Hey Karl and Jason, earlier this month you’ve entered Sanford Parker’s Volume Studios to record your new album “Conqueror”. What was it like to work with Sanford and how satisfied are you with the result?

Karl: Hi Tobi! Working with Sanford was amazing. He’s a total genius behind the mixing desk, a classic recording engineer. These days people with his skills are all but a lost breed. Personally, I can’t imagine ever working with anyone else – as far as I’m concerned Sanford will be doing all TGoS’s records from here on out.

Jason: Sanford pretty much ruled. The dude was totally down to earth and with in a couple of hours, he totally got who we were as people which made recording so much easier. His studio was pretty pro but at the same time it wasn’t too much. You read about the producer dudes that kinda take bands over all the time but Sanford never did that. He got what we were doing and was able to suggest things that blew our minds. He did an amazing job translating what we sound like live to tape which is something that we haven’t had yet. If I have my way, from here on TGoS would record with him from here on out.

If you compare “Conqueror” to its superb antecessor “Suffer No Guilt”, what would you say are the most significant differences? In what way have you guys improved as songwriters and musicians in the last two years?

Karl: I’d say that this record is less spacious, if that makes any sense. Bob has brought a more focused approach to the music. With Suffer there are these vast sonic tracks of land as it were. Conqueror is much more immediate and purposeful. We are also flirting with some of the fastest material we’ve ever done. Songs like Children of Satan, Trapped in the Web and the Machine really fire it up for a ‘doom’ band. In fact, and this is so stereotypical, I think that the ‘doom’ tag might not apply anymore. Or maybe it does… ultimately it’s for the listener to decide.

The song writing is about the same, honestly. Jason’s songs are his songs, mine sound like mine if you follow – again Bob has changed a lot in that his arranging ability is intense. He can cut through excess very quickly, thus the more focused songs. We did this with some of the songs from Suffer No Guilt: re-arranged them for the live setting, and it worked. Bob trims the sonic fat. One other huge difference is that for the most part I came in with only partial songs, rather than things that were more finished – to allow for a ‘group effort’ you know?

Of course as a player one grows everyday, but I can not say that I’ve noticed a huge change… . I feel stronger as a player than I ever have.

Jason: From my point of view, I see ‘Conqueror’ having the epicness of Suffer but also going back to the ‘riff’ of ‘The Awakening’ really. One of the biggest differences is the fact that we have Bob in the band now and the dude is pretty much a bad ass on drums. He really allowed us to get into song writing without worrying about ‘will the drummer be into this? and what not. Which was pretty awesome. It allowed a lot of freedom in the writing process and all in all made for a much stronger album.

Please let us know the story behind the album’s plain and powerful title? Why did you choose to call your new record “Conqueror”?

Karl: For us, our titles have a meaning to them… even if we have some material done before we title a record, as with Suffer No Guilt, once the record gets a title it redefines what we are doing the lyrics and the music are twisted to fit the theme. Conqueror was named after we’d done Suffer, actually. I set my mind on this record back then. And in the process of creating the record there were hundreds of conversations with Jason and Bob about the theme and what it means: for us, right now it is our goal. We want to become conquerors.

Jason: I assume Karl pretty much answered this question to its fullness so I guess I’ll leave it at that.

“Suffer No Guilt” featured a fantastic artwork by one of Heavy Metal’s most legendary cover artists, namely Ken Kelly of Manowar- and Kiss fame. So I wonder what the artwork of “Conqueror” will look like and if it’ll be equally as cool as that of “Suffer No Guilt”.

Karl: Well, by this time I’m sure that you’ve seen it, right? It was a frantic search for art that would rival Ken Kelly’s Revenge of the Viking… I think we’ve come very close. The artist is Vebjorn Strommen, from Norway. He’s amazing, sort of like Michael Whelan I think.

Jason: Shit man, We just worked on the cover a bit more over the weekend, and let me tell you with 1000% sureness that this cover will blow fucken minds. The Suffer No Guilt cover was awesome, but with the new artwork we have now, you pretty much can’t top it. We are really going to have to dig real deep to find something anywhere close to this for our fourth album. That is for sure.

And what about the new songs? Can you already reveal some song titles and give some more detailed info on the tracks on “Conqueror”?

Karl: The first track on the record: Trapped in the Web seems to be shaping up to be the first ‘single’ (Ola, Chris… 7” singol???). It’s one I’m very proud of, I came up with the main theme in Germany, and so it got Andrea’s seal of approval. When I got with Jason he smoothed out the verses: turned them into whole chords rather than the gallop that they were. He also took this bass break out of the blue which re-defined the whole middle section of the song, leading into the solo. I think that people are going to be taken back by this one – there are strong currents of early Iron Maiden and Cirith Ungol in this song, along with some Sabs of course.

Another oddity is the song Eyes of the Liar… that one was a huge reach for us. The dynamics of the song are pretty interesting I think, as is the production. Lyrically it’s a change too – it’s a personal song, not the usual Conan versus the giant spider kind of stuff that we do. We also have some political stuff on this one… so that is a bit of a difference.

