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Interview
by SashaS
20-2-2002
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| Revolver |
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Norden Metal
Revolver aim heavy from the distance of United Europe
Germany and the Scandinavian countries have always been regarded as the crib of Heavy Metal music appreciation, talking the European theatre. It is very strange then that they’ve hardly produced any bands of that calibre to figure on the global scene. Revolver members express bewilderment about such state of play and hope to be one to redress the balance although its members are rather cautious in that respect.
Revolver’s album is a strong contender with an album (daringly?) entitled ‘The Unholy Mother of F**k’ that uses traditional, old skool, values to create its sonic picture with additional seasoning of punk and straight Rock’n’Roll. Produced by Tomas Skogsberg (a man behind Hellacopters, Backyard Babies and Entombed knob-twiddling), it is more in the vein of Motorhead with solid Sabbaff riffage and vocals as strong as Bruce Dickinson’. Jens C. Mortensen, the Swedish frontman (ex-Slapdash), is the latest member to join the Germans, signing on just two weeks before the outfit entered a studio.
“Music was all ready for songs but there were no lyrics,” Mortensen explains, ”and I had to come up with them in a very short period of time, just before recording the songs. I’m satisfied with what I’ve come up with and a lot of people tell me that the lyrics are solid.”
Missiling out…
Revolver was founded by ‘Antek’ (normally Carsten) Rudo, drummer with Such A Surge and the band’s long-time guitar-tech, Lutz Buch. The two booked a studio in Stockholm without actually having members to carry out the mission; rescue arrived with bassist Henrik Schwaninger whose joining enabled the trio to shape the band’s sound for some three months before Jens plugged in his mic.
“Our influences are wide and many,” Mortensen continues, “and they include everyone from Black Sabbath to Entombed, from pop music to Bach… You can’t really isolate things because it is the whole life that is influencing you. We all feel the same and that’s what gives this band free hand to play what we want. It can be anything, from a hard Rocker to a power-ballad…”
Having watched their compatriots’ appeal remain within the national borders in the past, Revolver’s ambition is not to become the German version of the mellow-metal giants of the Nickelback or Creed kind.
“We want to have fun, some beer and play music we like,” Jens states, “and if we make money in the process... ‘Antek’ is signalling sex but don’t pay any attention to him, he’s gotta a steady girlfriend and I’m engaged. We are here for the love for music…”
Parental warning
There is a sort of an obstacle that might stand in the way of this ambition and it is the album’s title. They claim to be a joke but it is definitely not going to cause much jollity in English speaking countries, especially in the puritan American environs…
“The title’s not been a problem,” Mortensen appears amused, “the album’s been out in Germany since November, our (international) label’s never complained… The artwork is causing some problems in Japan right now but it will be sorted out… The title is a joke, just a reference to what was going on in a studio, a magic… If Americans feel like slapping a ‘Parental Warning’ sticker over a title, or major chains like K-Mart and Wal-Mart refuse to stock it, that will create bigger buzz and hopefully sell us more records.”
It sounds like a plan, a canning one, stirring controversy...
“No, not at all, you’ve got it wrong,” Mortensen argues. “There’s never been a plan, we didn’t contrive the title to gain more publicity, it just happened… We are a true band and play mean live shows.”
The acid test for any band is live work. If you happen to be visiting Germany and Austria during March and April, Revolver will be firing from live stages in support of Such A Surge that is celebrating a decade of existence which means that ‘Antek’ will be performing two shows a night.
We’ll have to wait a couple of months longer for some gig dates in Blighty…
SashaS
20-2-2002
Revolver’s debut album ‘The Unholy Mother Of F**k’ is released 25 February 2002 on Music For Nations
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