LORD BELIAL INTERVIEW!!!!

Sweden's Black Metal behemoth Lord Belial are back with their new album and welcome the return of Niclas Andersson. Jules spoke with the returning Niclas to catch up with the old Angelgrinders.

The end of April saw your new record "Revelation". How do you describe the album?
Well it is a little bit slower than maybe people would be used to. All the songs were made by Thomas, it is his last part of his three album trilogy. It is the end of his vision. Well not the very end, just of this story.
How did Thomas approach writing the album and does it differ from writing as a band?
It differed from the last two albums were made in pro tools which has made things a lot more simple for us in the studio. Otherwise we are in the rehearsal room making every song riff by riff, but with pro tools it is very easy for one person to create a riff and then tell everyone what to do from there. We are working on the next album actually, and this will be more of a band effort verses "Revelation" which was solely created by Thomas.
So why start writing the new album when "Revelation" has only just been released?
This album has been recorded for quite some time, so we have had a lot of time to rehearse this record and to make new material for the next one. We are always writing new material then reworking it. The new album will be awesome to go on tour with and it marks a very good point for the band at this moment in time.
So what are your plans to tour in support of "Revelation"?
Being on tour is far away, the autumn is when we will be out on the road. We will go on a European tour in October and then a US tour in November. We will do some festivals and a couple of local gigs this spring and summer.
Given the success of "Nocturnal Beast" did you and the rest of the band feel their was any pressure upon you when you came to write the new material?
No, none whatsoever. It was just a slow process and came together naturally. In fact now I'm back in the band the music is moving much faster and more aggressive. It is becoming much faster than the past three albums. This marks a new start for the band.
What were the reasons behind Hjalmar Nielsen's decision to leave the band?
He had some personal issues. He wanted to spend more time at home and had less time for the band and the music. I guess he wanted a more 'normal' life.
"Revelation" marks your (Niclas Pepa Andersson) return to Lord Belial. What did you get up to whilst you were out of the band?
I guess I have been part of the band all along. I have had lots and lots of other projects and various hobbies, so I've made the most of my time. I drive race cars and this takes a lot of my time and of course I have to work. I build cars, I make the floors for the Volvo XT90. We have about 120 robots at my place and I am personally responsible for them functioning all the time.
"Revelation" was recorded at Los Angered Studios and was again produced Andy LaRocque. The studio appears to be like a second home for the band, so what makes the studio and Andy so important to the recording process of the band?
Basically it is because Andy knows how we work and he can work when we work. I mean doesn't have 9 to 5 working hours but if we want to work late nights or want to stay there all night, or weekends, he fits with our individual jobs. He is also a personal friend of ours, so it just works so well. The studio is great for us, but as we have moved we will have to use a new studio for the next album. It should be good as we want to try a slightly different sound for the next album, a bit faster and bigger (sounding).
How do you feel "Revelation" fits into the back catalogue of the band, as stylistically Lord Belial's sound has changed greatly over the years?
It is a natural progression from the previous two albums. We decided to move our sound backwards a little, as we had the old line-up we thought we'd like to sound much like "Enter The Moonlight Gate" and so the next one will be more massive sounding, epic like. A wall of sound and not so much like King Diamond or Merciful Fate. We want less of clean sound and just go for massive sound.
You mentioned King Diamond and Merciful Fate, how big an influence were these two bands on you and the sound of the band? What other influences do you all bring to the band?
We have been accused of being to old school with this album, you know with the clean vocals and all. This is the Merciful Fate side of us coming out of us. In the future all our influences will come out. This album was written by Thomas, and so it feels a bit like Thomas's band at the moment, but he has said that himself. We all agree the next album will be based on all of our ideas.
Micke P from Bestial Mockery and Tony Jelencovich makes a guest appearance on "Death As Solution". How did this collaboration come about?
Micke is an old friend of ours and he does a Judas Priest cover band here, so he sings likes Rob Halford, so why not? The other guy, Tony Jelencovich plays in a Danzig cover band so we thought it would be fun to have him on the record.
Since signing with Regain Records the band has had some of it's most creative years. What difference have Regain made to Lord Belial?
Most people think Per makes a good job of running the label. I have only meet him once and opinions vary from band to band. I am in another band called Dimension Zero who where until recently were signed to Regain and they are very angry that Per doesn't promote them as much. He has made a great job with Lord Belial however.
"Revelation" has a very striking art work. How did you come up with the concept and why choose Kris Verwimp?
We had a lot of input into the design. We gave him some ideas and then gave him a free hand, and I actually love the out come.
Do you feel Black Metal is an accurate term for Lord Belial's music?
I think we are a Black Metal band, but maybe this album is a bit more old school metal mixed in. I think if you say Black Metal most would think of Darkthrone's "Transilvanian Hunger" and music like that and maybe we are a bit different from bands like that, but still Black Metal. I don't think there are that many Black Metal bands from Sweden, not in the scene of Gorgorth. We stand aside from them lyrically but do stand with them in the same genre. Musically we are more sophisticated as we bring that old school metal to the music. On the three last albums we are influenced as much by Judas Priest as Bathory.
So what does the remainder of 2007 hold for Lord Belial?
We're pretty much rehearsing and writing new songs. The new material is much more aggressive and faster, back to what we did many years ago. We hope to be back in the studio once we are back from the USA, and then presumably have a new album out early next year.

All photographs and images used with kind permission of Lord Belial.