Tobias Cristiansson #Interview

For those of you who don’t know him, let me tell you: Tobias Cristiansson is a talented musician whose pulsating and groovy bass can be heard in the bands Darkened, Necrophobic, In Aphelion (only in their live gigs at this moment, he has joined the band very recently), and he was part of Grave, Dismember, The Dagger and some other acts. If you want to know more about him and the bands he’s in, keep on reading ‘cause he has interesting things to say.

Hi Tobias, thank you for your time doing this interview. It seems that you have been really busy lately… Playing in two bands that have released each one a new album in the past four months. How have you seen the reception of the new Necrophobic and Darkened albums by the fans?

Tobias: Hi there! Thanks for reaching out to do this interview with me! This year (2024) has been really busy for me. That’s the way I like it so I’m more than happy for that. Luckily the albums were not recorded at the same time so I had time to separate the two recordings while learning the songs etc. The reception has been really good, we have gotten great reviews for both Necrophobic and Darkened. It’s nice to see that more people are starting to appreciate Darkened, it takes a little more to reach out with that band since we are still quite new to the Death Metal scene compared to Necrophobic who is an established act with a long legacy. There are so many releases so it can be hard to be heard through all the stuff that comes out on the market. But I think with both bands we have topped what we did on previous releases regarding the reception and good reviews, people seem to really like it and that’s really cool to see.

Have you played a lot of shows with Necrophobic lately?

Tobias: Since the album came out in March we have played quite a lot during the spring and early summer, we have done several festivals in Europe and we also played two big shows in Mexico and Colombia. It’s always nice to play in Latin America, the crowd there is very intense and passionate. We have more festivals coming up for this year and the next one is Summer Breeze in Germany. We are also doing a small tour in Italy in October plus a show here in Stockholm, Sweden on the 26th of October. I want to play live as much as I can, I really love to be out traveling and playing shows.

You’ve also already played some gigs with In Aphelion. How is it to be in two different bands with Sebastian Ramstedt and Johan Bergebäck, all three of you together?

Tobias: So far this year we have done two gigs with In Aphelion if I remember correctly. The second album is coming out soon and I hope we can play more live shows after the release. We get along really well and it’s very easy going, it’s also very nice to play with Marco Prij on drums because he is such an excellent drummer. Everybody in this band does their homework and practices the songs at home and since Marco lives in The Netherlands it’s hard for us to rehearse, it is necessary to be well prepared before we hit the stage. But everyone in In Aphelion is very talented and professional so that’s not a problem.

And, no chance for seeing Darkened live, I guess… ?

Tobias: Hempa, the guitar player and the main songwriter of Darkened is not really interested in playing live, then we have Gord, our singer who lives in Canada which makes it a bit difficult if we should play here in Europe. I would love to do some shows with Darkened though and I hope that someday it can happen. I guess it could happen if we get a good offer from a festival or something.

What’s your main sensation that one minute just before grabbing your bass and hitting the stage? Do you need any preparation, like any ritual or be in silence or…?

Tobias: Just before I go out on stage I feel excitement and the adrenaline rushing. It’s like something is about to explode. About one hour before we start our line check that we do right before the gig I start to prepare myself. I usually get stressed before the shows and I think it’s when the adrenaline starts to kick in so I need to have my things in order and start to change clothes and with Necrophobic you have to put on the make up as well. I want to warm up on my bass to loosen up the fingers and get the hands more relaxed. We usually hang out together in the backstage room and talk while we are preparing. I think I put on my clothes, the makeup and all that in the same order every time, but I have not really analyzed it. Haha! Maybe I will have a glass of soda before the show. If I’m having a drink of alcohol I will save that for after the gig is done.

Maybe what surprised me the most about you was that you play stuff very far from Metal with a Colombian musician. Can you tell our readers who Cahuac is and which kind of music you play together? And, how was it that you started to do things together with Cahuac?

Tobias: I have known this guy who is from Colombia, Lyan Cahuac for 10 years now. He is a tremendous piano player and composer, and we started to play together in his solo band last year. I used to be married to a girl from Colombia so I have been there many times and I got to appreciate the Latin music and the culture from my visits there. Musically I like to challenge myself and this kind of music can sometimes be a bit tricky, especially rhythmically. You don’t always play on the beat but rather in between. To make it even harder for me I bought a fretless bass that I’m now using when I play with Cahuac, haha! The setting in this band is me on bass, piano player, vocals, acoustic guitar, and we both have a drummer plus a percussionist. We also have a violinist. It’s very interesting and different for me to do this kind of music. We have played some gigs in the Stockholm area and we are planning to play even more in the future.

I’ve heard before that in the Swedish Metal scene everyone knows almost everyone. It’s a good thing for you this kind of brotherhood, or does it have a negative side?

Tobias: A lot of people here are familiar with each other and it’s a good vibe between everybody. Many people have also played with each other in different constellations in the past. People are generally supportive of each other and I have never experienced anything negative with that. But nowadays the older generation doesn’t hang out and drink beer in a park with a boombox like it was before, most people have families and don’t hang around like before. Luckily there’s a younger generation that takes care of that nowadays.

Now let me ask you a few more personal questions. At what age did you start playing an instrument, and when did you play for the first time in front of some audience?

