Massmord are such a great dark band. At time of writing "Inget liv/Ingen dod" CD has just been released 'on Crimes Against Humanity Records'. They are also on tour as I type (august '06). On with the interview... 1. Hope your not sick of this question, but what does the name Massmord mean? Could you give a bit of history about the band? Hello, Berra and Olof here. Well Massmord means mass murder, we added the dots over the a and o to make it sound tougher and harder. Eehh. Also to pay tribute to Motörhead and Stàte of Feär. As if this wasnt enough it also makes it sound like Messmör which is a Swedish type of butter made from sheepmilk. The band started in autumn of 2004 when Ida (g) and Sonny (v) wanted to put together an Helsingborg all-star band. They contacted Olof (d) and started to rehearse in his basement. A band usually has a bassplayer, so Berra (b) joined forces with them. After hearing Tijana (v) singing guestvocals on an Article Nine recording Sonny wanted her to join for more power in the vocaldepartement (Sonny pretty much get what he wants, so she joined). With more complexed guitarplaying a second guitarist was needed. Enter Andreas (g) who we met at a party. We rehearsed for a few months and then had some gigs around Sweden before it was time to enter a studio for our first recording. 2.I notice you have your 12" release available for download on your website. Does this effect sales of your 12"? Do you think downloading effects, trading and selling diy music? This question hasnt been discussed in the band, but were pretty sure all of us are on the same page. In the beginning we planned to release it as an homeburned CD and therefore we might as well put it on the homepage. After a short while some labels contacted us and were interested in releasing it as an 12 (and later CD too). We checked if it was OK with the labels to keep the songs on the homepage and it was so no problems there. We definitely think it has helped us a lot, since we were a rather unknown band it was a good way to get our name out in the scene. When people started noticing us it was also easier to get gigs and interviews. Another positive aspect of this is that it is easier for punks around the globe to get hold of our music since the 12 and CD isnt available everywhere. As a matter of fact we got an e-mail a few days ago from a punk in Indonesia who wanted to make DIY tapes of the record. This would probably never have happened if we werent available for download. The only bad thing we can come up with is that maybe some distros arent aware that the record can be downloaded for free and therefore may have problems selling all the records they have of us. We recommend bands to make their music available for free. 3. Speaking of your website, you have links to Anarchist Black Cross, Human Rights Watch and other organizations. Do you think for a lot of bands it's more about the music anymore? We think the lyrics are important, for us punk is about having something to say. On the other hand, if everything else sucks noone will listen to it and then it doesnt matter what you sing about. Everyone in the band is politically aware and does different things to make an impact. To us it seems like nowadays its more about changing yourself and what you can do as an individual than what it was a few years ago when many lyrics were about changing someone else and the world in general. 4. Why is punk so white male dominated. What are your views on this, what do you thing could be done about it? Yeah, youre right, who listens to Bad Brains these days? Since we only know what its like here in Sweden our answer is based on that. Society in itself is dominated towards while males and the punkscene, being a reflection of society, will also be like this even if it doesnt make it right. Girls are expected to be quiet and passive and therefore its bigger step for them to take than what it is for a boy. The same thing goes for other ethnical groups since they are supposed to be thankful for living here and not protest against what they have been given. This is totally fucked up, just because something is better doesnt make it perfect. What needs to be done is we have to support and encourage the groups that are a minority in the punkscene to step forward, and give them the opportunity to do so. Its a tricky question but one thing is clear to us, those who say the scene is free from sexism and racism is a god damn moron, because its not, its a reflection of society in general. We may be one step ahead of society but thats not enough. 5.When writing your lyrics, do you try and pick a topic or how does it come about? When we (Olof and Berra) writes lyrics its because we have seen, heard or otherwise experienced something that we wish to comment upon. This is probably true for the rest of the band also. It seems weird to just pick a topic and try to write something about it, the best lyrics come from pure rage and frustration, not from sitting down and philosophising. If you have experienced something frustrating you have at least some view of what its like, even if other people may be far worst of. It feels more believable if its something you have felt an not just something you know is wrong but never have had any first hand experience of. 6. Anything you'd like to add? We would like to quote every other band that has ever been interviewed and thank you for the interview and the opportunity to ventilate our opinions. Check out our website www.massmord.net, buy our record or download it, thats what its there for. Take care of your local scene, go to punk gigs even if you havent heard of the band. Dont make fun of those who are different. Sláinte! http://www.massmord.net