INTERVIEW : LECHERY (Frederik NORDSTRANDH)

Hello guys and I first wish to thank you for your availability to answer our questions!
Thank you, we’re always available for those who support LECHERY

Your new album Violator has been available in Europe since few weeks now. How does it feel? Are you satisfied with the result? Is it exactly the way you wanted to sound?
It feels just great to have released it in Europe; it has been out since December in Japan and Asia.
We are absolutely satisfied with the album and there’s nothing about it that we would like to change, and that is a good feeling to have when you release an album.

Can you tell us how it has been perceived by the fans, first, and then by the music media?
It’s been overall just positive response both of the fans and music media. It’s actually way better than we expected, and it’s so great to receive all the comments and mails from metal-heads around the world. That’s what really matters to us, because if we don’t get support from our fans, then we’re not much worth.

Can you tell us the story of LECHERY?
The current line-up was completed when bass-player Martin KARLSSON joined the band in 2004, but the embryo was born long ago. Me and Martin BENGTSSON met in high-school and started to play together, we struggled through many bands and then Martin joined ARCH ENEMY for a couple of years, and it was after that we really started off what became LECHERY. After a couple of bass-players we found Martin KARLSSON that had played with Rob before and then the band was born.

Your music sounds to be an alchemy of various influences such as classy metal (I would mention THE RODS) as well as some more sophisticated things (mainly due to the presence of keyboards). Can you tell us more about the influences to LECHERY?
Well, I think it’s hard to talk about influences, I mean, you get influenced by everything around you. But if you talking ´bout musical influences so of course you could mention all the classic metal bands like JUDAS PRIEST, ACCEPT, SAXON and many more. The four of us in Lechery have our own influences and favorite bands, and that’s just creative for the band, but we all know exactly how we wants Lechery to sound.

What is your recipe to get this “trademark” sound for LECHERY?
Hard to say if there’s a certain recipe for that, I don’t think so. When we jam in rehearsal-room it’s just tend to happen. But we love melodies, both on the guitars and vocals, so we try to get good melodies to get along with a more aggressive rhythm-ground.

I guess you shall tour to promote your album. Does the stage is an important part of LECHERY music?
We just love to play live, so it’s for sure an important part of Lechery. We are very excited to get out and play for the fans of heavy-metal that we know are out there.

Do you plan to tour extensively in Europe (may I cross my fingers for a show in France???) ?
Our main goal for 2008 is to play live as much as we can, but no dates are confirmed at this date. Of course we love going to France because we know that there’s a dedicated metal-crowd there.

In a more general way, what do you think about nowadays hard rock / heavy metal revival?
Don’t really know if you can call it a revival? I think there’s always been a great metal scene around the world; maybe the biggest down period was the early nineties when the grunge took over the world. But besides that I think heavy metal has been strong ever since it’s birth in the early seventies. What happens now is that a lot of bands from the eighties come together for re-unions and new fans have the chance to discover those bands, and that is of course a lift for the entire metal-market because in my opinion it was back then the greatest metal was created.

In Europe, some countries are emerging as leaders in this music market such as Scandinavia and Germany. How do you live this, from the inside?
I think it depends on what musical direction you talk about. If we just focus on the metal-scene I think it’s so that of course Germany is the “head-quarters” for metal in Europe, they’ve got many good bands even if you talk about heavy-metal, death-metal, power-metal or what ever. In Sweden we’ve got some genres that we are big in, on one hand you’ve got the melodic death with the likes of ARCH ENEMY, THE HAUNTED, IN FLAMES etc, and on the other hand we have the classical metal-bands like NOCTURNAL RITES, BLOODBOUND and so on, but there’s also a sleaze-revival in Sweden right now. And of course we have the home of the true black-metal in Norway. But of course, it doesn’t matter where the music comes from as long as it’s good and carries the metal on.

Websites dedicated to hard rock and heavy metal (like HardRock80.com!) are flourishing. Is the Internet to play a big role for young bands like LECHERY in promoting their music?
To a broader extend, what is your feeling about the Internet?
Yes in deed! It’s a great forum to spread both music and keep contact with people from the entire world, and we just love those people who put down a lot of work to support the metal. To a new band like us, it’s big help of course since it’s much easier to get yourself heard over the internet than if you just have to go the “analog-way”.
Generally internet has helped the entire society a lot; of course there’s a lot of shit on the internet as well, but over all it’s just a great media.

And, finally, what would you say to our HR80 readers?
If you are a fan of heavy metal, and like to bang head with your fist in the air, don’t hesitate to get yourself a copy of Violator, you won’t be disappointed. Hope to see all of you metal-heads out there some day!
STAY METAL!

