VsGreg interview INVOCATOR
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1. For those who still don't kow INVOCATOR, would you be nice enough to introduce your band with a short history ?

Invocator released the first demo “Genetic confusion” in 1988 and the second very succesful demo “Alterations” was released in 1989. The demo secured a deal with Black Mark and “Excursion Demise” – the first full length – was released in 1991. A second release was made under Black Mark called “Weave the Apocalypse” which marked a new sound from Invocator. This album was released in 1993. The thrid record “Dying to Live” was released by DieHard in 1995, and shortly after this record the bad split up due to personal differences. Before this the band had toured throughout Europe with Dark Angel and has played shows with among others Laaz Rockit, Blood, Gorefest, Atrocity, Entombed, DeadHead, Paradise Lost and many others. In 2000 the band was reformed by Jacob Hansen the old singer/guitarist and yours truly Flemming, who used to play in Autumn Leaves. We tried out several drummers but ended up recruiting the very talented Jacob Gundel on drums and the bassplayer from “Dying to Live” Carsten Mikkelsen on bass. The new release was recorded in the Summer of 2002 and the Winter 2002/2003 and will be released by the time you read this. The official releasedate for “Through the Flesh to the Soul” is October 27^th.

2. Your line-up has known a few changes in the past and recently. What were the reasons behind these problems?

It was either due to musical or personal differences. As time passes by people change, you know, so in a way it’s natural. But the current line-up is really cool, and we have a blast everytime we are together.

3. What happened to the old members?

Some of them are still in playing in metal bands, but the most wellknown is without a doubt ex-drummer Per M. Jensen who is now playing with the Haunted. After Invocator he played with Konkhra for a while, but after a while he joined the Haunted in stead. Perle Hansen, the old leadguitar player, is playing in a rock/blues band and old bassplayer from “Excursion Demise” Jesper Jensen has a new band called Anubis Gate. They play some sort of Crimson Glory-ish metal. Jakob Schultz, who played guitar on “Excursion Demise”, was in a hardcore band called Self, but I don’t think he is in a metal band at the moment.

4. Why did you have this need of coming back with a new cds as INVOCATOR ? Didn't you think you could start a new band ?

Actually there wasn’t a need to start playing under the Invocator monicker again. Jacob wanted to start making some music again and he asked me if I was interested in joining, which I very much was. When we started writing riffs they somehow all turned out very Invocator-ish and after having discussed the pros and cons of using the Invocator name, we decided to call the band Invocator again, simple because the music sounded excactly like Invocator.

5. "Through The Flesh To The Soul" is your newest stuff. I'm curious about it style: how different is this one than the previous?

Old Invocator fans will definetely be able to hear that it is Invocator. Style-wise I’d say it’s a mixture of “Weave the Apocalypse” and “Dying to Live” although the style sometimes is harder and more melodic than those two records. I guess there is a certain “Swedish” touch to the music generally. Apart from that there is way more focus on the guitarleads as well as Jacobs vocal. On this record he experimented with his voice and discovered that he was able to sing stuff he never thought he was capable of. And it sounds fucking great!

6. What are the things you wanted to improve between your previous cds and the new one ? What are the main differences between this new cd and he others ?

When you make a new record you always aim for something better than the previous records, both songwise and productionwise. The production on this record is without a doubt the best production Invocator has ever had. The songs are more like real songs now than on the previous records. The songs are longer and has more content. But it’s a bit difficult to compare, since the 3 previous record all have their own style.

7. You have just signed the contract with Scarlet Records. What you can say more abou this factory, co-operation with them & about their support?

Since our management deals with them most of the time I don’t know that much about it. But now our new release is out I’m excited to see what they’ll do for us. But other than that I think they are great label with cool bands such as Seethings, Angel Steel, Hatesphere, Terror 2000 etc., and they seem to be nice people.

8. Let's talk about the lyrics. What kind of topic did you write about ?

“Flick it on” is based upon Edger Allan Poe’s ”Imp of the perverse”. The demonic urge inside of you, the urge to go closer to the edge, the feeling “I could have jumped although I didn’t want to”. It is a song about alienation, aggression and frustration hidden deep inside of you. “Under the Skin” is about the sensation of becoming a father, guilt connected with bringing someone to life in a dirty and depraved world  full of suffering. It is about being fragile although seemingly confident and strong.

9. Who would you classify as your band 's influences ? Did some new bands have an influence the your new cd ?

In the old days in the late 80’s Invocator was influenced by bands like Slayer, Razor, Dark Angel and Morbid Angel. I’d say today the most obvious influences are Ripping Corpse, Memento Mori, Forbidden, Dark Angel and sometimes even old Morbid Angel stuff.

10. Is any members of the band involved in other projects/bands?

Gundel and Carsten has a band together called Ottodoks in which they play covertunes from Monster Magnet, AC/DC and so on. I myself have a project called Scavenger (http://www.scavenger.esenet.dk) with the drummer from Aurora and the old Autumn Leaves bassplayer. Apart from I have been talking to Lawrence Macrory, who used to sing in Darkane, and he might be helping out on the vocal side. Nothing is certain yet, though. Jacob is also writing different kinds of music, but none of the songs are used in a band yet.

11. What do you do for day jobs ?

Gundel is currently without a fulltime job, but he’s working as a drumteacher. Carsten is a teacher at a production-school. He loves his job! Jacob has his own studio called Hansen Studios (www.jacobhansen.com) and I work as a multimediadesigner in my own company.

12. Could you live without music ?

No fucking way! Since I work in my own home, I can hear excactly the kind of music I want to all day. That rocks! So after I get up and more or less until I hit the sack at night I listen to music. There are of course times where silence is preferred. Also being able to play and perform the music you love is really great. I don’t think any of us could live without it.

13. What is, in your opinion, the best metal album released this year ?

Hard to say, but som I really like are: King Diamond – “The Puppet Master”, Zyklon - “Aeon”, Mnemic – “Mechanical Spin Phenomena”, Dimmu Borgir – “Deathcult Armageddon”, Disbelief – “Spreading the Rage” Nasum -  “Helvete” and also Human Remains “Where were you when” is a must! The worst release so far is Morbid Angel – “Heretic”. The album has got one of the worst produced guitarsounds I have ever heard!

14. Will you tour throught Europe soon ?

We have had several offers among other the Exodus and the Death Angel European tours, but we turned them down, since we didn’t feel ready for it. If we feel ready and the time is right we might do some concerts in Europe, but nothing is certain. We’ll just have to wait and see.

15. Last words are yours ....

Thanks for doing this interview and for your support. Everybody check out “Through the Flesh to the Soul” out now on Scarlet Records. Cheers!!