Can you remain to us the story of Coldworker ?

Well, the line up was complete when our singer, Joel, came into the picture during April. However, we started out as a trio, Anders J, Oskar and I (Anders B), and rehearsed for the very first time on February 2nd. Then André joined during March. We wrote all the songs on the album during this time, and started recording June 6th. Everything went very fast, from forming the band to getting signed with Relapse Records, to recording our debut album.

How would you describe your music in your own words ?

"Full Blasting Death Metal" (using Anders Jakobson’s four words), which I (Anders Bertilsson) think is a perfect description. Deeply rooted in Death Metal with clear Grindcore influence, and you’ll find thrashy stuff in there, together with other styles.

Can you tell us more about your debut album called « The Contaminated Void » ?

It’s an album filled with 14 tracks for the European and American market, with a bonus track for Japan. Containing full blasting Death Metal and a killer artwork, it’s definitely worth checking out!

Who created the artwork ?

Orion Landau, an artist at Relapse.

Can you speak to us about the recording sessions ?

We actually recorded the album ourselves in our rehearsal room, with Anders Jakobson’s recording equipment, on his laptop. I think all of us are very satisfied with the result, since we had tremendous help from Dan Swanö, he really brought everything to life in a way that probably none of us expected. Visit our website ( www.coldworker.com )if you’d like a deeper look into the recording sessions, in our studio diary.

How did you proceed for the composition ?

A great thing about our composing is that Coldworker really works as a collective, everyone contributes to the writing process. That helped enabling us to produce an album in such a short time. It also feels really cool that everyone truly becomes the part of our music in that way... making it a group effort.

What are the lyrics talking about ? Where do you find inspiration ?

All of us agreed that we didn’t want to write political lyrics, and especially Anders felt quite drained on that subject after writing so many lyrics for Nasum. I think political lyrics definitely serve a purpose, but it’s not something that I want to write about. I guess you can say that there is a concept behind the lyrics, since all of them are based around the darker sides of mankind. Religion influence me in the way that I want to write about my strong disliking of organized religion.

What’s your favourite track on « The Contaminated Void » and why ?

That’s not an easy question to answer, since I have several favourites, but if I’d have to say one, I’d probably say "An Unforgiving Season". I simply love the lyrics Joel wrote for it, and it’s a really intense song to play live.

What are your favourite bands and all times albums ?

There are lots of them, but a list containing my absolute favourite metal bands would probably look something like this: Slayer, Sepultura, Pantera, Vader, Merciless, Morbid Angel. I’d have to say that my favourite non metal band is The Pogues.

What's your opinion about the international metal scene ?

It feels like there is a strong support for metal, obviously, since metal will never die! Many of the good old bands are still going strong, and there are alot of great new bands. It’s a question that could have the answer turned into an essay, so I’ll just leave it there...

Are there any plans for an upcoming tour ?

Not right now, since we unfortunately were forced to cancel the European tour together with Misery Index and Necrophagist. Hopefully we’ll be able to tour Europe later in the spring. Keep an eye on our website: www.coldworker.com

Do you have funny or strange stories about the band you can share with us ?

We just finished our first tour together with Path Of No Return and Arch Enemy, and we did a show outside the tour schedule, without Arch Enemy. This took place in Herning, Denmark. We arrived at the venue, located in an industrial area, and it seemed like a cool place. Everything good so far, and we we’re served the biggest pizza any of us had ever seen. "Awesome!" we’re thinking, and start waiting for the doors to open, which they do at 9 pm.
15 minutes pass, no sign of any people, 30 minutes pass, still no sign of anyone. An hour passes, and no one shows up... we’re starting to understand that it’s gonna be quite empty, and now it’s time for Path Of No Return to start, and so they do, with a supporting Coldworker as the only audience, haha! Anyway, they pull off an amazing gig playing totally different songs than all the other shows. Then the time has come for us to enter the stage, and still no people, so we play for Path Of No Return, dusting off some songs that weren’t on our setlist.

The result of the day: paying alot of money in bridge fees and gasoline, driving across all of Denmark, and nobody shows up, none, zero, nada! Now that’s gotta be some kind of record!?

What are your projects for the future ?

We have a couple of gigs booked in Sweden, and we’re looking forward to next year, which will hopefully contain as much touring and playing live as possible!

And as a conclusion, can you say some words for my radio show called Metal Choc ?

Check our album "The Contaminated Void" out, and if you decide to buy it, be aware that if you get the greyish looking booklet, you can send it back to Relapse for a correct one, the difference is HUGE! Visit our website www.coldworker.com for more info. Thanks alot for your support, and I hope that we’ll see you on tour as soon as possible. Cheers!