I have interviewed The Dead and Living before but they wanted get the chance again and of course they got it. October 2019

I interviewed you in 2013 and now you've even almost die ... tell me about it? Tell us a bit about the You Tube video etc?

Coroner: Well! Thank you for the latest and thanks for the opportunity to be here again.

You think of the Youtube clip on our remains after the 2014 bus fire? Fortunately, that clip does not exist. Everyone got out in time. But in other circumstances or a few seconds later we might not have had the opportunity to do this interview. The glances from the firefighters and crisis psychologists that the Red Cross sent in direct response to the accident testified that we had managed by quite small margins. The tour bus caught fire in a tunnel and a similar accident had occurred close in where the people involved did not have the same luck as us. We are now 15 people who have their own Final Destination community. We write to each other on October 25 every year and remember the day when everything you take for granted could be moved away in a second. Fortunately, we managed and can release our third album on the same date this year.

Why did you keep playing anyway?

-Coroner: We actually chose to finish the tour. In addition to two canceled gigs in Italy as a result of the accident, we played in dozens of cities right after. However, the cities and events are intertwined. I had hardly been able to reproduce which tour stops it were before or after the accident. We continued anyway. With smoke-damaged clothing, equipment and even snuff. It was only in London that we received a new snuff delivery, which did not taste fire smoke. I remember being fined at a hotel because they thought I had smoked inside the room. But it was in fact my hair that still secreted burnt plastic to the extent that other guests complained and reported to the front desk.

Last time I compared you to Rammstein, Thåström and even Depeche Mode but now I think you can add Sisters of Mercy… .is it tiring with all comparisons or are you proud that someone compares you to these bands?

-Coroner: It's all right. If you go back even more then you can add Laibach, Nick Cave and Joy Division. Everything has an origin. It's a bit like I think in research. Nothing can come from nowhere. Everything needs to be derived from a source.

What do you want to be compared to if you have to be it?

-Coroner: I think you have to compare us to what you want in principle. Hopefully you will find some kind of authenticity in The Dead And Living, that it's not just for that.

What about live shows nowadays, will there be any and do you play a lot abroad?

-Coroner: In connection with the album release we do release gig in Tønsberg in Norway 25/10 and Karlstad in Sweden 26/10. After that it will be a gig in Oslo and then explore the terrain in Europe. With a view to some international gig and summer festivals 2020.

Last time you thought there were too few Amish people at the concerts ... have it been better?

-Coroner: Haha. Unfortunately, there has been no stop in Pennsylvania yet. But we're working on it. As people become more environmentally conscious, however, one can hope that there will be some kind of amish epidemic, which will hopefully resonate with our music.

Do you have any new Swedish favorite bands that are worth mentioning… always fun to hear some new names?

-Coroner: I'm glad you ask. I would like to highlight the Brother Danielska that is happening in Gothenburg's underground scene right now. With bands like Beverly Kills, Agent Blå, Linn Koch-Emmery. True Moon is also a bunch that suits me completely.

Then we have a whole pile of good bands in Värmland where we come from. Robert, who sings in Incarnit, is a guest on our new album, which is released by Johan Carlsson on Sparzanza's company. Värmland also has Eyes Wide Open, Unfound Reliance, Damien, Lycanthropy, The Generals, Knogjärn, SkallBank etc etc etc. I also think some in Mister Misery are from here. They have a pretty direct approach and I think you should keep an eye on them. As well as Darkest July, which is admittedly quite underground, but which personally pleases me a lot. Unfortunately, of course, I cannot name everyone. But it has been talked about that it has been boiling in Värmland for a while and I think it is now that it really happens.

Have the lyrics changed their direction somewhat now or is it still Poe, Crowley etc that are insipiring?

-Coroner: For my part, there is probably some song historically, which has a little Crowley in it. Otherwise, it was probably our former guitarist and songwriter Manny who picked up a lot of Crowley and Poe.

I have had some kind of relationship with red wine where together we spin ourselves into different themes and formulations. For me, copywriting is a necessary expression and I very much romanticize both our history and our contemporary with The Dead And Living, as some kind of puny punk offspring in a rather bleak world. I no longer think that we are an antithesis to the sugary sweetness in society, but more and more think that our music becomes some kind of fair image of society and the nature of darkness.

