Interview mit Andreas Bjulver von Cabal

More than half of the tour is already over, only five shows left. How’s the mood?
Pretty good, pretty good. We are happy. It’s our first headline ever, so it just feels good that we’re actually able to do something like this. We’re stoked about it.

How has your first headlining tour ever been so far?
It’s been pretty good. January is a pretty tough month for the tour, but so far we’ve been pretty happy with the turnout. All the other bands are really nice, so we’re having a good time in the bus. They’re also killer bands, so all the shows have been good. So we can’t complain.

Perfect. And any special moments you would talk about yet?
I think for me personally, playing London Underworld. It’s very special, because that’s the place I’ve been making the flight to from Copenhagen when I was a kid, because there were a lot of cool tour packages that didn’t come to Denmark.They would go over there. So actually getting to headline that felt pretty damn special.

And have there been any challenges yet?
Oh, there have been so many. I got super sick a couple of days ago. Pretty early on the tour I got caught coughing, I had a fever. But I just had to play anyway, so it was really rough.

How did you manage doing that?
I just had to do it. You can’t really just cancel.

You’ve already released your setlist in advance. Being a headliner now, it’s quite different. For example, you’re playing 13 songs now. Almost twice as many compared to the US tour. How do you tackle this challenge?
For me personally as a vocalist, I drink a lot of tea. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke.
It’s very boring, I go to bed early. I try to be mindful, especially since I’ve also been sick.
Not putting too much strain on my voice. And taking as many precautions as I can. Eating all the vitamin pills and drinking all the tea.

How do you choose the songs you perform on tour?
It’s been a mix. One of the things we use to gauge is which songs do people seem to like.
Both songs that we like to play, but also people pay to be there. So we also play songs where we can see a lot of people listen to it and we like them. So those are primarily the songs we’re going to play. Because we’re here to play for the people who come out.

And now let’s talk about the band directly. If you had to put your music in a box, you’ve mentioned before that you see yourself fitting in a post-Deathcore category. You’ve compared yourself to bands like Fit for an Autopsy and Whitechapel. Has this changed? Or would you still say that’s how you see yourself today?
Yeah, it’s still how we see ourselves. It’s obviously very inspired by a lot of Deathcore, but it is something different, at least from the first wave of it. So today we took some of that formula and built on it. So I still feel like that’s a very fitting term if you have to put stuff into a box.

And you’re currently working on a new album. On your website you talk about wanting to explore even deeper into your newfound dark industrial sound. Compared to your last album, what can we expect?
More noise. So it’s going to be heavier, but in a little bit of a different way, I’d say.
It’s going to be dissonant and I think it’s going to be more aggressive, I’d say. So there’s still going to be the core of what we are, but I definitely expect some weird industrial noises and a bit more of a harsh soundscape. I think that’s kind of where it’s heading.

You’ve already collaborated with Baest, Joe Bad from Fit for an Autopsy and Matt Heafy from Trivium, who are all significant names in the scene. Are there any potential collaborations in the horizon of the future?
We’re working on some. I can’t really lift the lid on them yet. But there’s a bunch of people we’d love to work with.There’s so many people in bands that we just really adore. So a lot of that is also childhood dreams come true. Making music with people whose music we really like. And some of it, people like Matt Heafey, we grew up listening to Trivium. So having him on a song felt absolutely surreal.

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Yeah, it was the same with the show with Parkway Drive.
Oh, yeah, exactly. That was also mind-blowing. We grew up listening to that band. All of a sudden we were like, oh, we’re sharing a stage.

So returning to the Deathcore genre and delving a bit deeper, it often explores themes like destruction, violence and societal issues. Where do you see the limit of acceptable topics for yourself? If there’s one at all.
I mean, that’s a good question. I feel like… I wouldn’t say nothing is off-topic. Some stuff I probably wouldn’t talk about. Also just in general. For me, it’s just like an outlet for stuff that’s frustrating for me. Stuff I need to vent. It’s aggressive music, so it’s a place I can get dark thoughts out. And dark thoughts are dark. Some of the subject matter is very… It’s not like… The old stuff we wrote was a bit more like… We had this theme of a death call trying to make the world end. This stuff is more personal and less role-play-y. So it’s just a way of getting some frustrations out about the state of the world. There’s a lot of stuff to be angry about. And there’s a lot of stuff to be sad about. So it’s all of that that we’re trying to channel.
And hopefully people can use that as an outlet as well. But I don’t… There’s probably some stuff I wouldn’t write. I’ve written about some very personal stuff to me. I would never write anything trying to… I think some of the early death core was trying to be provocative. Which is not something we do. Maybe calling it more serious might be a wrong phrasing.I’d say it’s more personal and more about… Using it as an outlet for stuff that’s hard to talk about.

