TURBOCHARGED a thrash metal band from Sweden. . We had talked with there front man/bassist Ronnie Olson (
ex Vomitory, ex Gehennah). To know more about them.
Click the link below
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turbocharged/76137909752
To hear them you can stream there album streamed by Chaos Record which is as below
http://www.chaos-records.bandcamp.com/album/christ-zero
How did your journey of metal music start?
Besides the obvious time
of seeing the cool album covers in second or third grade it started for real
when my older brother drove me to school this one time and had Alice Cooper
playing in the car, that sure caught my attention and I was lost. It took only
a few years before I knew I couldn't just be a consumer of this grand music so
I decided to get myself that first bass guitar and then it all kind of spun out
of control from there. The first memories I have are from around 1980 when my
brother listened to Ace of Spades and Welcome to hell in his room and I could
hear it through the shut door, ha ha. The REAL awakening was as late as 1987-88
due to our isolated geographical situation when it came to metal.
Ron we want to know how your journey did begin on Swedish
underground scene.
When you say "The
underground" I reckon you are referring to the tape trading and the small
fanzine scene? Well, after discovering more and more brutal stuff that was out
in the open market (Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, etc) I came across a bunch of
guys living a few towns away playing something totally mind blowing that didn't
sound like anything I ever heard before, they called it "Death metal"
and the band's name was Macabre End (changed to God Macabre later on) and they
had the connections that literally opened up the ground below me. That's where
all the action was going on and I started tagging along to gigs and we traded
some tapes and so on. Since it was long before internet was a household thing
you really had to be introduced to it by someone who already knew the stuff. I
reckon this was around 1990 and I've been a part of it ever since.
Yeah things were more DYE than. Well as my
knowledge VOMITORY was your first band how was your journey from 1989 until now
?
Yeah, after a few futile
attempts pulling a band together with the wrong people me and Urban crossed
paths in the end of summer 1989 and decided to start a band as soon as he could
afford a guitar, ha ha. In October we finally pulled off the first rehearsal
consisting of him and me just blasting away on bass and guitar, I had to look
at his foot stomping to know which pace to play in, how primitive is that?? We
searched high and low for a drummer but none of them were into metal so it all
went really slow. We asked Tobben (Urban's brother) if he could join us but he
was busy in various other bands at the time and it wasn't until early 1990 that
he decided to help us out for our first local gig. Shit happened and he never
left the band again. After a year or so I had taken on the lead vocals and
realized that my skills were not good enough for both bass and vocals, we had
to figure out if I should play only bass or only do vocals. Through a friend of
a friend we found a bass player and the decision was made for me to handle the
vocals. For that reason I had to find another way to play the bass and that is
how Gehennah was founded. I and Mr. Violence were both eager to start up a cover
band playing Venom song exclusively so we tried out a few lineups that were
total shit really and we were stuck again... Vomitory started getting a lot of
attention locally at the time though so we had a lot of gigs around here. In
one of those gigs we bumped into Rob who was singing in a Ramones-cover band at
the time and he played the guitar we needed and we only needed a drummer. We
basically grabbed the first person we could see and he became the drummer
despite never touching a drum kit up to that day, ha ha. Gehennah story (as
well as Vomitory's story) is quite well known by now so I won't bore you all
with details but eventually in 1998 I had left Vomitory (January 1997 to be
exact) and Gehennah did not get the deal with Osmose renewed s things stalled
totally. After just drifting around in the village drinking beer and behaving
like a douche for two years I finally found a drummer and a guitarist to form
the band I am in today. We tried out all sorts of lineups and none of them
worked unfortunately and we kept struggling without any support from anyone
(and frankly, I understand WHY now that I listen back to the stuff we did back
then). Along the way members were replaced and eventually we ended up a trio
again and all remaining members are old metal heads so naturally it all went good
from there on.
Honesty both Vomitory and Gehennah are on top list
of best band that have eventually impacted on NEPALS underground scene but last
year when we had talked you made us aware of TURBOCHARGED as well. Talking
about turbocharged what is the meaning behind the name?
Thanks man, you just
proved that my years in the scene and part in these bands has not gone
unnoticed, it makes every minute count! Well, Turbocharged has been many things
during the years due to who was actually part of the lineup. These days the
name sucks big time and is misguiding to what we are doing but earlier it had a
fitting ring to it since at least three members along the way has not been
full-blown meatheads. We played some kind of rock and roll Motörhead style in
the beginning (and you can probably hear the traces up to this very day too)
and the name was spot on. Now that we play (according to the critics) Deathpunk
Metal it kind of give the totally wrong impression but changing name after 13
years is not an option so we stuck to it after all - and besides: a name as
shitty as this stands out on a festival poster so people will remember it and
they will be caught off guard once we blast off, ha ha. The original meaning of
the name was simply because we sounded like an engine roaring down the highway.
