Interview Magnus bLINdbYSIGHt

Lineup: Magnus – Vocals, Guitars Tobbe - Guitars Henrik - Bass Magne - Drums

5/14/07 Interviewer: Erika Kristen Watt

Here’s a thought: a band interested in performing well and passionate about what they preach. Wow-wee, what a concept!!! As a part of the metal music listening community I believe that’s the most real and refreshing thing I’ve heard this year. bLINdbYSIGHt is a young band from Sweden who remembers what it’s like to have musical integrity attached to their tunes. Introducing a band involved in the beginning of the next wave of death rattle metal, bLINdbYSIGHt. 

FourteenG: When and where did you find the member’s of your band? Mini history of the association of the band.
 

Magnus: I (Magnus) started bLINdbYSIGHt as a one-man project around 2002. Shortly after two of my long lost friends Tobbe and Henrik joined as guitarist and bass-player. And of course our drummer Magne, which Tobbe and I shared rehearsal-studio with while playing in an other band, was a given fourth member.
 

Q: How do you mesh all of your individual influences into the your band’s sound? How do you keep it original and fresh for yourselves and your fans?
 

Magnus: From the beginning bLINdbYSIGHt had influences like Pantera, Metallica, Slayer, Cradle of Filth, Morbid Angel, and many more. But the magic takes place in the rehearsal studio. That's where we've found OUR sound, and that's where the very core of BlindBySight has evolved to what it is today. And that's really the trick to keep it original, to be very dedicated and revealing. bLINdbYSIGHt is all about communication, the art of expressing oneself in multiple levels, so that every single person in the audience can relate to us.
 

Q: How important is it to you to have fan and critic recognition for the musical contributions your band has made to the metal community on a whole?
 

Magne & Magnus: What our fans say is very important. But still, as long as we are honest in our music, as long as we stand up for what we feel and want to express, what critics say isn't that relevant really. We know we're making a contribution by integrating the lyrics with the music the way we do, and that's what matters to us.
 

Q: What have you learned about yourself and your bandmates during your years together as a band?
 

Magnus: The day has too few hours, girlfriends don’t grow on trees, to be really good friends with your band-mates outside the studio is crucial for being creative in it.
 

Q: Where do you begin when you lay down your arrangements for your songs?
 

Magnus: First of all it starts out with an idea, then I try to come up with a catchy riff (our music is pretty riff based) when that is done I start to build pre and post pieces. When all material is there I switch it around to fit the original idea. Then I go over it again and again editing and adding details such as second guitar parts, bass parts, solos, acoustic parts, and the drums which is given the most time (cause we are not so much tune as we are rhythm) it gets over all flow and some important parts are given a detailed look-over. At this stage the song is pretty much finished and the result usually ends up on a CD that we listen to in the studio once or twice. Then we the really interesting part of the developing process begins as the hole song is thrown down the grinder yet again and all the gays contribute and discard parts and pieces, when it’s all done I start with the lyrics and after a lot of rehearsing a new song is born.

Q: Just how symbolic and/or personal are the songs you arrange?
 

Magne & Magnus: The songs are very personal and revealing. bLINdbYSIGHt is an expressionistic band, and the music would lack a lot of its depth if the lyrics soul purpose were to give the singer something to sing, something that's way to common.
 

Q: What have you learned about the music industry that has made you a better musician today?
 

Magne: As well as the music industry is overcrowded with people having dollar signs in their eyes, there are lots of honest people with a great passion for what they do too. Personal satisfaction and success comes from inside, from the conviction that what you do is important and makes a change, and of course from the feeling of doing something because of sheer passion. Hunting money without a greater cause, or playing music because of narcissist reasons, does not lead to any satisfaction at all. External factors can never reach a person on the inside. As musicians, that's valuable knowledge.
 

Q: Top 5 bands /musicians that you are listening to at the moment?
 

Magne & Magnus: Dark Tranquillity, Meshuggah, Samael, Morbid Angel, Soilwork.
 

Q: What is your most embarrassing CD you own?
 

Magnus:????
 

Q: What would a newcomer to your music except to see at one of your live performances?
 

Magne: The music bLINdbYSIGHt plays is to be experienced live. We are very dedicated and passionate, and when we play we get completely overwhelmed of the music we are creating. That's what one can expect to see, Expressionistic and Melodic Death Metal. With headbanging from Hell.
 

Q: Most embarrassing stage mishap?
 

Magnus: Don't know really... You'll have to ask the audience.
 

Q: Wildest thing that has ever happened while on tour?

Magne & Magnus: First tour this summer “If we could go on tour with Tjajkovskij I could die happy!”
 

Q: What does the next year hold in-store for your band?
 

Magne & Magnus: The future is looking very bright, we're in negotiations with different labels right now. At the moment we haven't decided which label to start collaborating with, but we have received different deals. 
 

Q: Why should anyone listen to your band?

Magnus: Good question!

 

“Getting to know you…”
 

Q: Favorite underground band?
 

Magnus & Magne: Chainsaw, Swedish bay area thrash metal. http://chainsawmetal.com

Q: Favorite cult film? 

Magnus: ????                 
 

Q: Do you have a fetish?
 

Magnus: Yes!!
 

Q: Favorite clothing of the opposite sex?
 

Magnus: Nude is always nice!
 

Q: Spiritual or religious?
 

Magne: Certainly not religious... Religion has devastated the world enough.
 

Q: As your worst enemy describe yourself?
 

Magnus: Stupid, Ugly, Naive and flat headed.
 

Q: What is the song you want played at your funeral?

Magne: If anything, I'd like those who attend my funeral to choose a song that they feel represent my life. Or Monte Python's "Always look on the bright side of life"...
 

Q: Favorite pick-up line?

Magnus: Personally I think not having a ”pick up line” is the best ”pick up way”
 

Q: Do you own a good luck charm?
 

Magnus: No, and I can't say I've needed it so far.
 

Q: What’s the one thing that people wouldn’t know about you that you wouldn’t mind sharing?

Magnus: No secrets here, I am an open book….almost!?!

Q: Any special messages you would like to extend to your fans and supporters?

Magnus: "place for a cheesy old cliché".

LINKS
 www.blindbysight.com
 www.myspace.com/blindbysight
blindbysight@hotmail.com

As stated, we're in negotiations with different labels at the moment. Check our sites for more info, as things develop!

Tack så mycket för intervjun Magnus och lycka till!!!