Marc from Hedniskt Avfall wrote to me last week
and asked if I wanted a copy of their new record.
Yes thank you I said of course and now after
less than a week we are here…. Interview with
the group. The guys in the group are more than
half as old as myself but punk/hardcore no
longer have those boundaries. March-2021
A little story about the group?
-The band was formed mostly by pure chance, we
lived a bunch in Arnold's parents' basement at
the time, I (Marc) sat and listened while Arnold
and Raoul jammed in the music room we have done
and just felt that their interaction I wanted to
take advantage of so just said "We're going to
start a band" then it was clear type? We brought
in Max on bass pretty immediately after because
we all had a common interest in music and liked
the same type of music more or less and started
rehearsing just in an attempt to find our sound.
Tell us a little about each member, age, job,
family, band before and band on the side?
-We are four in the band:
Max is 27 years old working with tires but is
now studying to be an electrical designer. Lives
with a partner and a dog in a far too small
apartment. Has played in two bands before
Hedniskt Avfall became a thing, but in total
other genres. Otherwise, I write some of my own
music on the page that has not yet reached the
sunlight.
Raoul, 26, will soon turn 27, is currently
unemployed but has worked in a tire workshop for
a few years. Plays with our drummer in another
band called Sepulchral Frost and I also play
with the band Vägran.
Arnold, drummer. 28 years. Works as a student
assistant at a small training school in
Stockholm. Lives with his wife. Bands before he
and Raoul and Max had a project with a mate
called Gravel Grave, was kind of a rock n roll /
punk band. A bit like Dead Kennedys mixed with
the Hives type. Plays and drums in the
Doom/deathmetal band Sepulchral Frost together
with Raoul and other friends on stage.
My name is Marc then, I am 27 years old and I am
currently studying to be a social educator at a
polytechnic. Family consists of parents, an
older sister, my girlfriend and some cats and
dogs. Bands before were a couple, but mostly
small dirty teenage bands that you thought were
really cool but today mostly look a little
nostalgic nowadays. Bands next to it are loose
projects such as No Krångel and other "future
projects".
I can hear very old crust and then both Swedish
and English, I hear right? Was it better before?
-Absolutely, not so much the English song
perhaps, but a few words here and there that
will be a nice starting point. But absolutely
think you hear right, crust is an extremely big
influence on me as lyricwriter and then I
force-feed the other three a little too maybe
I personally can think that absolutely it is
done a little too little both of crust and käng
today, but it goes well in waves a little? So
was it better before? Well, there were a lot of
damn good bands but today there is also a good
bunch
Hedniskt Avfall, are you happy with the name? If
the best band name had not been taken, which
name would you have chosen then? I mean, what's
the best band name besides yours?
-We are damn happy with the name, it was created
in some drunkenness at a Dissekerad gig I think
and everything just sat right we felt.
Really good question, we struggled with a lot of
ideas before we landed on Hedniskt. We were
pretty sure of Organiserat Kaos for a long time
and before that it was the Psykavdelning that
was the planned name. But it never felt
completely 110% so we kept it open only until we
landed right.
Otherwise only the best name must be Human Waste
or Totalt Jävla Mörker, straight meanings and no
metaphors here.
What is the best thing about playing live? Do
you miss it right now. As a drummer in a band
like this, you have to be tired?
-The best thing about playing live from my own
perspective, in any case, I think is the landing
afterwards. It's such a total outlet for all the
shit you sit on in the brain office, it combined
with stage fright from hell leads to me having
very vague memories of when you actually plays.
Everything becomes just like a single second
then you lie exhausted on stage and dripping
with sweat and just feel ready in some way.
Hahah yes you should be, he might get tired but
he does not say that. The most you can hear is
probably a "fuck you Ralf!" live after someone a
little harder work if the tag was too high and
you play faster than in the rehearsalroom.
He says himself: “You do not get so super tired
in the rehersalroom or live, but sweaty. It's
something so incredibly nice when you get to hit
and knock behind the drum set and make a noise!
To create chaos and hell mass crashes, to
alternate between soft drum beats and hard.
Create harmony in the sounds. Then of course you
get lactic acid in the legs and so on, maybe I
should really train more, but no ... then I do
not have time to drink beers, after all. ”
Where is the best to play, where is the worst?
-The worst is probably the gig at different bars
in Stockholm, depends a bit on the bar you have
to play in as well, then it can be really good
and intimate. But if it does not look quite
right, it often becomes quite sparse and stiff.
It all depends on the owner and who arranges
approximately. Then there is surely something
that will top these in the future who knows
The best is at actual venues such as Cyklopen or
Fraggelberget before it went under. It will be
such a different feeling once you plays there.
