SHINING Frontman: My Cat Is 'The Light Of My Life'

Radio Metal recently conducted an interview of frontman Niklas Kvarforth of Swedish extreme metallers SHINING. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Radio Metal: This is the second time you work with the producer Andy La Rocque [KING DIAMOND]. It really seems that Andy understands your universe very well. What can you tell us about this collaboration?

Kvarforth: Actually, it's the first time, because we recorded the EP and the album at the same time. Ever since "The Eerie Cold", we were recording with the same producer. That was a good experience and I learned a lot, but I kind of got tired of his attitude and wanted to try something new. I had actually been considering contacting Andy La Rocque for a couple of years, because I've always wanted to move either in a poppier direction, or in a more metal direction. And when I say "metal," I don't mean all the shit bands that are featured in magazines today. I'm talking about what happened in the '80s and early '90s, this heavy metal thing, which I kind of prefer to soulless black metal stuff that's out there. Anyway, it was really the perfect choice. It clicked when we met. He almost became part of the band. We'll be reentering the studio next year to record a new album.

Radio Metal: Is it already written?

Kvarforth: Most of it, yes.

Radio Metal: What can you tell us about this record?

Kvarforth: Nothing.

Radio Metal: You've declared that you were not allowed to put a song from the new album online for many reasons. What are those reasons?

Kvarforth: You know, the record industry. Our record label had some restrictions. We can't walk around that, it's just something we had to accept. But in a way, I think it's a good thing, because I always want people to experience an album in its entirety. I think it's actually a very foolish move to put out one song. People just expect to hear everything beforehand. I don't like that. I would like to go back when you had to go to the record store and ask for the release date of a record. When it finally came, you were waiting and waiting, and looking forward to it. You could listen to it while reading the lyrics, and see the artwork the band had worked on. People today have an arrogant, strange way of seeing things. Everything is so easily consumed. I don't like that. I think it's really sad, you know?

Radio Metal: In order to give to your fans a preview of this new album, you did select a mere fraction of one of the songs and put them on a video where you introduce us to your cat, Miss Katze Kvarforth. Since she's now a rock icon, can you tell us more about her?

Kvarforth: To tell about her, I have to tell about the first trailer. People were annoyed that we were selling out by signing to a big label and doing all these shows. Not that I really care, but I wanted to make a point and mock all these people. So I had this 57-year-old guy film me in his bathtub. When they saw that, all of a sudden, people started to complain that I was doing what everyone else does. They don't seem to remember that I did this back in 1996 as well, when Shining first came up with the naked, bloody pictures. I thought it was funny that people got annoyed, so I wanted to do something else. My manager wanted to put up a second trailer. I wasn't interested, but she told me over and over that we needed to do it. So I asked her to film me with the cat, and people started to complain about that as well, which is funny! In conclusion, people suck and Katze is the light of my life, so to speak. She's actually sleeping on my lap right now. It's better to have her than to go out to a pub or something. I stopped doing that, because I just fought all the time.

You can read the entire interview from Radio Metal.