Interviews

Avatar Interview

Published

10 years ago

September 27, 2016

George Archibald

An Interview with John Alfredsson of Avatar

By George Archibald

Avatar Photo by Andrew Bastion

Swedish rockers Avatar, have been making their own blend of metal since 2001. The band was founded by drummer John Alfredsson and guitarist Jonas Jarlsby, with vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarist Tim Öhrström, and bassist Henrik Sandelin, rounding out the lineup. This band is known for their high energy music and stage show. Creatively this band fits in no mold, for they tend to write music from so many styles and genres it’s hard to classify their sound. I was fortunate to get to talk with founding member and drummer John Alfredsson, to find out more about this band, and where they see themselves in the future.

GA: Can you tell me a little about your band and its sound?
JA: Our band’s name is Avatar. We are from Gothenburg, Sweden, and we play some kind of theatrical… we play heavy metal. We are a metal band that doesn’t sound like anything else that I am aware of. It’s really up for the listeners to decide.

GA: You pull from a lot of different areas to make your music, I hear some folk, punk, metal etc.
JA: Yea we definitely use a wide variety of inspiration. This last album we were taking a lot of inspiration from bands such as Queen, The Beatles, and even metal bands; everything from Norwegian Black Metal, to typical Gothenburg bands like The Haunted or In Flames.

GA: Your music has such a high energy level to it. It also follows a variance of cadences, where do the band’s ideas for writing come from?
JA: It could be literally anything, everything and anything. When we write, it is usually not me who is the first one to write, because I play the drums. It usually starts with Jonas or Tim writing riffs. Then we start to put those riffs together. Then, I start to build the grooves. From the time a riff is born, it is very much a collective work with every single member, to where we sit down together and build everything. The inspiration could be from whatever we did that day, like for example we watched a Queen concert while we were writing this past album, that inspired us. We stay very diverse because of what references each band member has. So together we cover much of the musical spectrum, except for Country.

GA: Being the drummer of the band, what got you into to playing the instrument and when did you start learning how to drum?
JA: What got me into the instrument was definitely Lars Ulrich. When I was a kid in Sweden, socialist Sweden we only had 3 TV channels to choose between. I was about 14, and one of these channels aired Metallica’s S&M orchestra concert. I taped the show, and watched it over and over. I got really into it and was like “I got to play the drums.” So that is what really got me into drumming.

I used to play the flute when I was a kid. I started playing the flute when I was 6, or 7, and I played it until I was 10. It was me and a bunch of girls, and when you are 10 that’s not very cool. So I quit playing the flute, then I saw the Metallica concert, and I decide I wanted to be a drummer and started practicing. I begged my parents saying that “I want to have a drum kit”, and when I was 14 I got a drum kit. That’s how it all started. It all comes down to inspiration and who you look up to, in my case it was Metallica and Lars Ulrich.

GA: Can you tell me a little about your gear? What do you use, and if you have any endorsements please share them with us?
JA: I play Tama drums, because Lars used to play Tama drums, and still does. That is the only reason why I started playing Tama drums, besides that I love Tama. Now-a-days I could easily make a switch to something else but I love Tama drums. They are the only drum brand I can imagine myself playing. Since then, I also got endorsed by them which is really nice. For cymbals I use Meinl, they are fantastic cymbals. I also use Promark drumsticks because they are the only ones carrying the SD9 stick, which I prefer. I also use Evans drum heads, because they are fucking awesome.

GA: You are also a founding member of the band, what has kept you going since the inception of Avatar in 2001? And do you have any tips for retaining longevity in the music business? Anything you have picked up along the way.
JA: Nobody is going to save you… Nobody is going to save you. That is the biggest tip I can give to any aspiring musician. If you really want to do this, you are the only one who can make it happen. No one else is going to come there with a bag of money, and tell you, I will make you successful or anything. It is always going to come down to yourself, nobody is going to save you.

