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BACK
 HYPOCRISY
– Going through changes
By Adrian ‘The Energizer’ Bromley
It’s quite the change talking to someone other than singer/guitarist/producer/founder
Peter Tägtgren about the band Hypocrisy, but when it came time
for press duties, bassist Mikael Hedlund was up for the challenge.
The bassist starts the conversation, "Peter has been so busy
with things, doing interviews, production, et cetera, that we decided
a few of us were going to help out. I don’t mind—do you?"
"No, not at all," I reply with a laugh. "As long
as you talk and don’t stay quiet for 30-minutes then it’s
all good."
For more than a decade Sweden’s Hypocrisy has been a staple
in the death metal genre, thanks primarily in part to Tägtgren’s
hard work and devotion to get Hypocrisy to churn out album after
album, a wonderful catalogue of intensity, aggression and momentum.
But I’ll be honest—the last two albums (this year’s
The Arrival and 2002’s Catch-22) have not been my faves by
the band (those would be 1993’s Osculum Obscenum and 1996’s
Abducted) but at least the band still remains tactful in their evolution
and staying somewhat rooted in their past.
"I think this is a really good album. I love all of our albums,
but I think this album is more back to the roots of our previous
albums like The Final Chapter [1997]," he says of The Arrival.
"The album is very melodic, heavy, and atmospheric, and I think
those are the songs that we do the best."
The band kind of went off path a bit with the last few albums, and
turned off some fans of Hypocrisy’s work (myself included).
What caused the band to stray that direction?
"It wasn’t like we said we are sick of our style and we
need to change drastically. I think we just went off a pursued some
new ideas and sounds. You don’t want to do the same album over
and over again, and I think we just felt the need to try new things.
Peter is always tinkering with ideas. We tried to do something different
with Catch-22 and do it with a Hypocrisy style, but for some reason
people reacted differently. We know what we do good; we just don’t
plan it. It just happens."
People didn’t like the album that much and I think the band
knew this, right?
"Yeah, we read and heard a lot about how some people were just
upset with what we had done with that album, but like I said, we
as a band never want to repeat ourselves and trying new things is
important when you are a musician."
Knowing that the band was set on going back to the roots with this
recording, what was the mindset for the studio work of The Arrival?
"We didn’t plan much, as I said before, but we just felt
the need to work with what we had and record the album the same
way we have always recorded them, and unlike the Catch-22 album
where we set an idea and focused on it, this time nothing was set
in stone. We all wrote and recorded some ideas on our own and came
into the studio to discuss them, arrange them and then work on a
demo to get the kinks out before we did the final recording process.
On this album I believe it was much more teamwork this time around
for Peter and I because we were the ones who were throwing around
ideas and working together on a much grander scale than before.
He came up with one riff, I had the next one, and the next thing
you know we had a song."
The alien theme is back.
"Yes, it is. Peter is a fan of that stuff and so am I,"
responds the bassist. "Peter is an alien freak; I’m just
a casual fan of that stuff. I watch documentaries on UFOs and read
about it, but Peter? He is so into it," he laughs. "He
collects everything, reads everything, and talks about everything."
One big change for the band at this point in their career is the
fact that longtime drummer Lars Szöke has since left the band,
to be replaced by the powerhouse (ex-Immortal) drummer Horgh. That
was a pretty good switch, eh?
"Yeah, we got lucky. I mean, there has been a lot happening
for Horgh lately. Immortal breaks up, his new band Grimfist is taking
off and he wants to play with us. His involvement with the band
will not hurt us at all; in fact it has been a great response and
it feels great to have him in the band and bringing some intense
energy to the band. He fits in perfectly with the band and it will
be great to see what he brings into the mix when we go in to record
the next album."
He adds, "It was hard for Lars to leave the band, but it was
something we all had to talk about and decide on. It was for the
best for both parties. We knew we would need a good drummer to replace
him and when Immortal broke up, Peter and I both knew Horgh was
the drummer we needed to get into the band."
In closing I ask, "What do you think has been the secret to
the band’s longevity?"
"I think it is because Peter really is a workaholic and wants
to turn out record after record with this band. He works us hard,"
Hedlund laughs. "In all seriousness, I think we have been around
for so long because we are not a typical death metal band and we
have a lot of creative ideas and always seem to make the right record
for the most part. I think people enjoy what Hypocrisy is all about
and that we do have a good track record when it comes to albums.
Personally I think we have been very important in the metal scene
over the last decade or so. We may not be the biggest band, but
you can always count on a Hypocrisy album once a year or so."
I’m surprised Peter hasn’t retired or quit the business
yet.
"Me too," he blurts out. "He is metal till the end,
Adrian. Or until the aliens get him."
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