Karin Axelsson (Sonic Syndicate)
November 2007
You're in the middle of the European tour. How is it going for the band?
It's been good. All of the people are really nice and we are having a great time.
Do you enjoy the music of the other bands?
I've been listening to Soilwork and Dark Tranquillity a lot even before the tour and I like them. This was the first time I've heard Caliban but they are really nice too.
What was the show that you enjoyed the most so far?
Let me think... I would say it was one of the shows in Germany. Cologne was the best gig so far. It was a really really good show. The venue was quite big and it was sold out. The whole day was so good. We went to the Eastpak office and we found out that they were shooting the gig for TV. The crowd was just amazing and everything went so good that day.
What kind of memories you have of the Hungarian gig?
That my mom and dad came to the show. (Laughs) And it was very unique to play on a boat, I don't think we've done that ever before. That's a new experience.
How did your parents enjoy the show?
They had so much fun. They were partying with the Soilwork guys all night. They would have stayed forever, I think. (Laughs)
Were they supportive in your musical endeavours when you were a kid?
Yes, they have been supporting me all the time helping me out with everything I need. They are really really good.
What kind of music they like to listening to?
They like kind of old heavy rock like Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. And of course they like our records. (Laughs)
Btw, when did you pick up your first instrument?
It was in school when I was playing different instruments and I was teaching myself. One time I wanted to play drums, then I wanted to play the guitar and then I wanted to play piano. Then I took singing lessons. (Laughs) But my mother used to play the bass, so I used her to teach myself how to learn playing the bass. So I've done a lot of different things.
I think most girls want to be a singer from a very early age...
Yeah, that was my plan from the beginning. (Laughs) And actually I can also sing. I would compare my voice to the Evanescence music. If you heard our first record I'm singing on the second song.
Who were your biggest musical influences along the way?
If you ask the band, we were influenced by a lot of different things. Of course by Swedish metal... bands like In Flames and Soilwork. And also we're influenced by the American scene like Killswitch Engage, Atreyu, My Chemical Romance and we're like a mixture of the Swedish metal scene and the American hardcore scene. As far as my personal influences, I'm a very big fan of Marylin Manson and Evanescence actually. (Laughs)
Two completely different styles...
Yeah, I listen to a lot of different things. One day I can listen to Pink and the other day I can listen to Dark Funeral.
Sonic Syndicate is definitely on the rise. From being and unknown band now you are outselling Dark Tranquillity in merchandise. How could you achieve that?
(Laughs) I don't know. I guess we work really hard promoting ourselves. And of course we have to thank Nuclear Blast for pushing us so hard. I guess we're lucky. (Laughs) We didn't really expect anything like this when we started. We were just surprised to get a call from Nuclear Blast that they wanted to sign us. That was a dream coming true and from then on everything has been happening so fast. It's amazing.
Can you tell me about the forming of the band in a nutshell?
The three brothers started the band in 2003. They played more like old school melodic death metal. They didn't have to singers as it was only Richard. Then I joined the band in 2004 playing bass and our drummer John and second singer Roland joined a few years ago.
And the original band name was Fallen Angels, right?
(Laughs) Yeah, that's true. We try to forget that name. That sucks. (Laughs) When we were about to release our first record, we asked ourselves, "Okay, is this the name we wanna put ourselves on the map with?" And we said, "No, we don't wanna do that." (Laughs) We felt embarrassed by that name. And also we didn't think it fit our music anymore and also there were many bands that called themselves that before.
So how did you end up going for Sonic Syndicate?
We wanted something new, something modern and Richard came up with Sonic Syndicate one day and we're all thought, "That's it, that's our name." It really fits our music.
You mentioned about the debut album that wasn't out on Nuclear Blast...
Yeah, it was released by another label. We sell that record at the shows on this tour. Not sure about the stores but it should be available there as well. Actually we are talking about re-recording one or two songs from the old album and releasing them again on one of our forthcoming albums. We'll see what happens.
Did you get the same good reviews for the debut album?
They were really good but of course our new album were spread more worldwide and got a lot of more promotions, so people got to know about that even more. But we got mainly good critics for our debut album too.
Some reviewers say you play melodic death, some others say it's metalcore. What would be your description?
I would say modern metal. That would cover everything. (Laughs) We don't want to put ourselves in a box saying that we play this and that kind of music because then you have to stay in that box and the next album has to sound like that too. So we just say that we play modern metal and it's up to the fans to decide of what they think it is.
How do you write songs in Sonic Syndicate? Do you compose together?
It's Roger, on of the guitarists, that makes the basic stuff on the computer and then he shows it to us in the rehearsal room. Then we tell what we feel we should change, so basically we work together at that stage. Then when the songs have taken shape Richard the one that writes all the lyrics.
So, what are Richard's lyrics all about?
It's all about Richard actually. (Laughs) It's all about his personal life, girlfriends, friends, whatever happens to him. But he doesn't really wanna tell what the stories are behind the songs because then you kinda take away the magic thing about the songs. It's easier for the fans if they can relate the songs to their own life stories.
What would be your favourite Sonic Syndicate song?
Flashback. I love the lyrics and I love to play it live. It's a really good live song. I don't know... it's just one of those songs that really speak to me.
There are not too many female bass players around in heavy metal. How does it feel being a girl on stage with all men watching and surrounding you?
(Laughs) I don't think of it that much actually. It's just something that has always been from the beginning. It's something you accept. But the guys in the band are really nice, they are like my brothers and it's great.
Do you often have fans yelling nasty things at you just because you're a girl?
Of course you always get some guys after you. (Laughs) That's annoying but then I have like five bodyguards in the band, so I can just yell one of them, "Come and help me." (Laughs) But fortunately these things doesn't happen too often.
Did you record anything on this tour apart from the filming in Cologne?
We always make our own video of some of the shows and we also film at backstage and on the tour bus. And then we put these video on our MySpace page or YouTube. (Laughs) And we're also saving a lot of material for a future DVD. Hopefully we can get to release something when the time is right.
After seeing you in Budapest I really think you'll be on a headlining tour in two years... what do you think?
I feel great about that. Maybe it'll be sooner than in two years. (Laughs) We are going to record our next album in the beginning of next year, in March probably, and then we're releasing it in the autumn. Hopefully we can do a tour then as well.
Can we expect the same energy from the band?
Of course! If not even more. (Laughs)