“Playing live is the coolest thing about being in a band” – interview with Plaguemace

We met Plaguemace just right after their amazing performance at Summer Breeze last month, so we took the time to ask them about the future of the band, their music and their favorite artists. You can check out the interview in full below:

Good evening guys, how are you doing? 

Andreas Truelsen: We’re doing good, a little bit sweaty.

You’ve just played in Summer Breeze. How does it feel to be performing in the 25th year of the festival? 

Anton Holm: I didn’t know it to be honest. That’s amazing. 

Andreas Truelsen: That’s an anniversary. That’s fucking cool. It’s been around since 1997, right? We’ve been looking very much forward to coming here and playing. I was very stoked when we got the message that we were supposed to play a band. 

Absolutely. It is an incredible experience. What do you think is the most exciting thing about being in a band in 2024? 

Andreas Truelsen: There are a lot of things. To me, I guess it’s just playing live. I just love the music. It’s nice being in the studio, it’s nice doing new songs and stuff. But really, playing shows… I don’t know if it’s because it’s 2024, but yeah, it’s just the coolest thing about being in a band, to me. 

Anton Holm: Yeah, I can agree on that, playing live shows. Also getting around, we’ve just been on a big tour, so that was fun. For six weeks, touring Europe and saw a lot of different clubs. That’s really cool. It’s a cool thing to get to that point. Playing live is just the thing that does it. I don’t think I would want to play in a band if I didn’t play. 

Andreas Truelsen: If I would play like 10 shows a year but only play big shows, that would never fit us. It’s cool to be on these big stages, of course, we love playing small clubs too. Like 100 people, 200 people. I don’t think we could play covers, really. It would be a combination of us not being that good at following the rules, I guess. 

Anton Holm: I don’t think we could play that much. Maybe we will make a cover someday, but then we would still make it to our own feeling.

You started the band in 2019. I was wondering what was the hardest lesson that COVID taught you since the band started.

Andreas Truelsen: We didn’t really play before the pandemic. We got the whole band together in the spring of 2020, so it was already COVID. But then we didn’t feel like we missed out on anything. We wanted to go play, of course, but then we just rehearsed a lot and we had a lot of fun in the rehearsal space We got to know each other musically through that.

Anton Holm: It was mostly at the end of Covid when we were fully assembled and we had songs and then we were like, “Oh, come on, we want to go play”. And then thankfully at that time, there was not much Covid left. 

Andreas Truelsen: We played some boarding schools, some public schools, all sorts of things. Just through our contacts, but it was like it had to be social distancing and all the things. We were so eager to go play that we had to find a way to play. 

Anton Holm: But you also have to learn how to be a band. We still do. None of us has been in a band before. This is our first band. 

Andreas Truelsen: I’ve never played before. Simon neither. He played a little trombone. 

Anton Holm: I had a band but that was only for a couple of months, we had one concert or so, if that counts, I guess. That was a rock thing, a long time ago. No live experience. No live experience, no experience as a metal band playing metal. 

Andreas Truelsen: Then we just figured it out along the way, really. 

Reptilian Warlord is almost one year old, what is Plaguemace planning after these festivals? Hopefully some rest!

Andreas Truelsen: I don’t like we’ll be resting too long. I think we try to get on as many shows as possible, in the beginning, it’s a little bit of a hassle. We would like to play a little more, but if it’s not possible, in the fall, I think we will write some songs. 

Anton Holm: At some point, we don’t know yet, but at some point, in the near future, we would like to go to the studio. We like the material. I like everything we did, but when you are a band, and you play so much. You just have an urge to do some new stuff, and get out new ideas. So, it would be nice to get some of the new songs and get to play them live.

Andreas Truelsen: I’m excited about the new songs. It’s going to be something different. 

Death metal, the genre that you play, is one of the most extreme metal genres. Can you share with us a guilty pleasure of music that you have? Something completely outside or opposite to death metal.

Anton Holm: First of all, I don’t really think there are guilty pleasures. There are only pleasures. 

Andreas Truelsen: I think you should never be ashamed of what you’re listening to. Unless it’s some right-wing bullshit. Then you should be ashamed. 

Anton Holm: Yeah, then you should be really ashamed. 

Andreas Truelsen: Other than that. I love every kind of music. 

Anton Holm: Yeah, pretty much. You should try to come with us on the tour bus. We almost never hear metal. It’s very rare that we hear metal on the bus. We always hear a lot of 80’s stuff. You like disco a lot. 

Andreas Truelsen: I’m really in love with the Electric Light Orchestra. Just listen to that a lot. And yeah, during the trip ee heard one metal song and we’re driving 200 kilometres for this little run. Everyone’s like, “Ah, turn that off, we don’t want to hear metal now. We hear metal all the time.” We love metal, but when you’re playing so much… I don’t believe in guilty pleasures either. I think it’s a good point. 

Anton Holm: I like all sorts of stuff. I like Nick Cave, ballads and stuff. Also, rock music. Yeah, and 80’s stuff as well. We have this playlist where we collect all the things that we just want to listen to. It’s nice. There are all sorts of stuff in there. But not much metal.

Andreas Truelsen: 20 per cent are stupid Danish songs.

