Black mass metal [Donhead]: Mats, Welcome To Black mass metal can you tell some of our readers new and old a little bit on how Kraanium started with you and your brother Martin and what bands Inspired your vision of metal to Create Kraanium?
Mats: Well it was simple, maybe a Lil cheesy even: my bro discovered Devourment one day and we fell in love with the TXDM style of brutality
they played and wanted to start a band like that of our own. Later we also discovered bands such as Abominable Putridity,Waking the cadaver and Cephalotripsy and started to get a lot of inspiration from them as well. Took us around 3 albums to write before I was comfortable with the style that we managed to create I must admit, hehe. It may sound like a cliche but that's how it all started.
Black mass metal [ donhead]: Being a Slam Metal band that hails from Norway how did the local Black metal scene there take Kraaniums style of metal being Norway is mainly a black metal Scene?
Mats: haha they all laughed at us and the style we were playing but we still manage to get a little fan base here in Norway,
mostly younger people though, but we never planned to be a hit in the Norwegian metal scene anyways, we knew we could reach further than that.
But people in Sweden really dug our style since they were starting to be a bit more slam friendly and we did a lot of gigs over there and made a lot
of fans and friend and hooked up with a lot of bands in the BDM genre over there as well. Then after that, we got offered a spot to play Deathfeast
open air and from that point, things were started to pick up.
Black mass metal [ donhead]: Can you tell us a little bit about the Visual artists that helped create the vision and album covers to capture Kraaniums style?
Mats: It was pretty much me and Martin who manage to build that visual representation of the style we wanted people to see the band as,
we always worked with a lot of different artists and gave them very detailed specifics of how we wanted artwork, logos, and lettering to be used.
But still managed to make them put some of their ideas and touches into it as well. And since both me and my bro both were skilled in photoshop and
had a good eye (i would like to think so at least) on how to make designs and the art forms of representing our band. So most of it besides drawing the
artwork we always made by ourselves and still do.
Black mass metal [ donhead]: Mats, what Krannium album was your favorite to work on alongside your brother martin R.I.P?
Mats: Must have been Postmortal coital fixation. We had a lot of songs just half done before we got into the studio, and had no deadline for
the studio. So we spent a lot of time in there finishing it up. Even drums as well since my bro also were a pretty good drummer, we would jam the songs
together and that was an awesome process who helped us make the songs the way we wanted to but also with input from the other
members. At that time our drummer was Mitch from (Blasphtized, Engorgement) and he was living in the UK. So we would record some snippets here and there with prep rods and then he came over the last week and learned all the songs and recorded it. Same also for the vocal parts, I and my brother worked
together on in the studio, throwing ideas back and forth, and fight like hell as we always did while writing stuff together, haha.
Black mass metal [ donhead]: This past 2019 USA tour with Waking the cadaver and Gorgasm...How was it compared to the last time
Kraanium toured the USA and how was the crowd response this time around?
Mats: It was insane, so many people were eager to have us back there and had waited 7 years to see us again. But also a lot of new kids came who had just discovered us. I think we pretty much had packed venues every night. We had the first half of the tour with Waking the cadaver which I felt was a lot of better turnouts than the last weeks with Gorgasm, being that they also had a reunion tour and haven't been up and playing for about 10 years now. All in all, it was a great and smooth ride, and could not have asked for a better atmosphere between all the bands of the package. Fun times every night!
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: Tell me a little bit about how the Blow-up hammers in the crowd started...and whose idea was it? Pretty cool thing to do with the fans mats!!
Mats: it just kinda started as a joke after Epicardiectomy played their show at Mountains of death (u probably saw the clip ) and it became viral when the singer do hammer movements with his arms and shouts show me some hammers show me! So as a joke on that episode, we decided to get some inflatable hammers at one show, and ever since that time it has been our trademark and also the perfect way to get the crowd going. Now we can't do a show without it haha!
