EVOCATION
L'histoire d'Evocation est tout sauf anodine. Le groupe nous a pondu cette année un deuxième album phénoménal (Dead Calm Chaos), qui pose un nouvel étalon dans le monde du death mélodique. La recette d'Evocation est assez simple en fait, mais elle reste astucieuse et irrésistible : mélanger le death suédois old school, avec son groove, sa crasse et ses riffs, avec un sens de la composition et des mélodies typiques du death mélodique. Le meilleur de la Suède en somme.
ENGLISH VERSION of this interview after the French one !!
Article à paraître également dans le METAL OBS' n°27 de Fév. 2009
 Article de Yath – questions posées à Thomas (basse)
Rechercher : dans l'interview

EVOCATION : Le retour du Jedi

Le premier album d'Evocation d'ailleurs, Tales From The Tomb (2007) avait ouvert la voie au groupe et déjà, les critiques dithyrambiques pleuvaient. Thomas (chant) s'en souvient encore très bien : « Ouais, les critiques étaient fabuleuses ! Et ce qui m'a le plus étonné, c'est qu'on a eu l'impression que les gens attendaient cet album depuis extrêmement longtemps. Comme s'il y avait un vide dans la scène actuelle. On l'a enregistré dans des conditions difficiles. Comme si on ne savait plus faire, on était encore raidis et il a fallu remettre la machine en route ». Tales From the Tomb était effectivement un premier album attendu, puisqu'il signait le retour du groupe après 15 années d'inactivité !
   
Un petit flashback s'impose. Evocation a été formé en 1991, par des gosses de 17 ans, qui ont eux-mêmes sabordé le groupe 2 ans plus tard, après avoir enregistré 2 démos remarquées, dont la fameuse The Ancient Gate, enregistrée aux non moins fameux Sunlight Studios. Thomas s'en rappelle comme si c'était hier : « On a enregistré 2 démos. The Ancient Gate aux Sunlight et une deuxième, simplement intitulée « promo 92 » à la maison. On voulait s'en servir pour trouver un label à l'époque. Tout se passait à merveille dans le temps, l'accueil des démos était génial, et on avait l'impression d'être sur de bons rails ». Mais pourquoi splitter à ce moment-là alors ? « Plein de trucs merdiques. Mais le plus gros problème venait de nous : on avait chacun notre idée sur l'évolution du groupe, et on n'a pas réussi à se mettre d'accord. On était devenus une machine en roue libre, qu'on a arrêté de huiler. Forcément, au bout d'un moment, le moteur commence à sentir le brûlé et les rouages se bloquent. Il n'y avait plus aucune communication entre nous. On a donc décidé d'arrêter Evocation. Tu sais, à 17-19 ans, tu t'investis tellement et tu es si passionné que t'en deviens sourd. Tu es incapable d'écouter les autres et de faire des concessions. ». À 19 ans, les membres d'Evocation semblaient déjà être plus lucides sur leur groupe que bon nombre de groupes établis. D'ailleurs, le marabout des Sunlight Studios, Skogsberg, avait déclaré dans une interview qu'Evocation était le meilleur groupe démo qu'il n’ait jamais enregistré. Regardez la liste des groupes qu'il a produits, et vous comprendrez l'importance de son témoignage. Et les membres d'Evocation ? Ont-ils des regrets par rapport à ce split ? « Aucun ! C'est la meilleure chose qui aurait pu nous arriver ! Même si on a mis une quinzaine d'années à comprendre comment apprécier la chance qu'on avait de jouer ensemble ! (rires) ».
   
Après Evocation, les membres du groupe ont tous suivi des chemins différents, œuvrant au mieux dans des groupes de seconde zone, souvent bien loin du Death Metal. « Vesa (guitares) a joué dans Stoneflow, mais il a surtout bossé en studio après. D'ailleurs, il travaille maintenant comme prof dans une école de production. Janne (batterie) a joué un peu dans un groupe de hardcore, avant de mettre la musique de côté pour se consacrer à sa famille et sa propre boîte. Il n'avait pas touché une baguette depuis des années avant la reformation d'Evocation ! Marko (guitare) a lui vendu son matos et il est parti s'installer à Stockholm. Personnellement, j'ai joué un peu dans Cemetary et Sundown, et après, je suis parti faire le tour du monde ! Je me suis même mis à écouter de la techno et de la transe, avant de revenir au metal il y a quelques années. Le parcours le plus atypique est celui de Christian (basse), qui a joué un peu dans Lake Of Tears avant de faire de brillantes études de droits et il est maintenant un des avocats les plus brillants en Suède ». Comme on pouvait s'y attendre, ce dernier ne fait pas partie du line-up actuel d'Evocation, il a été remplacé par un certain Martin Toresson. Ce qui est surprenant, c'est qu'il soit le seul changement après ces 15 années de disette !

