1. Hi there, Kim, I wish you good evening. If I am not mistaken, this is your first interview with the Czech readers ever. Here it is snowing again and the mist is squandered all over the hillsides. In what mood did this interview nip round your weather?

It’s an frost-covered afternoon in Belgium for me accompanied by a bottle of wine for breakfast. In Sweden it’s still snowing from time to time depending on location.

2. The release of your new album "Sjukdom" is drawing near with no restrain and I can already say that it will be one of the main topics of this interview. Not too long ago you even released two tracks ("Expandera" and "Totus Anctus") for a free listen; these might show the listener a bit of your evolving vision. What was the main impulse for composing the new album after the previous "Dekadens" and how does in your eyes "Sjukdom" fit into the mosaic that is Lifelover? What does this album mean to you personally?

With our new album we’re showing more of our agressive side while our previous works were led more by the melancholy which is more of an underlying tone on the new album. We are always interested in adding something new to Lifelover and as all members come from different backgrounds but share common views there will always be something new for us to expand upon with each new album with Lifelover.

3. Before we start with the more concrete questions about music itself, let's talk a bit about the visual side of Lifelover. The booklet graphics of your records have always been original mixtures of irony and painfulness in a nice technical jacket. I still remember the photographies and pictures connected with the lyrics that jumped at me after opening the booklet, which always was a good experience (for example the photographies to Besatt, Nackskott and Medicinmannen). What would you say about the graphic side of Sjukdom, its symbols and the author?

We always want a connection and contrast in each visual representation of our works and this is something that always has been present in Lifelover and always will. For difference there is much more of a entirety both outside and within the visual aspects of Sjukdom, all that is beautiful is made into filth and all that is dirty is depicted with beauty.

4. Well, now to the music. The record is dominated by a well-balanced sound, but also a drum machine. I have to admit that I did not expect this, especially after "Dekadens" which works very well with the live production. What exactly lead you to this return to the "roots" of Lifelover? If it is possible to judge, what suits you more?

We will never use either a real drummer or machine just for the sake of it, but for Sjukdom we only went accordingly to what fit with the music.

5. When Lifelover first appeared on the musical horizon, you and B were the ones firmly holding the composing reins. As time passed, two drummers appeared in the line-up and it has grown up to two guitarists (we will talk about the poets and lyricists later) - this usually tends to change the overall face of the music. Today, when listening to "Sjukdom", I feel that a lot has changed since the times of "Pulver". And as a lot is hidden under the veil of obscurity, I would like to ask you about the composing process - how did it work, how was it with the ideas and creative influences of all of the participating members?

It’s the same now as in the past, only our knowledge and perspectives are wider now but the way we work remains the same.

6. Lifelover always seemed to me more like a group of friends (fill in any more appropriate description) than a regular band. This is also supported by the fact that you again have a support in the lyrical and vocal duties in your core (especially the return of 1853 made my day, hehe). What fruits does this shared vision seen by different eyes bring to the band itself? I am one of those people who need the lyrical side to be in symbiosis with the musical one.

We all come from different backgrounds but we all share many views upon life and the world we live in and compliment each other in the institution that is Lifelover.


7. When I think about each of your albums and place "Sjukdom" on the peak of this record pyramid, I can not look through the progression from the gentle and sorrowful melodies inoculated by aggression and noise towards the present result; the strong rock roots and the melancholic piano parts have kept their strength, yet the music in general seems rawer, harsher and faster. Hints of this were already to be felt on "Konkurs", "Dekadens" does not need to be mentioned. In what waters are you planning to plunge into in your further evolution?

Anything can, might and will happen, we have no limitations or set goals with Lifelover, we will simply do what feels natural to us.

8. Music magazines and the listeners have tagged you as gloomy rock/black metal band. When I recall the many debates about what black metal as a genre should and should not be, I also will ask you about this trifle. Vast part of the black metal community sees depressions, powerlessness and these certain kinds of inner inhibition in general as weaknesses that do not belong to the genre. How would you yourself define and identify your music and the genres you draw from, or are you free of these "studies"?

We refrain from being generalized into any set genres besides our own domain of Narcotic Metal. It is very different to talk about depression and what it implies than letting it be what defines you, this is something very different from the majority of people and the individuals within Lifelover. I would with uttermost certitude say that we are free. We are doing what comes natural to us and have only done exactly what we want and feel like without caring what anyone might think about it. Besides that we have never clamied to be any part of any blackmetal movement, so why should be judged by the rules of this movement?

