Henrik Ohlsson of Scar Symmetry
Interviewed by Patrick Rennick on 6/1/2006
Transcribed by Patrick Rennick
Almost out of nowhere, Sweden’s Scar Symmetry released, Symmetric in Design in 2005. The album featured an extremely talented lineup consisting of members from bands such as Carnal Forge, Theory In Practice, Altered Aeon, Unmoored, and a bass player, Kenneth Seil, who had never played in a metal band before. The result was a magnificent slice of melodic-death that was catchy, well-executed, and addictive with balls to boot. In the short-span of one year Scar Symmetry has returned with a new full-length release, Pitch Black Progress. Expanding on their catchy compositional structure, the new album exhibits a darker, heavier sound while maintaining the same catchy appeal that was evident on their first release. Drummer Henrik Ohlsson took some time to chat about the new album’s dystopian lyrical concepts, recording a video for “The Illusionist,” and where he would like to see Scar Symmetry arrive in the future.
Patrick Rennick: I understand the band just released a new album, Pitch Black Progress. I read that it only took you about a year to make this.
Henrik Ohlsson: Yeah, there was pretty much a year between recording. We were able to work really quickly this time because we spent about two weeks writing material and then we just went into the studio and tried to record it.
PR: Wow, two weeks? Did you guys just lock yourselves in the studio for an intensive session or what?
HO: We tried to keep the songs pretty basic as far as song structures go. That’s probably why we’re able to it. Then we have the ability to record for a long time if we want to because we record at Jonas’ (Kjellgren) studio.
PR: I remember speaking with Jonas last time and he told me that you are responsible for the lyrics.
HO: Yeah...
PR: I actually didn’t get a chance to read the lyrics on the new album but I was very impressed with your work on Symmetric In Design. I remember songs like “The Eleventh Sphere” had really interesting concepts. Anyways, could you talk to me about the lyrics on the new album and what kind of concepts you decided to work with this time?
HO: On the new album there is more of a general topic. There are like four or five songs that tie into the same theme. It all revolves around the title, Pitch Black Progress. I tried to paint sort of a dark future. I was inspired mainly by books like 1984 by George Orwell. But also the current state of the world which I feel points in that direction.
PR: The music itself also seems to sound a lot darker.
HO: Yeah, I think so too.
PR: Was this intentional?
HO: No, not really. We don’t plan things with this band (laughter). Things just sort of happened. We just go with the stuff that comes up and we record it. Then we sit down and listen to the album and that is when we can sort of understand where we are going. We never know in advance how the album is going to sound.
PR: Were there any differences you noticed this time going into the studio and recording compared to the last time?
HO: It was pretty much the same procedure but the material was perhaps a bit more complicated at times. I think we managed to keep all the key ingredients of the first album. It is just that this one is more diverse and experimental.
PR: Last time I spoke to Jonas you guys had only played a couple of live shows.
HO: Yes, now we have played three live shows (laughter).
PR: Oh really? Well, I heard about a particular one in Sweden that went really well. How have the other ones been going?
HO: We’ve had mixed responses on the few gigs we’ve done. Three gigs are not that much you know? But we were sort of in between labels on the first album. Metal Blade didn’t want to support us for tours because we didn’t sign to them. We signed to Nuclear Blast instead but they weren’t really interested in promoting Symmetric In Design. That’s why we haven’t played live that much. We’re going to tour on the Neckbreaker’s Ball, and that one starts on Tuesday.
PR: Who are you touring with?
HO: Soilwork, Hypocrisy, Amorphis, and One-Man Army and the Undead Quartet.
PR: Sounds like a good lineup! Are you excited to get out on the road?
HO: Yeah, it will be interesting because we are eager to learn about the whole touring thing. It will be good to tour with bands that are used to the road. I think we can learn a lot from them.
PR: Have you played in any other bands that toured on this scale before?
HO: We have all played in many bands but Jonas is the only one with real tour experience. He played in Carnal Forge and they toured quite a bit. Personally I’ve played with Theory In Practice, Mutant, and I am currently in a band called Altered Aeon. With those bands I’ve only done stray shows here and there.
PR: On this upcoming tour you will probably be playing for some fairly large audiences huh?
HO: Yeah probably about 800 people a show. It’s like a euro-festival tour. We are playing a lot of festivals.
PR: So, how did you first come in contact with Scar Symmetry? Who approached you with the idea of the band?
HO: Well, I was recording in Jonas’ studio with a band I mentioned earlier, Altered Aeon. I was recording drums for the debut album with that band. One day Jonas asked me if I was interested in starting a new band with him. I like Jonas as a person and also as a musician and that’s why I accepted basically.
