15 years after their last album, the Swedish black metal band MÖRK GRYNING are back in their original line-up.Singer Draakh Kimera tells what part the Party.San had in the reunion, why the lyrics are written in English this time and how he would describe the new album „Hinsides Vrede“ in summary.
We are talking in special times – I hope you are doing well despite the Corona situation!
Yeah we´re all safe. For me it´s normal to avoid bigger gatherings anyway so nothing is new. But still, a very shitty situation!
What is the current situation in your country as far as that is concerned?
Slowly increasing again, but not as much as in spring. The spreaders now are the youngsters who can´t stay away from parties and not listening to the recommendations from the authorities etc.
Is there also something positive you can take away from the crisis?
The crisis did wipe out some other diseases because people has been more hygienic than ever, and hopefully it´ll stay that way after this as well. It hasn´t hit me personally at all in the everyday life but I´ve had some friends who´s friends have been very ill.
The reason for our conversation is the surprising return of MÖRK GRYNING. Actually, you had dissolved the band in 2005 and only wanted to release the final self-titled album. In 2017 you played at Party.San again. So we have Jarne and Mieze to thank for the reunion of MÖRK GRYNING?
They have absolutely a part of it. Party San – and a gig in Stockholm beginning of 2017 – gave us the boost needed to start up again for real. We weren´t supposed to do any more gigs, but thing´s changed in our camp after that.
Your last album was released after you dissolved the band. What do you think about „Mörk Gryning“ today, what do you associate with the album?
I wasn´t personally involved in the band anymore on that album, but there are absolutely some highlights worth listening to. We played f.e. “Ingen Dyrkan”, the opening track, at Party San.
And speaking of looking back – what do you associate with your debut „Tusen År Har Gått'“, which was released 25 years ago?
I´m of course very proud of the work. We couldn´t ever expect that it would reach that cult status as it is today. It was a pleasure working with Dan Swanö. I was quite starstruck as I was very much into his work with EOS and PTM.
All musicians from the current lineup have been in the band before. But this is not the lineup of the last album – singer Johan Ljung for example is no longer in the band. Was this a decision on your part or did not everyone also want to join MÖRK GRYNING again?
Johan Ljung replaced me on vocals when I left the band, so he was not an original member of the band, even though he´s a great singer and a great guy.
Was it also clear at that time that you were going to write new music, or had you even written music already?
We started working on some new material about 7 years ago when we first thought about re-uniting the band again. “Fältherren” was actually written back then. But that first try-out didn´t work for some personal reasons.
Now a new album is actually released, 15 years after the last one. How does it feel for you, what feelings do you have when you hold the album in your hands?
Hard to describe in words. We are so proud of it. A lot of feelings ran through when I received the first Vinyl and CD copies. And Season of Mist is such a professional label making this happen.
As a band that was away for 15 years, you may have been forgotten by many fans. Do you regret this long break or do you see it as a chance for a new start?
This is indeed a chance for a new start. We don´t regret anything. Even though we are a little bit older, we´re much wiser today. Just hope that we´re not too forgotten.
In fact the album also sounds very different from your previous albums, it is much more playful, more varied. Did you think about how far the album has to „fit“ to the previous one when you wrote the songs or did you not care?
As we have always been exploring new ground with our music, and never been afraid of it, we´ve just done what has we´ve felt for. It came quite naturally that a lot was from the roots of MG: Melodic and straight forward.
How would you describe the album to someone who hasn’t heard of MÖRK GRYNING before?
Progressive melodic and symphonic black metal with contrasts. Straight forward and in-your-face.
You were one of the first bands to write lyrics in Swedish – on the new album all songs are in English, if the titles don’t deceive. Why?
Because most of the themes on the album just didn´t fit writing in Swedish. “Fältherren” is the only one with Swedish lyrics.
The artwork reminds me of the tessellation patterns of M.C. Escher – What was the idea behind the cover, why does it fit perfectly to this album?
The idea came from Goth Gorgon as he´s very much into geometric patterns. It´s a kind of demonic mandala. The idea is taken based by the lyrics from “Sleeping in the embers” based by the book of revelation. “The gates were opened….the destroyer, the eraser, Abaddon” so there you have the cohesion. The artist behind this is our live drummer C-G (who´s also playing the drums on 2 songs on the new album: “Fältherren” and “Black spirit”).
Were shows planned before the pandemic hit the world – in other words: Can we hope to see you live again one day?
Yes, a lot of shows was planned, and more offers was coming up on the table. F.e. a tour in USA. Most of the shows (including the U.S.-tour) has just been postponed, so yes, you will see us live again.
And what about your other plans for the future: Will we have to wait another 15 years until the next album?
No (laughs)! There will be more albums as long as the band stays intact and nothing bad happens due to health issues or something.
Thank you for the interview! Please let us do a short brainstorming in the end of this interview:
The first drink you order when you walk into a bar: Beer!
A place where you feel especially well: At home
A meal that always makes you happy: A good steak with a glass of red wine
An album that you can always listen to: ”Seventh son of a seventh son”
A hobby of yours that has nothing to do with music: Karate
A life dream of yours: Has already happened when I became a father
MÖRK GRYNING in 10 years: In the studio recording our 10th album
Once again thanks for your time. The last words are yours – is there anything left you want to tell our readers?
Band related: Check out our new album “Hinsides Vrede”, give it a try even though you are not into black metal. Follow us on social media. Check for some unique merchandise from mgryning.bandcamp.com
In general: Don’t take any shit. Be kind to women. Stay away from religion. Stay safe.
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4. November 2020 Moritz Grütz
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