Excretion
We Tried To Create Our Own Sound

16.02.2016

There are many cases in the history of Swedish death metal when a promising band, having released excellent material in demo format and some even signing record deals, eventually remains stuck on the demo level. There are also enough examples when a debut record remains the only one in the band’s discography (just remember Crypt Of Kerberos or Gorement). The subject matter of today’s interview represents exactly this category. Excretion paved the way for melodic death metal in the early 90s, but drifted apart after three demos and just one full-length album. And even though the world has witnessed tons of extraordinary comebacks and reunions of the bands who didn’t play together for 20, 25 or even 30 years, this scenario does not seem likely for Excretion. However, February will see the band’s first ever anthology called "Resurrection" released on Moscow-based GSProductions, bringing together the entire discography of this Swedish four-piece on two CDs. We contacted guitarist Anders Hanser and drummer Tommy Ottemark to learn more about the band.  

Are there any recent news from Excretion – or shall we expect any in the near future? Is there at least a hypothetical chance of new recordings or gigs happening?

Anders: We (me and Tommy) discussed that some years ago but we never did anything about it. There is always interest in just to play music so maybe something in the future.
Tommy: No, not at the moment. But you never know about the future!

When was the band founded?

Anders: Excretion started back in 89-90 under the name Atrocious. The setup was me on guitar, Tommy on drums, Stolle (Christoffer Holm –ed.) on bass and Danne (Daniel Johansson. –ed.) on vocals. After a while Thomas (Wahlstrom – ed.)  joined and took over the bass and Stolle moved over to the guitar. In 1992 we changed name to Excretion and Danne also quit the band in that period. Thomas took over the vocals and that setup was to remain until late 1995 before we tried other member and later split up in 1996.
Tommy: I think it was around 1990, in Rönninge, a Stockholm suburb.

You started with more brutal music, but then moved over to melodic death metal. What were the reasons for it?

Anders: Why we went from brutal to melodic I guess is because of me and Tommy, but mostly me I think. I don’t like having boundaries to any style of music. I listen to what I think is good music, and therefore anything is (almost) possible. Another reason is that we progressed to a more melodic sound is that we became more skilled I think. Not to say that brutal metal is easy, it’s harder and requires more technical skills. We came up somewhere in between; brutal + melodic. It was on the third demo we took the big step towards the melodic.
Tommy: We learned to play the instruments better and tried to make our own sound. And we liked the style better.

Excretion recorded three demos in 1991–93. However the debut album “Voice Of Harmony” was only released in 1995. Why did it take so long? Had it been released earlier, the band would have gained more fame.

Anders: The first years we were really eager to make it and rehearsed almost every day. That decreased along the way, and also the drive we had at the start. We got the album deal in 1994 and at that time I did military service and we couldn’t rehearse as frequent as earlier. I think we also went different musical directions during that time.  
Tommy: I don’t remember exactly but we had some trouble finding record labels. And there were lots of partying going on… So the music got in second hand.

“Voice Of Harmony” does not include any songs from the first two demos. Did you decide that those songs were no longer relevant at that point in time?

Anders: I don’t know but since we never played the old songs and only looked forward they didn’t have a place on the record. We only had songs from the 3rd demo on the album and we almost skipped them too. There was a big difference in those songs and to the “new” songs from the album. I think if we had had more new material we wouldn’t have recorded any songs from the last demo either.
Tommy: Yes, we felt that they didn’t fit in with our new style on the record. They weren’t good enough and we got tired of them.

Your material was extremely melodic even for its time. Apparently, you were influenced by classic heavy metal. What classic metal bands were your sources of inspiration?

Anders: Iron Maiden of course. I also must say Testament and Slayer who I listened a lot to back then.
Tommy: Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and of course the other death metal bands like At The Gates and In Flames etc.

At the same time, no other Swedish melodic death metal band was as heavy as Excretion. How can you explain that?

Anders: That is also because of our musical differences. We compromised so that all were satisfied. Later on it got more melodic and straight on as the “new” songs on the album.
Tommy: Ha-ha weren’t they? Haven’t really thought about it but thank you for saying, that means a lot to hear now! We just made the music how we wanted it to be, didn’t really think to make it heavier than anyone else.

Another characteristic feature that set your band apart from other melodic death metallers was the pretty brutal singing of Thomas Wahlström. Why did you choose such an unusual vocal style?

Anders: That was nothing we chose. Thomas went from dark growl on the first demo to the more desperate screams on the third one. Since the lyrics were not that happy we needed a more SAD approach to the vocals and Thomas nailed it.
Tommy:  We wanted a brutal, insane-like voice to reflect the sorrow and despair in the music and lyrics. And the style really fit Thomas’s voice.

You Anders said in an interview that one can find traces of many influences in the music of Excretion. What were these influences?

Anders: When I grew up I listened to everything from pop to heavy metal and still do. To name a three I must say Iron Maiden, Testament and Slayer.
Tommy:  Anders wrote most of the music and his influences were from many different genres like thrash, heavy metal, death, blues, rock, classic and so on.

