DDR: Let me start by asking how it feels to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band?
Marko: That's a pretty unreal feeling, 25 years is a lifetime. We had a little break in between, but 25 years is amazing. We have been discussing as a band what we should do like a special live show dvd, or cover album, but we need to celebrate this some way.
DDR: When you guys originally started in 1990 and you where putting the band together, did you have any idea that what you where creating would take you as far as it has?
Marko: No. The first goal was to get a demo tape done and have it reviewed on the magor fan magazines. When the demo was acepted, everything moved fast and it has been a strange journey. All of the sudden you are like, shit it's been 25 years. It's wierd but cool as well. We started the band when we where fourteen and now I have a son that is nine years old. I was 5 years older than he is when we started the band. It's pretty surreal when you think about it.
DDR: So many bands come and go and not many get to enjoy the amount of success that you have had. With that being said, what do you feel has been your secret of success?
Marko: I am sure every band has stories to tell, but for us, the paradox is that the split up we had was the thing that saved everything and it created the ability for us all to have it today. As I said, we started this band when we were kids and we just went with it and then it just ended. Then we were like, Ok, we don't have a band, now I have this normal life. We all took responsibility and did something with it. Some of us got an education, we formed families and did all the grown up stuff and when everything like that was taken care of, the idea of the band became interesting again. So for us, the split was a miracle. Before the split, there was never a discussion of whether or not to do a live show, or tour around the world. Obviously playing death metal is not going to bring a lot of bread to the table.(laughing) Its a difficult situation to be in. But now, as adults with families, it's a hobby in our lives that we really embrace and we have the oppurtunity now to say "No Thank You" when we get a tour offer in Europe for three months. We can say sorry, it's not possible as it will mess up a lot of stuff. We feel blessed to be able to do that and we have the support of one of Europe's biggest record labels. To be honest I am suprised they havent fired us! (laughing) We hardly play live, we are not a super social band, but we still manage to exist. We exist because it is done on our own terms.
DDR: The new album that you are about to release has Johan back on vocals. He was with the band when it first started, but it different having him back on vocals compared to your previous two singers?
Marko: I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 38 yrs old and I love having a band in my life and being able to do a lot of cool stuff, but my wish from the beginning was that I wanted to do it with my best friends. I want to do it with the people I grew up with. Johan was the guy, I have known him for forever. We when wanted to continue with the band, we thought what the most comfortable way for us to do it was and it always came back to wanting to share this experience with your best friends. I love having Johan back in the band. It's amazing, just 2 days ago we went to see Morbid Angel live and we were like kids again. This band is like a relationship. It's hard enough with two people, but good luck trying to find four that all get along and make it doable. Nowadays, when the band gets together there are no conflicts, we are like kids again. All we do is talk about whats new with Morbid Angel and what production is or was the coolest. It's funny because it becomes like a fucking teenage club thing that you are sharing with your friends. After "Possessed 13", we decided we can't do this anymore and we were sick of each other. We had all quit our days jobs and figured if we do two hundred shows a year we can do this as a living, of course it didn't work. We were Death Metal, its a sub-genre of a sub-genre, so the whole situation became frustrating. We knew if we did this comback, it needs to be enjoyable. For me, if it's not with them, then fuck it.
DDR: Lets talk a bit about the new album. Vocally, Johan is superb on this album. A lot of lead singers don't stand the test of time, but Johan is incredible. Instrumentally, you are all as tight playing as you ever were.
Marko: Thanks man, I really appreciate that. We have released two tracks off the album that we feel is the best representation of us. We are very excited about the release
DDR: What was the direction and inspiration of this new album?
Marko: With this album, we were finally able to make an album like we always used to do. We just went at it, there was no analzing anything. We played and created ten to eleven songs and when we felt that these were good songs, we worked on them in particular and created a package out of it, and it's the mindset we always had. We never plan anything in advance. But there is a time when we agree these are the songs and stop. After that, we try to figure out what type of concept it should be (laughing) Less brain, more playing is the best recipe for us.