Interviews: GRATE

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metal/Noise Rock band GRATE, from Sweden. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. GRATE pulls from sludge, noise rock, doom, and post metal. Was that fusion intentional from the start, or did it naturally evolve from your backgrounds?

You could say that it evolved naturally based on previous bands or co-ops. I come from Industrial metal/postpunk turned noiserock, and later found post metal. 

When I even later discovered death doom, I knew that if I just stepped back a bit, I would land in the right place. When I looked through Rodolfo Montenegro's (the bass player) record collection, I just knew he would fit the bill. Same goes for Samsam: He's a deathcore/metalcore kind of guy, but also produces dubstep/filthstep and psytrance, and has a really good ear for strange vibes and heavy rhythms.

2. Where did the name GRATE come from, and how does it reflect your sound or philosophy?

We wanted something harsh but not too harsh. We also wanted something that could go both ways: Something that was both good and bad, wrong and right, etc. A grate is something that is both protecting you from the fire or preventing you from falling down the sewer, for instance, but is also for shredding stuff into smaller pieces or being very harsh and having a disturbing effect on someone. At the time, I was stuck on the word "crate", which wouldn't do because of various reasons, but Grate worked out fine, apparently, haha!

3. “Your Life Sucks” is a bold title. Is it meant as sarcasm, social commentary, dark humor, or all of the above?

It's basically social sarcasm or at least a social comment, and can be applied to anyone, anywhere, and almost anytime. People today are really weird, myself included, and I think no one can accept their situation as is. We are all pretending to an extreme extent, like religion, politics, and so on, instead of just accepting that the government failed us, thinking again about god, there might be better options than veganism, money is not the answer, etc. It doesn't really matter what you do; you are never truly satisfied, as it seems. So until you are "okay" with stuff, your life sucks, haha!

4. The quote “Nothing is so bad that it can’t get any worse” sums up a certain worldview. How much of the song reflects personal experiences versus observation of society?

It's both personal experiences, as well as taking one look at the world, realizing that we are not gonna make it. We should all just sit down and shut up while thinking "this is not so bad", "I CAN live like this", "I really don't need more", "I shouldn't take everything for granted", etc but no: We have to yearn for more than we deserve, feel threatened, push boundaries, and so on and this is where we screw up: everything is so complicated that it's easier to mess things up, easier to misunderstand, the higher you climb the harder you fall, you know? This sounds very pretentious (and it is, haha!), but I am not wrong! It's also a very simple way of saying "doesn't matter how bad things are, you can always fuck things up more."

5. You describe yourselves as building a massive wall of sound with just three members. What is the secret to making a trio sound that heavy?

Instinctive answer: Metalzone, haha! Jokes aside, distortion is just one key, but you need a certain mindset, I guess. This is something I have come to realize quite recently. Sounds profound, I know, but there we are. I believe that three synchronized minds know exactly when to pour the entire rehearsal room down the stairs and when to take a knee and hush up. Let's just say that "keeping things simple" and "less is more" are splendid keys to achieving this.

6. Drums were described as relentless in a different way on this track. What makes this song stand apart from your previous material?

They simply keep trudging on, if you can say that. Samsam just keeps pounding them as if to put them in their place. Now, we have done way heavier songs or parts of songs, but in my opinion, at least I'd say that a steam engine or a tank resembles this song more than anything we've done before.

7. Do you write riffs first and let the chaos build from there, or does a lyrical theme usually spark the music?

Lyrics always come last, haha! Riffs always come first! I am most definitely a riff guy. Sure, I'm getting better at lyrics all the time, but they are secondary. Music first, and then we talk about the feel of the song and write lyrics after that. We used to have theme-based records, like "I For One" was about 70s and 80s slasher movies, "You Should Be" was about World War 2 and so on, but in this shitty Spotify world, single song releases are king, so now we don't really care about that anymore. During that time, we paid a lot of attention to the lyrics, but it just isn't like that anymore.

8. How important is noise and dissonance in shaping the GRATE identity?

It is extremely important, I'd say. I love chords that seem to make no sense and tunes that sound like they're backwards. I love controlled feedback and endless sustain. I love harmonics and strumming the strings by the tuning pegs! And not just that, I love creating rhythms that sound complicated but aren't. Or the other way round! I love to make riffs or rhythms that feel 4/4 but are in reality 3/4! Or the other way round, HAHA! I just love music, but I have come to realize it's fun to fuck with people's heads as well as challenge myself.

9. Your music tackles violence, vengeance, love, and twisted happiness. Are these themes interconnected for you?

What can I say?! It's a complicated world in every sense. Me, I am a very normal and boring guy, I think, but just looking at this strange new world and realizing I might be the most exciting person you've ever met, in that I don't really try to be anything special: a couple of beers and missionary on a Friday night will do for me! My friends think I'm nuts! But also, I've had my fair share of weird relationships where you think you know your place and you think you know what's up, but slowly realize that the difference between love and hate is a very thin line, and no matter how well you play the part, you are still losing. Does that make sense? 

10. How do you balance bleak realism with the sense of dark humor that runs through this single?

Jebus, these questions are good! I have no idea, really. The original plan was irony, sarcasm, and satire, and it was supposed to be an entire episode with 4 songs, and we kept some of it for this song. I believe I have come to learn that you need a sense of humor to deal with reality and this world. I think that my love of dark humor helps me cope with everything. You take everything seriously, you go mad. But also, you have to be a bit mad not to take things seriously. Catch 22 anyone? 

