I
thought that Massgrav had been going on for 20 years but they have almost
been playing their tough punkrock for 30 years. Here follows an interview at
the same time as they release their wonderful LP Pizza Speciale... June 2025
You have been doing it for over 20 years now....did you think so when you
started the group?
-We have been doing it for almost 30
even. When we started, we probably mostly wanted to see if there was
anything we could do at all. This band was started with absolutely ZERO
ambitions or future plans I would say.
Where are the group stationed?
-God... Do you think we have written too few songs about Stockholm or? The
best city in the world? The royal capital? The Capitol of Scandinavia? Why
should we station ourselves anywhere else?
Tell us a little about each current members of the group, previous bands
that you have been in or if you are in any bands on the side.?
-Fenok has been in Scurvy and Bombstrike and now he plays in Svart Samtid
and We the pigs. He likes cats and Flipper (the arcade game, not the TV
series).
Jesper has been in Nasum and nowadays he still plays with Burst sometimes.
He has lived a rockstar life on a slightly different level than the rest of
us.
Norse has been in Nice Idiot but has no other real band than Massgrav right
now, as far as we know. He buys expensive deodorant in the duty-free shop
and was a vegetarian for over a week in the 90s.
Ola has never been in any other band that anyone has heard of, except when
he sang on a 7 with Stabbed to Death. He likes to shower often and collects
Christmas tree lights.
Tell me something really fun about each member that no one else knows?
-Can't you just be ordinary? We are probably not that damn fun and above all
we are probably not the ones who want to highlight ourselves as crazy banana
pranksters. All I can think of is things that no one wants me to tell them
about. If you want to know such things, you have to offer us alcohol first.
Feel free to do so.
You have been on some record labels but now it's De Nihil which counts or?
Is it nice to not have to do everything yourself?
-Yes, it's fucking only them: Nihil who applies now, if he wants to continue
doing stuff with us, that is. Incredibly nice and professional man/get that.
Considering how damn much it is to fix even with De:Nihil (AND Lixiviat and
Selfmadegod) on board, you don't even want to think about what it would be
like to do everything yourself. It's incredibly lucky that there are people
who want to have record labels and arrange gigs.
I only have three records but you have according to Discogs done 8
fulllengths, some compilation and a whole bunch of singles, how many songs
have you released now?
-Type... Like 200 songs have we released, haven't we? But it's been a few
years since the first ones came out, counted per year it's not that many
songs.
Is there any songs that you haven't released yet?
-There are many songs that we have never recorded, because we didn't think
they were good enough or that we couldn't play them well enough. Recorded...
I think we've let go of everything now, there's probably nothing that's in
the stash, we've thrown it in on some splits and stuff.
Do you play songs from all the records when you play live or is it so that
you are "ashamed" of some album?
-We are absolutely not ashamed of any record, but there is maybe a single
song we would not have written today and maybe not play anymore. But what
the hell, you can't be as anxious as you want, it's never really been our
thing. We don't play songs from all records every time we play, but there is
no record we never play songs from. Maybe rather so that we SHOULD stop
playing songs from split sevens that hardly anyone has heard.
Tell us a little about the single Grattius Hurra, it's a cover of Doomsday
but in a little own way or what is it about, who got hold of it?
-We were going into the studio to record a new record and then our former
drummer, Grind-Ove, asked if we would like to record a cover of Doomsday
that he would sing a new lyrics to (which was about birthday and was called
Birthday) so we did it on the condition that we also recorded it with him on
vocals and original lyrics (it is released on our 2-inch vinyl split with
Järnbörd). Then Ove made his own cover and for a year sent the Birthday song
on CDR to people he liked when they had their birthdays. Everyone was asked
not to say anything to anyone, so it was a surprise to everyone who received
it. Then we did it live once, at his 50th birthday party and there the story
of that song is over forever. But it's only friends of Ove who have it, I
think he sent out like 150 in a year.
You have released some splits with other bands, is it the ultimate way to
release records or is it the best to release your own records?
-Splits is the WORST way to release, because it always takes much longer
when you have to sync with another band, there are more people who have to
agree on covers etc etc. It can certainly be good if you split with some
hyped big band so you get some free advertising, but we haven't done that
exactly, we have only split with GOOD bands. And it's fun and so, but...
We've said many times that we're going to stop splitting, but we never
manage to keep it.
Is it important to get your records out physically?
-Yes, it is important. Real bands release real records.
Can it feel like you've made an album if you only released it digitally?
Have you done something that is only available digitally?
-No, it wouldn't feel like that. It's nice that it works, but as I said:
real bands release real records. We have an EP that came out last winter
that is only available digitally, but we hope to be able to get it out on
vinyl in the future, someone just has to have time for all the fucking
administration.
What's your favorite way to listen to music for yourselves? Is it vinyl, CD,
cassette or digital?
-8-track. They never end, the record just goes around, around until the band
or brain burns up. Otherwise, unfortunately, it is digital.
Are any of you record collectors?
-I would say that everyone is, but to varying degrees, Ola least of all
probably (which is strange because he collects all kinds of shit). Jesper
collects mostly CDs. Fenok and Norse have great collections of all formats.
If you had to describe your music in three words, what three words would you
say?
-Fast, good rock.
What is the strangest thing you have compared to in any review?
-Slow boring crust and d-beat bands that we don´t sound a shit like.
You play with both metal, punk and hardcore bands, in which audience do you
have the most fans, I mean metal, punk or hardcore fans?
