Jonas Kjellgren #Interview

You probably know Jonas for the band Ironmaster, where he plays guitars and bass. Their two albums released to date, “Thy Ancient Fire” (2022) and “Weapons of Spiritual Carnage” (2023) are some of the most brutal skull-crushing Death Metal albums I’ve ever listened to. With Janne Jaloma on drums and Roberth Karlsson on vocals, you can have an idea… He is / has been in some other bands, like Centinex, Scar Symmetry, Carnal Forge and the list goes on… He seems to be a pretty busy guy, isn’t it?

But when I asked Jonas for an interview with Blessed Altar Zine, it was because of the quite new Death Metal act Nekrodawn he is part of. Keep on reading if you are interested in knowing more details about this band and about Jonas himself.

Hi Jonas, and thank you for doing this interview. How are you doing?
Jonas: Hello, it’s my pleasure! Thanks for having me, all is well and I hope you’re doing great too!

When I say you are a busy man, it’s for some reason… In which bands are you involved nowadays?
Jonas: Raubtier, Bourbon Boys, Roadhouse Diet, Nekrodawn and Ironmaster. None of those mentioned bands do any massive touring, only a few shows every other year tops. So it looks busier than it is in reality. There will be some gigs with Nekrodawn and Bourbon Boys this year, that’s pretty much it hehe.

How did things begin with Nekrodawn? Can you tell our readers who are the members in the band, and who of you had the idea of starting it?
Jonas: I really like to start bands so I started Nekrodawn in 2022 together with my wife (she plays some bass), but she got ”cold feets” after a while when she realised this would be a band playing shows etc. So I called my old friend and bandmate Johan Jansson and asked him if he would join and play the bass. Henrik Axelsson (drums) was the first to join the band actually. Also we needed one more guitar player, we all thought that Mika Lagrén from Grave would be an awesome fit since we all knew him since decades ago and he is a real good guitar player and friend. But I thought he might be too busy with Grave, then I saw he quit Grave and I called him the same day and he wanted to join.

Someone told me one day that in the Swedish metal scene everybody knows almost everyone. Is that true? Did you guys know each other before you started this new adventure together?
Jonas: Yes, we were all friends before we started the band which is a good thing I think. The band has a good vibe between all the members.

You have released two singles to date, and let me tell you: your sound is awesome, pure crushing Death Metal. Are you planning to release more new stuff soon?
Jonas: Thank you so much, really happy to hear you like it. Yes, we’ll release one more song before the album is released!

Do you have a label to release your music?
Jonas: We don’t have a label so we will release it thru my very underground boy room label ‘Legions of Bane’, we’ll see how it goes… some work ahead hehe.

How do you see the underground Metal scene nowadays? Apart from quantity, as it seems there are a lot of new bands emerging everywhere, do you think there is quality too? And, considering that when you were a youngster the way in which metalheads shared the music was way so different from today… Do you miss those “physical format” days?

Jonas: There are tons of great new Metal bands these days, both younger and old ancient guys ripping it up with great power. I do miss the old days, I remember when there was no Death Metal and I remember the first time hearing it, mind totally blown. Vocals sounding like some monsters and drums faster than Slayer, totally insane… Also everything sounded way more brutal on an old cassette player.

When did you start your musical journey, Jonas? Was it first with a guitar or doing vocals? And, is there any musician/vocalist that you can consider a big influence on you?
Jonas: started to play guitar in 1984, started doing vocals in maybe 1990 because the band I was in (I played guitar in that band) could not find a vocalist so I took one for the team, so to speak. Sounded horrible of course haha. There are many both guitarists and vocalists I’m influenced by for sure, hard to pick one. For Death Metal vocals I think David Vincent is pretty much the best at that style, Trey Azagthoth also a great innovative guitar player! For more melodic stuff Michael Schenker is the king.

Besides Metal, you’ve been playing music in other realms… I’m referring to your country/rock band Bourbon Boys. What can you tell us about it: who are the other Boys? How was it starting (or joining, I don’t know) this band playing a different kind of music?
Jonas: Well it is a country band that my best friend Pär Hulkoff from Raubtier started by himself maybe 20 years ago, it became an active band when I joined in 2011 with both albums and live gigs. We used to be a 4-piece band, but we had a break from 2013-2023 so now it’s only me and Pär left + session musicians for the upcoming shows. It’s both a challenge and tons of fun playing some country music, totally different from Metal.

Apart from doing music with your bands, you own Black Lounge Studios; tell us, how does it feel being “at the other side”, I mean: mixing and mastering other bands’ works?
Jonas: I love mixing other bands, it’s really a dream come true to make a living out of your passion, I love the whole process and trying to make every band have their own signature sound.

Speaking of other topic… How proud are you to have been co-founder of Scar Symmetry twenty years ago?
Jonas: I don’t know if I’m proud, but it sure was surreal starting that band. First it was just me, I was asked to do a Melodic Death Metal album for the label Cold Records, the initial plan was to do both guitars and vocals and just get a drummer, I asked Kenneth to join on bass, and some weeks later I asked Henrik to join on Drums, I produced a band called Altered Aeon which both Henrik and Per where members in. Henrik suggested that maybe Per could join? That was a great idea as he was (still is) an awesome lead guitarist. I think Henrik suggested Christian as a vocalist. Me and Henrik recorded one song as a demo (Seeds of Rebellion), Christian laid some vocals on top of it (I don’t remember if there were any proper lyrics to the song yet). The label loved it so we started recording the first album in 2004 I think. Then we did almost one album every year up until 2011, then I joined Raubtier and Bourbon Boys and kind of lost interest in Scar Symmetry, I needed a break from the band I started haha …was some intense years for sure.

Are you a nostalgic person? And, how about the future: do you think a lot about it?
Jonas: Yes I am, mostly listen to old stuff and dream about the glory of the pre-internet days. The future is not something I think about much, only the near future like what to do next week and such stuff, things most often do not go according to plan anyways so… haha.

Can you name some of your all time favorite bands? And any modern ones?
Jonas: Iron Maiden, Slayer, Entombed, Motorhead, Mortician, Nile, Vomitory, Morbid Angel… just the usual ”boomer” stuff haha…
Modern ones: Absurdeity is AWESOME.

Is there any song with a special meaning to you, maybe because it’s highly emotional?
Jonas: I wish there was… every time I hear Tom Araya’s ‘Angel of Death’ intro scream I get goosebumps, I get pumped only thinking about it now haha.

What’s the best thing for you about performing live?
Jonas: Making music in the moment is what it’s about, amps on 10. You feel a connection with the audience that is hard to describe, it’s like nothing else. I love it.

What does Metal music mean to you in your life?
Jonas: It’s been my full time job for 20 years and also my hobby/passion. Without it I don’t know what would happen, I don’t even want to think about it…

Thank you for your time doing this, Jonas. Is there anything you want to add?
Jonas: Thank you very much for the interview, it was really nice. Only thing I would add is: you can do it, if you build it they will come (Wayne’s World 2).

Cheers everybody!

Interview by Sílvia

Check out the newest band with Jonas, Nekrodawn, for a total destruction of your brain cells at the sound of the most vicious Death Metal. Also, check Ironmaster for another mass annihilation of your remaining traces of sanity. And, if you still want more, listen to Raubtier for different kind of stuff, and if you like Hard Rock, you probably will enjoy Roadhouse Diet. Don’t forget about Bourbon Boys if Country music is your thing. Or, even if you think it’s not, give them a try, this band also surprised me a lot…