Satanic Surfers always fascinated with their speed, energy and melody making them one of our all time favorite bands. It was our pleasure to talk with the guys at this year´s Punk Rock Holiday.

For starters, let´s hit one typical fanzine question. How is the tour going? You guys touring or is it couple of select shows only?

Andy: It´s not a tour, it´s one off shows(laughs). Or you can call it a tour with a lot of days off(laughs). Is it Wednesday today?

Yes it is.

Andy: So, our last show was Saturday.

Magnus: So, we have been a bit home in between, working. Now we are here again.

So you are not able to live off your music? You all have steady jobs?

Andy: Not entirely. It is like a 50:50 kind of deal. I get half of my money from music and half from either working with, like I work in festival in Sweden, similar to this one, but not really.(laughs). I also do some graphic design.

Every band that we interview here considers this festival really awesome. So you are here for the second time, if I am not mistaken?

Magnus: Yes, we are here for the second time.

So, you have the new material, new album out. Did it come out on some label or diy?

Magnus: It came out on Rodrigo´s label.

I read that your drummer couldn´t come to the show tonight, so Rodrigo is drumming and singing tonight?

Magnus: Yeah, Stefan became father this Monday, so this is our third show Rodrigo is drumming and singing.

I always admired the drummers who sing and especially when you play so high energy, fast music. Let´s talk about the new album. You did a video, for Catch My Breath and it is an awesome song, high speed punkrock. I have been into this music hardcore punk for like 25 years and I really believe into some kind of hardcore force and when I listened to the new album it totally shook my bones, so much energy.

Andy: That´s what it´s about, the record is kind of going back to the roots, just high energy punk, like the band started back in the day I guess. Even the riffs are sometimes complicated, they should be raw and ironically enough, it took us like two years or even more to rehearse it, to kind of find the right beat. The end result is like the perfect mix of raw but still the kind of professional polished sound.

Yeah, I just wanted to say that. The production is kinda crystal clear, but still it possess that rawness.

Magnus: Some dirt.

I even hear some what I call trademark Swedish guitar style, I am really a fan of that Gothenburg melodic death metal style and on Catch My Breath for example that metalic part, that solo, but not really solo kills me every time.

Andy: That´s yours!(says to Magnus). I always think of Danzig when I hear that.(laughs)

How much is politics important to you as a band?  Do you consider Satanic Surfers political band?

Andy: Yes, I think so!

The right wing policy and anti immigrant policies as well as populism are on the rise. Has European Union lost it´s meaning and purpose?

Andy: I don´t think so. I think European Union is more important now than ever but it also needs to be more inclusive, I think it is also very difficult job they have. What we don´t need right now is to divide ourselves and I think Brexit is a huge failure because that´s just tears us apart. I think we need to come together as friends, brothers and sisters and that also includes refugees.

Exactly. There shouldn´t be barbed wires and machine guns at the borders. We live near Hungarian border and those guys put barbed wire there, Slovenia too! Croatia is pretty poor country, robbed and devastated by war, tycoons and many of our people go to work in other countries. Do you, as Swedes, consider Sweden to be heaven on Earth?

Magnus: Yes, it is a good country to live in, but only if you have Swedish citizenship(laughs). So many people live in Sweden that are not included in that society, that never, ever get a chance. They are either immigrants or they grew up in the wrong part of the city, so a lot of people are struggling in Sweden as well, but it is a good country, you have health insurance and stuff like that.

In my opinion, Sweden is like ideal social state, so to say.

Magnus: Yes, exactly! But people are complaining, and that is where the right wing parties thrive on. People are like scared of new people, from other countries, the same old thing, they are stealing this, they are stealing that and it is a lie.

But, in my opinion media also plays great part in this, they put fears into people´s heads like having headlines, they are stealing our jobs, our land and stuff, it all reminds too well of 1930-s and the man called Hitler.

Andy: It´s also when we talk about Lugenpresse or fake media, it´s just repeating itself, it´s really scary right now and yeah, I would like to say we are political band. We are not waving huge banners with statements but there is a lot of politics, even if the song is personal it still can have political undertones and maybe if we just convince one guy to not become a nazi that´s good I guess.

How are the gigs when you play in Sweden, is there a lot of violence, I hate when someone spoils the gig with a fight over here. In Croatia for example that can still be a problem.

Andy: They always talk about violence in podcasts, like the early 80-ies scene in New York and Washington, like really dangerous and not Disneyland like it is now. I think in Sweden there is not enough attention to the shows, so we have not too many people coming to shows with punk bands. I wish that support would be bigger.

Last question. Do you guys still remember your first punkrock or hardcore show that made you wanna be a part of the scene and play in a band and stuff?

Magnus: The most important show for me was a bit later, I already played in a band but I saw Poison Idea back in 1993.

That was still with Pig Champion?

Magnus: Yeah, that was the Feel The Darkness lineup.

Andy: That was the show when he couldn´t enter through the door, they had to open the doors and he head to go in sideways.

Magnus: That was an important show for me, I was 18 or 19 years old.

Andy: I don´t know. Maybe the first time I saw Satanic Surfers when I was a kid in 1995. I almost got deaf, it was so loud and I was like what the fuck is this, but I couldn´ be angry because I liked it so much, but I was also like auch, my ears!(laughs).

So it must be a happy feeling when you entered the band you watched play as a kid.

Andy: It was complicated, I first started as a fill in on guitar because Fredrik was going on vacation and I was gonna play guitar with the guys and I am not a good guitar player so it didn´t work out too well, so then I was like nah, it couldn´t happen but then Rodrigo said to me come to the rehearsal space we can jam. Just you and me and when I came to the rehearsal space they were all there and I got to play bass and I was like okay, I guess I like it!(laughs).

Thank you for the interview!

Both: Thank you! Good luck with the scene in Croatia!