EVOCATION    

La reformation du groupe a en fait démarré par la réedition des deux démos en 2004. Les membre d'Evocation encore en contact ont alors réalisé à quel point ce vieux matériel était de qualité, et surtout, ils ont repensé à toutes les idées mises de côté quand le groupe avait splitté. Pour la petite anecdote, Janne, Vesa et Marko ont du emprunter le matos et le local de Lake Of Tears pour tenter de répéter. Un premier essai calamiteux n'a pas ébranlé la motivation des troupes. Forcément, le but était alors de s'amuser, et de se retrouver, entre vieux copains. Comment ils sont passés à un vrai groupe, qui enregistre et vend 2 albums ultra plébiscités ? Thomas ne le sait même pas lui-même : “On s'est juste remis à composer sous le nom d'Evocation, pour le fun. Et nous voilà avec un deuxième album qui vient de sortir ! C'est assez incroyable, on était si près de signer un contrat à l'époque ! C'était notre rêve le plus fou ! Et là, on est juste des vieux potes, Vesa a deux enfants, Janne en a trois et il gère sa propre boîte... On ne met pas de bracelets à clous, on ne se prend pas au sérieux et en plus, on est loin d'être des musiciens professionnels ! Je ne sais pas quoi te dire, notre label (Cyclone Empire) nous soutient à 100%, on a des “album du mois”, “album de l'année”, on joue dans des gros festivals... C'est incroyable d'en arriver là, et maintenant !“ Et Thomas de remercier la personne qui a peut-être tout déclenché en insistant pour ressortir les démos du groupe en 2004 : “Wolker de Merciless Records. Il a insisté pour sortir ces démos, et je ne sais pas pourquoi, à partir de là l'engouement a commencé et les gens ont commencé à partir en couilles.”

 Et nous voilà donc en 2009, Dead Calm Chaos vient de sortir et comme tout le monde, on est sous le charme. Le death mélodique sauce Sunlight d'Evocation fait des ravages et, à défaut d'originalité (surtout par rapport aux anciennes compos du groupe), l'album accroche vos oreilles immédiatement. Si on analyse un peu la situation, on se rend compte qu'Evocation tape dans le mille pour deux raisons : ils savent composer de vraies chansons et ils misent tout sur l'émotion. Contrairement à ces malheureux groupes insipides de metal extrême qui ne pensent qu'à empiler les riffs et à avoir un gros son. Attention, il s'agit tout de même de Death Metal, et si émotion il y a, elle reste sombre : “Il y a de l'amour évidemment, mais surtout beaucoup de frustration, de sueur et même de sang dans Dead Calm Chaos. Ce titre parle des émotions négatives, des frustrations qu'on a tous au fond de nous-mêmes. En général, elles restent bien enfouies, et Dead Calm Chaos essaye juste de les exprimer”. D'ailleurs, le premier qui lui dit que ce nouvel album est plus mélodique que son prédécesseur, Tales From The Tomb, se fait reprendre immédiatement : “Non, il est plus crade, plus abrasif et plus sombre. Tales From The Tomb est plus mélodique. Dead Calm Chaos sonne peut-être moins sale, mais c'est parce qu'on sait mieux enregistrer nos compos ! Et je pense que le prochain sera encore plus sombre et crade. Le plus important pour nous est de faire passer l'émotion. Si ce pont ne nous permet plus de communiquer avec les gens qui nous écoutent, alors on n'a plus de raison d'exister. Par mes paroles, j'essaye de faire passer des émotions. Surtout des plus sombres”. D'ailleurs, le chanteur a une façon bien à lui de concevoir ses paroles : “Je laisse les autres membres enregistrer la musique et je rentre chez moi avec les bandes. J'écoute et je laisse sortir. Je m'entraine et je reviens en studio avec mes textes. On répète avec le chant, et si ça convient à tout le monde, j'enregistre mes vocaux”.
   