Is there anything you would never write about? Can you imagine writing something political?

-Coroner: Hmm. I do not know. If there is no point in writing something, I avoid it. I also do not like to write for obvious things. It is preferable to find a somewhat untidy theme, which either touches or starts the thoughts.

Our music is totally unpolitical. In The Dead And Living sphere, the nature of things, nihilism and human destructiveness are higher than isms and political lines. We are probably for some kind of justice, but otherwise quite cynical.

Are there any political bands that you like and that do it well?

-Coroner: I used to be pretty fascinated by the punk and bands with meter-long political texts that you had to read books to understand what they were about. While loving the Ramones, who were far more straightforward and conservative. We are probably all quite open to the fact that people think different, major societal problems are complex to solve and that everything is not black or white. I'm probably a mix between Watain's death-to-all rhetoric, Leonard Cohen's romantic darkness and Bob Geldof's Save The World. I also believe that we humans are far more complicated and interchangeable than the political landscape allows.

I asked if you could be influenced by music, did anyone come up to you and say that they were in any way influenced by your music at some time?

-Coroner: Our Norwegian fan club president has tattooed his back with our motives. He believes that he is bringing The Dead And Living down to the grave.

Our Finnish counterpart once wrote that we represent everything she is: Strange, neurotic and slightly alcoholic ... and that if she had a heart we would have stolen it forever.

This is how you deal with it.

Are you satisfied with the new album. The Author's Curse ... how did you come up with the name?

-Coroner: As with many texts and titles, something just came to me. “The end is the author's words. The ending is the author's course. " I have to blame the red wine again.

At the same time, it has felt a bit like a curse to work on this record, which took 4-5 years to complete and release. However, I hope that the time that has passed and the work we put into it will pay off. It's not a half release just because, but something we put in some time and soul into.

Tell me a little about how it grew, how you work in the studio, etc. Are all the songs ready when you come to the studio?

-Coroner: This particular record took a long time to complete. As with the previous release, the singles we released in connection with the European tour together with Deathstars, so writing began in Stockholm. We had some sketches and ideas for songs that I worked on with Mikael Cederberg, a friend of ours. We sat in his studio in Årsta in 2015 with, aNetherbird as neighbors. For me, the industrial area in which the studio is located is a creative environment that is perfect for The Dead And Living.

I then sat in my apartment at the top of the hill at Stadshagen and worked with the songs. You see the whole of Stockholm from there. At night it was fantastic. I looked out over Kungsholmen, City and Södermalm and initially thought that "City of the Light" would be about Stockholm. With that, a tribute was finally made to the hometown of Karlstad.

Similarly, production was continued to Karlstad. By that point, most of it was finished, while the details were polished during the actual recording. We recorded the drums at Leon Music Studios. Guitar, bass and vocals at E&S Music. Mikael and I drank peppermint vodka and continued working with the song in the middle of high summer 2016.

Gustav Ydenius, who otherwise sat in Leon Music Studios, mixed and mastered the record remotely. We met every now and then and did the last. It was my first time working with a mix of a record in a café environment. You hardly think it's possible. Gustav also put a lot of his own mark on the record. I remember texting at some point and asking where he found the sampled whale song on "The Rope". Gustav replied that it was not whales who sang, it was he who got the feeling and sang stuff on the song. I think we met in a rule-free creative process that shaped the project even in  the mix mode. 10,000 hours and 200 tracks later, the record was completed and on October 25, we release it and hands it over to the public.

This time it's just vinyl or, why? Is it important to get out the record physically?

-Coroner: We wanted to make a vinyl this time. In addition to the streaming services. The physical product is absolutely important and with the vinyl format you can really maximize the physical experience of the record.

Right now, some people think it's a shame that the record is not on CD. But for us, the focus has been vinyl and streaming this time. If you want a CD, you can burn from iTunes. We are not very concerned with how the industry has changed in recent decades. No more focused on making good music and playing live to the extent we can. If there is a great demand for eg CD, we will of course release a CD. However, at times it can be a bit difficult to satisfy all format requests. If it is not large quantities. We have, like others,  holes to fill.