Anton Holm: I like whenever a band, of course, a band has to be serious, but I have a hard time with bands that take themselves too seriously. They can do that. But then they have to go with this. Like Mayhem. 

Andreas Truelsen: And they don’t have to kill each other. 

Anton Holm: No. Maybe not that, but just their presence on stage, then they have to carry it out, because I have a really hard time when people take themselves too seriously, and then they don’t live up to the expectation. I like bands way more that take the piss of themselves, just having a good time. They don’t have to fool around and do stupid shit, but if you can feel that they are also just there for you.

Is there something that you wanted to talk about in interviews that you haven’t had the chance? If so, yeah, please do. 

Anton Holm: That’s a funny question. The best questions are those that you can’t answer. 

Andreas Truelsen: Usually we talk about nothing. It’s just saying stupid things. 

Anton Holm: It is to an extent where if you, even if you knew Danish, then you wouldn’t understand anything of what we’re talking about because it’s really just fucking gibberish. It doesn’t make fucking sense. But it’s funny to us.

Andreas Truelsen: I just wanted to say that we really appreciate, everyone supporting us. I wanna talk about that. I love the metal community, fuck yeah. And I love pretty much everything about the metal community, it’s pretty cool. And I’m so happy COVID is over so we can go see shows. I think you should support all the bands, go see their shows. Even if it’s death metal or whatever you like. Just have fun. Enjoy the music, live music is fucking gold. Keep live music alive. No matter what genre, even if it’s not metal whatever, keep live music alive.

Anton Holm: I just wanted to say that, we were talking the other day, there is this sound engineer in, Osnabrück, in a place called Bastard Club. Very cool place. 

Andreas Truelsen: I love Bastard Club in Osnabrück. 

Anton Holm: It’s amazing. It’s a cool, nice venue. And the people who are running it are genuinely fucking good people. We were talking about the sound guy because he’s so good. He’s a great sound guy, but he’s very peculiar, but in a good way. He’s generally funny, but he’s also very serious and he just has his own life, and it just got me thinking about it. You meet so many people when you are touring or going to festivals, but actually are doing all the work. We come and play and we entertain people, but, the people who make this shit happen, there are so many nice people. And the people in the crowd may not meet these people, because when we’re playing they’re working also, and they don’t get to be on the stage. I don’t think many of them want to be on the stage anyway. The people in the crowd may not realise how many people it takes to actually do things like this. There are so many people doing volunteer work. 

Andreas Truelsen: Everybody does it out of a passion. You don’t get rich from, you know, playing death metal. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the passion, the love for music and the scene. I love that. It’s important. 

Anton Holm: It’s the same thing why we’re only doing this because we want to. It’s not like making a lot of money. 

Andreas Truelsen: I don’t really want to be rich. Maybe a little more money. A little bit more money than even now. 

Anton Holm: I’m pretty fucking broke. 

Andreas Truelsen: Yeah, I’m broke too. That’s the dream, to be able to just live off the thing, and just be amazing, support yourself. 

Anton Holm: Just be able to do things you like, you know, take a vacation, or buy a new amplifier. 

I wanted to play a little game with you, if that’s alright? So, you see there’s a Summer Breeze glass on the table, with some notes inside, so each one of you will have to take one note. There are some lyrics of bands that you love. The lyrics at some point, will be missing, and you will have to complete with Plaguemace lyrics.

Anton Holm: Black star. We like Carcass, we love Carcass, but I didn’t even know this. 

Andreas Truelsen: We can do it anyway. Sorry, Carcass. We don’t know your lyrics. 

Anton Holm: Black star, where the light never shines. Black star, won’t you be….?

Andreas Truelsen: We’ll finish it up with some of our lyrics. I don’t know. That’s funny, I’m trying to remember our lyrics.

Anton Holm: I always take the part of the time. 

Andreas Truelsen: Just take one of the parts you do. 

Anton Holm: Blackstar, won’t you be chaos in the peaceful village? 

Andreas Truelsen: Salvation stripped from the origin of existence. Obstinence abandons as you… get your fucking reptile on. Yeah, that’s some of our lyrics. I’m so bad at the lyrics. That’s the disadvantage of loving Death Metal. You don’t know all the lyrics. I love Suffocation. I have a huge Suffocation tattoo on my leg. The snakes come slithering. Anarchy. Chaotic hunters rise. Spit in their… I had to get the last slide before I knew what it was. I didn’t even know that was what you were saying. 

Anton Holm: No, me neither. I just saw somebody say, It’s a way down. It’s High On Fire.

Andreas Truelsen: I have a High on Fire tattoo on my hands. That’s why we became friends actually. Spit on their, spit on their… It’s so tight being put on his butt like this. Spitting their igneous bones is actually pretty gnarly, we should find out. Oh, tell me how, how you want it now, you need someone and I… I’m trying to remember the lyrics really. 

Anton Holm: I.. Jesus Christ, I want to save your life.

So guys, thank you again. Is there anything else you want to add to the readers?

Andreas Truelsen: Thank you Summer Breeze for booking us. Love this festival. Wish we could stay longer but someone has to work. 

Anton Holm: I’ve already been on eight festivals this year, so gotta chill a little. 

Andreas Truelsen: You guys are booking us. We would love to come back. We appreciate it.