Sabaton interview

Bedlam talks to Daniel Mullbank of Sabaton!

Just off the back of their Break Through Artist Award at this years Metal Hammer Golden Gods I got to speak to Sabaton’s drummer Daniel Mullback about the award, the future, Playing with Iron Maiden and other things…

How were you guys formed? Who would you say was instrumental in the beginning?

Me (Daniel Mullback), Pär and Rikard met in school and formed a death metal band called AEON.
We didnt play that much and after a couple of months I quit the band because it was not my kind of music. Pär and Rikard countinued to play and met Joakim who played the keyboard and had a couple of songs allready written. A year after I quit the band Pär called me and asked if I wanted to rehears with them because their drummer was away working all the time. I said yes and after a short meeting we decieded to work togheter full time. We been the same guys since 1999 except for Daniel Myhr who joined us 2005 after we released Primo Victoria. In the beginning I would say that Joakim was the most instrumetal of us.

This year at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods you won the Breakthrough Artist award, how did you feel about receiving such an award 12 years on?

We always heard from other bands that we should not go to UK on tour because its a poor country without money and good venues. But after our first show in UK 2006 we knew that this country is for real. We done a lot of shows in UK over the years and its always a blast of us everytime. Last tour we did in UK was totally amazing and each and every show was sold out. So after receiving the Breakthrough Artist award we are even more sure that UK is a true metal country. We want to show UK our gratitude once more with a special show at Koko in London on the 16:th December.

You are supporting Iron Maiden at their show in your home country of Sweden, I understand this will be to a capacity crowd of around 60,000 is this possibly your largest show and are you nervous/excited about playing it?

Iron Maiden is one of the biggest bands in Heavy Metal and everyone in the band have listned to them ever since we were kids. Playing with them this summer is the biggest show we have done so far in our history and we are very proud and excited about this show. Not only because its in Sweden but its in the biggest concert arena we have in Sweden.

Speaking of Maiden how does it feel to be supporting them at this show?

We have been supporting a lot of bigger bands throu the years and its been a great time everytime. Supporting Iron Maiden will be a dream come true for us.

You said recently in a recent Swedish TV interview that there’s a new album in the works, does this album stick to the theme of historical battles? And when can we expect to be available?

Thats right! We are planning a new album next year but its still a secret what its all about. The war theme is still there but this time it will be a special theme. Release date will soon be out and we are very proud and excited about this. To be continued….

Where did the past battles theme originally come from, was it pre-meditated or an accident?

We had a couple of songs before the Primo Victoria and the songs were very powerful and we wanted to give them powerful lyrics. We came up with the D-day and the song Primo Victoria was born. Everyone of us i the band are interested in history and after Primo Victoria was made we wanted to continue the historiy theme on the other lyrics came up very naturally.

Metalizer was recorded in 2002 is that right? and why was there a five year delay to its release in 2007?

Metalizer war recorded in Abyss studions in 2001 and we wanted to release it as soon as possible so we could go on tour. Our recordlabel at that time had a lot of problems and after been waiting without result we decieded to record an other album (Primo Victoria). We recorded it ourself and send it out to a lot of recordlabels around the world. Black Lodge wanted us and we wanted them so we made a deal with them for a couple of albums and they made sure that Metalizer came in there hands. So after 6 years of waiting we finally released it in 2007.

You recorded Primo Victoria without the aid of record company support was this difficult and how did you fund it?

We wanted Metalizer to come out but nothing really happend so we continued to write new songs and rehearsed a lot so after a year or two we had enough songs to record a full album. We paid the recording ourselfs and today we are very proud of that album as one of the absolutely best albums we done so far.

Do you enjoy playing large outdoor shows or smaller indoor ones?

We are happy to enjoy the best of two worlds because smaller indoor venues can be fantastic with the audience close and the atmosphere can be astounding. In bigger venues and arenas we can do a full Sabaton show with pyrotechnics and full stageset so its amazing but in a different way. I love both small shows and really big shows.

Where is the favourite place you have performed? Any particular gig that you enjoyed?

Its really hard to say because every show is a real blast. But if I have to choose one it will be the show we did here in Falun 2011 with special guests from Dragonforce,U.D.O. Van Canto and more. We had full stageset,pyrotechics and every one we knew from our hometown was there supporting us. It was a blast!

If you could play anywhere in world where would you choose?

We havent been in China,Japan,New Zealand,Australia,South America etc etc. so we have a lot of touring left before we have come around the world. But we will tour as many countrys as possible before we are satisfied. So if I have to choose I would say: The whole world!

How many pairs of trousers does Joakim go through in a tour?

Haha Joakim is a great performer and he always gives 100 % on stage. I dont really count every time his trousers brakes but I think around 4-5 every Tour.

Does the band have a demanding rider? What’s the most unusual request you make?

We dont have a really demanding rider. We usually want some water,food,beer,vodka,crisps,snacks,fruits etc etc. We dont need that many things to do a good show.

Finally a light hearted question, if you were all Pornstars what would your names be?

I can just come up with these: Dick Organ, Metal Machine, Machine, Johnny Deep!

Sabaton perform at the Ullevi Stadium in Sweden as main support to Iron Maiden on the 1st of July and also a special thank you show at Londons KOKO on the 16th of December check their website for more details and more dates:
Sabaton.net

Picture/logo courtesy of Sabaton.net