SNAKE TONGUE – Interview – 09/10/17 🇬🇧
SNAKE TONGUE is one of those unclassifiable bands that maneuvers freely amongst the most extreme genres. Not long ago we talked about their latest work, Raptor’s breath, which exceeded our expectations greatly, and we recently found out that they are coming to Spain in the not too distant future, so we would like to introduce you all to them and their creation.
Subterráneo Webzine: Welcome, guys! First of all, congratulations on your new album. You come from Sweden, where extreme music is successful and has better recognition than in countries like Spain. Is it easy to find a niche in the Swedish scene?
SNAKE TONGUE: When it comes to music in general it is kind of a tough job to be unique and finding your sound. We have a few bands in Sweden that are experimenting with genres like we do but I woundn’t say that it’s affecting us very much. The thing with SNAKE TONGUE is that we don’t really have a niche. And that is more of our niche. Of course we have some fundamental things but we get inspired from all kinds of music and genres.
Subterráneo Webzine: One of the things that strike me the most of your sound is the genre amalgam, where hardcore and punk also have a huge relevance. Do you come from different bands and scenes?
SNAKE TONGUE: Everyone of us have roots in punk, hardcore and metal music. We have all been in a couple of bands earlier. In SNAKE TONGUE we take bits and pieces from all influences and experiences and boil it down to our most extreme.
Subterráneo Webzine: Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE) on the mixing seems to have brought an amazing strength to your sound. Did you already have Kurt in mind to be the one working with you on the project?
SNAKE TONGUE: He has a feel for the kind of sound we were looking for. He is well established within music production and he has a good reputation so we thought he would be a good choice for the job. He is also used to work with music that is on the more extreme part of the game which is beneficial. Then we chose Brad Boatright (Audiosiege) for mastering, who gave the sound an extra push.
Subterráneo Webzine: The number of Nordic bands visiting Spain seems to be increasing. We have heard that you might be coming to Spain, will you be visiting us soon?
SNAKE TONGUE: We are working on getting some dates in Spain as we speak. So yeah, our goal is absolutely to play in Spain, hopefully within a year. We’re looking for promoters and people that can make this happen. Might be a couple of dates on the way down to Spain as well.
Subterráneo Webzine: What’s the soundtrack for SNAKE TONGUE during long trips? Would you dare to give us your top ten bands/albums?
SNAKE TONGUE: We had little discussion how to approach this question so we came to an agreement that we choose two bands or albums each. In random order:
- NAILS
- MARTYRDÖD – In Extremis
- THE DILLINGER SCAPE PLAN
- AMEBIX
- CONVERGE
- 偏執症者 (Paranoid)
- PROPAGANDHI
- DISFEAR
- SLAYER
- NIGHT FEVER
Subterráneo Webzine: You have presented your new album around Sweden with a mini tour, you travelled to Finland with the Mexican combo MASSACRE 68, and also went to Germany, are you working on more European dates? What about other continents? You were recently looking for concerts in Japan and Hong Kong. Was there any luck?
SNAKE TONGUE: No luck in Asia yet but we have plans for the people over there. For now we have the Phillipines as our main goal there, but also constantly working on getting into the Japanese scene.
We never went to Finland but we have plans on getting there. The mini tour with MASSACRE 68 was in Sweden. We did some great shows in Gothenburg, Norrköping, Stockholm and Uppsala. It was really nice getting to know the good guys in this legendary band.
Before this we did the Raptor’s Breath tour going through Germany, Czech Republic and Slovenia. We also have some ideas on a tour in US/Mexico with help from our good friends in MASSACRE 68.
Subterráneo Webzine: Getting back to Raptor’s breath, what kind of acceptance did it get? What about audience’s feedback?
SNAKE TONGUE: We got tons of awesome reviews from all over Europe and in the US. Got good reviews in both Metal Hammer and the german magazine Legacy. On a more local front Close Up Magazine wrote about us. The gigs have been well recieved by the audience both local and abroad.
Subterráneo Webzine: Spanish undergound circle is currently on a very good shape. Do you know any bands from here?
SNAKE TONGUE: Awesome to hear that the scene is growing. Will be cool to see when we get to Spain! We know few bands but would be very cool to know more!
LIZZIES is actually on the same label as us. Got to meet them when The Sign Record had the annual fest. ELEKTRO DUENDES is a favorite with our singer. MÖRDARE, one of us was on a split 7” with them way back.
Subterráneo Webizne: You are a very active band. Do you have any time left for other musical project/related to music?
SNAKE TONGUE: Niklas has two bands besides SNAKE TONGUE (GRA VARDAG, ADRESTIA) and Fredrik plays in one more (ADRESTIA) and Victor also has a band (BANDET ELLINGTON) besides SNAKE TONGUE. Patrik runs The Sign Records and four more record labels and organizes shows.
Subterráneo Webzine: For most of the extreme bands it is quite difficult to make their work sustainable. Have you reach some kind of economic balance throughout the years?
SNAKE TONGUE: No, nothing like that yet. We got some heavy work before this becomes profitable. We’re not in it for the money. Just for the fun and the creative pleasure it brings.
Subterráneo webzine: To end this up, we would like you to tell us about your future plans. Besides coming to Spain, are you working on new material, or a new tour?
SNAKE TONGUE: Our main focus for now is writing new stuff for a new album. We have tons of material to work with. It will be a little different but will still be SNAKE TONGUE but a little more spice into it and a greater variety and more dynamics.
Concerning tours we have ideas of going to Dubai, Belgium, Netherlands, Japan, Phillipines, US, Mexico and Finland.
Subterráneo Webzine: Now we say our goodbyes. But before that, is there anything else you would like to say? Please leave us a contact with the band for any interested promoter/reader. Thanks a lot for your time!
SNAKE TONGUE: We really hope that we will make it to Spain in the near future. We really would like to meet you and do crushing shows in your country. Hope you can help us out so we can make this happen. You can reach us through these adresses:
Thanks a lot for having us! Looking forward to meet you all!!
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