Trench Rot has released their debut LP and it is a really good hardcore record which really hits me in the head. I just love it. Here is an interview done on the same day as the album is released September 12, 2025

Tell us a little story about the group, how you met and why you sound the way you do?

-Peter and Dick had a band called Toxic Piss that closed down, they wanted to keep making fast songs. Dick was looking for a bass player and singer on internet forums and David and Rille answered. Rille dropped out and then we brought in G Tell us a little about each member, name, instrument, age, other bands before or on the side?

David: David Svanström, bass, 36. I've mostly played in small bands in Norrbotten that never came to anything, worked at record labels, had my own record store and cassette company and put up an average of one billion gigs in Gothenburg.

Peter- Peter, guitarist, 41 years old. I have previously played in Toxic Piss. Then we have Dick on drums, Rille who sings on the record and G who is a new member on vocals.

Trench Rot is a tough name, what does that mean. That there was an American band called that is not bothersome?

David: Trench Rot is what happens when you walk around with wet feet in a trench, the foot starts to rot. We probably didn't think so much about that another band had that name and especially not that that band was so popular. Now we're here anyway and no one has threatened to sue us so I think we'll keep going until we're banned from entering the US. Or be offered gigs in some small town in the US.

Peter - Yes, it's very tough. It means the decay of the trench. We chose it precisely because it sounds tough and has no deeper meaning. War and stuff is very untough in that sense, but it's very punk to choose a band name after something which is bad. Like the band Guantanamo Baywatch. Where Guantanamo was a disgusting prison we all know. And Baywatch was a, not as disgusting, but still horrible TV series from the 90s. No, it's really not a problem that there is already an American band. Rather, it's an acknowledgment that the name isn't completely bad. If no one else on the planet thought that Trench Rot is a good name for their band, it probably isn't.

Your cover on your record is damn nice, who has done it and is it important to have a cover that describes the music and that you understand pretty quickly about what type of music you play?

David: Henrik Berg from The Inseminoids made it, he's a fucking genius when it comes to most things. Actually, I'm quite uninterested in covers, I know that some people can have long lectures on covers in this genre but it's like tattoos, do something tough and it will be good in the end.

How does it feel now to get your debut album out, because it is, you have been released cassettes before?

David: Exactly, we've only released cassettes before, it feels so much fun to get this album out. When we recorded it I was blood in my urine and had just been told by the doctor that I might have cancer so it feels good to be on my feet when this one is released. In the end, it was just a giant kidney stone that scraped up the kidney and caused blood to appear. So everything worked out.

Peter- Really funl, I'm excited as hell. We've released a cassette of Misfits songs, only available in 13 copies so it's going to be expensive as hell on Discogs in a few years, right? We have released a live cassette from our second gig at Sekten. And an EP cassette

Was it important to get it out physically?

David: For me, it's always important that we do something physical, whether it's merch or records. Cassette or vinyl or CD is needed as well.

Peter- Well, then it's a real release. And it's very fun that Flyktsoda and DeNihil want to release it. And I like vinyl and like to buy vinyl, so that's great. I usually joke about releasing something on minidisc, then I heard a story about a band that released a cassette that was glued to a walkman where they removed the rewind button, so it was only possible to listen once in the walkman. Ingenious.

Do you buy a lot of records yourself?

David: I had a period where I worked at a record warehouse in Gothenburg when I bought pretty much all the records I could get my hands on, I have since sold off almost 500 records so I wouldn't say that I buy a lot of records myself but it's really nice to have at home.

Peter- Yes but it goes in periods, but I try to buy records continuously. The latest purchase was King Of The Road with Fu Manchu.

If we go to your record "Drone" and the song titles, it's only song titles with one word, was this the meaning or was it just a fun thing to name the songs like that?

David: We talked a little loosely about trying to create a secret word with the first letters of the record, but I think mostly Rille (our former singer) decided that it should be one word per song.

Peter- We just decided to have it that way. Looks uniform. And the song Drone will be included on the next album.

You don't have any lyrics on your record, what are your lyrics inspired by?

 David: I think that Rille who wrote the lyrics is inspired by the oppressive feeling of being a citizen in a society that constantly whips you to be productive, everything should be done preferably yesterday and above all with a smile on your face. Capitalist pigs who decide what to do, how to do it, how much security you get to feel, etc.

Tell us a little about the following songs

-Drunk -Scum -End

Drunk is about drinking beer and getting drunk,

Scum was written a quarter of an hour before we went into the studio,

End is the song we've argued the most about because we never agree on how long the intro should be.

But above all, it's three incredibly good songs that could only have been created by these people.

You come from Gothenburg, is there any other really good bands worth mentioning?

David: Bulls Shitt, Fox Womb, Spögelse, The Inseminoids, Slan, Protestera, Brain Washer, Böset, Contoture, Vicious Irene, Skrot, Tjuvkoppla, SkunkGBG, Laugh Track.