GA: Being from Sweden what are some of your favorite places in the United States, and Europe to visit and preform at?
JA: We are a metal band, and we play for metal heads; metal communities are very much the same all over the globe. So for me, there is other stuff outside the crowd I like, with some places like in Germany, I can have a special beer in a bar next to a river and walk around, and I can’t do that here in Cleveland, due to safety concerns. So stuff like that is what makes the difference between cities and countries for me. The actions show themselves, it’s a metal band playing in front of a bunch of metal dudes, and metal girls, and it’s a metal show. Everything is just metal. It has more similarities than differences between the crowds. It’s a very united community, metal crowds. The further South we go the crowds show that they dig the music in another way. If we play Spain, you would think with the crowds, people are going to get killed, but they have their own way of showing appreciation for the music. In the North, in Sweden, people are standing all in silence, not even making a noise but they still enjoy and appreciate the music. They all just have different ways they show they appreciate the music. It’s kind of the same way here in the United States, like it’s very different from playing in Maine or Michigan, then from playing in Florida for instance.

Avatar photo by Andrew Bastion

GA: What is one thing you would want someone to take from an Avatar performance? Such as any special feeling or message you guys want to convey to the crowd? Even to say I hope you all are having a good time.
JA: At The end of the day that is what we are about. We are entertainers, and we are working on entertaining people. So at the end of the day, you buy tickets to a show, the entire goal is that you shall be entertained, and highly entertained. So much so that you will go home, and think about it for days. That’s the goal, it is as simple as that. There’s no “we want to save the planet” or anything like that, it’s fucked anyways. We are entertainers, we are here to entertain and we want to entertain the people, that is the goal for us.

GA: I read that you went to three different studios for the album Feathers & Flesh. Where did you all record at and any special memories from the sessions?
JA: We worked with producer Sylvia Massy. She did a lot of work with System of a Down, Tool, and bands like that. We just figured she would be interesting, and challenging person to work with. She challenged us in a very good way, we talked with her and we clicked immediately. She is super organized and knows everything about everything when producing, and music theories, when recording. We wanted to stay in Europe for recording the album, because we wanted to feel at home. For the first part of the recording process. We do a remedial tracking of all the songs. This is the most crucial part for recording because that’s when the songs take shape, and all the magic happens. The first two weeks, we wanted to plan a vacation that was not at home, but still in Europe so we can get away but still feel at home. Where we can get away from everything, so we would not have all the minor interruptions, so we could focus as a band. So Sylvia found this castle in East Germany, it had a huge studio in it, so we decided to go there. After recording the first two weeks there, we tracked the vocals, for that we went to Helsinki, Finland because that is where our singer lives. It was really convenient for him and it was good to change environments as well. After tracking vocals, we had to get all the extra’s for the album recorded. We had to find a church organ for the first song we wrote, and we had some percussion that needed recorded. So we called up a church to ask for permission to record their organ the only place we could find was in Gothenburg since these organs cost so much. So for the last week we got the studio in Gothenburg, and put everything together, and added on all these extras. So that’s how we did it.

GA: So what’s next for the band?
JA: We are going to be touring throughout America and Europe, and afterward we will be writing another album.

I would like to thank John for speaking with me it was quite an honor to meet with you. I wish you and the band well while on tour. You can catch John and Avatar touring throughout the United States with special tour guests Anthrax, Avenge Sevenfold, and Meshuggah on select dates until October 29^th then the band embarks on a European tour from November 11^th till December 18^th. For more information check out the band’s Facebook page as they constantly update content.

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George Archibald

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Interviews

EIHWAR COME TO BALTIMORE TO BRING THE VIKING WAR TRANCE

Published

6 days ago

August 20, 2026

Ron

IVE BEEN SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THE UPCOMING TOUR FOR EIHWAR. I FOUND THEM ON THE INTERNET AND THEY BLEW ME AWAY WITH THEIR VIKING/FOLK/PAGAN MUSIC MIXED WITH ELECTRONIC. EIHWAR WILL BE COMING TO THE RECHER IN TOWNSON MARYLAND ON AUGUST 30TH. EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO ASK THE DUO A FEW QUESTIONS BEFORE THE SHOW.

ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT DOING YOUR FIRST AMERICAN TOUR? ANY AMERICAN THINGS OR PLACES YOU WANT TO EXPLORE?

ASRUNN: For now, I have to admit I’m still completely stunned. I’m not excited or imagining it yet at all. Right now, I feel like I’m about to go to a country that only exists in TV shows, so I’m still kind of wading through disbelief.