Jason: Well, lets see. There is a couple of faster bits on this album like ‘Children of Satan’, ‘Trapped in the Web’ and ‘The Machine’. A bit more aggression and a bit more of experimenting but also there are equally as many heavy TRUE DOOM numbers as well like ‘Conqueror’, ‘To Kill and Be King’ and ‘Dark Valley Suite’. Some songs that I think that people will take notice of are ‘The Machine’, ‘Conqueror’, ‘To Kill and Be King’ and ‘Ice Worm’. All in all I am pretty excited about this album. It is very strong musically and with the studio being top notch, it really conveyed what we hoped the songs would sound like.

It’s often said that a band’s third offering is its “make it or break it” album. Is that the case with “Conqueror” as well? I mean, do you think that your new album has the potential to be even more successful than “Suffer No Guilt” (which sold out pretty fast and even had to be re-pressed, as far as I know) and maybe even introduce you to a wider fan base and take you beyond the status of a mere underground band?

Karl: Well, to be brief, yes. I think that this record will snap heads around. I thought the thing was going to be trash the last day before mixing. I thought that I’d just fucked it all up. But when Sanford called us in to listen to the whole thing, I realized that the reason for the million takes of vocals and the million takes on the guitar was to get this thing done right. I heard the first song he did and I got cold chills. It was a total: “We did THAT????” moment.

I hope that we do get the chance to reach beyond where we are at. Though I don’t know if bands are merely underground – the most vital bands in metal are in the underground: Slough Feg, Orodruin… they kill all the bigger bands, all of them. There is nothing in Metal Blade or Century Media’s catalogue that can equal either of these underground bands. The issue is exposure. Slough Feg has not had the chance to make their case to the world. That’s the biggest issue in the underground. It’s like a race to the bottom, an effort to reduce the size of the pond, and I hate that. In times past I’ve helped to do just that: fracture and pull things down… and why? To what end? I don’t want to be that person. I want to see people win; I want my friends to win. I don’t want to read about how this person or that person has to quit their label or break up their band because they can’t go on. Fuck that shit. The underground needs to grow! Bands like Slough Feg need to be heard by the masses of people that WILL like them, you know? Why do we have to sit back and be content to let shitty people and second rate clone bands define our music –define us? I’m intent on growing. I want to knock them off of their chairs and stomp on them. There is no reason to stay small, none. I want to tour with Motorhead, not end up having to give up and give in and compromise and reduce – to hell with that.

Fucking NEVER say die.

I feel that with this record we are setting our mark as it were. Again I think that this one will force some people who have doubted us, or thought that we are mostly hype about ‘troo doom’ or something like this – it will force them to reconsider their opinions. We aren’t hype, we aren’t faking, we aren’t an image and we aren’t fucking around. It is do or die. And we don’t plan on dying. We are coming to kill.

Jason: Well going into this record, all three of us decided that in 2008 we wanted to try and do the road thing. We really want to see where this beast can take us. I personally would love to be in a situation to go to Europe this year two or three times, go all over the US and make it to places that we haven’t ever been to, Japan and South America. So in some ways this is a ‘make it or break it’ deal. We want to do the band. I am personaly sick of my work life, I sit in a warehouse for ten hours a day and six hours on Saturday and I think about all I want to do is tour. But at the end of the day, isn’t that what every person that plays music wants to do. When I was a kid and I was watching ‘Live after Death’ or ‘Cliff’em All’ all I thought about was, WOW, I want to do that. And all though I am a lot older now, that 14 year old kid in me still wants to try and see what happens. And why not? If I make it to 70, I want to be able to say, I tried to do what I dream about doing instead of settling and just being like, wow, I got to pay my bills when I was 31. That was awesome. You know what I mean.

Just like “Suffer No Guilt”, “Conqueror” will again be released by Swedish cult label I Hate Records. But this time they’re not doing it alone, but rather have they teamed up with Canada-based Profound Lore Records to put out the new TGOS album. Do you know why there are two labels involved in the release this time?

Karl: We set that deal into motion – the fact is that doing only tours in Europe cuts off a huge place: the USA and we are based here. We have never toured further west than Iowa and we can’t because we have no presence here in the states. Suffer No Guilt was not widely distributed in the US, only on the internet and some independent record stores. The solution was Profound Lore, a label, like I Hate, only in North America. It gave us the budget to get into a more apropos studio situation and it’s giving us a presence in the US and Canada. Crom willing this year we’ll get out to California, and to Canada and Mexico!

Jason: Well this goes back to the answer for the last question.  I Hate has done an amazing job for us in Europe and I am very honored to be apart of the label.  However, a lot of people in the US really don’t know who I Hate is, or for that matter who TGoS is and that is why we worked out the deal with Profound Lore.  They are an equally strong label as I Hate and they have a strong foot hold on the US so when it comes to the new album, being apart of PL would allow us to Tour here as much as we have in Europe.

Can you already confirm a release date and let us know on what formats “Conqueror” will be available? Is a vinyl version planned as well?

Karl: I think it’s going to by May 5th in North America, and sometime shortly thereafter in Europe. And it should be widely available in both places. It’s going to be a CD at first, no vinyl has been discussed seriously right now, but there have been talks of a vinyl, assuming that it warrants it.

