20 years after the band’s formation, Danish death thrashers Konkhra are set to release their sixth and possibly strongest CD, ‘Nothing is Sacred’. The Power Of Metal.dk’s Thomas sends founding member, guitarist and singer Anders Lundemark a few questions.
Hi Anders and congrats on the excellent new output! How would you describe ‘Nothing is Sacred’ compared to ‘Reality Check’ (2003)?
Anders: I think it’s a little more experimental. RC was a pretty true to DM and thrash and maybe NOS is pushing the boundaries a little bit. I think my voice is a bit more personal and has cracks of desperation, whereas RC is just brutal most of the time.
The album is a concept of sorts. What is the theme of the album?
Anders: Reality and how we perceive it.
What has it been like to work with your two new band members, drummer Mads Lauridsen and guitarist Michael Skovbakke?
Anders: That’s all good. We have a good chemistry going on and its good fun to play with those guys.
Who came up with the idea of remastering the two demo tapes, ‘Vicious Circle’ and ‘Malgrowth’ and adding them as a bonus to ‘Nothing is Sacred’? I’m one of the lucky owners of the demo tapes from back then, but having them on CD is very nice!
Anders: That would be Michael from Target. I didn’t think too much about it, because they are the start of the band and relevant enough for that reason, so I was liking the idea. It’s our 20th after all.
It is only now, after all these years, that I realize that the ‘Malgrowth’ demo sounds a lot like Carcass in terms of time-changes, groove and heaviness. Were you conscious about that at the time?
Anders: Carcass was a big inspiration at the time and Martin’s contributions were right up the alley. Maybe there a little Morbid Angel too, as stuff I wrote surely must have been inspired by those guys too.
Singer and guitarist Claus Vedel was a big part of the formative years of Konkhra. Are you still in contact with him and what is he up to?
Anders: Sure, he’s a good friend and we recently opened for the current version of Konkhra playing songs only from the 2 demos. Claus is a producer/ovner of a TV production company, and is among other thing responsible for the Volbeat videos.
The artwork for ‘Nothing is Sacred’ is absolutely amazing! Who did it and how does it tie in with the lyrical concepts of the album?
Anders: That’s the work of Fabio Timpanaro and he knows exactly where I’m coming from with much of the lyrical content, so using him was a definite plan from the get go. He knows exactly what I mean when writing about stuff like: The Back Nobility, the Vatican, The Illuminati, Divine Geometry, NASA vs. Nazi, ancient visitors, the white brotherhood, Thutmosis III, Hollow Earth, Richard Hoagland, The Sumerian Kings List etc. etc. Google is your friend!
James Murphy (ex-Death, ex-Testament) has been a part of Konkhra on and off for many years now. How did the connection come about in the first place and what is James’ role now?
Anders: James is a living legend. When in need of lead he delivers the feed. I hope we can continue to ask James for input, as Michael would definitely be in the best of hands if we could get James to coach for the new record.
Thinking back, which event would you single out as the most outstanding in the history of Konkhra?
Anders: Impossible task. There are so many highlights and many that are pretty much equal and to single one out would be a disrespect to the rest of them, hee hee.
What is in the life of Anders Lundemark besides Konkhra?
Anders: There is too much on my plate these days. But I put it there and have to eat it all up.
Any touring plans in the wake of the album?
Anders: Yeah, we are trying to get out there.
What are your all-time Top Five metal albums?
Anders:
- Morbid Angel - Domination
- Testament - The Gathering
- Carcass - Putrefaction
- Entombed - Clandestine
- Slayer - Reign in Blood
I could make a list of hundreds though.
Thanks a bunch for spending the time on my questions! Any final shout-outs for our readers?
Anders: Thanks for spending time reading through this and I hope you’ll check out the new disk Nothing Is Sacred! Cheers!