Once I’m actually there, though, I’ll probably start talking way too fast and way too loud, and I’ll want to go way too everywhere.

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN VIKING WAR TRANCE AS A GENRE OF MUSIC?

MARK: Viking War Trance is basically what happens when you mix Nordic folk influences, tribal rhythms, electronic music and something much more primitive and aggressive. We wanted music that makes you want to dance, fight and enter some kind of trance at the same time. So instead of trying to fit into an existing genre, we just called it Viking War Trance. And about the word “war”: it’s not a war against others, but a war against ourselves. Against our rigidity, our limiting beliefs, our fears. Victory is letting go.

WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT WHEN SEEING THE BAND LIVE?

MARK: Our concerts are much more physical than people sometimes expect from listening to the albums. We want people to dance, scream, jump, crowd surf and completely lose themselves for an hour. It’s somewhere between a concert, a rave and a pagan ritual, but with a lot of joy. “Joyful chaos” is the word that Asrunn often use.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE PLAYING HELLFEST AND WACKEN?

ASRUNN: It’s basically spending an entire hour on stage thinking, “Seriously, what the hell am I doing here? This makes absolutely no sense,” and then, the second it’s over, thinking, “Fuck, that was WAY TOO SHORT!”, hahahahaha!

In reality, it’s a mix of intense concentration and this explosion of joy inside when we manage to bring such a huge crowd into our madness with us. It’s as if, all of a sudden, we’re no longer men and women, but one human tribe, united by joy and raw energy.

HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR STYLE OF VIKING MUSIC AND IMAGE DIFFERS FROM OTHER VIKING AND FOLK METAL?

MARK: What sets us apart from folk metal is simply that we’re not metal. We don’t use distorted guitars or acoustic drums. As for pagan folk, I think the differences are pretty obvious too. Most pagan bands take a fairly ceremonial approach, resulting in atmospheric, ambient music. Some of them are even very serious. From our point of view, seriousness is a symptom of bad digestion. We prefer to fool around.

As for the peace you find in atmospheric ritual music, we don’t know much about it. Asrunn, our leader, is nothing like a priestess in a linen dress singing with butterflies in the forest. She’s living anger. Our music is joyful and brutal, primitive techno made to dance to until the end of the night.

The biggest difference is also, and perhaps above all, harmonic, in the musicological sense. With ancient instruments, it’s difficult to modulate frequently or to play every note in every octave. We use machines, and that gives us much more freedom to create melodies and chord progressions that evolve constantly and are far more pop-oriented than ancient instruments would normally allow.

DREAM TOUR: YOU CAN GO ON TOUR WITH ANY 2 OTHER BANDS, WHO DO YOU CHOOSE?

ASRUNN: MmmmdzgebhfugzFDBZueisfg that’s WAY too hard to choooooose HAAAAA! I’d say……….. NIN and… well, Sofia Isella, lately. She’s tooooooo good to be true.

MARK: The Prodigy and Peter Gabriel

FAVORITE GAME OF THRONES CHARACTER?

MARK: Don’t know, but I like the soundtrack.

ASRUNN: Bree Van De Kamp.

IF YOU COULD RESURRECT ONE HISTORIC VIKING WHO WOULD IT BE?

MARK: Honestly, my memories from that time aren’t clear enough for me to really know. But I was very fond of the monk Eadwig of Durham, and I’d be curious — and happy — to see him again.

ASRUNN: Lagertha, to prove to Mark that he’s wrong when he says she had bigger boobs than me.

IF YOU HAVEN’T BOUGHT UR TICKETS YET GET THEM HERE

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Interviews

INTERVIEW WITH KURT DEIMER

Published

4 months ago

May 8, 2026

Ron

EMPIRE EXTREME GOT TO INTERVIEW KURT DEIMER ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM “A GROG IS BORN” HIM WORKING WITH GEOFF TATE AND JOSH TODD AND BEING KILLED BY MICHAEL MEYERS AND HORROR MOVIES

About Author

Ron

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Empire Interviews

Inferious—Interview

Published

4 months ago

May 5, 2026

Josh Drespling

by Josh Drespling

I was at Preserving Underground to cover Filth and Resistor. I was all set with my photo pass and cameras at the ready. And then this young band exploded onto the stage. No grand entrance, no intro music, no flashy lights—just a wall of noise from the first guitar chord and a guttural growl that seemed to come from somewhere below the floorboards. I was blown away. Thoroughly impressed.