Donc, en 2009, Evocation est plus vivant et populaire que jamais. En plus du succès d'estime des médias, le groupe jouit même de la reconnaissance de ses pairs. Preuve en est l'apparition des maîtres Swanö (Edge Of Sanity...) et Björler (At The Gates, The Haunted) sur Dead Calm Chaos. Les deux “Putains de rois du Death Metal, tout ce qu'ils touchent est si puissant !” ont d'ailleurs accepté de participer pour une unique raison : ils ont adoré les compos de Dead Calm Chaos.
EVOCATION
 
Tout ce qu'on espère à Evocation en 2009, c'est de continuer à nous pondre des super compos et de tourner, en France surtout. Même si le groupe n'a rien de prévu pour le moment, Evocation a signé avec un promoteur qui s'occupe déjà de Children Of Bodom, Exodus, Cannibal Corpse et Amon Amarth entre autres. Suffit de compter le nombre de concerts que donne chacun de ces groupes pour être confiant quant à l'avenir d'Evocation sur scène. D'ailleurs, plusieurs fests sont confirmé cet été, dont le Party San et Summer Breeze.
 
Et si cette façon de fonctionner, en suivant uniquement sa passion, sans se faire des films ou des plans à long terme était le meilleur gage de qualité ? On est maintenant convaincus que chaque groupe qui mesure la chance qu'il a de pouvoir exprimer ses émotions par la musique aura la même honnêteté et le même charme qu'Evocation. Pour 2009, Thomas n'espère d'ailleurs que 2 petites choses : “tourner et tomber sur des personnes bienveillantes qui n'essayent pas de profiter de nous. On jongle avec Evocation et notre vie de famille ou professionnelle, si on veut gravir des échelons, on va le faire très lentement. On ne veut même pas aller très haut, juste continuer de progresser, de prendre du plaisir ensemble”.

Bon, Thomas, on ne peut pas te laisser partir sans te poser une dernière question, celle d'un fan qui aimait bien les petites apparitions de clavier sur votre seconde démo, c'est cool pour installer des ambiances morbides. “Du clavier ? NO FUCKING WAY (rires) ! Jamais ! Je ne veux pas de claviers, ni de chant clair dans Evocation ! D'ailleurs, les autres n'arrêtent pas de me chambrer avec ça ! OK pour mettre du clavier dans les intros, mais c'est tout. Bonne question d'ailleurs (rires) !“. Evocation est de retour, et ils ont faim : le Death Metal n'a qu'à bien se tenir... 


Site : 
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ENGLISH VERSION


We didn't have the opportunity to speak about it when it came out 2 years ago, but absolutely loved your previous album Tales from the Tomb, and I recall all the reviews were enthusiastic, right ?
Yes the reviews were great over all and to our big surprise we noticed that the scene was waiting for something like this to happen. I think we got 2-3 really stinky reviews though two were Swedish and one US. I guess the Swedish market wasn’t quite ready. Of course the good response meant a big step for us after nearly thirteen years of dead silence, we could not imagine this in our wildest dreams. We felt that tales was a good album and it contained everything we wanted, we were pretty pleased with the final result. I mean none of us haven’t been working together for over a decade and especially not finding ourselves both recording and producing a death metal album. It could have even ended up in a mess. It was lot of frustration during the recording. The writing was the easy part though, Janne was in big pain and stiff as a fridge, Marko and Vesa stiff and not really warm yet, Martin found himself for the first time in a death metal band and my throat was sore and my head was about to explode many times. But we pulled it ok in the end, thank god.

That probably made it easier for you guys to start working on the new album...
From the start we said, if we´ll do one full length album together and it gets respect then we would be very satisfied and almost ready to close the book forever. Suddenly we found ourselves standing in the studio rehearsing again for new material before the tales from the tomb was even released. In one way or another we continued on working without even asking ourselves what the hell we were doing.

