Dark rockers Then Comes Silence talk about their new album “Machine”

Swedish goth rockers Then Comes Silence have recently released their firth album, titled “Machine”. In this new interview, Alex Svenson, band's founder, is here to talk about this new release, as well as what brought him to the path of dark rock!
Can you introduce Then Comes Silence to our readers ? We hail from Stockholm and have been around since 2012 when the first album was released. The band are called "The Swedish Captains of Post-Punk" and veterans of contemporary goth rock by the Swedish media. We have been touring very frequently in Europe since 2014. There's a new album out now. The fifth one and it's called 'Machine'. With what seems to be a « new solide line-up », which has played live together for months, has the writing process been different than the previous release ? Have Matthias and Hugo brought ideas and sound to the new tracks ? Most of all it's become a solid team with the new line-up. We put a lot of efforts in the band practice for future shows. Sometimes we squeeze in a cover of a song and we have also been digging thru the old back catalogue of Then Comes Silence and brought back some old songs that have never been played live before. “Feed The Beast” from the third album 'NYCTOPHILIAN' is an example. With Hugo and Mattias we allow ourselves to push the boundaries. « Nychtophilian » has a yellow based artwork, « Blood » was, indeed, red, and the brand new « Machine » cover is cold blue. Is there a kind of concept behind all of this, like Baroness wich names each album with a color? I believe in the power of vision and images. Sure, names and words mean something too, but everyone can relate to a picture, graphics and colors. The first two albums were simply called 'I' and 'II' and were in black and white. Also, I don't like long sentences for a title. I prefer to use one word for the title on every album we release. Keep it simple, it's only Rock 'n' Roll !
You’ve released three singles for Machine : « We lose the night », « Ritual » & « Apocalypse flare ». Each has his own mood.Can you tell us more about the subject of “We Lose the Night”? It's about men in general. a structure most of us men grow up with. First of all it's putting the light on male violence and oppression... That’s why i called it “WE LOSE THE NIGHT”, since a lot of it happens in the dark and when they think no one is watching. « Ritual », with its solid tribal beat, featured Karolina Engdahl ( True Moon / Vånna Inget). How did the connection happen ? I was totally enchanted by Karolina's voice and songs. I saw her live a couple of times and by the time I started writing on the song "Ritual", I knew that she had to be a part of it. Luckily she approved and I gave her the freedom to work on her voice for the recording. We had the opportunity to do the song live, so we filmed it for the video single. While listening to « Machine », I have in mind the shadows of Sisters of Mercy, Simple Minds & Killing Joke on few tracks, especially with the vocals that seems more varied than the previous releases. What are your favorite bands, and which ones had an impact on your musical process? In my teens I discovered the electronic and industrial scene. Kraftwerk were my first real inspiration. As a kid I liked KISS and all that of course, but I think the teen years are the most important years as a foundation for the future taste in music. Then I discovered punk, Dead Kennedys, Ramones, Napalm Death and Killing Joke. It followed by Grace Jones, Pixies, Talking Heads, My Bloody Valentine, David Bowie, The Stooges, Joy Division and The Cure. I had a period were I only listened to Black Sabbath. About 15 years ago I was totally absorbed by French music, especially from the label Tricatel, music by Bertrand Burgalat and AS Dragon among others. Now it's mostly classical music. Preferable from the 19th century and early 20th century. Beethoven, Dvorak and the Russians. Sweden has a really thick rock and metal scene, with various and worldwide known bands such as Cult of Luna, Meshuggah, Watain, Katatonia, with a great emphasis on visual aspect. What are your favorite swedish bands ? Let us also discover your golden nuggets ! I recommend Union Carbide Productions from the late 80's to early 90's. They were very inspired by The Stooges and MC5. There was a legendary Swedish artist, Freddie Wadling who died in 2016. He used to play in Leather Nun and Cortex, but was mostly famous for his solo things. He had the best voice of them all. Some other bands you should look up are Silverbullit, Memoria, Venus Outback and NEJ. Thanks Alex. Hope to see you soon on stage!