DISMEMBER Bassist: 'I Basically Don't Have Any Other Interests Besides Music'

The German edition of Metal Hammer magazine recently conducted an interview with DISMEMBER bassist Tobias Christiansson. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Hammer: What's the best Metal album ever in your opinion?

Tobias: I guess I have to say "Master Of Puppets" by METALLICA, 'cause that's the first album I ever bought at the age of nine and they where my first musical heroes. Back when I bought it, I didn't think that anybody else knew of that band. Well, at least no one in my age new of them because if you where into hard rock it was mostly bands like BON JOVI, KISS and EUROPE. Even though I lost interest in METALLICA around 1991 because it was so trendy to listen to them at that time you still cannot deny the huge influence METALLICA has had on extreme metal. But I never put on my old "Master of Puppets" LP nowadays. I guess, I'm afraid to destroy the feeling I had for it when I was young.

Metal Hammer: Which is the most important metal band of all time for you?

Tobias: Maybe BLACK SABBATH. I like all the lineups of that band, especially the Dio period. "Heaven And Hell", "Mob Rules" and "Live Evil" are among the best albums I have ever heard. I also like "The Headless Cross" from 1989 with Tony Martin on vocals. Of course, I also like the Ozzy albums, but I think the period after Ozzy is sadly forgotten a lot of times. But the first BLACK SABBATH albums really defined the genre of heavy metal. They where the hardest and most evil band of the early seventies, and it's hard to compete with the genius riffs of Tony Iommi. Also Gezeer Butler is a great inspiration of mine when it comes to bass playing.

Metal Hammer: What does heavy metal mean to you in general: Lifestyle or music?

Tobias: It means (to me) that you are totally dedicated to the music. You buy the albums, you go to the shows, buy the T-shirts, you read about your favorite bands and so on. And you have to have long hair! I basically don't have any other interests besides music, so it comes kinda naturally for me. To me, it still means some sort of rebellion against all that is normal. It almost sounds a bit cheesy but I really enjoy listening to heavy metal, drinking beer in a bar with friends and just have a good time! I'm always searching for new kicks in music, and I try to buy albums as often as I can afford it. The feeling when you have bought an album that you like and going home to put it on is just so good!

Metal Hammer: What was the craziest thing you ever did as metal musician?

Tobias: Should I tell some cool L.A.-style glam rock story here of how drunk I've been and how many girls I've had? Hmm, I don't know, really…. One funny thing though is that I managed to delay a flight from Spain back home to Sweden just because I carried a bullet belt in my bass-guitar case. Apparently, those things are illegal there. I managed to get into the country but on the way home it didn't work. The police said that it was illegal and that no matter what, I couldn't get it back. They noticed this just before boarding time and they called out our names on the radio system on the airport so we could go there and get questioned about it. Therefore the flight was delayed, haha!

Read the entire interview at www.metal-hammer.de.