An interview with Damned Nation's drummer Roger Jern & bassist Magnus Jonsson.

Questions by Andy Craven and Alanna Evans.

Damned Nation are one of the frontrunners to have emerged from Sweden in the past few years. Their blend of finely crafted hard hitting melodic rock has seen their popularity grow with each release.  Their current opus 'Grand Design' is their strongest yet and with some touring being lined up the big time could well be calling.  Here's a chance to get a slice of the action early.

When did the band form and how long was it before you started getting record company interest?
Magnus: 1986, Robert Warnqvist (Guitars), myself and Leif formed a band called Easy Street.
1989, We got in touch with a record company called Platina and recorded a single on that label.
1992, We started talks with H.E.M Records (Hans Edler Music) and we made one single for that label as well.
1994, Thomas Thorsen (Vocals) joined the band and Hans Edler wanted us to do a full length record on UFO records.
1995, We changed the band name to 'Damned Nation' and released 'Just What The Doctor Ordered'.
UFO wasn't the right label for us as they didn't understand the hard rock market, after a couple of years with a lot of weird discussions with UFO records we decided to leave the label.  said and done, we recorded a 3 track demo and shopped it around. After a couple of days Z Records Mark Alger approached us and after some discussions we decided to sign to Z Records.

Looking back now what are your thoughts on your debut album 'Just What The Doctor Ordered'?
Magnus: It was a debut and it was recorded 6 years ago.  We were young and wanted so much with it. Our idea in that record was that it should sound very rough and hard.  Maybe harder than the songs are, I think its a great album and I'm proud of it.

1999's 'Road Of Desire' saw a more melodic style enter the frame with a near perfect balance of power and melody, why was this?
Magnus: I think the two main reasons for that are Roger joined the band with some fresh new ideas on how the band should sound, and the fact that 5 years had passed between the two albums obviously has a lot to do with it.  We have grown and matured both musically and personally.

Your latest album 'Grand Design' was released in Europe on May 2nd almost exactly a year after 'Road Of Desire', how long did the album take to write and record?
Roger: As wed didn't do many live gigs to follow up 'Road Of Desire' we almost immediately started writing for the next album.  I can assure you it was hard work, we basically wrote 11 tracks in 6 months and of course we had some material that didn't make the album.  The recording of 'Grand Design' started in early January and finished in March.

Where all the tracks for 'Grand Design' freshly written or where any 'from the vaults'?
Roger: All the tracks were newly written, maybe there are bits and pieces here and there picked from the vaults.

From the albums I hear a variety of influences e.g. Whitesnake, Van Halen, Dokken and TNT, who are your influences and how have they affected your sound?
Roger: As you mention of course we listen to a lot of music as everyone else, and it's bound to affect our sound in some way.  We don't deliberately try to sound like Whitesnake or VH or whatever else you can hear in out albums. Some of the influences we have in the band are Whitesnake, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple, Dream Theater and TNT as well. I don't know if any of us are much into Dokken so that comparison is a bit of a surprise! Heard it a couple of times before....

You just played the 'Z Rock' festival in Wigan, England. How did the go compared to your performance their a year ago?
Magnus: Last year we had a terrible sound on stage and we couldn't hear what we were doing, so we had a real hard time playing that time and I think the audience noticed that.  This year it was completely different, and we are very satisfied with our performance, the audience and the whole festival. Thanks to everyone that attended, you really made our day.

What are you're touring plans for 'Grand Design'?
Roger: Right now we are scheduled to play the 'Phoenix Rising' event in Manchester, England.     Z Rock in  Sweden and USA and hopefully some dates in Japan which are being looked into.

'Road Of Desire' contains some superb tracks in 'When Truth Becomes A Lie', 'Soul Stealer' and 'I Got What It Takes', how do you come up with tracks like that, does it start with some lyrics, maybe a guitar riff, or is simple the result of jamming?
Roger: Its a combination of all the above. It's really hard to say as its different for each track.  But normally we focus on the melody first, a catchy chorus and that is often written together with the guitar.  'Truth Becomes A Lie' was a track that we'd been working on for years, so that one had changed several times during the process.  'Soulstealer' is basically written as a guitar riff, 'I Got What It Takes' was actually an acoustic ballad from the beginning that we rearranged a bit.  Bottom line is that you must have some kind of good idea from the beginning, be it a riff or a chorus line - start from that and make it great. If it doesn't work.....in the trashcan!!

