I recently achieved 3 000 followers on Instagram, and to celebrate that I decided to have a Q&A. A lot of good questions came in, so it was definitely worth trying out. Next time I’ll try to answer them in video form, but sadly, this time, I just didn’t have the time or energy to make that happen.
The Q&A format was fun, so I think I will do it again at some point! Oh, and I will soon contact two lucky winners of Soliloquium merch as well. Anyway, onward to the questions and answers.
Q&A questions from Facebook
Who would be in your dream death/doom supergroup?
For a death/doom band that would kick ass? Hmm.. if we completely ignore otherwise reasonable thoughts like chemistry, geography and who would have creative control, something like this:
- Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis) – extreme vocals
- Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) – clean vocals
- Gregor Mackintosh (Paradise Lost) – guitars
- Jari Lindholm (Enshine) – guitars
- Steve diGiorgio (where hasn’t he played?) – bass
- Jesse Haff (Daylight Dies) – drums
Would be an interesting group with some serious potential, haha!
I’m kinda late… was working here in Canada when the Q&A happened. What would be your best advice for starting melodeath one-man bands ? Thanks.
You’re not late! My most important advice is to create the music you really feel like making, and constantly challenging yourself when writing something new. Ignore genre-boundaries and outside opinions! For promotion, be as active as possible on as many digital platforms as possible. This becomes even more important when you’re a one-man band that (probably) doesn’t play live. I have a video on this on YouTube!
What album do you wish you could have played on?
It would’ve been neat to be on a genre-defining classic in death metal or doom metal. Maybe “Brave Murder Day” or “Like an Everflowing Stream”? Probably “Brave Murder Day”, since it’s such a unique album. My hope is that one of my own creations will be this highly regarded in the future.
Q&A questions from Instagram
How did you find the name of your band and which year did you continue (start) your musical career?
I noticed the word in a Nevermore song (“is this soliloquy or psychosis?”) and I thought it sounded interesting. And I googled the meaning and found it matched the band’s themes perfectly. I started playing guitar when I was 16, but my first proper release (the Desolator – Gravefeast demo) came out eight years later in 2010. Three years later, we did our first full-length album.
When did you start playing guitar and singing, and how did you get into metal?
I started with both around 2002-2003 when I got really into music. I got into metal through a bunch of gateway periods: Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit turned into Metallica and Iron Maiden which turned into In Flames and Children of Bodom. After that there was no turning back! Seeing Dismember live in 2003 was the big turning point when it comes to extreme metal though.
What’s your dream travel destination, you’ve never been to? Which place would you love to visit again?
Awesome to get a travel question in among all the music questions! My dream travel destination to go to right now is Costa Rica, Central and South America overall is my priority. I’d love to visit Vietnam and Cambodia again for some down and dirty backpacking, and I’d love to visit Portugal again for long-term living.
If you could choose any band in the world to perform with, what band would it be?
In terms of sharing the stage, for Soliloquium it would be Katatonia and for Desolator it would be Immolation. On actually performing with a band, it would be kickass go on stage with some old school death metal legends like Dismember or Entombed and belt out some nasty growls.
For me music is like a soundtrack for every moment and recalls vivid memories, which is a the song or album that recalls memories you could “touch” or “smell”?
That’s a feeling I get all the time, and there are too many songs that make me recall things to even begin listing them. Katatonia’s “Night is the New Day” and “Dead End Kings” records are heavily associated with my time in inner-city Stockholm. They evoke rain, streetlights, shadows and the overall feeling of that period every time I hear songs from them.
Anathema, Junius, Klimt 1918 and Antimatter are four other bands that carry heavy connections. Some bands like Deftones and Vola also have brighter memories connected to them, which might be worth mentioning amongst all the doom and darkness, haha.
And the same goes for plenty of Soliloquium songs, as many of them are about specific events and periods. But there is just so much music that make me feel this way to even know where to start.
What’s the most ridiculous song you’ve ever sung?
Holy crap, there’s just too many! Our parties used to be riddled with Swedish genital rock like Onkel Kånkel and Tunnan och Moroten, not to mention Eläkeläiset and various metal parody stuff. I’d say something obscure by the genital bands, but it’s hard to remember all of it.
I’ve also done growl karaoke to so many things, everything from Bomfunk MC’s to Eiffel 65 and Katy Perry. Would probably dominate YouTube and Instagram if I recorded those covers instead of Katatonia, Bloodbath and Death!
Most people collect something. Do you collect something non-music-related?
Not really, actually. I used to have a lot of computer games, sports cards, foreign currency and stuff like that when I was younger. But I’m really doing my best to be minimalist, since I don’t intend to live in one place any time soon. For that reason I also stopped collecting CD’s, focusing on music merch that I can wear instead.
Congrats on the milestone, your music and posts are awesome. Has the covid crap provided you with more or less inspiration with respect to your music?
Thank you so much! I think it is pretty much unchanged, I’ve been writing a lot of music. The constraint during the covid period has just been a really screwed up life situation and way too much work. When I have time to sit down and play in a proper way, the riffs and ideas are still flowing.
Which band would say was responsible for you getting into metal?
Oh, good question! Depends where you draw the “metal” line, but I do think Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” video on MTV and Metallica’s “S&M” record were big when it comes to heavier music as a whole. If we’re talking biggest gateway effect, probably Metallica and Iron Maiden.
Which is your favorite Katatonia album?
I have to say “Night is the New Day”, but “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” and “Brave Murder Day” are close. It just nails that dark, urban Stockholm atmosphere that Katatonia has, and it has a perfect mix of darkness and light. Not to mention that the songwriting and individual performances are pure gold!
My countdown of the Katatonia albums (I’ve been too lazy to add “City Burials”) ->
Name one big inspiration when you were young.
Hmm, depends on how young! I didn’t have one dominant musical influence, but Chuck Schuldiner and Death overall was very important in my evolution as a guitarist, singer and songwriter.
Do you have any unconventional means to to get inspiration for songwriting? It can be music- or non-music-related.
Not really in terms of methods, but I find that a lot of the really good stuff happens when I’m not playing music. The most important example is that many of my best lyrics, especially one-liners, pop up when I’m not playing or singing. It often happens when I’m outdoors, running or walking. I’ve forgotten a lot of good stuff, so these days I always write everything down in my phones notepad app.
Thank you for a fun Q&A!
And that’s the last question. Thank you to everyone who participate in the Q&A. I’ll get in touch with the two winners, and I would love you to participate in the Soliloquium fan gallery (and that goes for other fans with merch too, of course!) on Facebook when you get your merch. If time allows me, I’ll try to do more things like in the future. Until then, support me on:
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