Six months delayed, but here it finally is. An interview with the great Centinex from Sweden. Martin Schulman answered the questions! Better late than never...

Interview by Whodan

 

You got rid of the drummachine and got yourself a human drummer a while ago. What effect have this had to Centinex, and would you mind to tell us who he is?

 

That's right, Kennet Englund joined the band in June last year. He played in Uncanny during the early 90s, then he has been a session drummer for Katatonia on a tour and now, besides Centinex, he do also spank the toms in Dellamorte. Everything works great and we are really satisfied with the change.

Do you think this can strengten your position in the Metal scene? I mean, some people are rather sceptical towards bands using a drummachine in general and therefore don't listen to the actual music before they judge, so maybe they'll check you out now instead...?

 

Yeah, maybe you're right.... Lets see now when the new album is out...

There have been a few discards in the Repluse Records roster, but Centinex is still left on the label though. Do you feel you get the priority and the support you deserve from them?

We are quite satisfied with Repulse, ofcourse there have been a few things that maybe haven't worked out really as we hoped but isn't that the case always ...?? I have never heard about any band that has been 100% satisfied with their label. There are only 5 bands left at Repulse, so now they can push their releases much harder and stronger. So lets see how they handle this new "Hellbrigade" album then....

I haven't seen this new item, but according to a few people you have a new 7" ep with new material out now. Will these tracks be exclusive for this album only, or will we find them on the comming fullenght as well?
This EP you're talking about is called "Apocalyptic Armageddon" and was released through german Deadly Art last February. The EP was limited to 500 copies and it sold out quite fast, it was just a small one-off release dedicated to our "diehard" fans, hah...!! Those three tracks will be bonus tracks on the south-american, japanese and north-american CD versions of "Hellbrigade".

What is there to tell us about the new material and your fullenght which should be recorded soon?
Well, I'm a lazy bastard and I'm late with these answears, so the fact is that the new album is already finished and ready for release. We recorded "Hellbrigade" at Black Lounge studios during May/June and it will be released through Repulse on September 1st 2000. The european version includes 9 brand new tracks and as I told, there are bonus stuff on the licensed versions.

After having tried out several of the famous Swedish studios it finally seems as if you found a suiting one, namely Black Longue Studios. What is it that this studio has, and the others doesn't?

 

Black Lounge is a studio owned by our guitarist Jonas. As it's a completly professional studio with all the latest equipment I don't see any idea why we should record our material anywhere else. There are many advantages when you have your "own" studio, e.g you can use as much time as you want, record almost whenever you want, it becomes cheaper for the label etc etc. Jonas is doing heavy promotion for the studio right now, so if you wanna do a professional recording for a quite low price don't hesitate to get in touch as soon as possible!

Why won't you try out Abyss studios again? Are there too many bands recording there these days?
I have nothing against Abyss studios and I wouldn't mind recording there again, but as I wrote, right now it suits us better to use Black Lounge.

 

Is it common that people take you for yet another ultra melodic Swedish Death Metal band, that they for example compare you to DM bands from the Gothenburg area? Their is a strong melodic touch to Centinex yes, bit you are definately more brutal than most of them!
This is a bit funny really.... That's right, there are people who compare us to bands such as In Flames and Dark Tranquillity but on the other hand there are people saying that we sound exactly like Entombed did on "Left Hand Path"! And that isn't really the case either, right..!? So sometimes we wonder if the reviewers do really listen to our music or if they just write what they think is a "Centinex review"...!? We have been labeled as everything between thrash/death to black/death, through black metal and Gothenburg-metal!! But if somebody asks us we just say death metal and then we let the music speak for itself.

Despite the great music and the long career you are a pretty unknown band for the World I would guess. Why is that do you think? Could the lack of tours have anything to do with it?
Yeah, basically I think it's because we have signed with the "wrong" labels who haven't been able to push us as much as we have hoped. But we have sold more and more for each release and we have recieved better deals from each label we have signed to, so we are becoming more known year by year. We take the long road, no shortcuts here, hah..!!

There will be a tour after the new album later during autumn, right? Do you know if this will include any Scandinavian dates?
We have done a few swedish festival this summer and we will head for a three week european tour on September 15th. Hopefully we can do some more shows in Scandinavia during the winter.

Is it important for the band that you get some feedback for what you do or do you play music merely for the sake of satisfying yourself?
Ofcourse it's important with feedback but basically it should be to satisfy yourself, or at least you should play music that satisfies yourself and your thoughts. In other words, do not copy anybody else just because you think they are the ones who are "in" and "cool".

As said before, Centinex is a rateher old band in the scene today... how long do you think you'll keep running the band before you decide to put an end to it?
You never know, maybe we stop tomorrow or maybe we continue to terrorize you for a another 10 years!? But I'm quite sure it will be the second alternative..... Ok, thanx for this interview!! Keep it heavy and dirty!!