Your work counts and with other bands whom we have
talked talks about your supportive and down to earth nature. If i am not wrong,
turbocharged is a thrash metal band?
I don't know how we/I come
across to others but I would like to think no one sees me as a jerk, I have
always and will always have both feet firmly stood in the rehearsal place and
no matter how long I will be playing and however far we might go I will still
be in the front row for the support act. We're all just different parts of the
same brick wall; pull one away and it all falls. Here we come to this whole
genre thing which is always the most difficult thing to sort out. I would say
we are a thrash band yes, but there is more to it than that since a lot of
people hears death metal in our sound and almost everyone says we have a very
strong punk vibe. In my opinion no metal is real metal if it has no punk in it,
all the greatest bands were borderline punk in the beginning (Motörhead, Venom,
Destruction, etc) and it should still be one of the cornerstones of what makes
the metal we are dedicated to.
(I was talking to my
girlfriend on the phone, it seems like we have found an apartment now, yaaaay!)
Well that's a good news
Indeed
Recently turbocharged launched a full length studio
album Area 666 tell us something about it?
AREA 666 is our third
release through CHAOS RECORDS but it's "only" our second full length,
Christ Zero was unfortunately promoted as an "11 track album" but
there are only 5 songs on it, I want to make that clear. The first album was
basically a first step out of the old shoes, leaving the past members and their
influences behind, but we were still looking for our true sound. The second
release was merely a premonition what was going on and now the third release is
THE result of us three bozos going wild in the rehearsal place. It's a kick to
the face, it's blasphemous, it's energetic and it's relentless. It's basically
TURBOCHARGED. We recorded 20 songs in the pre-production to choose only the
best and after a mutual screening we chose 14 of them to go on the album and
according to ourselves we really pulled it off in every sense of the way. It's
by far the best album I have ever been part of writing (including both Gehennah
and Vomitory) and I don't think it's ONLY wishful thinking, ha ha. It could be
ordered directly through Chaos Records or if you're lucky some distro close by
might have it in stock. We will also put it on Spotify eventually but we want the
CD to soak in first and maybe even the vinyl version should come out before
making it available online.
Talking about Area666 Masses, Mortals and Maggots
is the only one i have heard and really liked it.
That's one of the fastest
tracks on the album but it's not at all the only one. It's all done with energy
and we tried to push the album forward in every second of it and I think we did
alright. There are some heavier ones as well but the mid-range is kind of
D-beat Venom/Celtic Frost-style.
The Awakening and Christ Zero are my all time favorite
of turbocharged
Ep Christ Zero
Cool, that one was
supposed to be our part of a split-CD but we ended up adding one more track to
it and release it as a Mini-CD instead. We've had some complaints about putting
all the intros and interludes on it but one must remember that it is a theme
based release and it all fits together. I guess if you don't have the lyrics
and just listen to it online it might not make that much sense but it was
something I wanted to try out and we did.
Yep by the way this NOV 9th turbocharged is touring
Hamburg headlining Northen Thrash Attack with Violentor, Bone and Obsessor is
it a part of Area666 promotional tour?
No, it's really "just
a gig" but for us it will be the (un)official release party since it's the
first gig after the release and it's probably the coolest gig we have ever been
part of. All the bands that evening are part of the same "family" so
it's a huge thing for us to have the Area 666-gig premiere that evening but the
timing is pure luck.
Well Ronnie talking about turbocharged that band
influence turbocharged?
I can only speak for
myself but it's the same that has always been my influences: Venom, Sodom, Motörhead - but
there are of course tons of other bands that makes the circle complete, it's
just hard to think of any since they all have a subconscious effect on us. The
three bands I mentioned are what made me who I am today.
Does any incident reflect on the music you guys
compose?
Of course life reflects on
what you do when you have a hard time separating your person with your
passion/work (speaking for myself again) but there no special incidents that
comes to mind, no... Everything that happens whatever you do creates who you
are from that day on and that goes for my music as well and in a perfect world
no members of the band can separate life and passion either but I am only
speaking out of my own mind now, I'm not sure about the other guys and their
views on this.
Ok Ron can you tell us a bit of Swedish metal scene?
Ouch, now you put me in a
corner, ha ha! Well, the bands rule but the scene in itself sucks. There are
tons of great bands coming from here but we are all trying to get out of here
to play since there is not much a scene at all, people are more interested in
standing at the bar getting plastered than being on the floor banging their
heads. It's also very much a kind of "police state" when it comes to
the spectators. Too many people are standing there with their arms crossed on
their chest listening for mistakes so they can compete with their friends in
how many mistakes they could spot. That's the downside to Swedish mentality,
bands end up playing for/supporting each other at gigs. It has become a bit
better since there is a new generation coming now but it's still far from what
I remember from the early days. The good side to it is that bands in similar
genres tend to become like a family though.
