In an interview to Heavy, At the Gates guitarist Martin Larsson discussed today’s Metal, his band and many other things. Read some excerpts of the interview here (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):
“I think it’s more popular. I work at a small venue in Gothenburg and there are so many younger people who are die-harding for metal, it’s really heartwarming.
“It probably isn’t like it was like in the 80s, at least in Sweden. You had a thing, like, every other person was a metalhead, and that’s kind of how it feels now.”
After so long in the game, are you still influenced by certain bands?
“In a way, we’re influenced by everything, consciously or not, but all five of us are very much music fans with metal and all kinds of music, so I’m pretty sure we’re influenced by all kinds of things.”
After so long on the road and touring, what is your one favorite memory that sticks out?
“Right now going through my head there are a million things, but the reunion we did in New York City 10 years ago, that was amazing. Somewhere on YouTube, there’s a live video from [1995’s] ‘Slaughter [of the Soul]’ when you can’t hear the singing over the crowd.”
For the young metalheads out there, have you got any advice for young bands starting out?
“I don’t know, it’s always the younger people who know best. That was the case for us 25-30 years ago, and I’m sure it’s the same today. It’s hard to compare also, it’s a different world in all kinds of ways from when we were that age.
“Lots of things were harder to do, but at the same time, you didn’t have to break through this white noise. It’s so saturated, there’s a zillion bands around, and a lot of them are fantastically good, but I’m not sure if I was young today, I wouldn’t know how to reach out to people other than trying to put out quality stuff. It’s a hard question.”