This band was Inferious, out of Dayton, Ohio. If you look up the word “inferious,” most dictionaries will tell you it means something low-status, submissive, or fit for sacrifice. But this Ohio metalcore outfit Inferious has spent the last several years proving that definition couldn’t be more wrong. Tonight in the basement of a converted church, Inferious delivered raw, sweat-soaked fury to all who were smart enough to show up early.

Before their set was even half over, I made up my mind that I had to talk to them and let our readers know about this band. Here is how it went:

Empire: This was the first time I have ever seen you guys. I’ve heard your name before but never had the chance to listen. The show tonight was freaking awesome. I loved it from the first few notes. The vocals and the guitar tone just hit ya right in the chest.

Since I am a new fan, can you give me the nickel tour of how you came together and I understand you are from Dayton, Ohio.

Shaun O’Shaughnessy – Guitarist: I live in Dayton, and the original band members all formed in Dayton, but it was kind of a collage of multiple band folks. People from the southwest Ohio area. Gabe [McQueen – vocals] and I were there at the beginning, and then through some line-up changes, this is our current and most solid touring line-up so far with Cody and Kyle. They also are from the area and have been in several bands. So they were always in the same circles, at the same shows, talking to the same people. It all worked out one day.

Empire: Given that, it seems like there is a healthy music scene in Dayton. Are there any good clubs, any fields to play in?

Shaun: It’s hard to say Dayton, Ohio, specifically so much as just southwest Ohio because of the way that Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati form like a little triangle. You’re only an hour apart from each other. So we can get into that larger music scene pretty easily. So Dayton itself has venues, but the whole collective area has stuff. There’s some house venues, like Gnome House, there’s Bob’s, but then Cincinnati has Madison Live, and Design Collective [DSGN CLLCTV] was doing shows for a while, but I think they got in trouble.
Cody: Yeah, it some code stuff.

Empire: I think there are a couple decent places in Akron, and even across the border is Huntington, WV?

Shaun: Yeah, that area still does have sick stuff. It’s just farther away from our personal local scene. Cleveland is kind of separate from us too.

Cody: That’s not necessarily our scene, but there is such a good underground local scene from the Huntington / Athens / Charleston area. Shout to Feverwar.

Shaun: We were just at the Grog Shop [outside Cleveland].

Cody: We were at the New Foundry not too long ago.

Empire: Oh, yeah, like upstairs?

Shaun: No, it is Foundry’s new location.

Empire: I’ve not been there.

Shaun: It looks basically like the old one, but it’s new.

Empire: You mentioned the Grog Shop. Were you guys there with Filth and Resistor?

Shaun: Yeah, we’ve been on tour with Filth and Resistor. The first half of the tour had Two-Piece on it; we missed them, but now Mono’s [Monochromatic Black] on for the second half, and they’re homies.

Gabe and I toured with them in Inferious a couple years ago with band called AMTAE, and Monochromatic Black. So, those are long-time homies as well. So, we’ve known Tanya [Elizabeth (Beickert) – Vocals] and Eddie [DeCesare – Drums] for a long time, and Pierce [Akers – Guitar] is our new best friend as well.

Empire: So, it’s just like a big hang for you guys.

Shaun: Yeah, all the homies are back. We’ve toured with Filth before too; we were out with them on the Oceano tour, and then actually a year ago, I think like right now, like today a year ago, we toured with Filth also. So, it’s Filth and Oceano, and then Filth again.

So, it’s been fun to have a full circle of friend hangs, and every night’s been sick. The show turnouts have been amazing, and then just hanging out with all our friends has been amazing.

Empire: That’s part of what makes it fun. Whether you have 50 people or 1000, you have that camaraderie and shared experience.

Empire: So do you currently have an album out? Where do you guys stand with that?

Gabe: We have music out everywhere, on all music platforms: Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and YouTube Music. Shit, if you even got to rip that shit, YouTube to MP4, do it, man!

