Today, I’m in conversation with Coroner from The Dead And Living. Their new EP, ‘Damage,’ is out now on Rexium Records. On this release, they’ve shifted their focus somewhat, and I’m here to find out about it.
Coroner, thank you for joining me today.
“Thank you for having me”
Your last album, ‘The Author’s Curse,’ was released in 2019. What was interesting is that you managed to crowdfund that release in less than 24 hours. You must have a very devoted fan base!
“Yeah, apparently we do. It was a couple of years ago; the last release was a full-length album in 2019. So, I don’t remember in detail how it happened, but I know it was in 24 hours. We financed it by putting the test presses out with exclusive items and so on, and that made it a bit quicker to be funded, but to really have it fully funded in 24 hours was way over our expectations. I think it took like a couple of days or a week, this time with the EP.”
That’s incredible. So, then you went on a break. Was that for just life reasons?
“Not really. We released the album in 2019, and then we had a break before that because we went on a full European tour in 2014 supporting the Death Stars, and then we released the album. It took some energy to get back on track, and we had a full-length album that we really thought was good enough to release. Then came the pandemic. So, we had that serious plan to go full-on all-in March 2020. So, what do you do?”
What’s it feeling like in the band right now?
“I’m excited to get going again, and it’s getting more and more exciting as the EP is finally fully out and we have the vinyl. We sent the first ones out that are not signed this week. I’m really excited, and also, what we really want to do is get back out on the road again because we didn’t feel like doing all those live streams during the pandemic. It’s not really our thing. But playing live and travelling, that’s kind of like the main reason you started and what you remember being in a band, so being able to do that puts us back on the road, and we can pretty much do what we want.”
Thematically, the EP takes a different course from previous releases. You’re looking upwards a bit here; we’re looking to space. Can you talk me through that theme more lyrically?
“Yeah, to begin with, we had ‘The Authors Curse’, the previous full-length LP. So, it felt like we took what we had been doing for the previous years as far as we could, and at the beginning of the band, we were inspired by when I was living in London at the time, and we went on the tours, everybody goes to Germany, but we do like longer tours in France. So, we ended up playing in Paris twice, and then, it was the third or fourth time, supporting the Death Stars in 2014. So, we always had that. Then, I looked at London in a 19th-century vibe. You can still see the old buildings, these like historic times. Also, we have the foundation of mixing Irish punk rock with black or death metal music; that’s been our thing the whole time. We came from punk bands. So, we wanted to do something completely different, but we still had the punk roots. And you could hear the Pogues stuff in there, you know, or Misfits or whatever mixed with a Scandinavian-like, dark vibe, as well as Sisters and Joy Division and such. I felt like it was appreciated on the last album. So, we wanted to completely put ourselves in a different context than this; as you mentioned, thinking about it afterwards, it’s definitely like a “from above” kind of content.”
Is it influenced by the fact that many people are currently looking to the stars?
“No, not at all, actually, but since the songs were written like a couple of years ago. So, it’s also something that I’m thinking a lot about when, like, releasing it now a correlation to what’s going on at the moment, but it’s a lot more cynical, or it’s a lot like, this is a rock and roll band, and it’s a rock album. So, it’s not so much connected to contemporary stuff. What’s going on? It’s more like a cultural expression.”
Is this EP a precursor to an album, or is it just a standalone piece?
“Yeah, it’s a standalone piece. But it is also like opening the gate to something else. So, I think writing new stuff allows us to be a little freer. And we don’t want to stagnate. That’s an important thing for us. I also enjoy that in music as well. You can hear it like it doesn’t need to be the same thing all over again or every time. But some bands do that, and that’s fine. But we want to progress and to challenge ourselves.”
You’ve toured extensively in the past, so what are your plans for hitting the road again for this EP?
“We’re starting to book now. So, we have a release show in Karlstad in Sweden, our hometown, and then we have a Swedish festival, and we’re talking with Oslo now to do a show there. The UK feels interesting now at the moment and we’ll play there. I really want to go and play The Underworld. I see pals of mine going on tour, and they play there. We played The Garage, and it was so loud. That’s great, too. It was a show, but I lived in London. I went to Camden Town and saw what it looked like outside The Underworld. So, we feel like, at this point in our career, we want to cross off bucket list things like playing at The Underworld. We’d like to go to Iceland. It’s a neighbouring country, almost for us, and you can go there and play this rock scene so that would be fun. Also, if we’re ever gonna play Japan or Asia, that’s probably now. It’s not gonna be in 10 or 20 years. So, we have those views of what we want to do, and then you feel like European tourists. It’s a lot more logistics and more exhausting than you might think. It’s like when you’re like 20, if you’re lucky enough to be that age, and you go on tour and do one of the big ones. I’m not saying we’re not going to do it again, but we will probably start with doing these mini-tours and festivals and see where it takes us. Also, with the response to the EP, who knows, yeah, maybe it’s time to go down the long road again sometime.”
What’s happening musically in Sweden right now? Are there any bands we should be watching out for?
“Ooh, there’s a bunch for Sweden; I’m gonna name Vulkan from our hometown if you haven’t heard of them; they’re like 10 times better musicians than we are. It’s like progressive Tool stuff but a little bit more down-to-earth. You should definitely check them out.”
This is our close-out question for everyone: if the government asked you to put a song on a national curriculum for every kid under the age of 18,
“You got to hear this before you go to college, right?”
What song would you give them to listen to? It can be any genre, style, or anything you like, but essential for a kid growing up.
“For me personally, ‘Enjoy The Silence’ by Depeche Mode, any time I think about, big five songs. I only get to listen to five songs on a deserted island, you know, that kind of thing. It’s always Depeche Mode, ‘Enjoy The Silence’. I don’t know like it’s something more than a song.”
Depeche mode, I totally agree. No one sounds like Depeche Mode and Depeche mode doesn’t sound like anyone else.
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Interview By George Miller
Band Photo Credit: Erik Hansen