Less svensson who sits and has a beer and more
people who are there because they like punk and
are open to new things. And more fun after
parties too!
How is it like to play this kind of punk in
Sweden today? Hard to get gigs when everything
once again been running? Have you dared to book
anything?
-It is not very difficult I think in any case,
you can easily get gigs if you want and then it
helps to be active in the scene and have many
friends throughout Sweden who can lead you right
if you are looking for gigs.
But it feels like it has been a bit low with new
bands lately that run a bit more crust, so I
think it also helps a lot because people are
hungry.
We have actually just got the green light to
play at Hygget this summer, thinking that then
maybe everything has calmed down and the
vaccinations have come longer.
What does punk mean to you, is it just a word or
is it a lifestyle?
-Punk is everything, cliché enough maybe. It's
so much more than just a genre or a word, it's a
way of looking at the world, a way of being and
a way of expressing oneself. It has been such an
important part of life for so long that now you
are stucked.
So even if you wanted to, I can not stop now.
Love to go to gigs, arrange gigs, go to
festivals, play live and meet all the friends
you have made over the years.
How do you see on downloads, mp3s and the like?
Your first records are only digital or? Does it
feel like you released an album then?
-Is it just looks like something good, it makes
it easier for the music to get around the world.
Of course the competition does that too, but I
know that I would never have managed to get the
influences I got as I have today without
internet in the shitresort I live in.
Yes exactly, the first demo we made came on a
few cassettes that we produced ourselves but
they disappeared somewhere in the piles.
And the last EP only came digitally yes, but for
us it feels like an album release, we have gone
through the whole process of standing in the
rehearsal room to the studio, to listen to all
versions until the production is finished and
then gather and upload it online. Then we might
want to see physical copies of all the records,
but it is not entirely easy when you are a
fairly unknown band also in msuicworld. Since
then, Covid has not helped anything directly
either.
How do you think it is to live in Sweden today,
politically? KD / M / SD, the covid situation?
-Piss is probably a good word? I'm fine with
Sweden as a society, I guess, but with a totally
eroded welfare, right-wing parties that are
growing and the growing number of dumb people
that should express themselves as if they have
some kind of fucking control over the situation
towards actual researchers in the subject, you
get pretty fucking tired.
The whole right-wing block KD, M and SD above
all can go to hell.
Arnold: “Sad to see young people prefer the
right's ideals for a better life. Politically,
most people seem to be at a shallow level of
understanding of different ideologies.
It would have been nice not to be called a
leftist by a rightwing when discussing politics.
And then why is Jesus in the Riksdag for? Feels
unnecessary. ”
Covid has taken a hard line on everyone.
Especially on the gig front. But living
restrictively has its pros and cons. For some,
you just have to and it is not so damn difficult
to help to reduce the infection, but Svenne
seems to have a hard time understanding that the
sun does not revolve around oneself. Longing
until the foil hats take their vaccine so we can
get rid of the infection at least.
Are there any bands in Sweden today? Are you
hometown?
-In Norrort where we operate, it is pretty
fucking dead. But in Stockholm there are lots,
new bands, we have Rawheads who released a demo
not too long ago which is really cool. Then we
have Vägran too, they recently ran a livestream
gig from Cafe 44 which was really nice!
Then all over Sweden there are lots, but give a
shoutout to some mates; Weltschmerz for a messy
summer weekend in Halmstad
Do you play anything outside Sweden?
-Unfortunately we have not played outside Sweden
yet, but there are definitely plans! The dream
is probably some kind of tour through Europe
down to the Balkans, just heard good things from
friends who played down there in Southern
Europe.
Other good bands from abroad?
-Mar De Rabia from Venezuela are really damn
good, I was lucky
to gig with them in Stockholm during
their Europe tour 2019. Unarm from Japan were
also really awesome, we arranged them in
Stockholm at Cyklopen and got to see them about
a week later at K -town hardcore party and they
were just as good every single gig. Then a house
favorite in the band is Mørkt Kapittel
from Norway, cruel music and nice people.
Your lyrics,
what are you influenced by? Never in a
language other than Swedish? Why do you not have
a text sheet in the disc?
-The lyrics are of course influenced by other
bands and themes you can feel from other songs.
A lot of the 21st century neocrust has a big
impact on myself in any case, to vary the very
political with the anxious and more metaphorical
story texts, such is nice I think.
But mostly they are influenced by life, I guess,
I write lyrics about things I need to get out of
me that I just feel I have to shout at someone
in the face about how tired I am of idiots,
being depressed or pawned racists.
At the moment no, but in the future you might do
a cover that is in English but we keep it to
Swedish at the moment. I think it's a little
more fun to write texts in Swedish anyway.