Shaun: We got your back. We got three full lengths and an EP. We are working on a new EP with a label we’re signed to that we’ll announce here soon, but that’s going to be really exciting stuff, and just stoked to be able to get that out soon.

Empire: Cool. So don’t say the label name, but your deal is in place, and then the new album in the fall, winter, spring?

Shaun: Yeah, the EP should be coming out sometime this year, if all the schedules align and everything, but that’s in the works.

Empire: Cool. Filth tour, what’s after that?

Shaun: Finishing up the EP. Record release cycle, and then hopefully touring in support of that. Whether it’s co-headlining with somebody or doing some more support stuff, we’re down for whatever. Hopefully we can fill up the rest of the year.

You know, touring is hard financially, so while we’re able to still make ends meet on the road, it’s hard to pay all the bills, so we’ve got to go home, stack our bread back up, and then be ready to go back out again.

Empire: I understand. Is this your first time in Pittsburgh?

Shaun: We’ve actually played Preserving. This is at least the fifth time.

We played the DIY room, we played this room, this orientation, we played this room when it was facing the other direction. AJ, the owner, has been good to us. He is a rad dude.

Empire: AJ is great.

Shaun: The record shop and merch store upstairs is sick, I just bought a shirt, a Never Ending Game shirt, because we have to do a laundry soon, and I bought a shirt to extend one more day to get through.

Empire: Anything you guys want to add, anything going on? Shameless plugs?

Shaun: This has been a kind of sick tour, because I think we’ve all got to see family members. Gabe’s dad dropped him off, so we got to see Gabe’s dad. We got to go get breakfast with my mom and some family, I saw my aunt. Cody’s mom let us stay at her crib, and we got to hang out with her and his family. Kyle’s family came out last night and hung out, and that was pretty sick, so it’s been a good time.

Empire: Kyle hasn’t said anything, so tell me about your family coming out and seeing the show.

Kyle: I mean, it was my sister’s first time seeing us live.

Empire: What did she have to say? I mean, I’m sure she knew the style.

Kyle: Oh, yeah, she’s conditioned to it.

Empire: She’s not like a Britney Spears fan at a hardcore show?

Kyle: No, no, she’s by far not a normie, but close to it.

Empire: Thank you, gentlemen. That’s all I have today. Appreciate it, and thanks for the show. It was great; loved it.

Shaun: See you next time.

Before that night at Preserving Underground, I’ll be honest: Inferious was just a name on a show flyer. Another opening band before the acts I actually came to see.

That’s the thing about this level of heavy music. The headliners get the lights, the longer set, and the crowd that’s already warmed up. But the openers? They get twenty-five minutes, a soundcheck that barely counts, and a room full of people who are mostly looking at their phones. Inferious didn’t just overcome that. They incinerated it.

What struck me most, sitting down with Shaun, Gabe, Cody, and Kyle after the show, was how unpretentious they were. No egos. No rock-star posturing. Just four guys from southwest Ohio who’ve been grinding in the same circles, playing the same basement venues, and slowly building something real. They talked about the small venues with the same reverence other bands reserve for stadiums. They shouted out Feverwar. They bought merch from the shop upstairs to make it through one more day on the road.

That’s the part you don’t see from the crowd. The financial grind. The van trouble. The “stack our bread back up” reality of modern touring. And yet, here they were—genuinely stoked to have seen family members at shows, genuinely grateful for AJ at Preserving keeping the doors open for underground bands, and genuinely excited about an upcoming EP they couldn’t even name the label for yet.

Inferious may have a name that suggests something low-status, something sacrificial. But after watching them level a converted church in New Kensington, and after listening to them talk about their scene with the easy confidence of people who have nothing to prove, I think the definition needs an update.

Check them out on all the streaming platforms. Catch them when they roll through your town on the next tour. And for the love of God, show up early.

You never know which opening band is going to blow your doors off.

About Author

Josh Drespling

Josh is the Publisher and creator of Empire Extreme and it’s sister publication Kingdom Extreme Magazine. He is an accomplished writer, photographer and graphic designer. He is always conjuring up new ideas and has a amazing passion for the music industry and all the things that surround it.

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