Jason: I know that I Hate is the first week of May and Profound Lore will be May 13th. I really hope that it comes out on Vinyl but no one has really stepped up about that yet.

In the last two years The Gates Of Slumber have played a lot of killer gigs here in Europe. In late 2006 you’ve toured with Reverend Bizarre and Centurion’s Ghost, for example and in 2007 you’ve headlined the prestigious Doom Shall Rise festival. What memories do you connect with your time on the road and what was it like to play all these cool gigs?

Karl: Being on tour is one of the few times I feel alive. I’m a wanderer – that’s what I really like to do. My whole life is arranged around that. If I was to never go on tour again I’d probably just shrivel up and die. Seeing the Alps, Rome, the cliffs of Dover, crossing the Baltic Sea, I’ve met some amazing people. The gigs, the road; friendships – that’s what I am in it for. But also the gigs – being on stage jamming out with Bob and Jason is fucking great, those dudes are my brothers; that is the life I want.

Jason: It has been amazing really. Five years ago, if someone told me that I would have done all that I have done, I wouldn’t have believed them. It is been a great ride and now I look to what the future can hold because if I have done all this, that means I can do a lot more. Playing DSR twice has been equally amazing and being able to actually headline last year was beyond expectation. One stand out night though, I have to say, was in Austria on Halloween in 2007. Satan was present and there was blood everywhere!

Later this year The Gates Of Slumber will come back to the old continent to play shows at Hells Pleasure Festival and Headbangers Open Air. What do you expect from these gigs? And are these your only gigs in Europe for 2008 or are there other concerts planned as well?

Karl: We are trying to work that out at the present time. I hope that we’ll be able to make things work out; I don’t want to say things here that might not come to pass later. It’s enough to say that the whole enterprise is going be risky.

Jason: I hope it isn’t too early to say this but we are planning an actual tour around those festivals with Germany’s Earth Flight in support. Right now things are in the works so no dates are yet confirmed but I am sure in time things will work out. I am personally really looking forward to the festivals. I find that Fests can be really fun if you go into it with the right mind set. There is always a shit load of things going down and what not. So I am sure both of those gigs will be pretty rad.

Will the release of the album also be accompanied by any new merchandise?

Karl: We are planning a new run of T shirts, naturally. And a line of candy bars and women’s underwear as well – gotta make that money.

Jason: We should have a lot of new stuff, that is for sure. We have one killer design already made by the Haulsycaust and that should go into production here in the next two months. I am sure people will dig it. It will probably be our first full color shirt too. Which I am stoked about.

Is there any band you’d really like to share the stage with someday? If you’d choose just about a dream to play a concert with, who would that be?

Karl: Black Sabbath with Tony Martin. I’d like to play with that line up because they would be able to play all the songs that I love. And to share the stage with Sabbath would just be the most awesome. It’s a very childish dream because there is no way in hell that it’ll come to pass. So I might as well add Motorhead to the bill as well.

Jason: A dream show, of course would be playing with DIO. That is without a doubt however a dream. But for me personally being able to play with Pagan Altar at Hell’s Pleasure is pretty rad too and is something that I am totally looking forward to as well.

And what about the newcomers? Which new Heavy Metal upstarts have had the biggest impression on you in the last months and deserve to be recommended to our readers here?

Karl: Right now I’m really into this band from Sweden called Rats… some very cool stuff – I got into them a couple of years back and they just keep getting better and better. Check them out! I’m also a big fan of The Wizar’d, Witch Sorrow is awesome as well, I too am a lover of The Lamp – but all of those bands are pretty well known now… save Rats. So here’s a link.

Jason: HOUR OF 13 without a doubt. A great fucken album that is. I have been listening to that non stop since I got back from the studio and I wish I didn’t sleep on this band earlier in the year. Check them out!!!

Do a lot of people try to pull your leg or piss you off by calling your band The Gays Of Slumber?

Karl: I really haven’t thought about it – I mean it’s pretty much an attempt to be funny I guess and it’s a mild laugh. The really good one is The Apes of Blunder… because it’s actually true. Sanford dubbed us that in the studio: we aren’t gay… no one would mistake us for gays. We don’t have names that rhyme with itch talker or anything. But we ARE a pack of blundering apes. Anyone who’s seen us will tell you that off stages (and even on sometimes) we are like drunken orangutans.

Jason: Well that is pretty Gay. haha. Well we are pretty much jokesters so the people that know us, know that and it allows jokes to flow. Sanford came up with the best one actually in the studio by calling us ‘The Apes of Blunder’ and I thought that was pretty right on actually. It still makes me laugh.

Before I come along with another question that’s even more stupid than the last one, I’d rather say we’d call it quits here and come to the end of this interview. Thanks a lot for your answers & see you soon at HOA and maybe also Hells Pleasure!!

Karl: Thanks for doing this inty Tobi! Hope to see you sooner than that! Cheers, Karl

Jason: Cheers to you for doing this and I am sure we will have a drink or three come this summer!
 

Questions: January 2008 by Tobi
Answers: February 2008 by Karl Simon & Jason McCash