I'm a bit lazy (and old) and I'm not out often at gigs but how is it on the livefront for your type of bands in Gothenburg and the rest of Sweden?

David: It's good I think, we play 3 times in a fairly short time in 3 different places in town. Many good organizers and venues.

Peter- I think it's good. There are a lot of places for bands like us to play. As long as the outside world is miserable there will always be good punk places.

What's the best thing about playing live?

 David: Meeting people

Peter- Hard to explain. But the uplifted feeling when the songs sit well, the setlist is good, and there is a good flow between the songs without long pauses and when the sound sounds powerful and everything and everyone in place turns into a gigantic 'Anti - Ebba Busch' ritual. Fuck off Ebba.

I can imagine roughly what type of audience you draw, what is the most odd audience in terms that you have played with?

David: We've played with some bands that maybe don't really "fit in" with our music. Our first gig was with Snooper from the US who maybe doesn't quite draw the same audience, but in the end it's all just stupid punk anyway.

Peter - Our first gig we did with Snooper, a great band. But many who were there probably didn't listen to HC. Or maybe they did? What do I know, I'm also getting old.

I write in my review that you are like a mix of GBH and Discharge... How would you describe your music?

Peter- I ́m probably one of the few who plays punk, who has not listened much to those bands. But awesome, they're probably also good if they sound like us. I think we play relatively fast hardcore-punk with some rock and grind influences. Rather short songs than long ones. We try to sound like Torso, but we've failed, so that's why we sound like Trench Rot.

To live in Sweden today, how is the feeling when you think about it, I think politically etc etc?

David: Living in Sweden is a fucking shit, nothing works and hasn't worked since Palme's time, we live in some kind of late stage capitalism where you as an employee at the Gothenburg Concert Hall are placed at war. Everything is getting worse and people are forced to be suspicious of their fellow human beings when civilian ticket inspectors are to be brought in. Not even being able to have a roof over your head for a reasonable amount of money even though the radiators don't work and there are cracks in the ceiling is insane and then we have that damn Ebba Busch who is going to wave falukorv and say that Israel is doing the world a favor. We meet on the barricades when Uffe has decided that anyone who does not vote for him should go to prison.

Peter- The extreme right is becoming more common in Sweden and the rest of the world and it is troublesome to say the least, annoying that so many seem to be stupid in the head. But it's not something I notice on a daily basis because I hang out with sensible people.

If you only could keep five records, which five records would it be?

David: 1. Discharge - Why? 2. TØRSÖ - Sono Pronto A Morire 3. Magic Potion - Pink Gum 4. Nitad - Rastlös och Vild 5. Vince Guaraldi - It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Peter- Jay Reatard - Blood Visions Punch - Push / Pull Fuck On The Beach - I Have Never Seen Myself Brian Jonestown Massacre - Aufheben Torso - Sono Pronta A Morire

Do you have any nice story that has happened during a live gig with this band or with one of your old bands, something really funny that has happened?

Peter- One time a guy walked up to me after a gig and just stood and screamed, then he walked away, it was a bit funny. I think he thought we were good. It was with an old band I had.

Many bands make their own beer and release, if you did, what would that beer be called and what kind of beer would it be?

David: ImPale Ale with a faint taste of a fucking cigarette

Peter- I want to make my own apple juice, it would be delicious and a fun element on the merch table.

Is it an advantage, you think that you are "old" experienced musicians when you go out and play. What is the biggest difference to play live if you compare to when you were younger and had your first concerts?

David: For me, it's probably that you don't care as much about what happens, if I play wrong it's not over and if someone thinks I'm nerdy they can think so. I was probably more anxious as a child, today I have more anxiety about other things.

You have never thought about doing your lyrics in Swedish? Or is it so much easier in English?

-The future with G on vocals will probably have to take care of that.

Do you think music can change someone's life, I mean lyrics etc? Do you have any song that has made you change your mindset?

Peter- I rather believe that music reinforces feelings and thoughts that are already in us, and confirms what you think and creates a sense of belonging.

Playing music, is it a good way to get out frustration and become an even better person?

David: I don't know a better person but it's fun with music.

Peter- I don't know better, I'll probably get less worse anyway. And then a band can create some frustration too... haha.

Future plans with music? Hope there are plans for even more albums to be released...

David: We're going to record a new one in November/December for an upcoming split LP with Gothenburg's best band, then we're going to play a lot in Gothenburg this fall. Some plans for small turns with some really awesome bands both in Sweden and outside the parish. We also have a steady invitation to come and play in the US so that would be fun.

Future plans with your life otherwise?

David: Work, have a mental break, lie in the fetal position in the shower because I forgot to inform the site managers that they are going to build defiance, rinse, repeat.

Peter- Living slowly and dying old

Words of wisdom?

David: If you sweep everything under the carpet, the ceiling will be very low in time

Peter- Don't be a fascist

Something to add?

David: Support small companies, go to gigs, buy merch, be kind, throw cakes at the government offices. Peter- Nepp. Thank you for this nice interview.