PR: So, how do you feel overall about being involved with Scar Symmetry now?
HO: It has been really great. I have never experienced the kind of feedback that Scar Symmetry is getting. Everything has gone so quickly. In two years we’ve gone from the demo level to Cold Records which was part of Metal Blade at the time, and then we signed to Nuclear Blast and stuff is just happening all the time with this band.
PR: Yeah, that’s pretty impressive that you guys got those albums out so quickly. Who came up with this speedy writing process?
HO: The whole idea started because of Jonas. His intention was to form a band that played this kind of music. But, I think that Per (Nilsson), the other guitarist was really the one who started this whole fast writing process. He came up with his songs for the first album really, really fast. He wrote them in about a week or so. Jonas caught up with that and for the second album like I said we spent two weeks writing material.
PR: Well, lets talk about the new album a bit. Are there any tracks that stand out to you that you enjoy playing especially?
HO: I really enjoy playing “Slaves To The Subliminal.” That’s a favorite tune. I also like “The Illusionist.” That’s like a melodic/death hit song. We recorded a video for that one as well.
PR: Oh yeah? How did the video shoot go?
HO: It was, great! Actually we recorded one video in January with a company in Sweden called Lowlife Media. That video was really good in our opinion. But, Nuclear Blast had something else in mind so they wanted us to re-shoot it. We went to another company called iCode located in Serbia. So we flew over there and that was just a great experience. It went great. We got to drink as much as we wanted to and that certainly helped.
PR: Talk to me a bit about the concept of the video.
HO: The concept was created by iCode who sort of read the lyrics and created a story from that. It’s basically about a guy being hunted by some sort of entity. In the end of the video this entity or person, it's like a demonic figure, catches up with him and convinces him to follow him through a portal, and you don’t really know what is on the other side.
PR: You wrote the lyrics to this song, what were your reactions to how the song was handled by the filmmakers?
HO: Well, it wasn’t exactly the same (laughter). But, the story was cool and everything was really professional around the video recording so I didn’t really have a problem with it.
PR: Is the band featured in the video a lot or is it more focused on the story?
HO: The band is featured a lot and the story is like a sideshow to everything.
PR: From a lyrical perspective what song on the album do you feel most satisfied with?
HO: Well, I think that the whole concept on those four or five songs that revolve around the title were the most interesting personally to me, to write about on this album. The songs include “Slaves To The Subliminal,” “Pitch Black Progress,” “Mind Machine,” and “Calculate The Apocalypse.”
PR: Where did you get your background in drums?
HO: I took some lessons in the beginning but after a while I became really bored with that. I played in a death metal band at the same time and I found that much more inspiring. I learned a lot more from playing in a band rather than sitting at a music lesson, playing shitty songs that they came up with.
PR: (laughter) That’s interesting. So, you learned more out of school then you did in school you’d say?
HO: Yeah, I think the band I played with created the foundation that I work from today. The school just pretty much bored me. The first drum teacher I had was good. That was a personal teacher that came over to my house. I lived at home at the time when I was 13. He was good. But the traditional music school wasn’t something I enjoyed too much.
PR: Outside of music, what kind of interests do you have?
HO: Well, reading a lot. I have a family that takes a lot of time as well. That’s basically what I do.
PR: How have things been working out with the family now that you will be touring?
HO: Well, you have to have an understanding girlfriend if you are doing this (laughter) because there is not much in it for them, being with a musician who is not at home and all that. Of course it creates some problems but so far it hasn’t been so bad.
PR: So, what kind of stuff have you been reading?
HO: Oh, everything from traditional fiction books to self-help books to philosophy and all kinds of stuff that I find interesting.
PR: Do you have a job outside the band?
HO: Yeah, because music hasn’t been generating a lot of money so far (laughter). So, I have a job at a steel factory. We create steel wires, it is pretty metal.
PR: Yeah, literally. So, in the future what would you like to see happen with Scar Symmetry? Where would you like the band to be down the road?
HO: Well, it would be good to actually earn some money from the music. That hasn’t happened yet, and I think it would be a great thing to see if I could actually make a living out of this. I don’t know what it takes to actually live from music but if we could achieve that I think it would be a great thing.
PR: Do you feel that not being able to make a living off of the music affects the composing process? Do you think it would be different if the band was living off of the music?
HO: Well, we would have more time to rehearse and put more time into the music overall. I think that would affect the band at least in a live situation. In the studio you can always record part by part and all that. Being able to just concentrate on music would probably make us a better live act.
PR: Are there any tours scheduled for the states at any point?
HO: Well, I think we are coming over sooner or later but we haven’t heard anything yet.