John Norby finds a rise against the machines causing Havok in Sweden.
Statues Of Sisyphus, Havok’s second album, is something of a controlled, tech-death metal frenzy that sports a decidedly odd production – a sound that really takes a while to seep in, but when given the chance to, reveals a monster of a recording. “We wanted to get an unconventional sound for the album, making it more organic – kinda like a tighter version of our first demo, but with a new sound,” begins vocalist Johan Bergström. “Hopefully, people realise that you don’t have to make a sterile ProTools production to make a good record.” As it stands, Statues Of Sisyphus is available as a digital-only release through ViciSolum Productions, who also released the band’s debut CD, Being And Nothingness. But, sticklers for tradition that they are, Havok are now on the campaign trail to secure the physical release of the album through the label. The situation is a product of the times, unfortunately, and it makes you wonder how long we actually have before physical releases become a thing of the past for good. For ViciSolum and Havok, it’s simply a case of the label not feeling comfortable with the risk of losing a heap of cash on a CD. “ViciSolum has given us much support from the start, beyond what most fresh labels would do. He has put money and effort into us, and when we told him that this was possibly to be our final album, he told us that releasing a CD in physical form would be risky due to us not being well-known,” Johan reveals.
Mention of this being the final album sounds like a nail-in-the-coffin event, but Johan is keen to point out that it’s more accurate to say that Havok’s melodic tech-death resistance is on ice rather than terminated. So, what happened exactly? “We came to a natural crossroads where ordinary life caught up to some of the members – going on to be fathers and whatnot. So, at the moment, it’s more likely to see us in other bands and on other stages,” he adds, himself about to release an album as part of this other death metal band, Splattered Mermaids. Who knows what will become of Statues Of Sisyphus, or of Havok, for that matter? As far as Johan is concerned, in order to rise against the machines, we must first embrace one facet of their reach: “All you need to do is write to ViciSolum on their Facebook page asking for a physical copy of Statues Of Sisyphus or share the information on the release and ViciSolum/Havok on your own wall.” Get to it, people.
[origin.lund sweden formed.2005 current release.statues of sisyphus current label.vicisolum productions band url.havok.se]
This feature was originally intended for publication in ZT issue 053. Things got bumped about at the last minute and this deadline casualty is now available here, exclusively. Spread the word!