9. Few days ago, when I was looking through the internet to collect some information about your album or a possibility of ordering it, I came across an unusual "megapack" containing not just the record itself but also a lot of "funny stuff" - things like a razor, a syringe or a piece of cloth with your logo. I was kind of shocked, hehe. Is it meant to be more of a bonus and diversification for the connoisseurs and the die-hards fans or a kind of a sarcastic joke and provocation?

I don’t really care what anyone thinks about it or how you may react. No matter what you get there will always be something useful that can be done with it and the only limitations is the associations followed by each item you may encounter. You may call it whatever you want, but in the end it’s not more than what you make of it.

10. I see the lyrical side as a completely necessary part of Lifelover. It is mostly in your mother tongue which means quite a few problems for a Czech listener. Be it the old school sitting in a darkened room with the booklet, a dictionary and a glass of wine or a more practical using of digital sources, my fellow countrymen just need to translate. Imagine that you speak with a reader that has not quite got to your lyrical side yet or does not know how to do that exactly. How would you introduce your collective art to him? One more question I would like to ask you - have you ever thought about releasing a book of poems or your lyrics or any other form of literary expression?

We don’t have any strict guidelines how to interpret our music or words, there is always something for anyone to find between the lines we’ve written and a special meaning to each lyric for each individual that reads in no matter what language it will be in. To anyone that isn’t blind it should be obvious what it’s about combining the visual and lyrical aspects, if that person needs an introduction besides that it needs to search further, it can’t be more clear than that. Something visual and/or lyrical may happen in the future, time will tell.

11. Lifelover is music combining a lot of different feelings. In addition to your characteristic "bittersweetness" which has become quite a trademark of yours, there is a lot of different emotions and feelings roaming through you music, often these are contrasting. Here and there, everything feels really bizzare and maybe even sarcastic. What could you say about your life attitudes and philosophies that influence you not only when composing music? And, how has your lives been shaped by the existence of such project as Lifelover is?

Lifelover has always been used to show what is natural to each member of the band so it’s only only the existence of Lifelover that shapes us but our existences that shapes Lifelover, the difference lies of course in that Lifelover will never be what defines us as persons while what we experience personally definitely defines Lifelover.


12. These days, the liking to various collaborations and split albums is apparent. Yet Lifelover do not have any such album. Could you nowadays imagine any collaboration with a musically close artist or a friend or is this vision completely out of the question even for the future? I also would like to ask you what your opinion about the issues of such collaboration is, in case this is not somehow clear from your previous answer...

So far there have not been any clear purpose in anything like that while we might consider it if the people involved in it have the right attitude and the results of this may be a big surprise for many people. We have some ideas and options but nothing is ever set in stone. An issue would clearly be that many individuals rather change than evolve during the course of time and that is definitely an issue with things such as collaborations or splits, it would be very necessary to share a very strong bond on many different aspects for us to do something like this and obviously it has proven to not exist at the current period of time.

13. You have performed live a few times in you career. I would like to ask you what this experience with Lifelover brought or took away? Your music carries a certain sense of intimacy and I personally would recommend it more for a private listening. Did the live performance bring desired fruits? If yes, will we ever see you on stage in the Czech Republic?

Performing lives at a whole different dimension to our music and the atmosphere that it contains, so it’s definitely crucial to do so from time to time, and we will definitely try to come to your country at some period of time. It’s all up to the promotors and organizers. We are up for suggestions...

14. Now maybe a bit tricky question. The music you create in addition to satisfying and filling (or destroying) your very core also influences the listeners. What are your personal thoughts of the people that listen to Lifelover or are influenced by it? And let's be even a bit more bizzare - please, try to describe what would the ideal listener getting his hands on "Sjukdom" would be.

There is no ideal listener and personally I really couldn’t care less about what kind of person that comes in contact with anything that I do is. The only thing that would be of interest would be that the individuals exposed to our music creates their own vision of it and think more as this is something I find too uncommon in people.

15. Well, that is probably everything I wanted to ask you today, for which I would really like to thank you, Kim (or someone else?). As is a good habit here on Mortem Zine, I also would like to ask you for a few final words, a conclusion, completion or anything I forgot to ask...So, now it is really everything from me, be well and a wish Lifelover good luck and a lot of energy for future works.

HUGS AND DRUGS.