awards do you expect to win?
Zero. We never expect anything so we never get disappointed.

On which of the International nominees of this year will you place your bet? IN FLAMES Come
Clarity, MASTODON - Blood Mountain, SATYRICON - Now, Diabolical or TOOL - 10.000 Days?
 
They’re all good albums but I think “Come Clarity” is the album I prefer.

What comes first when Illdisposed is making music - the lyrics or the tunes?
The music

Has Shine Crazy any connection with Pink Floyd’s Shine on you crazy diamond?
Not at all

Speaking of music-related Innuendos, what exactly is the message on The Widow Black?
That Courtney Love is a bitch

It is often said that Illdisposed is a modern band that keeps up with what is new in music? Is it
some programmatic credo of the band or just the continuous experience with the musical environment that becomes internalized and part of your inspiration?

It’s easy – but boring – to keep on making the same songs over and over again. We like to take chances and try something new. It could turn out to be a disaster but it’s more fun.

Illdisposed is viewed as a very straightforward band with a healthy sense of humour? Is it intentional or something that comes with the personality of its members?
We just are as we are, we don’t change into someone else when we’re on stage. We like to have fun instead of taking it all too seriously.

I know you are cooking some music right now. What are Illdisposed’s plans for next year?
I’m writing new songs at the moment so expect a new album next year.

What do your tattoos represent?
Death and destruction

What are you doing when you’re not doing music?
I’m working with System administration / company infra structure

Would you like me to translate the Metalfan review on Burn Me Wicked, it got 10/10?
Yes, please !!!

Autor: G.A.S.
Vezi galeriile trupelor: Illdisposed

   December 12, 2006  | 1 Comments  | 12661 Views « BACK

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