Dödsriket has released a really good, odd and red vinyl and hurry up and buy this before it runs out. Andrej with help answers a bunch of questions about the group and other things and this interview was done in December 2025.

How was the group formed and why?

-Dödsriket was born when Andrej and Erik met at their children's preschool. While other fathers found each other over floorball or beer, they found each other in music. We set up a simple dogma: say yes to each other's ideas, trust your intuition and never get stuck in a song for too long. It was a way to make our fingers' longing find an outlet in guitar and bass. When Nillen came in with her rhythmic ear and Sara with her voice and presence, Dödsriket found her family.

Tell us a little about each member. Bands before. Bands on the side?

-Erik has played in small, unknown bands before – the ones that have barely left the rehearsal room.

Andrej has played in various punk bands, including Gods of Masturbation with Nillen, but also various bands in the alternative genre.

Nillen has played in D.N.A., Anti Cimex, and more.

Sara has played in various rehearsal bands, in house band at the pub and in various theater performances and performances.

No one plays in anything else next to it.

You have a sound which doesn ́t sound like many other bands, how did it get like this?

-Andrej and Erik decided early on that they would not look at anything else. Just go on and see what happened. Then it all became deadly. Then the goalposts have moved over time, but there is a clear core that is constant. Fortunately, that has been just as important to Nillen and Sara. We are four different people with different backgrounds, but we like each other immensely. That's where the magic happens.

I write Cortex, Cosmic Overdose and TT Reuter in my notes. Comment?

-Is not really that surprising. Personally, we would probably add Unter den Linden and Garbochock. They are there in the background, along with lots of other things when we do songs. Well, those 80's parties these days, where you listen to 80's music and everyone has pastel-colored clothes and shoulder pads, it's the 80's where we stood on the other side of the wall when the pastel children danced to Modern Talking, and on that side of the wall rolled Cortex, Cosmic Overdose, Garbochock and other things the pastel children didn't know anything about.

What other comparisons do you hear?

-It can be heard that Dödsriket is outside the highway. We won't be played on commercial radio channels. We have heard that we smell like Neubauten, Anders F. Rönnblom, Devo, Joy Division, Swedish progg, Thåström and Hurula among others. We've listened to all that. Some more, others less. At the same time, we know that those who have heard us would agree that we don't really sound like any of them. Although they echo in the background in the songs sometimes. We would probably describe it as striving to find something of our own, and let the audience draw their own parallels.

You release your record yourself, or how is it with that? How are sales going?

-The record has actually been made possible through our manager, Hannes Gerhard, who after our first gig decided that we should end up on vinyl. He has pulled that annoying administrative jock around it, and financed. He is a bit like god in Dödsriket. Sales are going well. Especially the numbered special editions have done well. We haven't printed that many copies. Rather sell out and possibly reprint, than sit with lots of boxes unsold as well. Selling vinyl today is not an easy journey, but we notice that many people appreciate the physical format. This is uplifting in a time where AI-generated music is getting more streams and capital controls what is to be discovered. For us, it feels just right in both body and soul to bring the music out analogue.

I get the impression that you write your lyrics first and the music after because it feels like small poetic works when it comes to the lyrics. Am I right?

-On the contrary - the songs are always created by us finding a bass line, riff or drum beat, which we fall into and develop into a song. Often we do the song with verses, possible jabs and choruses, without any lyrics, but with hummed melodies. When the foundation feels right, Andrej writes the lyrics, often based on our conversations about life and what we want to touch.

Is it only Andrej who writes the lyrics?

-It is primarily Andrej, who writes the text. Sometimes someone else comes up with some meaning, theme, or similar, that comes along. We started with English texts. Then Erik told me about a horrible nurse at the home his father lived at. She was called the Nattyskan. Erik wanted to make a song about her. It wasn't possible in English. Nattyskan sounds strange in English. Then we just continued in Swedish. It's hell with Swedish lyrics. It's like a puzzle. The right word must follow every word already added. You can hear immediately if it goes wrong. Much easier in English. Just throw in an oh baby as well. Matti in Franska Trion has pointed out that no matter how good a lyric is, it can't save a bad song. A good song, on the other hand, is still good with a bad lyric. That's how it is, but we still see that the lyrics have a place that is not unimportant, and Andrej can't sing something that's wrong in his mouth. That is not possible. So he must have a bit of a hell of a time when writing the lyrics. When it's done, on the other hand, he's damn happy.

You come from punk, most of you – how do you think it lives today?

-I think there are some good, and of course lots of uninteresting ones, that was the way it used to be too. It's a genre that spans a pretty big field, from denim jack punk to crust. We hope that punk, as well as alternative music in general, continues to find new and younger players and audiences. In an age where music is often created to please algorithms, it feels liberating to start from our innermost being. Real art must be personal – everything else is uninteresting.

Any favorite punkbands in Sweden?

-Of course I like the bands we have played with, LM308, Broken Cock Locks and Svärta. Otherwise, there are a lot of other nice things, like Slan, Vidro, Twin Pigs, Darla, and ShitKid for example. And then you are very happy that Trubbel holds the position as the country's best denim jack punk.

Other good Swedish bands?

-Pascal, Franska Triuon, Ossler, Jack, Viagra Boys, Psykedelisk förskola for example.

You have like me come up a bit in age, is it only positive when you think about concerts etc. I mean, that you have routine?

-It's the same goal as before, to hit the audience with a musical iron pipe, but you get better at it over time. Unlike actual iron pipes, there is an art to swinging musical iron pipes. Then it feels like we're twenty again when we play. That alone makes us stay in Dödsriket for a while longer.

