Deny is a really tough band that I got the latest record with which came on both CD and vinyl. The first interview for 2019 is a fact… read and enjoy!

A little story about the group?

-Deny was formed in 1995. At that time, none of us could really play, but there was no obstacle to starting a band. When it comes to genre, there was never any talk that we would play something other than crustpunk. At first we did a demo and some recordings that are on bandcamp to listen to, but the whole thing did not start seriously until after a couple of member changes and when we released the Fucked record.

We went on in slightly different constellations until 2004 when we decided to shut down. But after about 12 years, Johan (the singer) got the feeling and began to gather the old members again. When none of the previous bassists had the opportunity, we got new blood in the band in the form of Martin from Fan Ta Er and Soze.

Tell us a little about every member, age, job, family, band before and band on the side? Why did Emma stop and how did you get her on a song now?

-Johan

More 40 than 30. A little of different jobs, family with kids. Has been a singer in Frost but Deny is in my heart.

Tobbe

Falling right over the 40s and living in Lyrestad with my family. Works as a technician at Daloc in Töreboda. No other bands at the moment but played drums in Sackel in the early 2000s.

Jonsson

Also I am closer to 40 than 30 and live in a house together with my partner. Working class like the others in the band and in addition to Deny I play guitar in Slaveriet.

Martin

The band's youngster who recently passed 30 and lives in Mariestad with my partner. Alongside Deny, there is bassplaying in the band Soze. Also plays in the sickly inactive band Fan Ta Er who refuse to give up.

Arvid

40 years, working on one LSS-accommodation. Have a daughter (who visits in our song Fight Back) every other week with me. Otherwise, I have a girlfriend but we don´t live together. I have been involved in many bands but want to highlight Mähälium which is active right now, and Säckel. Both are two oldschool trollpunkbands that are in the genre that was formerly only was called "punk".

It was Johan who started Deny again after 12 years which made it natural to put him as a singer. Emma was the last on vocals before the band took their "little" break and we felt it would be fun to do something with her; And who knows, in the future it might come more.

I can hear a much old crust and then both Swedish and English singed, I hear right? Was it better before?

-Yes, it may be so. We have very different music tastes in the band, and since we all make songs, there are different influences that inspire creation. We also try to keep the ceiling high and not limit ourselves by saying that any songidea or a riff eg. not "fit" Deny.

Deny, are you happy with the name ?! If not the best band name had been taken, what name have you choosed then? I mean which is the best band name?

- Well, Deny is not the best band name but it has its advantages. Short, concise and easy to remember. Unfortunately, quite not saying. The story behind the name was that there would be posters printed for a gig where we would participate so we had to come up with a name quickly as hell, and then it became Deny. We are also not alone about being called Deny, which unfortunately gave us some problem on both Spotify and YouTube. For that reason we have no plans to change! The best band name has probably not yet arrived.

What is the best thing about playing live?

-Oh, everything's best to play live! To express yourself together with an audience, to meet with organizers and other enthusiasts, to talk to and get to know other bands. Community.

Where is best to play, where is the worst?

- Best: In a crowded, packed little place. Feel like an on-floor gig.

Worst: In space (no one can hear you screaming there)

How is it to play this kind of punk / hardcore in Sweden today?

-After having been away from the scene for a while, it was fun to come back and you get the feeling that the scene is still alive, and it probably is because there are many enthusiasts who are still burning. All cred to them!

How would you describe your music in three words?

-Riffish - fast – energetic

What does punk mean to you, is it just a word or is it a lifestyle?

-It is probably individual at the level of detail, but we can probably agree that punk is a lifestyle / belief; it is about rights, oppression, maladministration and a channel to express it, not necessarily through the biggest mohawks or most studs.

How do you see on downloading, mp3 and the like?

-We only see it as positive. We hope our music spreads for wind and wave everywhere! Sharing is caring. The biggest losers of it are large companies that act as intermediaries and profit from the art of others.

How do you think it is to live in Sweden today, politically? Here after the election? SD, No PrimeMinster etc?

-Clearly you get scared at first about how narrow-minded the ordinary Swedes is when you want to give a party like SD so much influence. But if you look at how the world looks today, Sweden is still a good country to live in. But it can always be better!

Are there any bands in Sweden today? In your hometown?

-In addition to the other bands we play in, it is quite thin with crust band in the neighborhood. Some bands within the genre that are placed in the areas are eg. Subalert, M: 40 and Illvilja. A couple of members of Myteri are also live in Skaraborg.

Then there are a handful of other punk bands, where Asta Kask is the most famous, in the areas. It's not like it was when we started to play; then there were punk bands a bit here and where and the important thing was that you wanted to play, not that you could.

Do you play anything outside Sweden?

-We have plans for a couple of tours but there will be no longer distances as the family and work situations look like they are doing right now. The future may expel. The will is here and clear!

Other good bands from abroad?

-Yes, of course. Although not all are active longer, for example, Detestation, Tragedy and Discharge are always worth mentioning. Generation Decline released the ep Nothing left for us for not so long ago and it is really good. Then there are more really good bands from abroad but Swedish hcpunk / crust holds really high quality and are often fucking good.

Your lyrics, what are you influenced by? Never in Swedish?

-We write about things we know about and react to. Hot topics are religion and prophecy

In terms of language, we write in English but nothing is carved in stone. Should any of us get a good text idea in Swedish then we probably do it.

Is there anything you will never write about?

-I don't think so because we write what affects and what upsets us and we get new impressions and experiences all the time. However, we will never write a text that any of us cannot support.

Politics and music, does it always belong together ??

