While Swedish artist Peter Tägtgren is well known
for his production work (at his own recording complex Abyss Studios)
and his own ongoing melodic death metal outfit Hypocrisy, few outside
of Europe are familiar with his industrial metal outfit Pain.
Having finalised his contractual obligations with the
European branch of Universal Records, Tägtgren decided to seize
the opportunity to broaden awareness of his Pain project, and duly signed
on the dotted line with Roadrunner Records worldwide in early 2007.
Worked upon over a two-year timeframe, Tägtgren finally
unveiled Pain's fifth full-length effort in the critically acclaimed
'Psalms Of Extinction' (the follow-up to 2005's 'Dancing With The Dead',
and the band's DVD 'Live Is Overrated' released in the same year).
With the album barely a couple of months old, I caught
up with Tägtgren while at his Abyss Studios to talk about the recording
process behind 'Psalms Of Extinction', the list of friends who helped
Tägtgren out, Tägtgren's Björk worship and Pain's newfound
sense of exposure and critical acclaim through Roadrunner Records.
"Most of the time, reviews for Pain have always been
a little up and down. But then that's always been the case with any
new Pain album. You know, there's always going to be some people that
say they love it, and then there are those who will say they can't hear
enough hits, or it isn't brutal enough, or there are too many hits!
(Laughs) In the past, it goes up and down you know. But in general,
everybody really seems to be liking 'Psalms Of Extinction', so that's
really good."
Surprisingly, 'Psalms Of Extinction' was conceived in
very much the same as previous Pain releases, with Tägtgren actually
starting work on the album before the actual release of 'Dancing With
The Dead'.
"To be honest, I really don't put any expectation
on what any Pain album is going to sound like. All I can do is just
go in the direction that the music is taking me, otherwise it would
never turn out the way I pictured it in my mind. I actually started
writing songs for 'Psalms Of Extinction' before Pain's last album was
released. I already had one or two songs before 'Dancing With The Dead'
was out. So in terms of direction, I can't say that I actually had a
sound in mind for the album. I think I had some idea of what I was after,
but it was always changing in my mind. I think the only firm idea I
wanted to achieve with this album is that I wanted to make it more dynamic,
and I think I managed to do that."
Dynamics is a key word when describing 'Psalms Of Extinction',
as Tägtgren's production and mix on the album manages to retain
his trademark wall of noise sound, yet still allowing the subtle use
of orchestration and keyboards stand alongside the guitars.
"Thank you. I really appreciate that comment. I mean,
it took me two years to make 'Psalms Of Extinction', so I really like
it when someone can hear the work that was involved in the sound sense.
You can put on a lot of shit within a song, and a lot of channels here
and there with different instruments and things, but then you've got
to mix it and make sure that you can hear everything. It's that process
that usually takes a long time. When you talk about the strings and
stuff, it was the title track 'Psalms Of Extinction' in particular that
was the hardest one to mix really. That's because it has so many different
tracks of different things going on. I would really mix it again, but
sometimes you just have to let it go. The mixing process can be quite
slow, but some songs were very simple to mix. I mean, sometimes it works
out right away. But then some songs are a real hassle to get all the
levels right and to try to get it sounding like I want it to. When the
chorus comes around, you want it to lift off and really kick your ass
you know. Sometimes when you have too many instruments on the track,
it's hard to get that lift off when the chorus comes. So you really
have to balance it up as good as possible."
One of the more interesting tracks on the album is Tägtgren's
reinterpretation of Björk's 'Play Dead', which remains faithful
to the original, but still retains a very Pain like sound.
"I love the original version, and I have done for
the last fifteen years. The only thing I really wanted to do was just
to make it darker and heavier. I wasn't entirely sure I was ready to
take on such a track, because Björk is so special. The way she
sings her melodies and everything, it was like, 'Oh shit! This is going
to be very hard!' But I really love a challenge. Anything that's easy
is not really a challenge, and that isn't really fun. That's why I try
and push the envelope more and more, and sometimes people like the shit
you do. For me, it's super, super important that I enjoy doing the work
that I do, because that's the most important thing for me to. Even if
some people don't like that certain song, at least I know that song
took forever to do, that it was a big challenge to make it, and that
I think it came out quite interesting sounding. I was originally going
to record 'Play Dead' some time ago, but honestly, it was only now that
it felt right to do it. I think that's because I have the knowledge
now, so it's not all that hard to do. Five years ago, it probably would
have sounded really crappy."
With Pain now having covered a couple of songs from other
artists (the other was a cover of The Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby' for 2002's
'Nothing Remains The Same'), I asked Tägtgren about the possibility
of an album entirely devoted to covers.
"I was actually working on one a few years ago, really
more or less to try and get out of the deal with Universal Records.
I was actually told from the label that if I recorded a covers album,
I could get out of the contract. But somehow, I was released out of
the contract, so the covers album was abandoned. There's no point signing
up with a new label and giving them a covers album. No label wants their
latest signing releasing a covers album for their first release. And
personally, I preferred to record something that was my own anyway.
Before I gave up on the album, I ended up with a couple of completed
covers, including an Electric Light Orchestra song and a Depeche Mode
song. The rest of the album is really just a collection of bits and
pieces. They're still lying around in the studio. I've got a few things
here and there that I will maybe use for bonuses and shit."
