By Andrew Bansal
Swedish heavy metal trio Grand Magus have begun the year of 2014 on a great note with the release of their seventh studio album ‘Triumph And Power’ via Nuclear Blast Records, an album that sees them turn it up a notch or two in several aspects, serving as an apt follow-up to the highly acclaimed 2012 release ‘The Hunt’. With gloriously epic tunes such as ‘On Hooves Of Gold, ‘Fight, ‘Triumph And Power’, ‘Dominator’ and ‘The Hammer Will Bite’ on this new album, Grand Magus look set for a tremendous year ahead. Lead vocalist/guitarist Janne “JB” Christoffersson spoke to Metal Assault a few days ago to discuss the album, among other things. Enjoy the conversation below.
First of all, I would like to commend you on your excellent new album ‘Triumph And Power’. I’ve given it quite a few spins by now, and I honestly feel that it has a more epic and Nordic vibe to it, both lyrically and musically, as compared to your past work. It’s a definite transition from ‘The Hunt’. Was it a conscious effort on your part to make the change or was it just a natural outcome?
Thank you. This time it was a combination of both. All our albums have been very honest in the sense that they have reflected where we are as a band and as people at that specific time, we have never worried about ongoing trends or that we should do something due to outside pressure. We have also never consciously stuck to a formula. With this new album, all of the above was in effect, but I felt that ‘The Hunt’ explored a more hard rock feel and I wanted to make a really heavy, heavy metal album with a majestic feel of triumph and power as it were. I had already decided on the title and all songs were written with the title as a guiding light so to speak.
The album has a healthy dosage of slow-paced songs like ‘On Hooves Of Gold’, ‘Steel Versus Steel’, ‘Ymer’ and ‘The Hammer Will Bite’. Would you say it’s actually more challenging to write and execute slower songs to make them have the same kind of impact as the fast ones?
I’ve never really thought about it like that. I think that the songs that had the strongest impact on me when I was younger were mid-paced and with a heavy feel, rather than really fast and frantic stuff. I guess that I generally prefer songs of that kind and it transfers into the type of music we make. What is really difficult is to write a fast song with some real melodic content and depth, many fast songs are just a blur I feel.
The lyrics are simple, catchy and powerful throughout the album. What’s your source of inspiration when it comes to writing these lyrics?
I would say that nature would be the number one influence on the lyrics and tied to that, the Norse tradition, which is very closely connected to nature and its power and beauty.
The cover artwork depicts the album quite perfectly. Was there any input from your side regarding this cover or was it solely sthe artist Anthony Roberts’ creation?
I had some basic concepts that I wanted to be in there, but the overall design was Anthony’s creation alone. He really nailed it and I think it really adds to the songs and the overall atmosphere of the album.
I find the production on this album to be a little more organic and raw as compared to that on ‘The Hunt’. Would you say ‘Triumph And Power’ comes closer to capturing the sound and energy Grand Magus delivers in a live setting?
Yes, I think so. It definitely has a heavier sound than ‘The Hunt’ and I think most people who see us live consider us to sound much heavier in the flesh than on record, so I’m very pleased with the way the album turned out this time, sound-wise.
‘The Hunt’ was, in all fairness, deemed a great album by fans and critics alike. Did its success have any impact on the writing process for ‘Triumph And Power’ at all, and would this new album have sounded any different if The Hunt was not successful?
That’s really hard for me to speculate about. Of course all the albums we have done have in some way been a reaction to the previous one, you want to do something different and you want to try and improve things that you might not have been 100 percent pleased with before etc. You also get new ideas coming off from an album, having gotten that out of your system so to speak. Also, I tend to listen to other music in cycles, you know, like Saxon for a couple of months, Darkthrone for a couple of months etc. And sometimes to nothing at all. Those cycles definitely have an impact on the album we are making at that time. All in all, even if we would make a mega selling album, I very much doubt we would try and imitate that album next time around, we are simply too fiercely independent for that, or maybe too stubborn is a better word (laughs).
Triumph And Power has been released as CD and vinyl (black, green and white varieties). Vinyl has made a strong resurgence in the metal genre in recent times, but there’s also a significant buzz around cassette tapes. In your opinion, is that a significant thing in terms of physical album formats, or just a hipster trend?
I would like to say it’s a significant thing, but the truth is that it’s a hipster trend (laughs). I’m a cynical bastard and I’m really fed up with the retro trends and the hype surrounding them. I love vinyl and I think it’s the best format for heavy metal, but the physical product as a vessel for music distribution is dead, even if it’s still twitching. Don’t get me wrong, if I had a choice, I would definitely turn the clock back to 1982 and having things like they were back then regarding this. That would be amazing for us, since you could actually make some money from making records, but it’s just a dream. Don’t stop buying the vinyl though! Especially not our albums (laughs).
Now that the album has been released in all territories, what touring plans do you have for the rest of the year?
We are going on a European tour in March, then summer festivals and then another tour in the fall, might be somewhere else in Europe or maybe North America.
You play festival gigs all around Europe, where you get to share the stage with all kinds of bands. Off the top of your head, what has been the most memorable experience for you at a festival?
There have been many great experiences from festivals we’ve played and I’ve seen and met so many great bands. off the top of my head I’ll mention when we played the High Voltage festival in London and Judas Priest were headlining and I got the chance to speak to Ian Hill, a big moment in my life!
Even though you don’t do much touring in North America, I’m surprised that you haven’t been on something like the ‘70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise’ yet. That kind of gig would be perfect for a band like yours, I think. Have you tried to get on that festival at all?
I agree that would be a very cool thing for us to be on, let’s say we are working on it!
Despite the epic Viking-like lyrical themes, you are all about the music and don’t go for any cheesy visual gimmicks, which is one of the most likable qualities of Grand Magus. Do you think some bands go overboard with the whole visual aspect and lose the essence of the actual music, especially European bands?
It always depends on the music and the personality of the bands. Some bands are ridiculous, yes absolutely, but it’s because their music sucks or that they lack the “fingerspitzengefuhl” to pull it off visually. The charisma of a band is not dependent on how they look alone, it’s a combination of all ingredients. Metal music is considered silly by all who don’t get it anyway, that’s the starting point for all bands. If you are doing your thing with honesty and integrity and passion, then you can dress up like liberace if you want and it will work. Now, I personally don’t think that would be a good idea, since I prefer different aesthetics, but it would be quite boring if all bands looked the same, you know?
As a follow-up to the previous question, when you started out, did you put any thought into your image as a band and how you were going to portray yourself?
Absolutely. To me, heavy metal is denim and leather!
Related: Grand Magus ‘Triumph And Power’ album review
Visit Grand Magus on the web:
GrandMagus.com
facebook.com/GrandMagusOfficial
twitter.com/GrandMagus
youtube.com/GrandMagusBand