Let's go a little further back in time. You guys founded Evocation in the late 80's and the band split up in the early 90's. What happened back in the day ? Your demos have a rather good echo...
We started the band in 91, and we split up in early 93. We recorded two demos one was set in the famous Sunlight studios and was named The Ancient Gate. Second one which we actually first recorded for labels we did in our home town and was called promo 92. They both got really good reviews and everything was starting to roll. Lots of bad stuff made us finally to throw in the towel, the most it was because we had so many different ideas one were to take the style. All the fun parts slowly vanished and we became this blind machine working too hard without any oil, so naturally the engine started sound really bad. The communication within the band slowly died and we decided to put an end of it. At the age 17-19 you don’t care much of anything but yourself so it was hard to settle a style to follow together. Today it was the best thing that ever could have happen, today we appreciate what we have and all every small step are huge and of major importance. We burnt ourselves out easy said. I guess you need 13-15 years of silence to discover that.

These demos were edited on a CD in 2004, were you guys involved in that ?
Well, many times when the boys met up for a drink they talked about doing something with the old material. Vesa and Marko were not pleased with the thing that we never got a record out so finally Vesa couldn’t stand it no more. They got in touch with Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight and asked him for the master tapes. Vesa re-mixed it a little bit and we sent them to loads of labels as last cry out. Merciless records in Germany had a side label called Breath of night records and they wanted to re-release the whole as a sort of retro thing and what do you know people went bezerk.

Did it play a role in the band's reformation ?
Of course this made us a bit hungry and we started to have a conversation about the idea to maybe start up the band again. Fact is that the old 12 year old material even passed great bands such as Dismember in the reviews for an example. Now something started to heat up the old engine again. Pretty soon Janne, Vesa and Marko called the guys in Lake of Tears and asked if they could use their equipment and try a rehearsal just for fun. The first one was awful they said, but second one was quite nice actually. We saw our chance to maybe have a really good time together once again, not only musically but also in private. This whole thing has given us so much hunger for life, and we enjoy almost every moment of it. We are having the best time ever.

You've been gone 12 years from the metal scene ! What did you guys do ? Play in other bands ?
After the end of Evocation, Vesa went to a band called Stoneflow and after that a short period of time in Cemetary/Sundown but most working in studios. Nowadays he works as a teacher in a sound/picture/producer school.  Janne went to a hardcore band called Grip Shift.  Sorry to say even this guy stopped playing after some years and put all his effort into his family and his own company. Before the resurrection of Evocation he did not even own a single drumstick. Marko went to a brutal Finish crust punk act called Rajoitus. This is also were actually the very first original singer from Evocation still to this very day is in control of the vocals, Jani Karvola. Marko finally got rid of all his gear and moved to Stockholm for a couple years. Christian started to work with Lake of Tears for a while and after that he went back to school and became a very talented student in law school. Today he is one of the most talented young lawyers in Stockholm.  I started to work with Cemetary/Sundown for some years, had a long break from metal music after that. I packed my backpack and started to travel around the world instead, bought a ticket to the moon and was involved in dark trance/techno for many years. Eventually I slowly found my way back six years ago and was so hungry for metal again. I never left the music behind but I needed a break I guess. I started out with some bands, first through a doom/metal band and also a bit through a heavy rock band. Lucky to say we found each other in the end again. Pretty cool story, right ?

Is the actual line-up similar to the one in the 90 ?
Yes, except for Martin our new bassist. Martin is an amazing guy and he is a perfect part of the tribe, he is probably the best bassist we could have wished for. He does a lot for the band maybe not in music yet, but the communication between us and the audience, he is outstanding. He does almost all the layouts and all the videos. He knows how to catch the eye. As I said before Christian, the old bassist had moved to Stockholm, living and doing a very successful career in other ways. He was not interested at all and nowadays would not be the right person anyway. We are still very close friends of course.

