Hammerfall
Hero's Return

04.10.2007

All the fans of the biggest band in the power metal revival of the 1990s were literally shocked, when their long-time bass player Magnus Rosen decided to leave the band in April this year. Not only was Magnus a solid musician, he was also an extremely charismatic performer and an unbelievably nice person offstage. Replacing such a personality seemed a very difficult task, but Hammerfall found a solution. They brought back Fredrick Larsson, who played on the band’s very first album “Glory To The Brave” back in 1997, thus going full-circle and restoring the unity. Shortly before Hammerfall’s first ever gig in Moscow we had a chance to meet and talk to Fredrick, and here you have more or less of a portrait of the new old man in the band…

You came to Russia for the first time. Have you seen any of the city? How do you like it so far? And what do you expect from tonight’s concert?

Yeah, we’ve seen the city. We went out to eat yesterday, and today we were at the Red Square looking at everything. It was really cool, Moscow is a nice and beautiful town.

You rejoined Hammerfall in April, after being away for 10 years. How did you feel without the band?

I felt really good, because when I left the band, I wanted to do something else. I didn’t want to play this kind of music, I was into death metal and thrash metal, and I wanted to do that. Somehow 10 years after that I got the opportunity to be back, and now it’s the time. It was great to have that opportunity again.

The most famous band that you played with during these 10 years is Evergrey. But can you say a few words about other bands you were busy with?

There were lots of small bands that haven’t released any records, and you’ve probably never heard of them. I left Hammerfall for a thrash metal band and we played together for nine years after that. I was in a project with Henrik (Danhage, guitar) and Jonas (Ekdahl, drums) from Evergrey called Death Destruction, it was an old school death metal band. There were a lot of other projects in different musical directions, I did everything.

How did you enjoy being in Evergrey?

That was great! They’re still very good friends of mine. They’ve just got a new bass player, so I’m really happy for them. I think it’s gonna work out fine for them. They are talented musicians and a great band.

How did you react when your predecessor Magnus Rosen left the band?

I was really surprised, I had no idea that he was unhappy with the band. Joacim (Cans, singer) called me already a couple of days after that. Regarding Magnus, I guess he wanted to do something else. They grew apart both personally and musically, so the chemistry wasn’t there anymore.

And how did the band change over those 10 years?

A lot of things happened. In the beginning, it was a different kind of music. Now it’s much more structured and, I would say, much better.

How was it like for you to learn all this new stuff?

It was difficult, because there were so many songs. I only had a couple of weeks to learn 15-20 songs, so I had to practice really much. But it was fun at  the same time, because I had to learn songs from all the times – from the old records until now.

You said that you left Hammerfall because you lost interest in this kind of music…

I don’t think I lost interest in this kind of music, but I wanted to do so much more.

So after all these years you decided that power metal is the thing you want to do the most, right?

Yeah, it’s the music I grew up with. It’s like coming back to basics again.

Hammerfall have recently signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast for as many as six albums…

I’m not sure, I was not in the band at the moment. (smiles) Six albums is pretty much, but at the same time, Hammerfall have been releasing albums for 10 years on this label. We’re gonna release a best-of album in autumn, and we will record a new CD next June or something, so I think our relationship is gonna evolve further. I think it’s a good deal anyway.

Speaking about the situation in the band nowadays – is Hammerfall a democracy, or is there a distinct leader?

It is a democracy, of course. But Oscar (Dronjak, guitars) and Joacim are pretty much the founding members, and they know what they want. They have the last word, in a way, but it is still a democracy, I think.

10 years ago Hammerfall had a different drummer. Can you say a few words about Patrik Rafling? How can you compare his playing with that of Anders Johansson?

That’s a tough question, it’s been 10 years since I played with Patrik. But I feel it’s very easy to play with Anders, he’s very rhythmical, and his timing is really good. It feels safe to be a bass player with him.

Do you have any idea what Patrik is now doing?

I have no idea. Maybe Oscar or Joacim know. I’ve heard that he used to play with a band called Juggernaut, but I don’t think he’s with them anymore.

The Swedish metal scene was not so big 10 years ago, if we compare it to the present time. Can you comment on the development of power metal over this period? When this genre got popular, did it change for the better or for the worse?

I don’t think power metal is that big in Sweden. The music that is really strong is death metal, especially from Gothenburg, such bands as In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. They began at basically the same time with Hammerfall, we grew up together. That kind of music is much bigger, especially in Gothenburg.

What’s your brightest memory about recording “Glory To The Brave”?

Ahh, lots of memories from that time! Probably the most memorable thing is the old equipment that was state-of-the art at that time. We had to fade the songs manually, there were 10 tracks, and if the fading wasn’t good, we had to take the whole song from the beginning again and start all over. We had to do everything ourselves, while now you just push the button.

A lot of people still consider “Glory To The Brave” the best Hammerfall record. In your opinion, has the album stood the test of time, or has Hammerfall done better records after that?

For me, of course, the first album is the biggest thing, since I was on it. You may be critical of the sound nowadays, but it’s still got many good songs on it. At the time when we released that record, no one really played that kind of music. Of course, the old ones were there, bands like Helloween and Gamma Ray, but there were nearly no new bands who played this kind of music.

A couple of questions about your musical roots. How did you start as a bass player, and who were your biggest influences?

I started playing when I was 12 or something. I played the piano and all kinds of musical instruments, but I ended up with the bass, because our school band needed a bass player. And I don’t regret it! (laughs) My biggest influence at that time was probably Peter Baltes from Accept, as well as Steve Harris (Iron Maiden). A bit later it was Steve DiGiorgio (Sadus, Death). I wouldn’t say that I sound anything like them, but of course, they were big icons in my eyes.

As far as we understand, you play both with your fingers and the pick…

No, I play only with the pick. I used to play with my fingers, but I haven’t practiced that for years.

But Magnus was constantly playing with his fingers. How are the songs different now, with your return?

The sound is different, of course, but I always preferred the pick in metal music. There are great finger players, for instance, Steve Harris sounds great in Iron Maiden, but I don’t think that’s my thing right now.

What are you doing apart from playing music?

Ehm, really not that much at the moment. This summer was really busy with all the festivals, and this autumn will be busy as well. We’ll go to South America, we’ll do a little tour in Europe, so this year is gonna be packed.

OK, so what are your expectations from the future with the band?

I would like to go to a couple of places I haven’t visited, like Japan, for example. That would be really great for me personally. For the band, I expect it to grow a little bit bigger. That’s basically it.

Hammerfall on the Internet: http://www.hammerfall.net

Special thanks to Alexei “KIDd” Kuzovlev (Irond) for arranging this interview.

Roman “Maniac” Patrashov, Victoria “Ewigkeit” Bagautdinova
September 7, 2007
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