-Yes, the question is if we fit in everywhere or nowhere? And then there is
quite a big overlap, that many like BOTH punk and metal? I don't know where
we have the most listeners, they can probably be a little bit everywhere.
Metal audiences tend to be less interested in politics, but that's why it's
important that someone comes and tells them that they have to stop voting
right.
What does punk mean to you, is it just a word, a style of music or is it a
lifestyle, how is your view on punk?
-Let's say it's a style of music and an attitude.
Who writes the lyrics, do you help each other or how is it?
-Usually someone writes them on their own. We don't usually talk about who
has written which songs, as we have had some bad experiences with managers
who snoop in that and want to talk about our lyrics. But it's not group work
or workshops we devote ourselves to, you write your songs and bring them to
the rehearsal, then we maybe help each other arrange and fix a little, but
we don't sit and brainstorm lyrics together. Damn.
To have lyrics that are about something important, is it important?
-Yes. But ALL songs don't have to do that, we mix a little. Sometimes it's
just exactly what is written on the packaging, and sometimes there is
something you can think about if you wish. Or you can hay, think that we are
singing about the dick standing and walking by grinning, there are many who
do. That's the risk when you're both serious and funny at the same time,
that people just think you're joking, but we actually CAN'T take
responsibility for what stupid people choose to do. We have damn sensible
lyrics and if you don't agree, it's you who's wrong.
Tell us a little about the following texts
Chefens lilla hora rider igen
-Colleagues who butter up for the boss is an almost inexhaustible subject
and since we had already written a song called "Chefens lilla hora" it felt
"... Riding Again" as a natural title for a sequel. There have also been
plans for a part 3 called " Chefens lilla hora på knullkonferens " but when
it comes we'll see.
Du krustar, dom dör
- A song that started with a funny title (for people who really don't know
what it ́s about, it's a Mob 47 paraphrase) and is about punk people
cranking a lot of slogans as if it made any difference. Well, do you have a
sweater against war, well that will do the trick, right? A jacket with
spikes that says something about bombs on it, what a STRONG statement
against war, nice that you dare to speak up as well.
Jag har sett Göran Persson-jag hatar det
-GP is something of a favorite hate-politician of ours and this title is
some kind of paraphrase of the TV debate against Carl Bildt's where Göran
says "I've seen class society - I hate it". The song is about the class
traitor Göran Persson has turned out to be. It is also the final part of our
trilogy about Göran Persson.
Vilken del av dra åt helvete är det du inte förstår?
-Another song that started with a title and is about idiots who don't
understand anything even though you are incredibly clear against them. That
said, not all texts have to be Nobel Prize candidates.
You have really short songs, how many songs will it be on a gig?
-Somewhere 20-25 it usually is. That is, eight more than we can really
handle.
Which song is your own favorite song to play... Which song does the audience
most want to hear?
-Probably Sell your hole for rock n roll - both fast mangle and slow swing.
Audience... they mostly want to hear Kreossa Högerkukarna I think.
Have you received a lot of negative comments about your name Massgrav?
-No. Up above the Arctic Circle there are some whiny bastards and muttering
about Rolf Revolt, but otherwise there has been nothing. It's mostly when
you have to tell a colleague or old relative that it can be hard to be
dragged with a name like Massgrav. And that it's a bit difficult to google
perhaps.
You named the new record Pizza speziale....is there any underlying story to
that?
-Yes. Pizza Speziale is an expression used for people who are a little
different, odd, different and strange. The title track is about the question
of who really decides what counts as normal, and that if people call you odd
then take it as something positive, most people are, why would you want to
fit in and be exactly like them? Oh my god, how many boring people there
are. So that's what the song is about. Otherwise or proud!
Is there any bands from Sweden that you really want to recommend?
-There is, even if people probably
already know about everyone, we draw a few: CC Company, Bleachdrinker,
Spögelse, Proteststorm, Kronofogden, Dahmers, PX-30
How else do you think it is to live in Sweden, with racists, SD, increased
living allowances etc etc?
-Depressing. Really fucking depressing. People are so fucking stupid. You
can think what you want about how it was in the past, but there were still
quite a few years where we focused on building a better society together.
Then nothing will ever be perfect, but now we seem to focus on the opposite.
Crush everything, as long as someone can make money from it, it's great.
If you got the chance to decide in Sweden for a week, what was the first
thing you would change?
-Raise the tax burden significantly and expropriate every damn embarrassment
that the bourgeoisie has sold out to private actors. Reinstate the welfare
society and social safety nets. Ban electric scooters and gig economy, build
rehearsal rooms and recreation centers. Upgrade the railway network and
invest in renewable energy and increase the reduction obligation, protect
all old forests, stop having a spineless attitude towards countries in the
outside world. Make the racists afraid again. Then you don't have time for
more the first week maybe?
Ten favorite records of all time?
-You get five. Right now it's these:
Limp Wrist: Limp Wrist
Status Quo: Quo
The Donnas: The Donnas
The Accidents: Poison Chalice
Motörhead: Iron Fist
Futureplans for the band?
-Play fun gigs on the new record and start making new songs for the next
record. Try to release Välkommen till blåsningen on vinyl and maybe some
more vinyl releases of songs that are already released in other ways. We
celebrate our anniversary next year, hopefully we can do something fun to
celebrate it a bit.
For yourself?
-It's just trying to survive from day to day.
Words of wisdom?
-Words of wisdom are bourgeois nonsense
Something to add?
-Stay hardcore with Massgrav