Interview with Sterbhaus

Stockholm metal veterans Sterbhaus announce their new album Next Akin to Chaos. which will be officially released on November 21st.
Alan – Hi guys, welcome back.
Marcus -  Hey hey! Thanks! What can we say? – FINALLY! It’s been quite a long time working in the shadows and that sucks and eats away at you – so to finally be able to unleash it all is liberating to say the least

Alan – Could you tell our readers a little bit about the band?
Marcus - We’ve been around since 2007 but released our first “real” album in 2013. Sterbhaus started as an easy going five-piece band with not too high aspirations – you know; Hell bent on having a good time, partying a lot, writing catchy songs and not take ourselves too seriously. Some of the members just wanted yet another band (they were usually active in at least three bands at the same time) to play different instruments in than they were used to so Sterbhaus was used as such an outlet. It took a little time to evolve out of that but since that first album we shed most of what made us less serious than most but kept what made the band unique – which was whipping quality Metal but with a hint of humour and dark wit. Since then we’ve released a bunch of very unique and entertaining music videos, toured with Vader, Melechesh and Shining and played festivals such as Rock Harz, Metaltown, Blastfest etc. In 2015 we released an album called “New Level of Malevolence” that unfortunately were riddled with quite a few challenges such as cancelled tours, banned videos and promotion agencies who screwed us over pretty bad. That led to the band eventually slipping into some sort of involuntary hiatus which in turn led to the band more or less splitting up in 2019. I have since vowed to keep the Sterbhaus flame burning until the last album is released – and this is were we are at the moment. 

Alan - Which bands have the current players been in?
Marcus - I had a one-man project called Elvira Madigan for about ten years prior to Sterbhaus where I released a few albums and I was also a member of Shining for a few years rather recently. Erik Röjås has played in Decadence and Ondskapt. Jimmy was a member of a now rather successful domestic band called Skitarg but we’ve been fortunate he hasn’t been playing with too many other acts because his brain was then dedicated for exclusive Sterbhaus pickings 😉 

Alan – You started out as a five-piece, now you're a three-piece. Can you tell us about that?
Marcus - Going from a five to four piece was due to the vocalist departing prior to the first album and I then taking on the vocalist duties aside from playing bass. My vocals and lyrics were more atune to what kind of music we wrote and Daniel (the previous vocalist) wanted to focus on his other band in which he naturally got a lot more creative freedom. So that was a natural transition. 
Turning into a trio was due to our long time guitarist Simon by mutual agreement leaving as the songs were just too tricky for him. Even though we hated to have to let him go - basically, both him and the rest of the band was suffering so it was inevitable. We wanted a second guitarist to replace Simon but pickings were slim and we just couldn’t find one. I’m afraid it probably came down to us having evolved into playing music that was just too tricky and challenging for most guitarist to want to bother to learn them. The main songwriters were always Jimmy and I so it didn’t affect the musical aspect that much though. Simon might have represented a certain Death Metal touch but the band was already moving away from that at the time. 

Alan – Your work is in thrash, death, black – why didn't you choose one genre? I personally don't mind, the albums are more varied.
Marcus - Not choosing is actually kind of the point. Bands who actively choose are rather boring to me and that’s probably why I find much of the scene today either ridiculously narrow minded or just a general circus of stereotypical and meaningless expressions. It should be more about making the best damn Metal you can create – and doing the stuff you yourself find to be your ultimate form of expression instead of sticking to very specific genres or trying to copy your favourite band – which seems to be totally acceptable these days.
For us it’s always been about what kind of Metal that comes naturally to us when we write stuff. We tweek and hone our songs quite excessively but in the end it doesn’t matter if the song is more Heavy Metal, Thrash, Death, Progressive or even have hints of Black Metal. “The song is the King” so whatever riffs are created and however curious we are in exploring the material dictates the end result. Nothing else. 

