Adept

Fresh from touring with the likes of heavy juggernaughts Bring Me The Horizon and A Day to Remember, Swedens Adept have taken time out of their busy touring schedule to talk about their new album and crazy Gothenburg producers.

Could you please state you name, role in Adept and favourite movie trilogy of all time?

Hi, this is Robert Ljung. I am the vocalist of Adept. I would say that the best movie trilogy of all time is Back to the future.

Describe your sound for someone who hasn't heard of Adept before?

We combine the heavyness of metal, the fast-forward of hardcore and we are suckers for sweet melody.  We tend to build the songs up just to break them down in the most beautiful way possible.

You recorded your latest release "Death Dealers" with renowned Swedish producer (and personal favourite of mine) Fredrik Nordstrom. What made you chose Fred to take care of the tracking and mixing process?

We are big fans of Fredrik's work, and we have always wanted to work with him. When we were about to record Death Dealers we knew that only this guy could bring out the depths of the song in the way we wanted. We contacted him and he was interested in working with us. We just love the outcome of it.

What was Fred like to work with? Ive spoken to people who have recorded with Fred and Heinrick (his engineer) before and I've been told he can be quite the joker haha.

Haha, yeah. Well their from Gothenburg and the humour there is a bit fucked up to be honest. But its a good laugh when you are in the studio. You need to be comfortable around the people you work with and Fredrik and Henrik really makes you feel at home.

Death Dealers strikes me as a very unique name for the album. Can you explain the meaning behind the title and what some of the songs are about?

Well, all of us are a lot into horror-movies. And when we created the artwork we just pictured us a bunch of "monster" roaming around the streets, spreading their deaths around them. The name Death Dealers seems both fitting and very brutal.

The songs At world's end is about our hometown. Back in the old day swedish people thought that when they had reached Trosa - which is our hometown - they had reach the end of the world. Therefor our town got that name. And basically it is about being stuck out there and trying to break loose from your odl habbits. It feels like if you don't move away you will sink together with the town.

Another song is This could be home which is about the loss of friends and loved ones. And also about how everyone grows up and relations are harder to keep pure and simple. For us a vivid example of that is being on tour as much as we are which puts hard pressure on relationships.

Then we have the Ivory Tower which is a song full of hope for people that have none. It is about not letting anyone tell you what to do and how to think.  There is a lot of that going on really. People have stoped being themselves, and are far more interested in being accepted as a part of something.  ndividual thinking and living is a privilege.

Where is the record available for purchase?

We have released the psycial CD in Europe and Japan so far. But of course it can be bought from iTunes. And Resist Mailorder in Australia got our CD's too. Or on Spotify, but that's not available in Australia I think?!

Back when I was in highschool bands like Soilwork, Dark tranquility, Darkane and In Flames and other euro bands were my staple diet for heavy music. I haven't heard much coming out of the swedish heavy scene in a while, is it still thriving and what are some bands worth checking out?

The heavy music scene in Sweden is blooming, really. We had some years where it felt that everything had stoped a bit for the underground bands,  while big names as In flames, Soilwork, Dark Tranquility where all over the place. Today this type of music is really popular and we see a lot of shows being put together and kids are more excited then ever to go to shows. I would recommened our label mates in Walking With Strangers if you are into progressive metal.

Adept have supported a number of large acts over the course of a year, from Bring Me the Horizon to A Day to Remember. What has been your favourite show with the band and why?

Yeah, we have been blessed to tour with some really amazing bands and played infront of thousand of people thanks to that.  If im gonna say one show that change at least my view of music it would be our Groezrock show of 2010. This was the first really big show we had done,  and the tent was overfilled with kids singing along to our songs. It made me feel really proud. I remember thinking that this is easily something I could consider doing for the next ten years or so.

The band is currently managed by Burning Hearts founder Peter Ahlqvist. What has it been like working with Peter and is it somewhat daunting to be working with someone he has such an extensive history within the alternative music scene?

I am really proud to work with Peter. I grew up listening to a lot of his bands from Burning Heart Records, and I still have all their compilations CD's they gave out. So for us to be put out by the same man who released Millencolin and Refused was a complete honour. He has some really strong opinions and visions of the band and his label which is very helpful for us. He pushes us for the better.

Best ways to keep entertained while on the road?

Video games and beer. In combination of course. We bought this big as plasma-screen and some FIFA-games, where we have some tournaments against each other. It really steals a couple of hours from the long roads.

If there band was trapped on an Island, who is the first member to suggest cannibilism?

I've been a vegetarian for 12 years, so I would love to say that I would be the one freak out and started eating the rest of the guys.  They deserve it so, yeah I hope so. I would say me.

Favourite CD from 2011?

I am really looking forward to the new Life in your way album, but I havent heard it yet. So far I would say August Burns Red - Leveler, and Bayside's - Killing time.

What do you have planned for the rest of 2011, and what does 2012 hold instore for the band?

We have a European headline tour at the end of November until the 20th of Dcember together with More than a thousand and Walking with strangers.  After that we are putting together shows in the US, Australia and Japan for the first parts of 2012.

Any pre show rituals?

Haha, well, we saw New Zealand play the world cup in Rugby and I would love if we did that before a show. But we mostly just drink beer and  having the most fun we can.

Are there any local bands from your home town that we should check out?

Adept: We are from a really small town with just a couple of thousands living there but there is this band Called Constrain you really should check out.  Amazing band and if you are into bands like The ghost Inside, this is for you.

Can we expect to see you on Australian shows anytime soon?

Yeah, definitaly. We are looking at coming over there at in early 2012.  I cant say much about it but hopefully we have something to reveal soon.

Final thanks and words of wisdom?

Of course we would like to say thanks to everyone in Australia that listens to our music and helps us spread our words!  Hopefully we can present shows for you anytime now and that we can have a big damn party when we finally do come over!

Also, we got some some stuff available on this free compilation Panic & Action have out now. We got two songs on there. The Lost boys and a brand new cover called Riot in everyone. and the other bands on the label, Walking With Strangers, Her Bright Skies, Chemical Vocation etc are on there too.. 12 tracks that can be downloaded for free at www.panicandaction.com/australia. Check it out!

Much love, Adept.