HAMMERFALL Drummer Speaks: Audio Available

A new audio interview with drummer Anders Johansson of Swedish melodic metallers HAMMERFALL conducted by Vassil Varbanov of Bulgaria's Tangra Mega Rock is available for download at this location (MP3, 2 MB). A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Tangra Mega Rock: "My Sharona" is a very popular track. at least it used to be. why did you decide to put it on the [new HAMMERFALL] album?

Anders: Well, it was because of our sound engineer, and he is from Finland, and didn't like to hang out with the rest of the crew, who were Germans. So he used to seat in the back room and play this, he's an old guitar player. And then at shows we told Oscar [Dronjak, HAMMERFALL guitarist], who is not a very technical player, he used to play riffs and rock anthems, to play this instead of a solo. And the rock crowds, the metal crowds really liked it. And we were surprised because it is an old pop-rock song. And also when we first started recording the album we were little short on songs. So I told Oscar maybe we should play this because it is nice to mix different styles — rock and metal — and make a cool metal song out of it. At the end we weren't short of songs but we decided to keep it anyway.

Tangra Mega Rock: Is there a part, besides this 11th song, one of those 10 before that, which was particularly hard for you to perform on drums?

Anders: Yes. One was. It is called "One of a Kind". Not that I had problems with it, but it is very physically demanding. When you record songs you do it over and over again and this song was the fastest we had recorded. I broke some sweat at this song. I'm a big person — 104 kilos — and it is not natural for me to play that fast.

Tangra Mega Rock: You prefer to hit hard rather than play fast?

Anders: It is also because, when I started to play drums, this double bass stuff didn't really exist. I was in the very first wave of bands that played that way. Now the young kids, they play a lot softer than old drummers do. It is not really my style. With HAMMERFALL, it is OK, it is medium fast. But to play in a speed metal band wouldn't be my thing. Then again I can play with my hands — I'm an old jazz drummer. I can play faster with my hands than most guys do.

Tangra Mega Rock: Last week, the big British magazine Rhythm that is especially for drummers voted Buddy Rich to be the most influential drums player of all time. What do you think of all this?

Anders: I think it is a good choice. When I was a kid he was one of my favorites. My father was a jazz musician and we listened to jazz a lot. And now days when I listen to him on YouTube or something, I realize he is very technical of course, but he has a swing and a seal that is very special. Even though maybe other people can play technical and fast it is not the same thing, he is very special. There are definitely many guys that are great, and he is among them.

Tangra Mega Rock: You actually started you musical training as a keyboardist, a piano player. Is that right?

Anders: Yes, it is. I started piano lessons when I was a kid. My brother [Jens] is a piano player. He actually plays on the new album, by the way. He used to be in Yngwie Malmsteen's band and is now in STRATOVARIUS. We used to play at the same time, but I was more interested in drumming somehow. When I was 12 or so I bought a snare drum and a bass drum and I started to spend more time with Jens playing the drums. He actually became better than me and I couldn't keep up, so I left the piano eventually because I was bored with it. And when we started a band I played drums and he did keyboards. He knows some drums as well. He's mentally a good drummer but not physically somehow.

Tangra Mega Rock: People in this world have been divided into two by this one particular thing — half of the fans glorify a big warrior band like MANOWAR, the other half are laughing at them. Which kind of people do you belong to?

Anders: When I listen to music I listen more to progressive and the actual music than the guitar players or the drummer separately. I am neither of the sides you described, I guess. I like MANOWAR somehow, but I never really listen to the lyrics. I think it is dumb to laugh at styles. I think it is good that we have different styles of music. Otherwise everything is going to be the same. When you're a metal fan, sometimes it seems it's like supporting your football team, somehow. And when someone thinks something is stupid, like warriors and stuff, they laugh at it. It's like laughing at a different football team, maybe.

Read the entire interview from Tangra Mega Rock.