Next, let’s discuss the recent happenings and trends in the Deathcore scene. Things got quite intense in 2023. In September, Thy Art Is Murder made some rather negative headlines. The ex-vocalist, CJ, posted a video with homophobic content on social media. The rest of the band distanced themselves from the matter, leading to CJ being replaced. The reactions within the fan community were somewhat divided. What are your thoughts on this situation?
I definitely think he fucked up. He did say some dumb shit. I do also know he’s going through some personal shit. He has a sick kid. So I think he’s at a very vulnerable place. Where he’s been brainwashed by some weird right-wing bullshit. So I do kind of feel for him in some way. We like CJ. He was on a song off our first record. And he’s always been a nice dude towards us. But what he said was dumb and wrong. So I think, I definitely get why they distanced themselves. But I would also say I think there’s more than just that going on. It seems like there’s been tension within that band for a while.But yeah, definitely he said some shit he shouldn’t have said.

Not only regarding Thy Art Is Murder, but also other well-known bands have been in (negative) headlines, and there’s an increasing discussion about the separation of art and the individual. In your opinion, how much can art or musical creations be separated from the values and ideologies of the person behind them?
I have a hard time separating the two things. Because to me it’s also like if somebody stands for something I can’t stand. It’ll be hard for me to support it and enjoy the music. I used to love Marilyn Manson. I can’t put that on anymore. It feels weird. Even though I like the songs, it makes me feel icky. It’s a very multifaceted debate on whether you can do that or not. Michael Jackson would be a great example. I used to love Michael Jackson. I can’t put that on anymore. It’s not been proven. But I don’t think people usually lie about stuff like that. The whole Rammstein thing is also weird. Nothing has been proven. But I feel like this sound has been tarnished. I’m not gonna tell people what they can and can’t do. But I personally have a hard time separating the two things. Because it is music made by these people. But at the same time, if you look at the hip-hop community, a lot of artists in there have done horrible shit without getting cancelled. For me, it’s hard not to. It’s hard to separate. I can’t really have a hard time doing that. Also, if you meet somebody playing in a band and they’re dicks, my urge to listen to that music just disappears.

When you get to know them personally.
Yeah, and you find out, oh, that‘s just a horrible person. Fuck. Well, don’t listen to that.

Let’s switch gears from the tough stuff and talk about something that’s becoming more crucial in the music scene. In 2021, Lorna Shore’s „To the Hellfire“ blew up on TikTok, giving them a ton of recognition. So, Lorna Shore has kind of been catapulted from the metal scene into the mainstream, and this has brought more attention to deathcore in the mainstream too. What do you think about this development?
I think it’s sick. Some people are gatekeepers and don’t like it. But I feel most of those people aren’t musicians. So as a musician trying to make a living out of this, I’m very stoked. Lorna Shore also brought us out for our first UK tour. And gave us a pretty good start in that market. So we owe them a lot right about when this happened. I would say I welcome it. I don’t see why it’s a bad thing that more people get to know extreme metal.

And what impact do you think has it on the scene?
I think it’ll just put more eyes on it, which is a good thing. The only bad thing I would say is there’ll be a lot of bands trying to sound like Lorna Shore now. So it’ll saturate the market with a bunch of bands who want to be like Lorna Shore but can’t do it as well.
So we’ll probably get heaps of maybe poorly made symphonic deathcore.
But again, not getting anybody to – grand if they want to do it.
But I just feel like every time something blows up, everybody wants to try to do that. And that creates a bunch of clones.Because there’s only one Lorna Shore.

And do you see any effects on your band as a result of that? I mean you already said that they’re getting you there. But the change in the scene more or less.
I think one of the changes we feel in our band is that we used to do more symphonic stuff as well. And we’re actually going away from that now. Because we know that there could be an ocean of bands trying to do that. So we like the symphonic stuff as well. But now that everybody wants to do that, we’re doing something different. So that’s a very tangible effect that Lorna Shore Wave had on our band.

You guys are quite active on social media, with almost 45k monthly listeners on Spotify and 26k followers on Instagram. How important do you find managing social media channels for your band?
Oh, it’s very important. Where we talk to our following and where we present new stuff. I spend so many hours each week handling that. So I feel like it’s very important. It’s also one of the ways that a smaller band like us can promote themselves organically.
Especially with stuff like TikTok, which is something we also need to get better at. I feel very old when I have to.

