1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Joel Fornbrant:
Overtorture is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 2011. We are a bunch of guys from bands like Grave, Coldworker, Witchery and The Ugly with the aim to play crushing death metal in a straight up, no-bullshit kind of way. We are releasing our debut album, ”At the End the Dead Await” on Apostasy Records january 25th 2013.
2. How would you describe your musical sound?
Joel Fornbrant:
We have a pretty traditional sound, perhaps leaning a little towards mid-paced and heavy death metal with lots of double bass drums, while having some fast parts and blastbeats thrown in as well. The songs have a few melodic parts without sounding wimpy and quite a bit of strong lead guitar work. If I would compare it to other bands, I'd say you'd find traces of Morbid Angel, Necrotisism-era Carcass and a little bit of Bolt Thrower as well as a strong influence from the classic Swedish bands, like Entombed, Grave and Dismember.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Joel Fornbrant:
There isn't any specific theme to the lyrics, and they cover pretty typical death metal topics. There's a couple of horror-influenced songs, like ”The Outer Limits” and the title track, ”Suffer As One” and ”Black shrouds of Dementia” are about the dark sides of the human mind and there's even some science fiction themed ones, like ”The Coming Doom” and ” ”Towards the Within”. I try to write the lyrics in a voice that feels like my own that gives them a distinct character. Ideally, this makes them feel like they belong together on an album, like they are different kinds of stories told by the same narrator.
4. WHat is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Magnus Martinsson:
After thinking and listing a lot of possible band names for some time OVERTORTURE popped up and it was/is just the perfect name for the band. There are not a thousand other old bands with the same name out there, it’s one word, simple and immediately tells you what we’re about…. DEATH METAL!
5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Joel Fornbrant:
As of writing this, Overtorture has yet to lose its live virginity, so what our shows will be like is something for the future to tell. We of course intend to change this as soon as the album is released. We have one show booked so far, with hopefully many more to come.
6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
Magnus Martinsson:
Our initial plan is to play festivals and weekend gigs during 2013, and we already have a show confirmed in Stockholm with one of the bigger Swedish death metal acts around release of the album, but the details are not yet official. At the moment we’re working on booking some more shows both domestic and abroad; hopefully we’ll do some international shows around release as well. If the timing and conditions are right we’ll do some longer touring, but it’s nothing we’ve set as a goal or plan so far.
7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of death metal?
Joel Fornbrant:
Keeping in mind that most people have only heard one demo track and one song from the album, the feedback has been very good. Some german magazines have heard a few more songs, and they really liked them as far as we could tell. My german is a little bit rusty though, so I could be wrong. We of course can't wait for people to hear the whole album, which is when we'll really know what people think of our songs.
8. WHat is going on with the other musical projects these days?
Joel Fornbrant:
I can only speak for Coldworker, which is going to try to get out and become a little more live active for 2013, as we have done very few live shows in the last few years. Maybe write some new songs if it feels right.
9. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
Joel Fornbrant:
It's impossible to say right now. We need to release the album, listen to people's opinions and maybe most importantly: play the songs in a live environment. Then we'll probably have a picture of where we want to take the music of Overtorture in the future. But I'm already pretty sure we won't become a dub step duo or a traveling circus act.
10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Joel Fornbrant:
Speaking for myself, I tend to draw most inspiration from the classic death metal acts. Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Entombed, Dismember, Malevolent Creation and the like. Napalm Death isn't a death metal band per se, but they are a big influence on me. Right now I listen a lot to Benediction, which I think is an underrated band. Celtic Frost and Overkill also get played frequently these days. As for newer releases, I really dug the latest Asphyx album and Black Breaths “Sentenced To Life”. My favourite album this year is a hardcore album, “Darker Days Ahead” by Tragedy.
11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Joel Fornbrant:
I like watching movies, reading books and drinking beer. Those aren't making me any thinner, so I am trying getting into working out as well. They all take a back seat to music, though.
12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Joel Fornbrant:
Thanks for the interview! As said, ”At the End the Dead Await” is releasing january 25th on Apostasy Records. Get ready for a crushing swedish death metal assault! And we hope to see you soon on the road as well. Take care!
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