Hatesphere – ת'ראש מודרני מדנמרק

It's never been easy putting a certain label on Denemark's Hatesphere. This agressive, fast and loud band compines Thrash, Death Metal and a certain Groove element in what can best be descirbed as Neo-Thrash. After 5 albums with the band's former vocalist – Jonathan "Joller" Albrechtsen, the band went through some serious upheavels as several other members of the band opted out, combine that with a change of labels (right before the band's former label – SPV – folded), and you might have had a disaster. Not for Hatesphere, the band released a new album earlier this year, brought in a new vocalist, changed some members, and is going on stronger than ever. We thought it was the right time to speak with guitarist / mastermind Peter "Pepe" Lyse Hansen about things.

Hi guys! Thanks for doing this interview; I'd like to start of course with your latest album – To The Nines, first – what's the meaning of the title and why was it chosen?

As nine is the highest number, "To The Nines" means aiming for the best, aiming for perfection, the highest of standards. So HateSphere anno 2009 is still "dressed to the nines" – we still go for the highest of standards in our music, even though we have had some changes in the line-up. Therefore the title of the album and the lyrics for the title track is very close connected to the last year and a half in HateSphere! We wanna prove that we are still on the top of the game!

The album features quite a lot of changes for the band, first – the change of vocalist, why is Jacob out of the band?

He simply didn’t want to do this anymore, so he decided to leave. For us it’s also better to have someone in the band that want to do this 100 % – and not have to be around a guy that would rather be another place. So it was actually – as weird as it may sound – the best thing that could happen to us at that time. It may have caused us some struggles but the atmosphere within the band is so much better – and the creativity, motivation and focus has improved.

Why was Jonathan chosen as his replacement?

Because he was the best possible frontman and vocalist [Laughs]… quite simple. We had quite a big search for the right guy, and we tried out numerous singers. In the end we couldn’t find the one – and through a friend of ours we got to know about this young guy, who our friend thought would fit perfect. So we tried him out, and he got in the band instantly. Joller is very young, and he is super motivated and talented. So we felt quite lucky to be able to find this pretty unknown guy that had the right talent. Another good thing is that he is Danish – which make a lot of things easier. We tried out people from abroad but we are happy that we found a Danish guy in the end… That makes rehearsals a lot easier [Laughs]…

What do you think the changing of the guard does for the band? What changed with the change of vocalists?

The sound of course changed a bit – not so much music-wise but obviously another vocalist changes something. Joller has got a more dark and brutal voice, and it makes our new stuff seem very brutal. On top of that he brings a lot of motivation into our music – and as mentioned before he and the other new guys have simply brought in a lot of new energy.

The album is definitely a very fast one, seemingly less thrashy and more death metallic in nature, where you going for a distinctly heavier approach with this one?

Actually no, but it just turned out that way. It may have something to do with our change of vocalist… and it may have something to do with the fact that we had a lot of frustrations that we needed to get out. We have felt quite a pressure and we have really wanted to show both our fans but also the critics that the band is better than ever. So this mix of focus and frustrations brought in a more brutal sound, I think. We actually never agree on how an album should sound. We simply write the music that we feel for at the time – and then it turns out as it turns out. And this time it turned out quite brutal [Laughs]…

Why the change in labels from SPV to Napalm? How happy are you with the change in the meantime?

In one way, yes. SPV changed their behaviour drastically the last year of our relationship. After having supported us big time in the beginning we had trouble getting them to answer simple stuff as emails or even telephone calls. We rarely heard from them, and they didn’t seem interested in us. Even though we fed them with great news, they seemed as it didn’t care to them. So we really wanted to leave and find a company that supported us 100 %. But that wasn’t easy as well. Because we had to get out of the contract with SPV, and they also didn’t answer our calls and mails regarding that matter… it was like they had totally lost it. Anyway, in the end they finally send us a mail saying that we could get out of the contract… and we immediately started searching for a new label. As we talked to Napalm it was obvious that they were very interested, and in the end this dedication was the main factor for choosing them. I mean, the label is extremely professional and have a great distribution and promotion department, but the fact that they support us that much is simply the most important thing for us! And we are super happy about joining them. They work hard for us… and now we only need to drink a couple of beers with them… then the circle is complete [Laughs]…

It always seemed to me the band walks a fine line between more traditional extreme metal and more current one, where do you think you stand these days?