Also, a good way to get people to interact with us after the show as well, cos they always either wanna get pix with us and posing with hammers, or hammers autographed.Getting to know our fans and hang out has always been a great priority for us in Kraanium. Cos after all, what is a band without their fans right? .So it's our way of showing our appreciation in being able to play music and do what we love in life. Slam hard and get fucked up!
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: What other styles of music and artists do you and the members of Kraanium listen to that's not death or black metal? Any Hip hop or Rock n Roll?
Mats: In Kraanium we have a melting pot of interests in music: Everything from country/western to punk, hardcore, hip hop, dubstep/trip-hop and all kinds of metal. From the soft glam rock to the brutal stuff. Its pretty vast I would say.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: I understand that Some of the new Kraanium members are from other Countries...How hard is that for the band to get together and rehearse material for tours and albums?
Mats: Never really been a big challenge cos this is how we have learned to work together and just finding solutions on how to make the best out of it. It is a lot of self rehearsing going on, but we always team up once in a while for a weekend of socializing, jamming and partying and I think this has in a way strengthen us as a band
as well since we always try to make the best out of it when we are together, cos we all love what we are doing.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: Mats, I know you do a lot of guest spots/collabs and other Music projects ...can you tell us, readers, some of other bands and projects you do?...and what project was your favorite?
Mats : oh, a few to mention are: Fermented Masturbation, Dragging Entrails, Secret mutilation, Psychosomatic self-mutilation, and Diphenychloroarsine. My fave must have been Dragging Entrails cos we had the pleasure to do a one time gig with them at Las Vegas death fest back in 2012 when we also played with Kraanium. Fermented Masturbation was also going on for a lot of live shows, but after my bro passed away it just didn't feel right to continue with it since it was kinda a project that he started and made most music for. Right now I am still active with Dragging Entrails and Diphenylchloroarsine, working on new full-length albums for both bands. But this is merely a studio type of bands and that we
will ever do more shows is highly unlikely.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: Has Kraaniums lyrics ever been inspired by Horror movies? If so what Horror movies?
Mats: I would say that about 90 percent of our songs are inspired by horror movies or series. Also, a lot is inspired by watching documentaries or interviews with serial killers, that stuff has always been a fascination for me and my bro. Devils rejects, Rob Zombies Halloween, Texas chainsaw massacre, 31, House of 1000 corpses, Hatchet trilogy, Friday the 13th franchise,Hobo with a shotgun, Day of the dead and Street trash would be some of the movies that have inspired us. Alongside series such as Mindhunter, Fargo and American gods.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: Every band has a vault of old unheard material or demo tracks...Any talks of a Kraanium Compilation of unheard /remixed tracks for the future with martin on vocals?
Mats: We are currently working on getting our 3 first demos re-released through an American label but nothing is written in stone yet, so keep your eyes peeled.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: I saw you are having a custom Guitar made...can you tell us what Endorser /builder is making it and what do you use for Pickups and sound tone?
Mats: Oh yes it's a small brand named Detonator guitar run by one dude from Romania who just loves to make guitars. I saw his work and was blown away by some of his models and contacted him for making me a custom guitar. Its a pretty pry ordeal but it doesn't matter when the product will be super awesome. No endorsement deal though, since he is a one-man company and not that big yet.
I'll be using the Fishman 7 string Lace soap bar in them, and combined with a heavy wood choice in it, bound to sound heavy as fuck yet clear middle tones cos of the way the Fishmans are constructed.seven-string with a 27-inch scale and reversed guitar head. Also using a type of wood on top that will be oiled down and sanded to have a look like a natural camo and just a clear coat over it to preserve a natural and raw look.
Black Mass metal [Donhead]: Mats a big THANKS for taking the time to talk to us here at Black mass metal...Take this last space and feel free to mention or talk about anything you want ... Shout out of bands to check out or anything, you wanna mention. Thank you mats!! \m/
Mats: Just wanna say thanx to you for giving me the time to send me this interview and checking us out. Keep BDM alive an never forget to support your local scene as much s the world wide one! Cheers!