UNSIGNED BAND NEWS: ROCKET Interviews Christoffer Of IMPLODE

Sweden’s IMPLODE offer great galloping riffs, machine gun drumming, and sledgehammer brutality. They aren’t just another case of all technicality and offering no emotion. For IMPLODE, the emphasis really is on groove. They have been making a lot of noise in the underground and are ready to take it worldwide, showing great determination in a very competitive “Unsigned” scene.

The Metal Den’s Randy “Rocket” Cody recently conducted an interview with IMPLODE guitarist Christoffer for his loyal army of Den Headz worldwide.

Rocket: Where were you born and raised, Christoffer?

Christoffer: I was born and raised in a small town called Mariestad in the cold country of Sweden.

Rocket: Do you come from a big family?

Christoffer: Not so big, two older sisters and two much older parents. But I do have a shitload of cousins on my fathers side.

Rocket: What first drew you to playing music?

Christoffer: I remember when i was like 11 or something like that. My sister had an acoustic guitar with just the two highest strings. A really shitty guitar, but i played it from time to time when i was bored. Then i started listening to rock and actually stopped playing guitar and started playing drums. Eventually i got sick of that (mostly cause i sucked). So i started playing the guitar again at age 15. Since then it’s been nothing but riffs and shredding.

Rocket: Who are a few of your biggest guitar playing influences of past and present?

Christoffer: Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, one sick bastard. I also listened a lot to Children of Bodom before so Alexi Laiho have influenced me in the shredding department. And of course if you play guitar in thrash band James Hetfield will always be an influence. Other influences which maybe not shine through that much in Implode are Slash, Devin Towshend and Zakk Wylde.

Rocket: What kind of guitars are you currently playing live and in the studio?

Christoffer: Right now i am using a Schecter C1-EX which is a baritone guitar. Since the scale is longer than a normal guitar i can tune down to B and still get a bitching bite and tone in the riffing when i palm mute. Lots of chuggah chuggah. The pickups which i use are EMG81 and EMG85 which gives a mean fuckin tone.

Rocket: What kind of amp rigs?

Christoffer: I use a Peavey 6505 with a 4×12 loaded with Celestion Vintage-30 elements. A great sounding rig, perfect for that kind of gothenburgish metal we play. Like a said before, lots of chugg.

Rocket: Did you ever take any formal guitar playing lessons?

Christoffer: Nah, just lots of bedroom guitarwankage.

Rocket: How did IMPLODE band initially form together?

Christoffer: Actually the only original member in the band is Gustav (Bass). He started the band in 2003 i think. But at that time the music was much more Nu-metal influenced and not the fastpaced thrash/death we play today. I joined the band in 2006 briefly followed by our former vocalist Viktor Bruno,
and thats pretty much when we started using more screaming and a more aggresive sound.

Rocket: Your band’s latest album is “Memento Mori”. How has the reaction been so far and where can fans pickup a copy?

Christoffer: The reactions has been very good actually both by fans and critics. Actually i think we may have both lost and won fans with this EP. Mostly because the sound is a hell of a lot more aggresive than the previous demo. More screaming and a more “deathy” sound.The reviews has been really good and we lie steadily at about 8-9 out of 10 so thats great. But since we have not signed a record deal you will have to contact us preferably through our myspace where you can buy it.

Rocket: Is IMPLODE working on writing new music?

Christoffer: Hell yeah, we have a lot of new material just waiting to be recorded. I think we have taken the songs a step further now. The sound on the new shit is basically more aggresive and a more solid song structure than before.

Rocket: I like to have fun with this next one. What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you while performing on the stage?

Christoffer: We were playing this really small place and the crowd was right in front of the stage just like 4 feet from were i was standing. I had a stage tuner, noise gate and a footswitch right in front me and my guitar signal was cut a shit load of times. Almost everytime anyone tried to get up on the stage the tuner got stomped on, one of the cables between the pedal got kicked out or the footswitch got switched to clean. So everytime we play on a small stage like that now i always keep my pedals behind me.

Rocket: What’s your favorite IMPLODE song to play live and why?

Christoffer: It would probably be Cut the cord. It’s also the most technical song but it’s really fuckin energetic and a real crowd pleaser. Theres one part part in that song right after the second verse thats truly heavy and when you see the crowd banging their heads

along with the whole band, the energy that unleashes feels pretty god damn amazing when youre up there on the stage.

Rocket: Who are some of the record labels out there that you think would be a good fit for IMPLODE?

Christoffer: Of course it would be awesome to land on a label like Roadrunner or Century Media or something like that. But now i think the best thing would be a bit smaller record label (to begin with).
I guess what is mean is that it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond.

Rocket: What are some of the upcoming shows for IMPLODE?

Christoffer: For the moment we are focusing the most on getting the new songs for the next cd done. But we have a couple of local gigs in our area
and a forthcoming gig in Stockholm.

Rocket: Do you plan on trying to get to America to play some shows in the future?

Christoffer: Yeah, of course we can’t wait to come over there and rock the shit out of you guys.

Doesn’t every band want to tour the North America? I am confident that our time will come and just hope that America is ready for Implode.

http://www.myspace.com/implodemetal