What made you come back to music and to Evocation particularly ? Why not form another band or take another name ?
Well, before even we started having ideas about starting it up again we thought we had nothing more to say by creating new music together under the name of Evocation. This was far beyond our wildest dreams. For some of us it was almost out of hand to even touch an instrument again. Janne has his own company and three kids, Vesa has two kids, Marko went back to school to study for 5 really hard years at the same time, I live in Gothenburg and played some other bands and heading back in a band in Boras ?? We thought that it would be enough to get the old stuff on a CD, but the fans had something else in mind. When we started the band in 1991 we had two dreams, to get a record deal and to start touring and we were so fucking close you would not believe. So just to make the story easy to end 12 years later, they sent out the old material one last time. What do you know here we stand some years later with two full length albums, top reviews all over, played some really big and important festivals with really important bands, Cyclone Empire our label are pushing it 100%, we have a booking company, band of the month, album of the month, the magazines are treating us with respect, more interesting and important people in the business are sniffing around and last but not least only Marko have long hair, we don’t wear spikes, we don’t use blood, we are not half as professional with our instruments as most of the bands of today are and still people want more. I guess we have something to say. The feelings I get inside every time people and magazines from new parts of the world keep in touch is wonderful, I hope this will continue for a very long time. Personally, yes we have something more to say and that is fucking rock n´ roll.
The first person we really should thank is Wolker at Merciless records that put the old stuff out, all the magazines, all the fans and of course that we were so stupid and easy to fool.

Old-School Death metal is doing well these days, was it also something you took into account when you reformed the band ?
No way, we had not in mind that we would stand any chance against any of the world’s leading death metal bands of today. I mean just in every big city in Europe you have at least maybe 50-300 really good and unsigned young bands who works really hard almost every day, ready to drop school at any time and ready to focus on the music more than the future. The record labels wants this (its fast and easy cash), not 5 old farts who have problems doing 30 push ups, asthma, bad backs, smokes joint and love to drink and have a good time at every chance. We saw Hackeneyed at Zabbaduschder, hahaha we felt old, too old !

Now let's come back to 2008 and Dead Calm Chaos ! What was the idea behind that record ? What are the goals you had in mind when you recorded it ?
Well we don’t have any exactly idea behind it more than it is a second full length album which we chose to call Dead Calm Chaos. It is still pure death metal, full of emotions and as brutal as this kind of material should be when we are in charge. Idea behind it, well we all have developed a lot and in natural ways of course and as usual we just do it. I of course hope that people will take it serious because to us it is pure frustration, blood, sweat and of course a whole lot of love behind it.  We are very satisfied with the final results. It is lots emotions involved and some parts might be painful to explore for some but overall in the end the album is about trying to find strength in you and fight the pain at a very bad time of being. The title Dead Calm Chaos means that almost every person has their own personal issues and we handle them in different ways but it is most common to keep them inside for ourselves. Sometimes the best thing would be to let it go but instead we allow it to eat us from inside. There might be a war going on, on the inside, but on the outside any person can hide it, therefore the title dead calm chaos.

What are the differences with Tales from the Tomb ?
For me DCC is more close and personal, I think the other guys stand behind that as well. Tales From The Tomb is more like the past, we created that one upon skills, and DCC is what Evocation can produce after grown together again. Now we just have to keep on growing. Tales album is a wonderful piece I love it also, it is a full length album together with my childhood friends. But now is when you feel that not only can we do a successful debut we can also do a more successful second album. The thing is, we are pretty sure about number 3, and we are already working on new material ;) Musically we all have of course developed a lot and we are a lot more mature in our writing and working, both in the studio and outside, the doors are open. My lyrics are starting to make sense as well.

Some people found it more melodic, less dirty and raw...
I think this album is much more raw and brutal than tales, the energy and the lyrics as well. Why it’s not more dirty is probably because we know how to handle our studio better. I agree on more melodic, this makes it more emotional and this also makes the lyrics more emotional as well. I think many people who still feel that they float above a band always give them thumbs up but when a band suddenly starts to float above the person, the person normally don’t understand the whole and gives it the thumbs down. We are heading exactly in the right direction this is a natural step for us. Next album will contain melodic stuff of course but the lyrics and the music will be even more raw and brutal, this is our way of working. I want the listener to feel what I feel when I write the lyrics, and without the emotional touch and the vibe in the music it is impossible for us to communicate for a longer time with the audience. What we normally do is that the guys write and record some stuff and then I head to the studio and take the music with me home. In this way they have full control to make the songs emotional without me screaming. At home when I’m in the right mood and fly high as a rocket ! I put the music on and just let it flow. The pictures and the emotions I gain just make the pen start moving, it’s like painting. When I’ve done with some songs, I head back to the studio and we practice the songs a bit together and they give me input on what they think. They have no expectations and normally it comes as a surprise. This is maybe not an unusual way of working but for us it works out really fine. Why it gets catchy and groovy is probably because we have free hands over our positions and have the right to say what we think. We get the best out of the band in this way I thin. In the future I hope we get much better than this, if not it’s time to close the book forever. Of course we focus on good material, if the production doesn’t give us the kicks we change it or throw it away. When we started to record DCC and everything around it we said that everything had to be perfect, we would never forgive ourselves if there was something not 100%. For being Evocation 2008, it feels ok, thank god.