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BAND DATA

Name Of The Band: LECHERY
Date of birth of the band: 2004 (in it’s present shape)
Members: Martin Bengtsson (Lead vocals, lead guitar), Fredrik Nordstrandh (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals), Robert Persson (drums), Martin Karlsson (bass)
Discography: Violator

LECHERY Members personal data

Name: Fredrik Nordstrandh
Age: 32
Instrument: Guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
Your favorite Bands: Judas Priest, Whitesnake, Kiss, Accept, Saxon …….The list could be long
First concert you ever saw: Iron Maiden (with Helloween as support) 1988 on the Seventh son-tour.
Best concert you ever saw: Can’t pick one… Whitesnake- Sweden Rock festival 2003, Kiss-Gothenburg 1996, Aerosmith-Sweden Rock festival 2007
First album you buy: Kiss – Lick it up
Last album you buy: Defenders of the faith – Judas Priest
The most embarrassing record you own: I bought a Steppenwolf-collection once that was filled with instrumental “Elevator-versions” of their songs, it’s absolutely disgusting!
What are your top 5 all time songs: Metal Heart-Accept, Love Ain´t No Stranger-Whitesnake, Reckless-Judas Priest, Black Diamond-Kiss, Only-Anthrax
And your top 5 albums: Metal Heart-Accept, Slide it in-Whitesnake, Painkiller-Judas Priest, Love Gun-Kiss, Keeper of the seven keys 1&2-Helloween
What would be your dream band? Paul Stanley-Vocals, KK Downing-guitar, Wolf Hofmann- guitar, Alec John Such-Bass, Eric Singer-Drums,
Jon Lord-Keyboard
Album or band you participated in and of which you are the most proud of? : That one was easy…… LECHERY!

Name: Martin Bengtsson
Age: 31
Instrument: Vocals, guitar
Your favorite Bands: Judas Priest, Whitesnake, Dokken, Accept, Deep Purple, Saxon, Rainbow, Wasp, Dio, Iron Maiden and many more.

First concert you ever saw: Think it was some concert in my home town

Best concert you ever saw: My first Saxon concert, don’t remember the year
First album you buy: Black Sabbath’s first album
Last album you buy: Helloween- Gambling with the devil
The most embarrassing record you own: Jennifer Batten, Above Below and Beyond (why do i have this album hehe).

What are your top 5 all time songs: Don’t Have a top-five but here’s some killer songs: Raise Your Fist (Running wild), Reckless (Judas Priest), Rock Hard Ride Fre e(Judas Priest), Unchain the night (Dokken), Pilgrim (Uriah Heep)

And your top 5 albums: There’re too many great records, here’s some of them: Saxon-Denim and Leather, Accept-MetalHheart, Europe-Final Countdown, Deep purple- Machine head, Dio - Dream Evil

What would be your dream band? Tommy Nilsson (Vocals) John Lord (keyboard), Cozy Powell (drums), Peter Baltes (bass), John Norum (guitar)

Album or band you participated in and of which you are the most proud of?:
Lechery, Violator

Name: Robert Persson
Age: 30
Instrument: Drums
Your favorite Bands: Running Wild, Iron Maiden, Annihilator
First concert you ever saw: Iron Maiden - No prayer on the road 1990
Best concert you ever saw: Iron Maiden - Sweden, Ullevi 2005
First album you buy: Iron Maiden - Somewhere in time
Last album you buy: Exodus - Shovel headed kill machine
The most embarrassing record you own:
I've sold 'em all or given them away to people who like 'em better.
What are your top 5 all time songs:
Iced Earth - Gettysburg (the trilogy),
Iron Maiden - Caught Somewhere In Time,
Megadeth - Peace Sells,
Running Wild - Mutiny,
Manowar - Brigde Of Death

And your top 5 albums:
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time,
Tiamat - Wildhoney,
Judas Priest - Painkiller,
Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden,
Exodus - Tempo Of TheDamned

What would be your dream band?
Vocals - Tim "Ripper" Owens
Guitar - Jeff Waters
Guitar - Dave Mustaine
Bass - James MacDonough
Drums - Mike Mangini

Album or band you participated in and of which you are the most proud of?: It's the Lechery debut-album "Violator". I'm very proud of that album.

Name: Martin Karlsson
Age: 24
Instrument: Bass
Your favourite Bands: Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are the all time favourites
First concert you ever saw: Judas Priest, 1990 Frölundaborg, Gothenburg
Best concert you ever saw: Surely one of the many Iron Maiden shows I´ve been to.  Which one I can’t decide.
First album you buy: Twisted Sister´s  Stay Hungry.
Last album you buy: W.A.S.P´s  Crimson Idol.
The most embarrassing record you own: None!
What are your top 5 all time songs:
Rime Of the Ancient Mariner, Infinite Dreams, Powerslave, Hallowed be thy name and  Revelations, to mention a few. I´m a big Maiden fan as you can see.
And your top 5 albums: Number of the beast, Piece of mind, Powerslave, Somewhere in time and Seventh son of a seventh son.  Maybe not a very original choice, but they have done the best Metal albums ever! End of discussion!
What would be your dream band? Lechery!
Album or band you participated in and of which you are the most proud of?: Violator is the first album I´ve recorded that has been released, and that I´m very proud of. I´m also very proud of being part of one of the worlds most kick ass band, Lechery!