The latest record you bought yourself? Do you exchange a lot with other bands etc?

-Coroner: I actually buy quite a lot of music still. Most on vinyl nowadays. It was a long time since I bought something on CD. Then I buy some digital, partly to be able to DJ without Spotify and partly to support.

The latest purchase was Your Man by Leonard Cohen on vinyl and a 7  with Ebba Grön and RymdImperiet. I replenish a little with such things as I imagine that I want it to the pension.

The last bit more luxurious purchase was a white label promo by Sisters of Mercys Floodland and that I buy myself up on the limited editions of Thåström's latest records.

Right. I ordered Deaf Rat's new LP Ban The Light as well. They are awesome! Frankie, their singer has promised to buy our latest. So I'm outing him here to make sure of the change.

How do you feel Sweden has become after the last election? Or do you not care about politics at all?

-Coroner: I don't know. We care enough. But we offer no solution to the world's problems. We are more documentary. Depicts the world and the universe we live in and looks more at the laws of nature and the great darkness.

Regardless of who wins the next election, all of Sweden will be swallowed up by a black hole, which will then be swallowed up by other black holes, until black holes in themselves become weathered. Until nothing will happen and that it will continue to not happen forever. At least that's what the researchers think ... and I suddenly feel the urge to drink red wine and write music. While you can.

If you got the chance to become prime minister for a month, what was the first thing you would change?

-Coroner: I would probably change this question and have to deal with something completely different question.

What are the plans for the band in the near future?

-Coroner: We released the first single "City of the Light" on Friday, September 13th. The next single will be on October 18th. And then the album October 25th. In addition, we have plans for new material and also the release of previous material, which we are very tagged on.

Which is the band that got you started playing music once in back in time, when you thought this is what I want to do as well?

-Coroner: I  came in through the grunge. Nirvana and Soundgarden were the house gods in middle school. So I have certainly picked some of the departure from there. Mixed with the DIY culture of punk. Nowadays, you may well feel that Rammstein is a pretty good model for how to do just about everything. Both artistic and scenic.

Tell us a little about today's members… past bands, jobs, interests etc?

-Coroner: Me, Gravedigger and Janitor started the project around 2007 and our drummer Vincent joined in 2009. We had grown tired of the punk scene we were in and thought we had stagnated a bit. The Dead And Living became a creative platform for testing new ideas outside the framework. Janitor is on vacation from the band, but we hope he comes back. The latest addition is our new guitar virtuoso Salem.

Salem lives and breathes music 24/7. He runs sound and light for various productions. Plugs music and follows us, Children of the Sün and Nephila.

Vincent is basically an environmental scientist and works with environmental protection in the real estate industry.

Gravedigger is one that sits with headphones and sunglasses indoors and code for websites for various authorities. A bit like in The Matrix I imagine.

I myself work with music industry development in Värmland at Studiefrämjandet.

Now you are 6 years older than the last interview… .has much changed in life these years?

-Coroner: The day after you turn 30,  everything in the body becomes worser. So that kind of ... weathering is definitely up and running. Suddenly, people are also managers of different things and children are starting to come into the picture. So, not everything is as it used to be. At the same time, we have greater opportunities to make fatter stuff nowadays. The fact that we have been building this band for more than 10 years actually makes everything just easier.

What do you want to say to your fans?

-Coroner: The Author's Curse is released October 25. We are an interactive band. Write to us. We write back. Talk to clubs in your city. We hope to meet as many of you as possible in connection with this album. A big thank you to our fan clubs in Norway, Finland, England, France, Belgium, Hungary and more.

What do you want to say to those who haven't heard and should become your new fans?

-Coroner: Come on! It will be fun afterwards.

Words of wisdom like this in the end?

-Coroner: It's pretty depressing times we live in. Nothing survives, not even the universe. So take the opportunity to do fun things.

Something to add?

-Coroner: Last tour we had 48 beers on the rider every day. 48 beers x 40 gig = 1920 beers. So we must have drunk at least 382 beers each, in addition to what we drank in various bars in Europe. We needed a break. But now we are charged to drink with you again. Wherever you are. The future is Dead.