How do you come up with new content?
Usually it would just be like… On tour it’s easy. We just talk about how we played here yesterday, we’re playing here today. This is happening. So it’s actually not that hard when there’s a lot of stuff going on. Then it’s more picking which stuff do we want to talk about.

And how are you handling it when you’re not on tour?
Right now we’ve been writing things. So I’ll just post snippets from the studio and stuff like that. Which people seem to like. I actually don’t think it’s like… It was hard back when we were a younger band and didn’t have as much going on. These days it’s almost hard to keep up and post about everything.

But you’re doing it yourself?
Yeah. Obviously we have a label. But we record everything ourselves. We do mixing and mastering ourselves. I do the videos with my friends. A lot of it is done in-house and by ourselves. A few of us grew up in the hardcore punk scene. So that’s kind of the work ethic and approach that we’ve taken to running a band.

And you’re doing your videos and your recording because your guitarist is…
He’s a producer as well. And I produce music videos. I used to do our marketing as well. Now we have Nuclear Blast. I’m like, you guys got it. I’m hands off now. Which is so nice.

Do you enjoy content creation or doing stuff in social media as a necessary evil?
Sometimes. I think a lot of the time it does tend to feel a little bit like a job. But I’d say it’s a necessary evil. Sometimes I’ll get a good idea. I’m like, this would be fun. At the same time, I just know it’s important. I know I need to keep doing it. So I’ll do what’s necessary and keep doing it.

That’s a little bit off topic now. But is there any funny backstage anecdote you can share?
It’s so hard because so much stuff goes on. And weird stuff that you almost get blind to it.
And it just feels like every day. I’m drawing a blank right now. There’s definitely weird and funny stuff going on. We’ve just been shooting each other with Nerf guns.
Just chilling and hanging out. I’m so sorry. I can’t really think. I know there’s a ton of stuff.

When you look back, what was your highlight in 2023?
We had a few. The Parkway Drive show was pretty high up there for me personally.
Playing Copenhell on the second biggest stage in front of 15,000-20,000 people was also a pretty big deal for us. We went back to the US. We did our first Australian tour. We were also going out with Dying Fetus and Nasty in front of so many people. It was a good year.

And as you said, you played Copenhell and Roskilde, for example. Can you give us a glimpse of the shows or the festivals you’re going to play in 2024? Is it still top secret?
I don’t know if we’re doing any because we’re working on a new record. So I think we might hold off on that until the next year, so we have the new record out. It does take a lot of time. We need to film a bunch of videos, do a bunch of content, get that ready. It’s a luxury problem, but it’s hard to find the time to do everything because we’re doing so much. If that makes sense? It’s a problem you want to have.

I don’t know if you can think of any now, but do you have any pre-show rituals or ceremonies?
I think we all just stretch and warm up and shake hands. We don’t have anything too crazy. We’re a little bit boring as a band. We don’t really party much or anything. We just hang out and maybe have a couple of beers. If it gets really crazy.

Is there anything else you’d like to talk about that we haven’t touched upon yet?
Not really. People should come out to the remaining shows. I don’t know when this is coming out. Keep your eyes peeled for the new record. We’ll start releasing stuff from it in 2024, I think. If everything goes to plan. Right now we’re releasing some reworks of old stuff. Cool.

I would like to conclude this interview with the traditional Metal 1.info brainstorming. I just mention a few terms and you just say what pops up in your mind first.

Favourite place: Japan
Autumn: Autumn sucks.
Cabal in 10 years: A viable business, hopefully.
Hiking: Nah.
Best horror movie: Hereditary.
Glam Metal: No, thank you.
Best album of 2023: That’s a hard one. My most listened to full album was Nasty’s Heartbreak Criminals. I put it on in the gym every day.
Coffee: Yes.
Uh again – Funniest backstage situation: I have one. When we played Roskilde, there was a TV crew filming us. They were getting ready. It was back when Chris, who is now more like a songwriter-producer, was still playing live. He started screaming, like, my click track! He storms off, because he’d forgotten some cable, so he goes and gets his click tracks. I’ve never seen him act that fast. To run in and put it in. And while we were standing there, there’s a TV crew filming and he screams my click. And runs away. With his guitar on him.

Thank you very much for taking your time. Best of luck on the rest of your tour.
Thank you so much and thanks for having me.

Publiziert am 2. Februar 2024 von Theresa Steiner

Fotos von: Theresa Steiner