Tobias: I started with bass and I was around 14/15 years old. I first played covers for maybe a year. I was also in a class for one semester arranged by the municipality where I lived, it was called Rock School and we were a band put together and we played songs chosen by a music teacher. But since we all were into Heavy Metal we forced them to let us play “Dead skin mask” by Slayer so when it was time to play the gig at the end of the semester that was what we played, plus some song by Rolling Stones that I can’t remember. That was the first time I was on stage. The second time was with an actual band that I had when I was 16, we played Black Metal and I played bass and sang in that band. We recorded a bunch of songs in our rehearsal room but unfortunately never did a proper demo. It was good stuff, very typical Black Metal the way it sounded in 1995.

Which bands were you listening to in your teens? Are you still listening to them nowadays?

Tobias: I started listening to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal when I was around 8 years old, but in the early 90´s I discovered Death Metal and later Black Metal. So when I was around 14 years old it was the Death Metal that was coming at the time: Entombed, Dismember, Grave, Obituary, Morbid Angel etc. Later I got into the Black Metal bands that had released albums like Immortal, Burzum, Marduk, Mayhem, Satyricon etc. You basically listen to the latest records and the stuff that you could find. After my Death and Black Metal period I started to go back in time again to re-discover Thrash and Speed Metal from the 80s and after that I very much expanded my musical horizons and listened to everything from AOR to 70´s Rock to Glam Metal.

Which band and/or song was your entrance door to Metal?

Tobias: When I was a kid there was a radio show here in Sweden once a week called Rockbox that played the latest releases, so that’s where I got my introduction. Among all the bands that I heard the band that struck me the most was Metallica and their latest album Master of Puppets. That was also the first album that I bought for my own money. After that I think I bought Alice Cooper’s Raise your Fist and Yell that came out in 1987. I basically loved most bands that released albums around those years such as Wasp, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Scorpions etc.

Is there any band you’d die for sharing the stage with them?

Tobias: In 2014 we played with Grave at the Bang Your Head festival in Germany together with Riot, it was super cool to stand on the side of the stage and watch their set. We have also played a festival with Alice Cooper, I think it was around 2015, and we shared the same backstage area as them, that was also really cool. Grave toured with bands like Morbid Angel and Obituary etc, and that’s also bands that I really like. When I was with Dismember we made a European tour in 2006 called Masters of Death with Entombed, Grave, Unleashed and Dismember that was also quite awesome. I’ve been lucky to have played festivals with some really cool bands. It was great to watch Slayer from the side of the stage too, we were standing on Kerry King´s side and it was really powerful. I would have loved to play on the same bill as Black Sabbath but I think that will never happen.

Regarding live gigs, do you have a special good memory of any show you’ve played?

Tobias: That’s almost impossible to answer since I have done so many gigs and tours for the last 20 years. But one memory that I will always cherish is the first tour I ever did, that was with Dismember when we went to Australia in 2005 just one month after I had joined the band. I had never played outside of Stockholm and to go from that to fly to Australia for a tour was mind blowing. We had a great time there and we did lots of sight seeing as well.

Are you a nostalgic person, or do you feel like you are living your best times?

Tobias: It depends, I never look back and think that I had a better time before in the past. I always try to look forward and I am always striving to get better at playing and doing better shows. But I can look back at all the nice memories that I have with all the different bands that I have been fortunate to play with over the years.

If you could choose to have a superpower, which one would it be?

Tobias: To be the best bass player. I want to improve and get better all the time. Apart from that it would be nice to become invisible or maybe be able to fly. Haha!

What’s your favorite format for listening to music? Any recommendations of underground bands that you can do to us?

Tobias: Nowadays I mostly listen through Spotify. I used to hate Spotify before and I only listened to vinyl, CD or cassettes but I have become lazy over the years. I don’t follow the scene that much and I am bad with checking out new bands. One band that I heard that I found was cool is Power from Hell, they are a Brazilian Black Metal band, and at least to me they sound pretty original. I like bands that try something different and maybe have a progressive vibe to what they are doing. I’m not meaning progressive as in being super skilled musician but rather that you dare to make twists and turns musically.

Can you name a song that’s special for you, for being highly emotional?

Tobias: That could be a cheesy ballad from the 80´s. Maybe something from Whitesnake, the way David Coverdale can deliver a rather simple love lyric is very touching for me. But one other song that I find very emotional for me is Forever Free by Wasp, it’s from the Headless Children album from 1989 which is the first Wasp album that I bought as a kid.

What does Metal mean to you in your life?

Tobias: Heavy Metal or no Metal at all! Wimps and posers leave the hall! I love Metal and that has been a part of me since I was very young, but maybe nowadays it’s such an intertwined part of me that I don’t really think too much about it anymore. I could listen to a salsa song and right after a Death Metal song or maybe a baroque classical piece, it doesn’t really matter. But I’m a rocker at heart and I will always be.

Many thanks for your time, Tobias, wishing you the best. Is there anything else you want to add?

Tobias: Thank you for contacting me to do this interview! I truly appreciate all the support. Check out the new releases by Necrophobic, Darkened and In Aphelion and go and see when I play a concert near you! Cheers!

Interview by Sílvia

You can check any of the bands mentioned above and enjoy some of the best bass lines in their songs. Also, you can support the bands by sharing their music, purchasing some of their stuff… Support the musicians. Support the underground.