Is it as fun and exciting to play live as when you were younger?

-Much more fun – we know more, dare more and are more true in our joint creation. There is not the same anxiety about the performance. Most things that can go wrong are manageable when anxiety doesn't cloud your eyes

What kind of audience does a group like Dödsriket draw?

 -The nice thing is that we are so damn blurry genre-wise that we pull everything possible. The majority are people with some kind of alternativeity. But, everyone who in some way lives life comes to us sooner or later.

How did you come up with the name Dödsriket? Which is a brilliant name for a band that almost sounds like it comes from there.

-The name came from a misunderstood tribute to the series Riket. But Andrei said: "It sounds better with Dödsriket" Almost from the start, we have devoted ourselves to some kind of exorcism. Down in the and home again. To create light through darkness. As Cohen rightly pointed out, "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in". We dive into our wounds, our darkness, our shortcomings, and rumble through the cracks, so the light finds its way in, or so the trapped light finds its way out.

Was it important to get the record out physically?

-There is something about the physical. To hold the record. Put it on the player. It almost feels more important today when so much is virtual. The physical format has a soul – song orders, envelopes, design. It's like comparing champagne to diluted juice.

Do you buy a lot of music physically yourself?

 -Yes, to the extent that we can afford it. We prioritize live gigs, records and merch – in that order.

Which was the first and last record you bought?

 -The first record Erik bought was Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel – a brutal classic that still burns in him. The last one he bought was actually our own record, which he bought as a Christmas present for his mother. It felt both nice and symbolic: to give her something that is a part of himself, of us, and of everything we have built together in Dödsriket.

The first record Andrej bought was The Clash's first. The latest was Anti Cimex's docu-film edition of Jawbreaker and Cortex Urania record.

Sara's first album was Whitney Houston's first. After that it was PiL's Album and Iggy's Blah Blah Blah. Haven't bought anything since a CD a long time ago.

Nillen's first was Sweets Strung Up, if you don't count a Tintin record with Tomas Bolme as Tintin. The last one was the Anti Cimex docu-film edition of Jawbreaker.

Have you got reviews on the record? How have they been? Overall positive or?

-No reviews on the album yet. It is available in a limited edition, so we have been sparing in sending it out. I would prefer that our listeners should be able to buy it rather than it lying around in cultural editorial offices, so to speak. It is also not available digitally yet. A conscious choice. We imagine that we will release it digitally sometime during the spring semester -26, and that it will then be easier to review. However, those who bought the album have given us nice ratings. The last song on the album is available as a single digitally, it has received a very nice review in 482mhz. We have not heard anything negative. Yet.

Do you as a musician care about reviews or is it something you don't give a damn about, if you get bad reviews?

-It is very nice that someone spends time listening properly and then formulating their experience and thoughts in words and maybe getting others interested as well. Nowadays, it's easier to live with if someone writes that it doesn't sound good. Over the years, the inner compass becomes more stable. It does not look for which direction applies. It knows when something is good, and when something is bad. We are very good at throwing away things that are not good. We have a gigantic compost pile of crap we made and threw away. From that perspective, we know best ourselves, so to speak.

What is it like to live in Sweden?

-“We grew up with the welfare state and solidarity. Erik's father used to say that he was happy to pay extra taxes if it made life better for those who were having a tough time. Dödsriket agrees. It's still a country that is better to live in than many other countries, but damn it's breaking, both at the edges and in the middle. The whole political project of loading over more and more assets to those who already have, and to pull in more and more to those who are worst off is disgusting to see. That it is happening so shamelessly, and that even the Social Democrats have begun to dribble around more and more on that half of the field. Perhaps we have to slide down to some kind of bottom before the backlash takes on clear contours.

What can be improved?

-Everything can always be better – but it starts with looking inward and creating something that is true for yourself. Dödsriketcan be better. The discourses could be better. Solidarity can definitely be improved.

Do you do a lot of live now that the record has come out?

-We would like to play more, but creativity is our main driving force. To play more, we would have to become more professional and hire a booker. But we will of course play on the other side of New Year.

You have some family members in the choir in the 2 juni – were they difficult to persuade?

-Erik did not succeed in persuading his children – despite bribes. But that's exactly what we all want to teach our children: to dare to fail. A constant work. The other children were happy to jump in. Then we have to point out that Sara's daughter is a grown woman. It was close to Nillen's granddaughter Marta being there, but she changed her mind on the spot, and you get that. It should be fun to sing. It was damn nice to record your children singing your song.

Have your children developed the same taste in music as you?

-Erik's son likes Viagra Boys. Andrej's eldest daughter was the original bass player in the crustt band Sepsis and loves crust but also other good music. His youngest also likes punk. Preferably with girls on vocals, like Babes in Toyland and Mannequin Pussy.

Sara's daughter likes everything, from Vivaldi to Siouxsie & the Banshees over to Lady Gaga and more.

Nillen's four children have gone in slightly different directions musically but all think that Dödsriket is the best Nillen has been in.

 Futureplans with the band?

-Play more live, record new, collaborate with Henryk Lipp. Have fun together, listen to each other and create.

Future plans for yourselves?

-Erik: To dare more and not be so self-critical.

Andrej: Get even better at not "playing the guitar".

Words of wisdom?

-Erik: Life is too short not to try new things. Not trying is a mortal sin.

Andrej: Don't let your inner self be eaten up by the inner workings of others, and don't let your visions be soaked down to the regulatory gaze of others.

Something to add?

-It's an honor to be interviewed. More professional music journalism makes the country meaningful to live in. Art and culture breed empathy – and without empathy, we will only be empty shells.