As far as I know, you got a deal with Wrong Again Records with the help of In Flames. How did it happen? Were there any offers from other labels?

Anders: On the first two demos we really wanted a record deal so we sent them to most of the labels out there at the time. On the third one we got lazy and for some reason it ended up at some member of In Flames. I don’t know who but he told Wrong Again about us and later on we got the deal.
Tommy: In Flames heard our demo and liked it. So they took it to Wrong Again. There were a few small labels but I can’t remember the names.

Your lyrics can be described in one word: “depression”. Would you agree that this is indeed the case?  

Anders: I agree. Not necessarily depression but somewhere close. Loneliness and anxiety was our default mode.
Tommy: Yes, real depression, not the kind from heartache and stuff like that, more like everyday issues that are heavy and exhausting for your psyche.

You recorded your second and third demos in the famous Sunlight Studios in Stockholm. As to the debut album, it was recorded in Berno Studios in Malmö and produced by the studio owner, Berno Paulsson. Why did you change studios?

Anders: It's because the label was in Malmö and they had used Berno Studios for other acts and with good outcome. We didn’t care about were it was recorded. The sound was more important and Studio Sunlight felt a bit worn out since almost every band had recorded there with the outcome of all the bands sounding the same. Another reason is that Wrong Again Records had their seat in Malmö and they had used the Berno Studios for a while.
Tommy: Wrong Again suggested Berno Studios and we wanted a sound that differed from the Sunlight sound. But in the end we weren’t completely satisfied with the sound from Berno Studios. Though he produced a lot of great albums for other bands after us!

What can you say about live activities of the band throughout its existence? What were the most memorable shows that you played?

Anders: When we started out we played live before anyone had heard us. We did some gigs at a place called Lagret in Tumba (south of Stockholm). I think those shows made the biggest impact since they also were the first.
Tommy: Most performances were before the record was released. The most memorable one is probably in Gothenburg when we played with Ceremonial Oath. We were drunk as fuck and everything went completely wrong, hair got stuck in guitars and so on…

I cannot but ask you about the debut album cover. It has more to do with glam and definitely does not look like a death metal artwork. Can you explain what the deal is here?

Anders: It’s probably because of us wanting something else. We didn’t want any classic death-metal cover and Jonas (Clefstrom) who did it got free hands. I don’t think the label was satisfied with that cover… and not the actual recording either.
Tommy: We wanted something simpler like a logo and not an artsy painting-like cover like most death metal bands had. We got some criticism for it being too simple but we didn’t care. We liked it!

What responses to the album did you get from the press and fans? Was it often compared with the Big 3 of Swedish melodic death metal – At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames? I guess at that point in time these bands were synonymous with the genre in the public eye...

Anders: I think we are more compared to that kind of sound today. It was nothing that we thought of back then.
Tommy: The responses were good but it’s not until now that we have been compared to them. At The Gates was one of our biggest influences so it’s an honor to be compared with them now!

Why wasn’t there a follow up to the debut album? When and why did Excretion break up?

Anders: After the album was released we didn’t play that much anymore. I think some of us were more or less disappointed with the outcome and how it sounded. I don’t think the four of us played so much after the recording of the album.
Tommy: We made most of the songs for the next album (really good ones!!!) but the motivation sort of disappeared and then we broke up.

I read in the press somewhere that Tommy quit the band after the release of the album and was replaced by another drummer, Seppo Santala. Was that indeed the case? Why did you quit?

Anders: That is not true. I have also read about that Seppo guy but he was never in the band. We tried out another singer in 1996 (Matthias Parkkila, then with death metallers Malfeitor, later with Blood Mortized – ed.) and after a few months we put everything on hold. I got tired of it so I quit Excretion in the fall of 1996.
Tommy: That was some strange rumor, I don’t even know who this Seppo guy is and I never quit. (This information was published in Daniel Ekeroth's book called "Swedish Death Metal" –ed.).

Have you received any offers to re-release your recordings? The original pressings are quite difficult to find these days…

Anders: We have got some offers to do remastering of the demos and the album for CD and even vinyl, but they are not yet realized.
Tommy: Yes from you! (from Russia – ed.) They were on Spotify for some time and we are trying to get it up there again. (The interview was made when GSP was in the process of negotiations about reissuing Excretion’s back catalogue – ed.)

How do you look back on the music you made with EXCRETION? Do you still see fans’ interest in the band after all these years?

Anders: Of course. There is a lot of fans out there that we never knew existed and thanks to the Internet. We have been contacted by fans from all over the world - Asia, Russia, Germany, Holland, the USA etc.
Tommy: I’m very proud of the music and that we tried new things that we hadn’t heard other bands do. We still get some responses from people and it’s fun that some still remember us after 20 years!

Thanx for the answers! Can you say a few final words to the readers of this interview?

Anders: Do what you want, don’t follow the stream…
Tommy: Thank you for the interview! Try to find our music on the web and like us on Facebook. Cheers!

Excretion on the Internet: https://www.facebook.com/Excretion-163683117099520/?fref=ts

Magomed Gadzhiev
January 04, 2016
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