Room Thirteen recently caught up with Darkane's Peter Wildoer to chat about their upcoming album 'Layers of Lies'.
Room Thirteen: First of all could you please introduce yourself and explain your role in the band?
Peter Wildoer: Hi, I'm Pete and I'm the drummer in Darkane. Along with Christofer I'm also one of the founding members of the band.
R13: Where are you now and what are you up to?
PW: We were supposed to be in the office in Germany but instead of spending four days over there, we decided to split the interviews up so we could spend a little time at home.
R13: The band have been together for over 6 years, how did you guys originally get together?
PW: Christofer and myself have actually been playing together since about 1989. Jorgen and Klass started to play with us in 1991 when we were in a band called the Agretator and Andeas joined us in 1999. We were all good friends beforehand and I think that's why we've had such a strong and stable line up since the late nineties.
R13: How are things different now to that of the early days?
PW: In 1998 there was no pressure and we just wrote some cool songs. Now due to 'Rusted Angel' being so successful there seems to be a lot more pressure, with everyone expecting a lot from us. We're on our fourth album - it's becoming quite hard as everyone tends to compare us to our previous work.
R13: Your first three albums seemed to do well. Can you tell us why we haven't heard anything from you in the last three years?
PW: I also play drums with a neo-classical band called Time Requiem. In 2003 I started to have a few problems with my wrists as we would rehearse for long periods of time. The wrist problems started to become worse when we toured with Japan and it didn't help matters when just a few weeks later I went on tour with Darkane supporting Testament. In the fall we then did a Death Angel tour. I didn't really have time to rest as I was playing a lot of different gigs with a lot of different bands. In November 2003 my wrists were really bad so I had to take a rest from playing drums. All in all I took about 6-7 months off. So by June 2004 and we were already a year late with the release of the album.
R13: How are your wrists now?
PW: Well I've been back properly since October and everything feels fine now.
R13: June 27th sees the European release for your next album 'Layers of Lies'. After three years of silence what do you think makes 'Layers of Lies' so special?
PW: For us it was a natural development. We wanted to take the best things from our other albums so influences from 'Rusted Angel' and 'Insanity' show through. We tried to take all the raw and catchy songs and do something that defined us with a slightly new edge.
R13: How long did it take to write the album?
PW: Some of the songs are nearly two years old as we started to write it straight after our last album. However the writing was broken down into smaller chunks. We would spend a few weeks concentrating on the writing process, then take a month or so off and tour or play some gigs. We would then come back to writing again.
R13: Did you find this method of writing kept your writing fresh as you were doing it in short bursts?
PW: Yes these sorts of songs are not that easy to write and some of the technical stuff can be quite difficult. When bands rush the writing process and try to squeeze it into a couple of months there is the danger of all the songs on the album sound very similar. Our album encompasses a lot of different styles and we think it gives it that fresh edge.
R13: Are there any tracks which have a personal place in your heart?
PW: 'Secondary Effects', as I think that is a very typical Darkane-thrash song. I like some of the more heavier tracks on the album, but I think it's 'Secondary Effects' that defines us.
R13: You produced the album yourself; did this pose any arguments within the band?
PW: Daniel Bergstrand was supposed to produce it as he has produced all our previous albums. However due to the album being late we couldn't seem to schedule it in. We have a studio so we just decided we would do it ourselves. We didn't really know what we were doing at first but we knew what we wanted the album to sound like. Luckily everybody is very experienced in the studio, so we think it worked well.
R13: Do you plan to produce any more of your albums?
PW: We will more than likely do our next album in our own studio. We don't really involve lots of people in the production of our songs and Daniel only really got involved in the vocals production of our previous albums. It's also great having your own studio as you can take as much time as you want to and not feel rushed or pressured by time.
R13: After the album is released, do you have any plans to tour?
PW: We have lots of plans and want to do lots of touring as there are lots of places we would like to go. However, as of yet nothing is booked.
R13: Do you hope to come to the UK?
PW: We are hoping to go to the UK in late July. I'm not too sure what's happening with that but I know there are some people working on it. We would definitely like to come to the UK though, as we think it would be really cool to play there.
R13: And finally what's the biggest lie you have ever told?
PW: That's a really hard one as I try to be an honest person. I had to keep it a secret that I'm going to be a father in August but that isn't really a lie. I suppose the only other thing is when I used to lie about my age to get served in bars. When I was 17 I even made some fake ID!
'Layers of Lies' will be released in Europe on 27th June 2005. For more information about Darkane and their new album please see their website www.Darkane.com