-Not necessarily but a lot of music is inspired by how society looks and the product of society's gears, which means that there is a clear connection to politics that sets the framework for society.

Best political band / artist?

-All bands within what we listen to are more or less political which makes this issue very difficult to answer.

Do you think music can change someone's life, then I mean texts etc? Do you have any song that you could point to that made you think a little extra?

-Absolutely, music can convey emotions and is used to calm down or upset. Texts on songs make it possible to convey more than just feeling - a message.

There are many songs that touch, depending on the situation you are in. The music is adapted to the mindset and vice versa.

Your cover is really nice on your CD, who has done it. Is it important to have a cover so you understand what type of music you play? Which is your favorite cover ever?

- The cover is composed and composed of Johan, the imprinted priest and all skulls are painted by Olof Röckner.

Well, the cover is important; It is the first listener to meet when we talk about physical media. We have chosen a little provocative with a clear message and we are very happy with it ... so satisfied that it can be our favorite cover of all time.

Is it important to get physical records? Vinyl or CD or both? Is there any good record store in your vicinity left?

-Yes, it's important. Especially in the genre we play, and if the choice was between CD and vinyl, the choice would be vinyl. Both the format and the sound are preferable on vinyl in front of the CD.

The idea of ​​Parasite Paradise was initially to release it digitally and on vinyl, but we got an offer to also publish it on CD and actually even cassette. We want to be available and reach out to our audience as much as possible. Regarding to record shops, it is probably short of them in our vicinity, but there are some local distros that sell merch and good music.

Please tell me something really fun that happened during your career on stage or behind stage etc?

-Haha, there have been a couple of funny stuff over the years but the chaos playing at Knivstapunken sometime in the early 2000s we can mention.

Once there and after we had explained who we were at the entrance to get in, it turned out that they had no playing order during the evening. So we simply had to "coup" us up on the stage right after another band. We remember that it was pretty cold outside so the fingers were frozen on us so we probably did not a good gig. After the gig was completed, it was time to pick up the payment, which consisted of one liter of homebrew. No fault in it, but one liter of five thirsty people will not be far off. We suspect that he who kept it all by himself just drank up the rest of what would have been our payment because he was in fine shape. Those were the days…

How does your audience look? What type of people comes? Are you missing some types of people?

-Our audience are people who like crust, punks for the most part.

Since the genre we play is not so easy to listen to, it will probably always be similar type of audience, but we would of course like to play for everyone. We convey our view of society and we want that not only intrigued punks should take part, but also those who may not agree with us.

Please rank five favorite records, five favorite concerts?

-We take one each I guess:

Johan: Anti Cimex - Scandinavian Jawbreaker / Walk off the Earth's first concert in Sweden was really good.

Arvid: Med is i Magen(Asta Kask) is still a favorite record. Difficult to choose a favorite concert since most things you have been on have been really good; but here in the near future I say when Disfear, Wolfbrigade and Cut Up played at Nöjesfabriken in Karlstad last year.

Martin: It's hard, there are so many good records! But a disc that is constantly recurring is Stigmata with Skitsystem. It is a lot thanks to the one that I got into the hc and crustthing. The best gig was a Sunday afternoon just over ten years ago when my then favorite band Meleeh made the first stop on their European tour in our rehersalroom.

Jonsson: The favorite album is Inflammable Material with Stiff Little Fingers and just recently I was and saw Die Toten Hosen in Germany and then they made a really good gig!

Tobbe: Favorite records change one or two times a year, but at the moment it is Relentless Mutation with Archspire that rolls most frequently at home (I am childishly fond of the slightly more technical death metal). It´s boring to say´a band like Metallica but I must say when they played in Tallinn in 2006 and celebrated the Master of Puppet's 20th anniversary.

Is it boring with interviews ??

-No not at all. If you play punk you often have something to say and express, interviews are another channel that is opened to make your voice heard.

If you could choose five bands from the past, dead and alive to have a concert together with your band, which are the dream bands then?

-Johan: Anti Cimex.

Arvid: Detestation.

Tobbe: Discharge. I think. Had I been braver I would have said GG Allin.

Martin: Skitsystem.

Jonsson: Ramones.

Is music a great way to get frustrated and become a nicer person? Are you angrier today than you were as young punks?

-It's a way to channel your frustration, so it's possible. However, it may be true that we are angrier today than when we were teenagers, but it may not be the same uncontrolled frustration over "everything" but more controlled and conscious anger.

What is the weirdest question you got in an interview?

- "What is the question you never get, ask it and answer it?"

What is the question you never get, ask it and answer it?

-Haha, now we've finally got all the questions.

Future plans for the band?

-We will release a couple of songs digitally after the turn of the year, maybe some month or two into the new year. We also have tons of songideas that we work with and plan to record a 12th in the first half of 2019. We do not really know planned release of it, but probably during the year.

Also works a bit by releasing merch and making videos.

Hopefully we can play a little out next year. Maybe feel a little on Germany.

For yourself?

-Johan: For the band I work a lot with get together videos, think it is fun to express myself creatively even in picture. Otherwise, it will be to channel anger and opinions into text.

Arvid: Oh, it was difficult. No idea actually.

Tobbe: Because I have small children, a lot of time is spent there but later on when they are older I expect to play even more and develop on guitar and grab the drums again. Maybe start another band. Until then I should have thought out the best band name.

Martin: After playing in different bands for some 15 years, it's time for me to actually learn something about playing music.

Jonsson: Play punk, play more guitar and get older.

Words of wisdom?

- We choose to quote Joe Hill here; "Don't worry, organize yourself!"

Anything to add?

-Please find us on the digital platforms and you will not miss any news. Everything is also gathered on deny.nu