Did the success of other Swedish bands (e.g. Europe & Yngwie) give you (and other Swedish bands) hope that you could break out of your native marketplace and make an impact on the world market?
Roger: Maybe in the 1980's, nowadays its not likely that this would happen.

What is the Rock scene currently like in Sweden?
Roger: Is there a scene? It's terrible! It has been worse so its recovering a bit, next step would be bad I guess. But I think you can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Where do you see than band heading in the next few years?
Roger: It all depends on how the rock scene is developing I guess.  We will hopefully make more fans, better albums and do more live performances.

Quite a few musicians read this site, what equipment does the band use or endorse?
Roger: Magnus uses a custom made bass called 'Mabass Custom' and Ampeg and Sansamp. Robert uses Musicman guitars and a Folkesson modified Marshall and various effects. I use Pearl drums and various cymbals and sticks and Thomas? Whiskey!?
But I think were all open to suggestions from other manufacturers...even Whiskey brands.

Any parting messages for your fans?
We'd like to thank all our fans for all out their support they have given us.  Its through all this response from fans we find the strength to carry on.  We love this kind of music and as long as there are people out there caring for what we do we will continue doing it!

As well as the interview Roger was kind enough to send a detailed track by track description of their latest album 'Grand Design', here it is:-

STONE COLD WOMAN
I think this is the most rock n' roll-ish track on the album. Pretty straightforward hard rock and it kind of lets you know what to expect to hear on this album.  The lyrics are about falling in love with the wrong kind of woman.  You know the ones that dance topless on the tables!

HIDING AWAY FROM THE WORLD
Judging from the response so far, this seems to be a favourite track for a lot of people which is great - we like it a lot too! It's fun to play and it's nicely arranged with kind of laidback verses mixed with chunky guitar riffs.  The lyrics are something you should pay attention to as well.  I think people are more worried about if the lawn is mowed or if we've got the fanciest car or shades etc. Instead we should open up our eyes and be concerned more about war, starvation and global pollution.

HEART ON THE RUN
More or less a classic AOR track with a touch of straightforward hard rock. A variation of a love theme.  You have to trust each other and provide some space to keep a relationship alive - also it has a catchy multi-layered chorus.

FORTUNE TELLER
This is one of out favourites, very heavy in a Black Sabbath kind of way.  The verse is more laidback and then the bridge hits you in your belly and builds up the power for the chorus. We got a girl singing at the end to make the arrangement even more interesting. Pure 70's heavy heard rock.

DESPERATE CALL
The first ballad to slow things down after the quite heavy start.  The sound and the multi-layered chorus I guess makes you think about Def Leppard, and that isn't too bad we think.  Its not that we tried to make a Leppard song; we just added some Mutt Lange tricks to a Damned Nation track!  We started to work on this song when we were in the studio recording Road Of Desire.  The lyrics are of course about love, a desperate call to get your loved one back.

EYES OF A STRANGER
Well enough with the slow things.  This is the fastest and most heavy metal like track on the album.  It's pedal to the metal from beginning to end except for a break with some nice keyboards.  The lyrics are all about the terrible wars and fights that go on around the world, the tragedies in former Yugoslavia is what we initially had in mind when we wrote this.

HANDS OF TIME
Another slow and heavy piece. Yes this album is heavier than the previous two and that's exactly what we wanted to do.  Once again we start off with a headbanger riff and then we let you rest a bit during the verses where you can listen to the lyrics about a guy whose been really down doing drugs and been in and out of jail his whole life.  But now he's decided to leave all that behind him and make a new start.

GOING CRAZY
Time to cool things off again with the second and last ballad of the album, like 'Desperate Call' its not a wimpy acoustic thing but more of a power ballad.  Catchy chorus as it should be and lyrics about love as usual. Great track IMO.

SCREAM OF ANGER
A little more progressive approach on this one.  Actually the last track we wrote for the album, at the last minute we decided to trash one of the tracks that we felt wasn't good enough.  This is what we came up with instead.  A nice mix of heavy guitars and smooth melodies, a few more keys also.  The lyrics are about loosing control of your life, getting your mind all messed up by some religious sect.

LOVE REACTION
This time we are back in the AOR land again but with the roots in good old hard rock.  The chorus feels American for some reason!?  I think the title says all about what to expect in the lyrics.  That about what I can think of right now...

DANCE IN DARKNESS
One of out favourites, it starts off more like a ballad and verses are very cool until the chorus smacks you in the face with detuned guitars and heavy riffing.  Powerful and inspired by 70's hard rock with Hammond Organ and everything.  The lyrics are about the ever-growing drug problem.  I think it is a suitable closer of the album.