Alan – If we take each album separately. Where does which genre predominate?
Marcus - Never thought of analysing the albums like this! So it could be fun. Well, I guess the first self titled demo is kind of upbeat Gothenburg Death Metal oriented. You have to remember, we just went up to the studio Abyss, partied and recorded some stuff and did it with no intention other than to have fun.
The second effort “Hits for Dead Kids” which is kind of a full length demo album continues much in the same vein but we’re playing a little better here and you can hear hints of the progressive and thrashy elements that starts to surface due to songwriting being more divided between the members.
“Angels for Breakfast… And God for Lunch” is the first real album and it represents a large leap in quality and effort compared to the previous releases. For us it’s basically a rebirth. There is still humour here and a certain amount of that Gothenburg sound due to the line-up that wrote the album but wasn’t fully involved in recording it, but it’s downplayed and far more balanced. This is also my debut as vocalist for the band and since I don’t have a particular Death Metal growl like Daniel did, I tend to find this album sounding more like that “Metal Deluxe” thingy we coined a few years later. It’s more straight forward fairly modern Thrash/Death with some generous flirtations with whatever genre in Metal we found worthwhile. 
“New Level of Malevolence” is a monster of an album and the first where I feel we’ve shed the last remains of the bands demo years and that Gothenburg sound. This is due to Jimmy and I being main songwriters and we never really liked that stuff. We’ve basically chiselled out what Sterbhaus is on this one and it’s heavy and far more aggressive and not as polished as the previous album – which was the intention. Basically everything here is turned up to our maximum at the time and it’s very intense, progressive and quite massive – but also quite extreme so we decided not to push things further in that direction after this album. This is where the modern meets the retro and doesn’t sound like any of them. Some say it’s more Teutonic. And it is a very proud moment for us and defined “Metal Deluxe”.
“Krampusnach EP” was intended more as a promotion trick actually. We released it only digitally at first and had it annually given away for free for download each December – due to it being a Christmas related EP. It only features one epic song (the title track), an instrumental quite weird and light hearted playful song and a cover of a Spinal Tap song. The title track is quite fantastic with its’ storytelling, dramatic approach and with tempo shifts. It’s certainly quite heavy and progressive and also laid back at times, providing more space in the song – which was something we found we enjoyed ourselves – and which was something I kept in mind for the production of our new album “Next Akin to Chaos”.
“Necrostabbing at Göta Källare – Live in Stockholm” is our live album recorded in 2015 at the time of “New Level of Malevolence” – so that’s pretty much like the original album.

Alan – Do you also have hardcore (orthodox) fans? Which albums or genres do they like the most?
Marcus - I don’t know really! Haha – well, some people seem to pop up more than others in our feed on social media – which unfortunately is the only place we can interact with fans these days. So far it seems “New Level of Malevolence” is the favourite album. If you we’re our buddies during the demo years it appears that “Angels for Breakfast…” is the fav album.

Alan – You have 6 albums under your belt, including demos. The seventh album will be officially released in November. Differences between the albums? And what is Next Akin to Chaos like?
Marcus - I believe I covered the differences between the albums in a previous question. But if you mean difference between “Next Akin to Chaos” and all the previous ones then I’d say this is a far more “complete” and perfected Sterbhaus album both in production and balance. The songs are generally longer but doesn’t really feel like it and it is as well written and executed music as we could ever make – without succumbing to stale studio productions. The balance to keep it alive and vital as well as organic with making it sound as fresh and great as possible was really something I focused on while producing. Due to the fact there were no time restrictions it’s an album that could mature on most every level. It’s slightly more Heavy Metal than Extreme Metal and the vocal approach is far more dramatic and atune to what I myself wants to do (regardless of what band it would be for).       