Good question actually, it was a bit mixed
because Dark Charge thought we were should play
untranslated into Swedish because it is a home
language and that everyone gets a digital code
to download the album on bandcamp as well and
there are all the lyrics. The release in
question is mostly centered in the US and they
may not have the use of a note in Swedish haha
If you look at the song titles, are there no
optimistic things you sing about? Is there
anything you will never write about?
-Haha no, is there anything optimistic to sing
about today? No, but a lot is just things I
write about myself as I said. Shit you are tired
of , how the world can the hell look like it
does or how people can treat others as
disgusting as you do. Things I need to ventilate
and that's probably a bit part of the journey,
it's a dark and damned band and I'm not
screaming for joy exactly.
Good question, I think we would never write
anything about Jesus, sobriety or sci-fi.
So no fucking evangelist straight-edge space
pirates here not!
Politics and music, do they always belong
together? Which is your most political song?
-It probably depends a bit on genre and what the
song is about, not all songs need to have a
political agenda behind them. But just when it
comes to punk, it goes hand in hand in my
opinion, punk is, will and will always be
political. It's more than just a music scene,
it's a movement to always stand up against the
shit heads in power that oppress.
Our most political is probably either the
Översittarklassen which is about how everyone in
the upper class is constantly pushed down with
the help of law enforcement or Dårhuset which is
just about our parliament and what a fucking
sandbox level it is in there and all the shit
and scandals they get away with constantly.
Best political band / artist?
-Protestera will always be a favorite for myself
and Operation. Very few bands that reach the
slapstick level of the political songs they
created. It is not wrapped in any refined or
metaphorical terms. It's straightforward and
it's damn angry.
Do you think music can change someone's life,
then I mean lyrics etc?
-Absolutely, I recognize that feeling anyway.
Some bands only write lyrics that you needed to
hear that succeed in putting into words exactly
what you feel or felt then and give you an
outlet to sing, shout or just dance along, I
think it's a great part to start a process to
process things within yourself.
Then also I do not know where I would have been
today without punk. I had not had so many good
friends, not the girlfriend I have today and no
band either.
As well as probably a million experiences poorer
on it too, so I really believe that music can
change someone's life.
Your cover is really cool on your CD, who did
it. Is it important to have a cover that you
understand the type of music the groups play?
What is your all-time favorite cover?…
-It was David at Open Arms Tattoo here in
Stockholm who did the cover, we were really
happy actually and fun to get it done as we did
that we just said "here is the title, listen to
the songs and do what you feel for" and where a
pretty good expression without the whole album
in pictorial form I can feel, especially with
all the little details.
Absolutely I think so, the cover will be like a
visual representation of music and the band
itself, it can help set the tone and make it
easier to mentalize how the record will sound.
When you stand there at a gig and see a record
in someone's distro back and you've never heard
them before, you have nothing more than the name
and the cover to go on, so I absolutely think
it's important.
Best cover of all time, difficult question! When
I go through my own records, it is always
"Acursed - The Tunnel at the End of Light" that
stands out. Simple as hell and sets the tone for
the album. That or Adrestia's "Art of Modern
Warfare", really nicely painted cover.
Is it important to get out physical records?
Vinyl or CD or both?
Is there a good record store near you? How come
you released the record on Darkcharge Records?
-I think it is absolutely special in the punk
scene where many are collectors of physical
versions of music, myself included. I think it's
easier for people to try some new music when
they buy a cheap CD at a gig than when you
scroll through all the millions of options on
bandcamp, youtube or online in general. Vinyl
has been the most popular format for a long time
now, but cassettes and CDs are something
everyone does, but it is starting to become much
rarer as most people focus only on getting it
out on vinyl.
In Norrort we don´t have a shit, most music
related is run over for more homes
approximately. But there is always into Greater
Stockholm e.g. Thrash Palace or Sound Pollution
which are really good shops to find just more
metal and punk related.
Please tell me something really funny that
happened during your career on stage or behind
the scenes etc?
-On stage, it must have been on Fraggelberget
when you heard someone in the audience roar
between two songs "Fucking Stockholm'sfuck, the
songs never end!" You laugh to that even when
you think back. Because we know it ourselves, we
do quite unusually long songs for today's stage
style.
Behind the scenes, I believe in the same gig
actually stuck at the afterparty, they only had
beer left but booze in the cellar but someone
had forgotten the keys. Then began the whole
procedure of "how do we get in?" and it was one
better idea after another that appeared, of
which the organizer is trying to break open the
door lock with a hammer and chisel for "Of
course you should have booze!" Somewhere in the
conversation about sawing up the floor in the
kitchen so you could jump down into the
basement, I checked out and went to bed, I
think.
how does the audience look like? Which type of
people comes to your converts? Do you miss any
types of people?
