“This is one of the jobs that AI is not going to be able to steal from us” – interview with Evergrey

Not that many times it has happened to me to have the whole band for an interview, and when this time the opportunity arose with Evergrey, I couldn’t miss it, also because I basically adore them. We talked about music, venues, Asian food and messy people.

Hello! How are you guys doing today?

Tom S. Englund: Good. Fantastic. We had a great show, and now we’re winding down.

Henrik Danhage: Very good.

You are playing a lot of shows and a lot of festivals this year. What is a memorable or a weird venue that you’ve played?

Tom S. Englund: A weird venue? Good question.

Rikard Zander: It’s a very good question. One time we played in former East Germany. In a guy’s living room.

Tom S. Englund: It felt like that, right? When we arrived to the place, he came out with a tray of shots. You know, like drinks.

Rikard Zander: It was like 9 o’clock in the morning. And then he came all day with those shots.

Tom S. Englund: So when it was time for gig, we were pretty shitfaced. And he had like five friends over. And we hung the merchandise in the curtain. It was in his living room. And it was like this close to me when I was singing. That was crazy.

Simen Sandnes: But actually, very recently, we played a castle.

Tom S. Englund: Yeah, we played a castle. So that’s the other side of the coin. A castle with spa. We brought our family. We didn’t play in the spa, though.

Simen Sandnes: It was below the spa.

Tom S. Englund: It was closer to the spa than to the castle. Yes. Between us all, I think we played fucking everywhere. When I think about it, we played some weird fucking places. But also some great places, yeah.

Since you founded Evergrey, how do you think that the music industry has changed?

Johan Niemann: The industry? Yes, it’s changed in every way. Nobody buys records anymore. Sort of. Well, metalheads are pretty loyal.

Tom S. Englund: Not all of them.

Johan Niemann: Not all of them, but yeah. With the whole streaming thing, people are making less money now than before.

Tom S. Englund: You have to make ticket prices more expensive and merchandise more expensive. But honestly, I don’t want to sit here and be whining about it. It is what it is. You roll with the times or you get the fuck out. I don’t see Evergrey suffering more now than 25 years ago. And I mean, fortunate for us, this is one of the jobs that AI is not going to be able to steal from us. So people are going to… 

Henrik Danhage: This is something that’s going to be art, like theaters and all that. I think it’s going to be so much more luxury. And it’s going to be because all that shit you can just get. You can get whatever you want when you create. The computer can create whatever you want in a screen. That’s bigger than anything it can ever do. 

Tom S. Englund: But to go up in here, five guys that have been playing so much together all these years together, doing that, the computer cannot work that out yet. And I think it’s like you say, it’s going to become a luxury thing. Because people want real people connections. And that’s going to stay forever. And in that aspect, it’s a privilege to be a band that’s been around for 30 years. Because we have our fan base. They’re never going away. And there’s always coming more people as well.

Simen Sandnes: Always new people. I mean, one thing to add is that with how social media and stuff is taking over, basically, I mean it gives opportunities to a lot of bands that would never be signed or heard in the 80s or the 90s. A lot of bands or guys that can just record and make stuff at home. The arena is for everyone. As long as you work hard and set your dreams high.

Tom S. Englund: You have to work and also to really believe in your own voice. And that sounds like a cliche, but it’s not easy. Because it’s very easy to start listening to everybody else as well. There are many voices today. Just to stay true to yourself. But it is really important, because nobody knows you better than yourself. That is the thing. Even if you have those really smart friends with these really smart suggestions, in the end, it’s only you know what works for you.

Are there any themes or concepts that you wanted to explore with Evergrey that you haven’t had the opportunity to do yet? 

Tom S. Englund: I think lyrically Evergrey has always based our lyrics or my lyrics based on where I was in life at the time, basically. Or we were. So it’s like, let’s see. Maybe next album is about being happy. Probably not.

Rikard Zander: Why change now? Happy album, the end of Evergrey.

Tom S. Englund: I think so. The final chapter. I was happy for like three minutes and then… So I have one major song.

Henrik Danhage: Didn’t work with Evergrey.

Tom S. Englund: Now back to the good part!

Rikard Zander: I guess you have to be… I mean, you have to be true. If you started to get happy, I guess you have to write happy.

Henrik Danhage: Otherwise it’s gonna suck, you know?

Tom S. Englund: I mean, that’s the boring thing with bands that they pressure to sound like they always have. Maybe they’re not in that part in their life. So you have to be true what you feel. You mean like they have always fought dragons and swung the sword? And now they fight. And now they fight with the wife instead. Well, maybe that’s a dragon. In a way. It’s a metaphor! Let’s call HammerFall!

Do you remember the first or the last time that somebody recognized you as Evergrey?

Tom S. Englund: Yeah, you wanna hear something really funny? I was taking a sauna in the ocen, and I’m standing there in the ocean, naked. Like this. From that side, a guy on a SUP comes, paddling on his knees. And he says, “Tom from Evergrey!” “Yeah, and now you saw me naked”. It’s the fucking weirdest thing ever. Try to beat that story.

Rikard Zander: I was out with my family. My wife and two kids. We were driving to a place and we stopped for a burger at a burger place. We sat down outside at a burger in the middle of Sweden, somewhere not next to where we live. And this guy comes up with the Recreation Day album. And he’s like, “Can I get this signed? I always bring this with me. I have it in my car.” My kids, they were like, What the fuck?

Simen Sandnes: Stuff like this happens a lot.

Tom S. Englund: It happens a lot. Which is nice. But sometimes you’re unprepared, especially when you’re like, naked and on vacation. You’re like, This is not the time where I want to meet somebody to listen to our music. But at least it made up for a good story.

I think that it’s long overdue that you take part in Eurovision Song Contest. Which song are you going to take to this contest?

Simen Sandnes: We have a new song on the album that’s very suitable for this. The one you [Rikard] think is for pop it.

Do you like Asian cuisine? And if so, what is your favorite food or dish from Asia?

Rikard Zander: Rice.

Tom S. Englund: Sashimi.

Simen Sandnes: Cantonese cauliflowers.

Henrik Danhage: So what I love, my favorite is the old school spring rolls. That is filled with pork and white cabbage, maybe some carrots, onion. And then you cut it up like this. And two beers. But there’s so much, so much Asian food. But then it’s all the Thai and all that different. But just that dish is so, like from the childhood and everything. Anything with coconut and some kind of chili, you know, it’s just. Yeah, but honestly.

What kind of questios don’t you like to answer? 

Tom S. Englund: I have two questions. And the first is, “Can you tell me everything you know about music?” The second is, “Can you tell me something about the first 11 albums?” Also… “What makes you?” Same interview. “What is your favorite country to tour?” “Tell me something about something.” And because that proves you didn’t do your fucking homework. If you’re a journalist, be a journalist. And then you should be interested in the band that you interviewed.

Henrik Danhage: Well, in that case I would not say it. Because if I say what I don’t like to say, then I’m going to say it. Even though I don’t like it. So it’s just going to be bad. It makes sense, right?

Rikard Zander: I always get uncomfortable when people ask what music do you listen to. Maybe I should think about an answer. And I forget to think about it. And then I start.

Who is the messiest person of Evergrey? 

*editor’s note, everyone is pointing at Henrik*

Henrik Danhage: Everybody, it’s not true. It’s an attack. Who do you believe?

I’m afraid that the majority wins.