MERCURION – CPT. P. ANDERSSON, ANGLEGRINDER
Art: Anders Muammar
HMA: Describe your lyrics.
Cpt. P. Andersson: Obviously, our lyrics are mainly based around space, Science fiction and the vast depths of the cosmos, at least nowadays. We started out writing about whatever we thought of, but Sci-fi and space have always been our main topics. With the new album ‘Mercurion’, we took the lyric writing one step further in creating a conceptual sci-fi saga, which we always spoke about something we wanted to do. With the pandemic and having played together for quite a few years, we felt we had the time and the skill to pull it off, and here we are.
HMA: Any creative rituals?
Anglegrinder: Short answer: Not really. We are 3 ‘main’ Songwriters, and all 3 of us are quite fond of being alone. We write most of the material at home and then finish it all together and let everyone put their signature on everything, which we have noticed works best for us. But if the others slaughter any goats at home, I don’t know; Ingelsteel would be the one with the most talent, so maybe he is the one to ask.
HMA: Do you have a philosophical fixation?
Anglegrinder: We are all thinkers and nerds in many ways. We love sci-fi, fantasy, history and philosophy but no real fixations in that sense. We live our lives in the way we choose and in the way we feel is best for ourselves and our fellow members of Earth. We share many views but also differ in many. Everyone has a different relationship with the universe and it’s hard and unnecessary to pinpoint one thing we all belong or believe in. The main thing I could say we share is a love for heavy fucking metal!
HMA: Is heavy music a form of modern cult worship?
Cpt. P. Andersson: No, and yes. Heavy metal, in its pure form, is obviously just music or entertainment. But the gathering around it is undeniably very similar to what you could call a cult. Being attracted to music and culture usually (due to the vast expansion of Christianity and religion as a whole) shunned by society makes you feel like an outcast. When connecting with others in this subgenre, you create a bond that may be viewed as cult-like or whatever. This bond usually transcends beyond nationality, ethnicity, gender or anything of the sort. If you are a metalhead, you are family!
HMA: Do you have any vices?
Anglegrinder: I like altered states of mind, Getting out of your comfort zone and seeing where your fingers take you. There are drawbacks to recreational drug use, but I also see many positive sides of what it does to my writing or playing, making it hard to debate, especially for my feeling and the atmosphere I take while creating. I feel I let my mind take other routes than the usual nervous, insecure and anti-social me. As long as it is not alcohol, that shit makes my creative drive die, and my right hand can’t hit a single string right.
HMA: Do you have any figures outside of the [metal] genre that you admire or aspire to be like?
Anglegrinder: My personal ‘Hero’ is a Swedish artist called Eddie Meduza, A man who has shaped my childhood and has been with me all my life! To be able to create with the drive and self-distance he did is simply not possible for any mortal, and I feel extremely lucky to be able to live in a time when he existed. He was a genius artist, an agitator of the mass and the funniest fucking man ever! KUKEN STÅR!
Cpt. P. Andersson: J.R.R. Tolkien, the best writer the world has ever known.
HMA: Why is music important to you and the world?
Anglegrinder: The number 1 most important and spiritual thing I have ever encountered. Nothing can change the view of life and your way of thinking as music can; the bubble it creates around you, how it reflects through your eyes and colours your whole world is simply unmatched. And Metal more than anything else.
HMA: Do you like any other off-beat genres of music?
Anglegrinder: I love old Swedish ballad singers such as Fred Åkerström and Kjell Höglund, But also I like more comedic music such as the great Eddie Meduza and Onkel Kånkel. Then, of course, there is a bit more to it since there are ALOT of Music to explore. But except for metal, that is what I favour the most.
Cpt. P. Andersson: I am a sucker for all kinds of music with a swing. Be it metal, punk, disco, rock’n’roll, jazz, blues, I don’t care. If you have the groove in the music and the feeling of pure creativity, I will probably pick it up and love it! Metal may have been what I started out listening to as a kid and formed my clothing fashion around, but nowadays, I probably listen to metal less than 20% of the time.
www.armory.se
