by Vpower
The Band: Cwealm
Country: Sweden
Answers by: Astraeus
(Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals)
CWEALM is a new band
from Sweden, just debuting with his first full-length Odes to No Hereafter, a
one-man project recommended for all the people who enjoy black death metal, a
great blend of 90s sound with new and fresh touches and ideas. Astraeus is a
great musician with a very developed artistic vein in all senses.
Hi Astraeus and
welcome to our underground metal site
Thanks. Since I don’t speak Spanish I can only enjoy your
English interviews, but I see you’ve reviewed and interviewed many a great
underground band. Keep up the good work!
Thanks man, we
continue with our battle to spread good Metal around the world, from small or
big bands, but always great Metal. And so Cwelam is here! Congratulations for your
first album as Cwealm, the great Odes to No Hereafter, a big surprise for the
Metalbrothers that work in this web
The pleasure’s all mine.
Cwealm is the
creature of Astraeus, so how was it born and who is under the nickname
Astraeus, if you are ready to unveil the mystery?
Cwealm was born in 2014, but I had had ideas for a long time
before that. Even full songs: Kadavret and Nidhuggs Hymn were written many
years prior to Cwealm's founding, though they were honed and somewhat
rearranged for Odes to No Hereafter. The reason I started Cwealm in 2014 was
because of a creative boost or how I should say; a malicious, internal force
that grew stronger than ever. I felt I could delve into unexplored fringes of
myself and get more qualitative results out of it.
My real identity? I don’t see that as important, but for
those curious it shouldn’t be that hard to find out.
Yeah, you are right.
Cwealm is a one-man band, that is, all the music in this first album is thanks
to your effort, except for the drums which in this case are played by Jocke
Wallgren (Amon Amarth), right?
Correct. I used programmed drums first, but when I got the
opportunity to work with Jocke, the choice was easy. And the album got so much
better for it!
No doubt. How long
have you worked on Odes to No Hereafter?
Depends on how you view the matter. Some riffs are, like,
ten years old. But I’d say since 2014, because that’s when I started Cwealm for
real, with a conscious vision of what I wanted to do.
Cwealm is a black
death metal band. In your opinion, what are the most relevant points in your
musical approach?
Hard to express without sounding shallow. You know, I see
Cwealm as a transcendent project where music, lyrics and imagery should combine
to make a whole – bigger than the sum of it’s parts. But mournful melodies,
speed and aggression are of course pivotal corner-stones of the project.
A perfect definition.
I love the way you create atmospheres but also the great range of sounds we
find through the whole album
Thank you. Yeah, this was a conscious choice: to stay within
the borders of 90’s influenced melodic black but to experiment with it, keep it
varied, so as to give the listener ”surprises” along the way. Which I hope will
make the music more rewarding in the long run.
Kadavret is one of my
favorite songs, it shows the variety I was talking about before, with a great
work on keys and riffing, growing in intensity till the final blast
Again, there’s a reason for it being the album's last (full)
song. It has a kind of narrative structure, musically and lyrically which I
thought made it fit to finish the record, or at least be the last ushering
towards the final bitter end, which would be the outro. Kadavret is, by the way
the only song where the lyrics aren’t written by me. It’s a poem by Charles
Baudelaire, called ”Kadavret” (The Carcass) in Swedish whereas the original
French title is ”Une Charogne”. From Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil,
1857).
Cool! Odes to No
Hereafter is a great debut album, it shows an old school vein but you don’t
forget your own and new ideas
The old school thing was important since that’s were I come
from. Not the old school of the eighties (which is great: Bathory, Tormentor
etc.) but the nineties. When I started listening to this kind of music Mayhem, Dissection, Emperor etc. were bands I
checked out first. So they became the base. When I write, I have that kind of
stuff in me. But wanted to add my own personal touch of course – plus that a
lot of non-metal has influenced me: classical, medieval music, circus music,
folk music etc. I’d say that the album is a synthesis of the three sources I
just mentioned.
Cwealm is a band from
Sweden, we can suppose the northern metal has influenced your sound, is it this
way?
For sure. Scandinavian black metal as well as the non-metal
influences are, I think, the most important.
As I mentioned
before, you got the cooperation of Jocke Wallgren on drums, how did it happen?
It happened thanks to Tore Stjerna who mixed and mastered
the album. As we transfered Cubase projects from my computer to Tore’s, he
asked if I wanted Jocke to play the drums. And after listening to some
YouTube-clips of the guy I immediately said yes. So the drums were recorded
last – at Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm.
Are there any other
kind of contributions in the album? For example, we liked very much the cover
too...
The cover is an old miniature by the Spanish painter
Francisco de Goya. I’m not terribly well-versed in art history, but I like e.g.
the romantic period and not least de Goya. For those that buy the album, even
more old art awaits: from Odilon Redon, Matthias Grünewald, August Brömse
etc.!
I should have known
about Goya... ups! Hahaha. As a musician, you enjoy the most doing or playing
what?
Playing the guitar. Also playing drums, actually, though I’m
not very good at it. Writing music is cool too but that’s always a more
painstaking process.
Cwealm is born as a
one-man band. It will continue this way in the future?
Yeah. At least that’s how I see it now.
You were signed by
Italian label Dusktone, guys with a list of extreme bands in their roster. How
do you feel about it?
Great. As you hinted, Dusktone has some awesome bands from
around the world; with a focus on black and doom metal. I’m satisfied with our
cooperation so far.
Have you done some
gigs around already or you plan to do so in the short-time? In that case would
you hire any guys around or you would use samples?
No. I’d love to play live with Cwealm, but it won’t happen
in the near future. To use samples is out of the question for anything else
than keyboards, so provided I can learn to play the riffs and scream at the
same (which I actually doubt), I’d have to hire at least a bassist and a
drummer; a friend could perhaps take care of the second guitar. This is not
something I can afford. But who knows…
We are patient... Apart
from Cwealm do you have another musical activity, some other projects...?
Nope.
Now that you have
made your first step, what are the following chapters for Cwealm?
The next step is to finish the music video I’ve started
working on for the song Wither, Tainted Crown. After that, I’m going to write
another album. Unfortunately I’m a slow writer though, so it's going to take a
while for sure.
Quality is all, even
if we have to await a little more. Thanks Astraeus and we wish you a big moment
with Odes to No Hereafter and many good things to come in the future
Once again, thank you. Graviora manent!
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