Alan – If you could briefly describe the individual songs. What are they about lyrically and musically?
Deth Bü Wolfe – A total classic Sterbhaus type of song that’s all Thrash, Death and Heavy Metal with great hooks and swing. A knuckle sandwich that we naturally felt was always going to be the first single. The lyrics are about Disney Satanism and perceived elitism from people who are as un-elite as can be. Copycat culture and buying oneself into an expression that is truly individual by using it as a dress code - buying Bathory and Venom merch to feel as part of a clique that was always actually outsiders. All the Watain copycats are a good example and the fact that just throwing a pentagram into a logo seems to be a legitimate way to gain success. It’s a lyric that deals in the irony of all that.
Wrecking The World – A heavier mid-tempo track that’s more about groove and has some flirting with riffing more akin to Black Metal. It’s a song about Noahs Ark (that I’ve been itching to do for decades). Its punchline is basically that one isn’t free to choose what’s true/real or not, and one can’t be cherry picking from the bible to fit ones own perception and need for a comfortable reality and hopes of an afterlife. 
The Evildoer Of Pixelville – A fast and blast beat thrasher with a fierce anti-war agenda. Also slightly critical toward war infatuation in Metal culture but also generally in entertainment today. I seem to recall war being an eternal topic in Metal but bands like Slayer etc made a point to make it anti-war, which seems to be lost at some extent today. I bet no one would actually find it is awesome if an army raids your home and rapes your family.
Whippersnapper – A technical mid tempo Thrash, Heavy and Death oriented track (actually penned entirely on sheet music by Jimmy when he was injured and couldn’t play guitar!). No moral cakes this time – it’s a psychedelic journey of a schizophrenic mind and has a lot of word play and excellent hooks.  
Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus have a Sword Fight – Essentially an intro for “Master of the Hunt” and was derived from excellent parts we had to remove from other songs – and an exceptional improvised one-take on drums in the beginning that I later wrote a fretless bass solo for. It is a mood builder and quite jazzy.
Master Of The Hunt – Mid tempo tight and epic Heavy Metal track much in the same vein as Dissections “Reinkaos” album (I’m not too comfortable comparing – but it has been suggested a couple of times already). The song was inspired by the Netflix Documentary “Wild Wild Country” which is about a cult that moves to Oregon and essentially ends up waging war against its surroundings. 
The Man who was a Rat, who was a Snake – One of the more progressive and technical songs on the album with a lot of groove and an excess of hooks. It’s essentially about a real person Jimmy and I worked for at a warehouse during a brief period. A song much like “El Giftus Satanus” from our previous album – although more thrashy halfway and on to the end.
Bad workers are slaves...And dead – Basically just a mood setter and an outro for the previous song and intro to the next. It’s a narrated track with some effects and I mimic a mouse character from a PS3 video game called “Alice – Madness Returns”
The Autopsy of Intergalactic John Doe – A song about Star Trek TNG and the fact that if you “beam down with an unfamiliar face” you’re going to die in that episode. A humour relief for the album and one of those intense faster thrashers that we always seem to end up having on our albums. It was a hassle to produce and write though… Because it wasn’t finished when recorded and needed far too much extra post production. But it’s a terrific complement to all the epic songs
Abhorrence – The very reason for this albums existence. Or at least the main reason. A hugely personal and revealing song for me – the first such lyrics I’ve ever written in my whole career. It’s an epic 17 minute song in four parts and it is the great pride of this album and of this band. Since the future for Sterbhaus looks grim at the moment – if this is the way we end things I couldn’t be happier. This song is something very special and saying “Epic” would be an understatement!

Alan – Where was the best place you have played in? Sweden / abroad?
Marcus - I’m expected to say “Germany” because we’ve played there quite a lot and we always loved hanging out there both before and after the show. But some of the best shows were actually the odd unexpected ones and I seem to recall Romania and Italy stand out here. But it’s hard to pin point.   

Alan – Do you have any funny experiences while recording the album, video clips, or performing?
Marcus – Haha – Yeah you bet! But I’m not sure it’s proper for me to tell of most of those stories for various reasons 😉. This is perhaps not the funniest story ever, but forgetting the drum microphones at home when heading off to record drums away from Stockholm and only finding out when getting to the studio is worth mentioning. Don’t ask me how I could have been that stupid, but I guess the box with the microphones slid under some blanket and out of sight at home. It was a four hour drive to get to the place of recording and I just had to bite the bullet and drive back and forth alone right away which took me eight hours (driving GTA style) – So that’s basically how the recording of this whole album started, and I’m referring to “Next Akin to Chaos”. 

Alan – Do you know any bands from the Czech Republic or Slovakia? Do you know anything about these two countries? Festivals, for example?
Marcus – Oh, I’m sorry… I don‘t think I do. The odd band from the Czech Republic like Masters Hammer, Root or Malignant Tumour are ofc known to me – but I don’t listen to them

Alan – The album is officially released in November. What are your next plans? A tour in Sweden? Europe? Further promotion of the album and the band?
Marcus – We aren’t a touring band atm because there isn’t really an active line-up. So the plan right now is to continue promoting the album any way we can other than playing live. There’s another video coming and a full documentary series on the making of the album with one short episode per song and then a larger for the whole album. But to be honest. We’ve struggled immensely for 15 years and we’ve felt kind of ostracised from the whole industry and the scene so if there is no opening created by this release for us to create and release albums in a different way for the future than we’ve done so far then Sterbhaus will end early 2026.  