-Most of the time it's punk and metalheads that
we see in the audience when you play, of course
a lot of close friends as well who are off stage
and there to support as well, friends and
family. But at the front, the dedicated ones
usually stand if you do not get an early palying
time on the playlist so everyone has just
arrived and does not have any beer inside the
body yet.
Please rank five favorite records, five favorite
concerts?
-Heavy question, there is so incredibly good
music and you have been to such a hell of a good
gig over the years. Everything also varies with
how you feel that day, but you have to try.
5 records:
1.
Acursed – Tunneln
i ljusets slut
2.
Shades of Grey –
Freedom / Incarceration
3.
Ambulance – End
of our Time
4.
Nails – Unsilent
Death
5.
Mayhem -
Deathkrush
honorable mention: Totalt jävla Mörker -
S/T
5 favoritconcerts:
1. Avskum at Cyklopen 2017 - So into hell messy
gig, so packed with people and just pure magic
approximately. People flew to the right and
left, never reached that feeling again I think
Kronofogden at Kingstabel 2017 - Really nice bar
really, the contrast was so beautiful.
Especially whenKornofogden tore the stage and
the audience ran away with the owner reluctantly
crowdsurfing around
3. Totalt Jävla Mörker Funeral gig at Kraken
Stockholm 2017 - TJM's absolutely last gig, it
was something awful but beautiful at the same
time, standing and roaring from the lyrics like
sacred rhymes that took one through adolescence
one last time for almost everyone. Good fucking
pressure and a lot of people!
4. Knaegt at Antisocial Festival 2017 - What can
I say? 2017 was a damn good year, Knaegt was our
secret "closing act" at the whole festival,
which included the singer climbing around the
roof and spraying fire in the crowd and playing
such a fucking high that we did not even hear
the fire alarm. Good mess!
5. Doom at K-town Hardcore Fest 2016 - Sickly
good gig overall I do not remember the whole
evening except that I was totally mashed in the
moshpit so I hurt my knee quite badly but had
promised Arnold that I would stage dive during
Doom, so gave it a go again and did it twice
because I could.
Is it boring with interviews?
-No, I do not think so, it's fun to think about
and talk a little. Some things you have never
thought of yourself before! Or who just recently
tried to remember all the gigs you have been to
and then try to rank them in some form of order.
If you could choose five bands from history,
dead and alive to have a concert with your band,
what are the dream bands then?
-Oh, it would have been a fucking thunderous
gig. If I had to choose completely freely, it
would have been Ambulance, Shades of Gray,
Personkrets 3: 1, Acursed and Massmord. All just
dead bands that are my favorites haha, but would
have been a pure dream to both see live and play
with everyone.
Is music a good way to vent frustration and
become a kinder person? Are you angrier today
than you were as young punks?
-Absolutely, I always feel reset when I have had
to play live or rehearse and that makes you feel
when you have not been rehearsed for a while
because you get a little more easily irritated
maybe.
I would not say angrier, you are pissed off than
rightly so considering what the shitty society
and the world looks like, but I would classify
myself more as bitter today than angry for the
most part.
What is the strangest question you have been
asked in an interview?
-I haven't actually done that many interviews in
my life so I can't think of anyone actually,
most questions are a bit in the same style, who
are you, what do you do, what do you like, etc.
Which is the question you never get, ask it and
answer it?
-I actually have no good answer to this either,
as I said have not done so much interviews to
begin with
Future plans for the band?
-Right now we are working on a one more 4 song
EP that will be finished sometime this year and
immediately when it is released, we will start
on a full-length that has been on afterburn for
a long time now. Then the future plans are only
centered around getting out and play when you
can do it, do some tour-like thing through
Sweden, taking a trip over to Norway and play
there then of course get out in Europe.
If you could dream, USA and Japan are something
you really would have liked to have the
opportunity to play in.
For yourself?
-Soon finished with the studies, there is
probably a lot on the agenda, then start working
and try to help others, I guess.
Keep writing lyrics for Hedniskt, live like
hell, arrange gigs and just drive straight into
the tile with your teeths first.
Words of wisdom?
-It always feels darkest before sunrise.
"Even if you win the rat race - You are still
just a rat"
“Die for metal! Live for violence! Fuck off in
hell! ”
Anything to add?
-We are on Facebook and Bandcamp, keep an eye
out there if you are curious about what we have
in store for us in the future! We hope that
Corona disappear soon so you can gig again and
that people appreciate Frihetens Grav during the
pandemic
Otherwise, thank you for having us in your zine