After having heard some really great words from friends of mine I was anxiously awaiting the promo of the new Bay Laurel album "Where Pain Comes To Die", and when it finally arrived and was put into the stereo I got to hear some of the darkest and most melancholic Gothic ever recorded. A small interview to make you aware of this band was a must and Rickard Löfgren on behalf of Bay Laurel was kind enough to answer our questions!

Interview by Whodan

"Where Pain Comes To Die" is the title of the new album. How come you up with that, and what does it really?
It's the title of the last track on the album and it felt good to call the album that. It's about a place "Where Pain Comes To Die".

Your music is darker and more melancholic than anything I've heard lately. So I was a little curious how the atmosphere was in the studio while recording "Where Pain Comes To Die"?

I'm glad to hear that you think it's dark because that's what we wanted it to be. The studio sessions where really good and relaxed. We didn't sit there feeling oh so gloomy all the time but when we play we're totally into the music.

The recording process was a little odd, at least in my eyes. The drums were for example recorded in an old cinema! How did that idea come about?

The studio was placed in a cellar beneath the cinema. It was our producers idea to record in there. All the reverb that is used on the drums is the actual reverb from the stairwell outside. We had more studio time than before so we could try new things in the studio. Personally I'm very satisfied with the production.

Do you think the music reflects your life?

It most certainly reflects some parts of it but my life is more than the things I put on record. The lyrics on the album are mostly about hard things in life and misery in general. This doesn't mean that I'm constantly miserable. It's just that I write more about the hard things. I hate bands that claim they are so dark all the time but when you meet them they are acting like Disney characters. Fucking hypocrites. We're like most people but we play the darkest music you will find on the market right now and we're 100% true to what we're doing.

Bay Laurel has went through numerous line-up changes. Why has it been so hard to establish a steady line-up?
If you would ask some of the old members they might say that I'm some kind of band-Hitler but that's not how I see it. If you're not totally in to what we're doing you've got nothing to do in Bay Laurel. We're not doing this for fun. I really hope there won't be any more line up changes.

What happened to your album "...And Sandman Came With A Handful Of Sleeping Pills" which was recorded but never released?
The sound was too much rock and roll so we decided (together with the record company) not release it. Today I'm very glad that it never came out. Compared to our new album it's very weak.

As an outsider with only a brief knowledge about the Gothic scene I must ask if also such people can be very conservative, as with the Black Metal scene where some people are extremely conservative and can't accept anything new and a little different?