Alan – If you had to choose three songs from your repertoire that you like the most. Which ones would they be and why?
Marcus – Abhorrence is the best song we ever made so that’s a no-brainer ofc. I’ve always admired great lyricists who write personal, honest and revealing lyrics but I’ve never felt that was for me or that I was ever been able to do it myself. This time it happened and it feels absolutely huge. The song is basically perfection in my ears and by the time I sing the last line I get goose bumps. Aside from that song it’s very hard to narrow it down to only two more because we’ve always kind of made a point out of only having songs that mattered – you know the old line: “No filler – Only killers!”. But let’s say “The King of the Red” as it is just as witty and smart as it is expressive and has a great mood and storytelling. Then I’d have to say “Insecticide” because it represents a reborn Sterbhaus and playing it live always felt important for that very reason. I was tempted to name only songs from the new album ofc, but I guess it’s better to include something from all the three main albums instead. 

Alan – Is there a band or bands that have caught your attention recently and you didn't know them?
Marcus - Yes! Quiet a few! But this will be strictly “me” speaking and not Sterbhaus as a band. I am a music consumer and find new music all the time even though I am an old fart. And although I’m quite opinionated regarding most things musical and regarding the Metal Scene I do love finding new stuff. Best new find would be the band “Lord Goblin” and their self-titled album. The album “Tragic Magic” with Spell is terrific and also “Antropomorte” with Funeral Oration. I’d totally like to give a massive shout out for The Protomen and their coming album “ACT III – This City Made Us” because it’s the first in 17 years. I’ve been following them for about a decade or so, so it’s not a recent discovery, but it really needs to be highlighted anyway. 

Alan – We didn't mention what media Next Akin to Chaos is being released on. Will it be on LP, CD, MC + digitally? Who is releasing the album? Where will it be available?
Marcus – I’m going to be totally honest here. Times change you know. I hate to admit it but the world is what it is and it has forced me to look upon this release in a completely different way. Releasing the albums like we did previously was an option (well, not financially actually) but I just didn’t want to throw it all away to a label that doesn’t believe or invest in us – to then only find botched promotion and the album with a “nice price” tag after six months and all my wardrobes at home full of surplus stock. So strange as it seems, the album is only going to be released digitally at first. Like I said, I hate it – but people just don’t buy physical anymore and when you’re not touring - you’re not bringing CDs and Vinyls to the crowds’ doorstep and thus enabling sales. So it’s just not a good idea to print physical. 
Having said that – it will most certainly be released on CD at least but that is later on (most likely early 2026). It all really depends on what happens, and I want to give this album a chance to be exposed before we tie it to a contract. Sometimes you need to do something daring to break a vicious circle. All our albums have been released though Killhead (which is my own rather old label) with different collaboration deals, this album will be as well. At least at first.

Alan – Did you make the entire album yourself? Or did someone help you? Where did you record and master?
Marcus - We’ve recorded it ourselves like we’ve done with all our music since “New Level of Malevolence”. What differs this time is that we recorded drums away from home in a community hall in Falun quite far north of Stockholm and then tracked all other instruments over a period of two years with no time restraint in my own studio. That has enabled so much both musically and production wise. I am also the sole producer this time and that’s apparently the way for us to go because it’s been a better recording experience and the result sounds far more complete. I’m not a believer in democracy in music although I believe in everyones input. But if one person has a distinctive idea and vision the torch needs to be held by that person. Otherwise you get entangled in compromises and generally the end result suffers from that. 

Alan – What do you expect from the new Alab? And what are your reactions?
Marcus – Expectations are in general- and by definition a huge shit sandwich. I try to keep away from expectations because my day dreaming and invented scenarious where I hope or expect something to happen never ever comes to pass. So if I leave myself open to expectations I’m just going to be terribly disappointed. I must add that I totally fail here as well, because however much I try to Not expect something – I still do, and then… yeah, well, I’m stomping around in a swamp of disappointment. 
What would make me happy and proud though. is if this album does gain momentum enough so that I have a good starting point to recruit a new line-up, or that Sterbhaus as a band finally gets at least some recognition for our huge dedication and all our contributions to the Metal framework.  But it seems it’s down to sheer luck and since the world wide web can’t differentiate between excellent stuff and rubbish and it’s so much ONLY down to how you handle all the social platforms (and not the music) I don’t dare expect anything in this cesspool of multitude and excess.

Alan – We’ll see what happens in the future. Thanks for the interview, and hopefully this collaboration won’t be the last.
Marcus – Thanks! We need folk who root for us, so it’s truly appreciated! Thanks for an awesome chat!
https://www.sterbhaus.com