11. What was the recording process like for “Your Life Sucks”? Did the song change much from demo to final version?

Actually, this song basically wrote itself. Boring answer, I know, but it's more or less true. I think I recorded a demo, sent it to the other guys, they said "check," and we were off. No hassle, no suggestions, no real changes as such, just "let's do it". Naturally, nothing is as simple as "done, let's record it": we are three sound engineers knowing our shit, so what happened was that me and Samsam recorded the drums i EAT THE EVIDENCE's studio in Vårgårda, Sweden, I recorded the guitars at Tinny Studios (my studio in Gothenburg) and Rodolfo recorded the bass guitars at his studio. The original plan was to record it on an 8-track tape machine at a junk yard, but you can't ever get what you want.

12. How did working with Social Blasphemy Records come about, and what has that partnership meant for you?

Another terrific question that doesn't deserve a boring answer, but gets it anyway. Me and a couple of friends and I decided that we basically had to go rogue and DIY everything. We already had distribution and a kind of pr-agency so we only needed the label stuff. I really didn't know anything about stuff like that, but we are all learning. Also, there are people who know these things way better than I do, so it was a match made in heaven or hell, whichever you prefer. It has made so many things very much easier, because we are our own bosses, and we can also focus on what we really want, which is playing music alongside it.

13. Gothenburg is famous for melodic death metal. Do you feel connected to that legacy, or are you intentionally pushing against it?

I have to say that I am a wee bit proud of that fact, since it basically put Gothenburg on the map as a very important metal town internationally. It was really big in Sweden because it was aggressive punk rock back in the day, but times have changed. We have In Flames, At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity, etc but also Evergrey, Hammerfall, and Dead By April, which I think is really cool. To answer your question, though, I don't feel like a part of that scene, even though we do play a kind of metal. We are more underground, more DIY, more hardcore, if you will. That said, this single, I think, is our most crowd-pleasing song yet, haha! 

14. How does your live show compare to the recorded version of this track? Is it even uglier in person?

Haha, no, it's a very clean act in a way. For instance, instead of a wall of recorded guitars, we have just one that has to have a massive sound in itself. That has to be a bit filthy, though, to some extent. Also, we are not the kind of band that puts on a massive light show with smoke and movie projectors. It's just us three, in the moment, having a blast on stage.

15. What kind of venue suits GRATE best? Small underground basements, art spaces, traditional clubs?

So far, we have played smaller venues like 100 to 200 guests, and it has fit us very well. We like to connect and communicate, and that can be difficult with 1000 people in the crowd. You kind of have to like single out a few people, which feels strange. I played larger crowds in the past, and you treat the audience very differently.

16. Which bands would you most like to share a stage with in the sludge or noiserock world?

We would gladly open for Crowbar again. The last time everything failed or broke, but we had a blast, and they were such a nice bunch of people! We had a chance to open for Bongzilla, which would have been awesome, but the venue botched it. We also had plans to try to gig with Unsane, but the other band paid more, haha!

17. Is there any genre or scene you would never want GRATE associated with? Apart from the obvious ones?

No, I don't think so. Some punk crowds I detest, however. Black metal is also a scene I'm not particularly fond of. Most metal crowds are just fantastic, though. I have to add that the obvious ones are naturally any sort of nazi or racist crap, rap or hip-hop, most ideology shit, or very specific hate stuff. I have nothing against hate; I hate a lot of things. People, for instance, but I'd rather hate everyone than a certain group. That is just stupid.

18. What has been the most unexpected reaction to “Your Life Sucks” so far?

My girlfriend said "damn, this is good for real!", haha! I don't think she ever understood our kind of music until that particular song. I believe her description of our other songs was "messy"?

19. In a world obsessed with polish and algorithms, how important is it for you to stay raw and uncomfortable?

I need to feel true to myself and the band. I need to feel that we don't follow the mainstream media or those awful social trends. It's extremely difficult, however, since I am a part of Social Blasphemy Records. At the same time, it is also easier when you play noise rock and/or sludge, because no matter what you do, you are still underground somehow. We stopped trying to fit in a long time ago, both as individuals and as a band, and when we did, it was a huge relief. If we piss people off (it never really happens), it's actually a good thing because that means we made people feel something outside of their comfort zone. Staying in your comfort zone too much is dangerous!

20. What can listeners expect next from GRATE? More singles, an EP, a full-length? 

 There will be more singles and videos in the near future. And if we can get our shit together between gigs, we might make a CD or vinyl as kind of a collection alongside merch such as t-shirts.

21. What do you hope people feel after blasting “Your Life Sucks” at full volume? 

Exhausted! And one minute later they will go again! The time after that, they will join in the chant!

22. What do you think about Breathing The Core Zine and its role in supporting underground heavy music?

I honestly think you have a good thing going on. It's very focused but not necessarily on genres, which I find extremely refreshing! I love the fact that you take a lot of time explaining bands and genres, as well as seeming very open-minded. Don't you ever stop!

23. Is there anything else you would like to say to readers discovering GRATE for the first time?

Don't worry, it's not that difficult: it only looks that way. But welcome by all means! How may we put you at unease?

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