And it won't take long to find a use for those bonuses
either, with Tägtgren and Roadrunner Records in talks in regards
to a special edition of 'Psalms Of Extinction'.
"I know we'll be doing some sort of DVD. We plan
on packing in a lot of stuff in there, with a lot of songs from different
gigs and stuff. Right now we're in talks with Roadrunner Records as
to whether or not that's going to be a part of the special edition of
'Psalms Of Extinction'. We're planning that right now. But what I can
tell you is that there will be a special edition of 'Psalms Of Extinction'
with some bonus songs, some other shit together with different packaging."
Obviously committing themselves to releasing a special
edition of 'Psalms Of Extinction' shows a sense of commitment from Roadrunner
Records, something that was sadly lacking (or non existent) from Universal
Records.
"In the beginning, the deal with Universal Records
was great. The biggest problem however was their lack of power. They
simply couldn't tell the rest of the world what to do, so they never
managed to get many of the Pain releases released in America. I don't
even know if it was released in Australia? So when you put two years
into an album and the record company doesn't release it everywhere,
it's very frustrating. I wanted to develop the band, I wanted to play
in front of people and do a lot of other things. But unfortunately,
Pain was kind of painted into a wall. So when I only had one album left
to do, that's when I suggested putting together a covers album. They
agreed, and then they told me that I didn't have to do it after all.
I didn't have a problem with that, because that meant that I could finally
start looking around at other options. That's when Roadrunner Records
approached me. To be honest, they have wanted to sign us since 1999,
which is when we released 'Rebirth' (the band's second album). So they've
been interested in us for a long time. Roadrunner Records know how to
push metal, but not just death or black metal. They know how to push
all kinds of metal styles. So hopefully, this is the right choice. I'm
not sure just yet, because you can never tell what's going to happen
in the future. I really hope they'll work hard on us. So far, that's
exactly what they're doing."
One of the big differences between 'Psalms Of Extinction'
and other Pain releases is the involvement of guest artists such as
In Flames bassist Peter Iwers (on 'Save Your Prayers' and 'Nailed To
The Ground'), Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee (on 'Zombie Slam') and
Children Of Bodom guitarist Alexi Laiho (on 'Just Think Again').
"I didn't plan to have people play on the album.
I mean their involvement on the album was purely for what was best for
the album to make it sound better. It was purely a case of friends helping
out friends really. In the case of Dee, it all started with a song that
I was trying to put drums to. No matter how hard I tried, it just didn't
sound as good as I heard it in mind. Now Dee and I have been festival
friends for a while. Because Motörhead are always playing on festivals,
we'd always meet up because I was either playing with Pain or Hypocrisy.
So we'd meet up to have parties and such and then we would play these
festivals. Anyway, two years ago he said he always wanted to play on
a Pain album, so I just called him up and asked him if he wanted to
put drums on 'Zombie Slam'. I always knew that he was a really killer
drummer, and he definitely proved that when he made the song swing the
way it does. It was the same when it came to getting Laiho on 'Just
Think Again'. I mean, I asked him because I was doing this ballad like
song. I needed a solo on this album, and I really didn't want to try
and do a solo myself because I'm not that good of a guitarist. So the
only guitar hero that I know was Laiho. So I called him up and asked
him if I could put a solo on there, and he came in and did it. The guests
are on there for a reason. I asked them when I hit a wall, or when I'm
not getting something to sound the way I had in mind. I have a lot of
friends in bands, and I know a lot of people after fifteen years of
tours, so I feel very privileged to get these people on the album. If
the same thing happens again, and then I'll call someone else for whatever
the purpose is. Hopefully someone will help me out when that time comes."
With a brand new album on the shelves, distribution sorted
out on a worldwide scale, and Roadrunner Records backing them, Tägtgren
has plans for Pain in the future, and that's on the road.
"I want to go everywhere, and I'm hoping 'Psalms
Of Extinction' will take me everywhere. Nothing is for sure though,
so at this point, I can only hope that it's going to work out fine,
you know. So far, the only certainty is that Pain will be playing twenty-five
festivals this summer. That's the first part of the whole touring cycle
I would like to do. Then we're looking at a tour in Scandinavia. Right
now, we don't know if it's going to happen or not yet, so it's a little
bit too early to say what's going to happen after the festivals. But
having said that, we'll definitely go anywhere promoters want us to.
The sky's the limit at this point."
Beyond Pain, Tägtgren will continue to keep himself
busy with both Hypocrisy and his production work.
"Hypocrisy is just taking a long break. I mean Michael
(Hedlund - Bassist) just became a dad for the first time, so he'll need
some time to adjust to that. Everyone who gets a baby needs time to
adjust to it, you know. Horgh (Reidar Horghagen - Drummer) on the other
hand is busy with Immoral at the moment. So it's perfect timing for
Pain at the moment. Of course, there'll be another Hypocrisy album coming
out. There's no doubt of that. I haven't even started writing for the
Hypocrisy album yet, but that won't be a problem. As for production,
it looks like I'm going to be doing the new Die Krupps album. That will
be interesting, because it will be the first industrial band that I've
ever produced. Hopefully that's going to be a lot of fun. Beyond that,
there's always something in the pipeline. I'm always busy."
I would like to thank Peter Tägtgren for his generous
time, and Julie Horrigan at Amuse Publicity And Events (in association
with Roadrunner Records) for making the interview possible.
For more information on Pain, check out - http://www.pain.cd
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