Anders Björler and Dan Swanö appear as guests on Dead Calm Chaos, how did you guys hook up, and why these two famous musicians ?
Both of them are fucking kings in extreme metal, they are so powerful in whatever they lay their hands on, we do really admire them. Same for Gustaf Jorde who made a guest appearance on the tales from the tomb, his vocals are amazing. Anyway, we went to see a Haunted concert here in Gothenburg, and after the show Marko and Janne asked Anders if he was interested, and to our surprise he said, yes no problem guys. Some months later before a show in Boras he came down to our studio and made some tunes. Since Dan gave us so nice words for the tales album, we thought he might be interested as well. First he said that he probably would not have the time, but anyway he wanted to give it a shot just to see what we had in mind. So we thought that the end of Antidote would suite him just fine. I guess he thought so as well, he wrote back the day after and said why the hell not, to our surprise as well. Both of them were actually pretty easy to convince for some reason !

I remember you guys used some keyboards on some of you old material to place some atmospheres, you thought of using that again in your « new life »?
NO FUCKING WAY ! The other guys like to tease me about this and get on my nerves because they know I hate the idea of using keyboards or normal vocals under the name of Evocation. We might use some keyboards for intros and stuff but NO FUCKING WAY in any of the songs. Good question by the way, hahaha.

Are we going to see Evocation on stage in 2009 ? And more specifically in France ?
Well I really, really hope we get the chance to do France in one way or another as soon as possible. But right this very moment I really don’t know? The thing is we just signed a world exclusive deal with the booking/management company Continental Concerts. They are now fully in charge concerning gigs etc. They have bands like Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Cannibal Corpse, Exodus, Amorphis, Naglfar and many more, so yes things will happen and we really hope that France is involved. We have up to this day confirmed festivals this summer, Rock Hard, Party San, Summer Breeze, Kaltenbach and more about to be revealed. You can very much expect Evocation on stage in the nearest future. We are biting our nails bleeding while waiting.

In your wildest dreams, who would you guys like to tour with ?
Bolt Thrower, they crush anything everywhere and anytime. During my time in Cemetary back in 95, we did a tour with them and it was amazing. Kreator, do I need to say anything more ? Why the hell not, Slipknot ? They have an amazing crowd.

We're still in January, and therefore I wanted to wish you guys a happy new year ! What's the best thing we could wish for Evocation in 2009 ?
I think the best thing for us 2009 is that all the people that hook on to us are ready to be serious and most honest. We are giving this a fair chance and we don’t want to have non serious people taking advantage on the most holy thing we have beside our families. I hope we do really well on the upcoming shows as well in all exposure in media. I hope we get at least one good tour that works out really smooth and fine and that we have a really good time with all the nice people we meet along the way. The best wish easy said is that we still slowly climb the long stairway to success, even if the success will be small.

Is there a crazy dream you guys have, or wish to accomplish ?
The crazy dream we have is that we can work with this 100 % all day long, as it looks now we have too much energy and to less time. Our regular jobs take away a lot of the quality time. Yes, we will try to accomplish this in every way ; I hope we have the patience and strength.

Did you take any resolutions for 2009 ?
I think the best thing for the whole band is not to have any expectations at all, in this way we appreciate even the smallest of steps.

Thank you for these answers, and again congratulations for the great records! Dead Calm Chaos is one of my favorite albums of 2008 !
Looking forward to seeing you guys on stage in France !
Thank you so very much for taking your time and using your strength in Evocation, it makes us rolling. I hope with all my heart that we conquer France one day and that you people are prepared. We are hungry and we are ready. So people, don’t let the fools guide you blind ; see you soon !