ENTOMBED A.D. Vocalist Says Group's New Album Is 'Old School, But In A New, Fresh Way'

Prior to ENTOMBED A.D.'s performance at Serbia's Exit festival on July 7, vocalist Lars Göran Petrov spoke with Agoraphobic News. The full conversation can be seen below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the group's cover of MOTÖRHEAD's "Back At The Funny Farm", which appears as a bonus track on the limited-edition digipak version of forthcoming album "Bowels Of Earth":

Petrov: "That was the first one I bought — the first heavy metal vinyl [referring to MOTÖRHEAD's 1983 album 'Another Perfect Day'], and the most underrated MOTÖRHEAD album, I think. The sound is amazing. It was great to do a cover of it. We will see if people like it. Lemmy and MOTÖRHEAD is a big match to win, but if you don't try it, you never know. It's good to get it out of the system. [Laughs]"

On Lemmy:

Petrov: "He has that scrapy voice, and it fits to rock n' roll, heavy metal, hard rock. It's truly a legend that we cherish in our hearts."

On how "Bowels Of Earth" differs from 2014's "Back To The Front":

Petrov: "We have new inspirations. We have a new guitarist [ed. note — Guilherme Miranda, who joined in 2015]. We have a new bass player. Guilherme came in with different views, and with an extra guitar, you get that more aggressive feeling. I think we go back to [the] old school, but in a new, fresh way, so we are very, very happy with it. It's very energetic, I think. Sometimes it's weird, talking about your own music, but we're really, really happy."

On whether he still plays drums, his instrument-of-choice in the 1980s Swedish black metal band MORBID:

Petrov: "No. I forgot how to play. The arms are getting weaker. If you're going to be a good drummer, you have to practice and practice. I switched to screaming and growling and stuff like that. It's okay."

On MORBID vocalist Per "Dead" Ohlin, who went on to front MAYHEM from 1988 until his 1991 death via suicide:

Petrov: "We met through a local record store called Heavy Sound that was only metal. You put up advertisements, like 'Singer Seeks Band.' That's how we met, and then from then on, we did the demos and stuff. He was also a good soul within the black metal community... We had good fun. Maybe he got depressed throughout the years, but when I knew him; we were happy. We'd drink beer, do music, sit at my mother's house, drink beer and play guitar and stuff like that. He was a happy soul. Nobody knows what happened, but we have the memories and the good times we had."

On ENTOMBED's seminal 1990 album "Left Hand Path":

Petrov: "People were like, 'Wow, what a guitar sound.' It came out at the right time at the right place. It was an eye-opener, and it holds [up] to this day."

On whether he enjoys "Clandestine", the 1991 ENTOMBED album on which he did not sing:

Petrov: "I do. It's awesome, actually. It's a good thing I don't sing on it, because it's already good as it is. I don't want to destroy it. [Laughs]"

On the differences in the Gothenburg and Stockholm metal scenes:

Petrov: "There was really no competition. The important thing was [that] we deliver metal, and what town it comes from, it doesn't really matter. Maybe Gothenburg had a little bit more melodies, but I think Stockholm death metal also had that. We're all friends, anyway. When we meet, we drink beer."

On horror movies:

Petrov: "I think every death metal fan's a fan of horror movies. It sort of connects with the lifestyle and the lyrical points. BON JOVI sings about love, and death metal bands sing about death. [Laughs]"

ENTOMBED A.D.'s new album, "Bowels Of Earth", will be released on August 30 via Century Media.

ENTOMBED A.D. was formed in 2014 when Petrov and other members of ENTOMBED decided to change the band's name in order to avoid a legal battle with ENTOMBED guitarist Alex Hellid, who didn't want his former bandmates to use the ENTOMBED moniker.