Haha a police station that's funny though. Btw Ron
have you heard any Nepali metal bands?
Ooooh, now I'm in that
corner again, ha ha! Well, I get these periods when I try to check out a scene
in certain countries and I know I have gone through some of your bands over
there but nothing really comes to mind right now, not specific names at least.
There are so many people posting great stuff out here that you have never heard
of so most of it gets lost along the way and when you hear it again it's like
"AAAAH, THOSE!!" you know...
Yea that's true. We usually find that the artist
and the crowd usually get intoxicated while they perform. They take it as a
necessity to perform and to look more aggressive do you think it is a mere
excuse or a reality. Can you give us your views?
There are too many
people/bands out there that takes more time to look brutal (or so they think)
than sounding it, that's true, but I'm not sure it would be the same if there
was no show involved in the whole thing. I think it's like putting on music at
home or a movie, that you need an escape from daily life too so it's a thin
line between OK and NOT OK... And the intoxication is a well deserved thing to
all unless it screws up the whole gig (which I can say from my own experience
that it is also a VERY thin line). But my opinion about performing is for the
band to be they and ONLY do what they truly believe in, not try to impress
anyone but themselves. Impressing others only comes by starting within the core
and let it soak outwards until it's crystal clear for all to see.
So Ronnie in current moment which band do you think
will rise?
Turbocharged I hope, ha
ha! No, seriously, I have no idea... Years and years ago you always had a clue
in which bands were rising or not but these days you can't judge from how many
has their CD's since a big chunk of the people listens on Spotify or I tunes
and you have no way in telling who listens to what. The scene has changed a lot
throughout the years but I see a very good side to it too. Nowadays there is an
easy solution for everything: studio, video recording, Youtube, etc, etc. Even
though you can say that internet killed the paper zine underground you must
also admit that everyone gets an equal chance these days to promote themselves
and to have stuff recorded easily, they always know someone who has a soundcard
good enough for a demo or an EP. You can also record a song in the rehearsal
room at 7 o'clock and have it streaming at 9 o'clock that is awesome! Of course
it also gives way for crap but it's up to you as a meathead to sort out the
good from the bad and ask the local promoters to book the ones who deserve the
gigs, it's as easy as that. Therefore it's damn near impossible to say who is
going up or down for me.
So since many metal bands especially bassists look
up to you as a role model any message to them?
Yes: DON'T!!! Ha ha, no, I
didn't even know if there is anyone doing this but I'm only a bastard who got
lucky enough years and years ago to get a name in the scene. I am shitty at
playing bass, my vocals fit in a mental ward and I haven't played even a
handful of the amount of gigs that most bands in my age have played. The only
thing I could see as something to "look up to" is that I never gave
up, not even for a second, so that must be the only message: KEEP GOING NO
MATTER WHAT THE BASTARDS TELL YOU!
To the upcoming bands as well as any message to the
fellow bands to be featured in RAKTAPYAS with you guys?
This is a long shot but we
are keeping our fingers crossed all the way for it to happen: SEE YOU ON THE
ROAD! Other than that I can only say "Keep up the good work" to every
band and listener who keeps this scene alive!
So this is going to be a rapid last question Your
dream metal fest line up and top 10 albums we must have in our collection both
Swedish Metal and abroad?
"So this is going to
be a rapid last question Your dream metal fest line up and top 10 albums we
must have in our collection both Swedish Metal and abroad?": My dream
lineup for a festival? That's a hard one since a lot of the old bands have
turned into something else than back in their glory days... Well, Turbocharged of course, Venom, Hobbs Angel of death, Violentor,
Obsessör, Possessed, Autopsy, Gravehill, Nunslaughter, Gallhammer, Hanged,
Sabbat, Goatpenis, Blasphemy, etc... If at least half of these bands were
in there it would be a kick-ass festival. There are more but I can't remember
them all just now. 10 albums that should be in every record collection:
1. Venom: Welcome to hell
2. Venom: Black Metal
3. Venom: At was with
Satan
4: Venom: Possessed
5. Sodom: In the sign of evil
6. Possessed: Seven
churches
7. Entombed: Left hand
path
8. Celtic Frost: Morbid
tales
9. Bathory: Bathory
10: Autopsy: Mental
funeral Again
Too many to mention but
this should be a decent core of building a collection around.
Lastly, a space for you anything we SNRMB have
forgotten to ask you can tell us here?
Not really, I think your
questions covered it all. Only thing I should add is that you can order all
three Turbocharged albums via CHAOS RECORDS or maybe through a distro closer to
home! Thanks for the interview, brother! Keep supporting the underground, folks,
without us all there will be none! Cheers!