We stand right in between. I personally like the older stuff best – I am not into many modern bands. But I also don’t want to deny the fact that old isn’t always best [Laughs]… as some people do. HateSphere always just write what we feel for – and when I write music I never think of that it sounds like this or like that. I think that I after having written music for so many years have my own style of composing – my own sound. But we always try to make a lot of variations in our music – and that means using both new and old inspirations.

The sound on the new album is fantastic, it seems there's a bit less emphasis on the drums from the last two albums, and that everything is a bit more cohesive this time, what is your take on the album's sound?

I really like it. I’m not a sound freak but I of course can hear what sounds good and what sounds bad… and this sound just fits our new songs perfect. I also like the fact that it doesn’t sound like any other band – the sound is quite unique.

A bit more on the graphic side of the album, why the very atypical cover artwork? How does that relate the band pictures in the artwork?

The artwork is quite atypical as you said – and that was part of the plan as well. First of to show that there’s more than just plain metal to HateSphere – second to show that this is a new era for HateSphere – third to display the lyrics and the title in the artwork. The guy on the cover is on the top of his game. He has the best women, the best job, the most money etc. And you might ask yourself the question – why is he cutting his ear off? Well, he simply displays self confidence. Even though he cuts of his own ear, he is still on top of the world – he believes in himself. You might compare his situation to the bands situation a year and a half ago. We lost some members but we fought our way back and are better than ever. We still believe in ourselves even though we have been through some changes.

Denmark has a well-known metal scene which has been going for quite some time, and it was known for its heavy and hard rock bands – yet in the last ten years or so it's mainly known for the more extreme metal bands, any reason why the country's metal bands tend to be heavier and more extreme than in countries such as Germany for example?

I don’t think there is any reason – it might be quite a coincidence. I guess people in Denmark like brutal music maybe [Laughs]… I really don’t know. I think Denmark has got quite a healthy metal scene. We have great bands in many different genres, but we just don’t have that many bands all together.

Though you are a Danish band, you have what can be described as a Swedish sound, were you influenced by the famous Swedish extreme metal bands more than others?

I don’t think so. I have grown up listening to old school death metal stuff – Florida death and the European 90’s death metal – and thrash… and actually a lot of hard rock. So that must be the main influences back in the days. But nevertheless we have listened to Swedish bands when they emerged in the early 90’s as well – it’s quite hard to deny that Sweden has got a lot of quality bands. I have actually been listening to quite a lot of different metal, so I find it hard to say what may have influenced me the most. Anyway, the Swedish influence may have been present on our first two albums but since then we have grown into more brutal thrash.

You've certainly carved a name for yourselves as one of the country's biggest metal exports, what territories are your favorite when playing outside of the country? Is Denmark itself a good country for a metal band to operate in?

Denmark is – for us at least – a very good country. I mean, it always means a lot to play in your home country, and the people are very supportive. On top of that the Danish crowd has grown a lot the last years – so I’m pretty sure that foreign bands like Denmark as well. When it comes to other territories I find it pretty difficult to say which ones are best. We have played a lot in Europe the last years – and in general Europe is quite good for us. I mean, we have played many great gigs in most of the countries – but there are just countries, where we have played more. What we are trying to now is to go outside of Europe. We have played Asia before – China and Japan – but we definitely need to go the US soon! There is a big market that is just waiting for us to come grab it by the balls. Furthermore it wouldn’t be bad to play Israel!!! So get your bookers down there aware.

With the changes in the band, and the new album, is there a sense of urgency – or deeper excitement in your live shows? Do you feel they energized the band in some fashion?

Actually yes. Getting in four guys that want to do this 100 % really changes something. We have always been known as a great live band but there is just so much new found energy at this point – and it’s a pleasure to be part of. The new members have all felt that they needed to prove themselves – and I have felt as well – so when we have entered the stage we have really been focused. Still HateSphere is about having fun as well – so we are one of the rare metal bands that occasionally smiles on stage [Laughs]…

That's it, thanks for doing this interview!

Thank you as well – it was truly a pleasure. I hope to see you in Israel soon!