Christian "Chritus" Linderson of Lord Vicar (Interview)

Hey Christian, you are right back in Sweden from the tour with your actual baby Lord Vicar supporting The Gates Of Slumber. How did things flow?

"Ha! Ha! Its more Peters baby than mine, to be honest...Im more like a bonus parent as they might say in Sweden. but thank You still the same.But yeah, we had a great time, and getting along with them guys was no problem. Most of us knew them since before, anyway, and I found them being very cool people. A couple of years ago, I understand that TGoS/Reverend Bizarre and Centurions Ghost did quite a long tour together, and I truly enjoyed listening to their memories."

But I guess you had a couple of stories to tell as well, but to this we will come later here. You had kind of busy year with Lord Vicar: the release of the debut album in November via Church Within Records last year, then gone on several tours including the Dawn Of Doom Festival in Switzerland, the Doom Shall Rise and Hell's Pleasure OA in Germany, now the shows with TGOS. How did you experience the last year, kept your level of fitness and managed family business alongside? You're no kitten anymore, ha ha!

"Well, THANK YOU for pointing that out! However, I do not FEEL old, just BITTER! Ha, ha! But seriously now, as You say - it has been quite an eventful year in that sense, yes. And looking back at it now...well, time seems to fly these days, in my opinion. And time in between gigs and tours is still just the same of that old everyday bullshit with work and stuff, like it always has been, you know? To try to answer that question...Oh, I dunno. I’m in construction by profession, so having a somewhat physical job is nothing new to me, really. A working class hero is something to be! Furthermore, I’m not the only member with a kid in this band. We all have to adjust and make schematics work for us. For me personally, the financial part can be a burden most times, though. I mean, Im not in this to make the big bucks and that will more than likely never happen anyway. But as with most other people I have a rent and bills to pay. I lose income everyday when not working and to make ends meet financially can be a real bitch at times. But I love doing this and I am doing it for my own mental well being, you know? I would be dying vast inside if I wasn’t!"

That's just the way it is. But I think there are many outside, including me, who really appreciate you w/Lord Vicar and other underground bands making music in their kind of rare spare time and pleasing us with remarkable Doom stuff.

"I think there’s some kind of symbiosis going on there. Obviously if nobody cared about the band we wouldn’t be touring. And for me that is the payment for it all - when people who come to see us get into it and rock out. You can’t beat that feeling, really. As You mentioned here earlier, I’m no kitten anymore and I’ve been doing this for quite a while now. It’s such a great feeling when people come up and tell me how much the music I’ve been involved in means to them.Naturally I have my own heroes as well, so I know where they come from so to speak."

As everybody should know Lord Vicar is originated in Finland, but you are a citizen of Sweden. How do you manage rehearsing and meeting over those distances?

"...Careful planning and a 12-hour ferry ride! Good thing it doesn’t happen that often, though. You see, there’s like absolutely nothing to do on those trips save from drinking and I try hard not to every time, with minor success I should add. Flying only takes an hour or two, so I should probably look into that as an option in future. It’s much easier on the liver if nothing else!"

So you should do, and your liver arrives some hours later, who cares. Maybe you tell us about the future plans with Lord Vicar, the 2nd album, upcoming tours etc.

"In December we will rehearse some new songs for possible single split releases. In February we will play at the Hammer Of Doom III Festival in Würzburg, and I guess a couple of gigs to coincide with that event. Can’t tell You where or when though since they aren´t confirmed just yet. Keep an eye open for advertisements, folks! And after that we start rehearsals for the next album I reckon, entitled 'Signs Of Osiris'."

Thanks a lot for this awesome news. Then we will definitely see again at Hammer Of Doom III Festival where you will share the stage with the mighty Saint Vitus! By the way, it's somewhat like a family meeting. Please remember the time you joined Saint Vitus, how did this happen?

"Well, for me it was a fucking dream come true, and I will be the first one to admit it. So, in what must have been about halfway through the recording of the second Count Raven album, "Destruction Of The Void", I read somewhere that Wino had left the band. I had by then gotten to know Messiah Marcolin from Candlemass through Matz Ekstroem, and Messiah and myself were the biggest fans of Saint Vitus in Sweden back then, as far as I know anyway. Our record company then asked me to contact him and ask him if he would be interested in going over there to join them, as he wasn´t in Candlemass anymore. But he already had other plans, so they asked me to go instead. I was not comfortable with the situation in Count Raven at this time, and I was actually about to leave them anyway in favour of PENANCE, who I had some correspondence with there for a while. It never happened, as I was too flattered and tempted by the chance to join one of my absolute favourite bands at the time, so I just went for it...Imagine that! I remember our very first song during rehearsal was "Prayer For The (M)asses", and how could I EVER forget?! Time stood still and I truly F**KING LOVED every second of it! And so I ended up being with them for some three and a half years from then on. It was a true adventure, I learnt a great deal from them guys and that whole period of my life gave me a lot of fun memories. It will be great to check them out in February, and I am also very much looking forward to meet Mark again. When LORD VICAR played the DOOM SHALL RISE festival earlier this year, Wino came to our backstage to say hello. It was great to see him and he has always been cool to me."

But you're definitely a part of their history. Can you still stand listening to your vocal part on "Children Of Doom" (1992), as it sounds kind of different compared to your usual style of singing?

"I never listen to it. As it was, Dave would not have me singing the way I did naturally, because of the obvious Ozzy-comparison I reckon, and it lead me to become really distant to myself and uncomfortably insecure in general. It puzzles me as he obviously knew how I sounded like already, you know? But this is all history now, and I rarely think of it these days, except while given the question during interviews! Ha! ha! In all fairness, I have to say I have moved on a long time ago and I have no problems with him personally today. Sheesh, all this happened when? Some 20 years ago now! And throughout the years I have had a lot of people telling me that they really like it and that it is truly underrated in their opinion, which is fine by me, you know, I’m just not objective enough to feel the same. And for hardcore Vitus fans who dislikes it I reckon it´s very easy to point at the vocals as the main reason why it sounds the way it does. Of course, I’m nothing but a sitting duck in that aspect. But from what I can recall of the production itself it’s very different from "Die Healing", for example, which is more what I was after in the first place. But it was never up to me and it is what it is."

...And it will always be! At what point did you generally develop your wish and ability to sing, and I don't speak of squeaking "Da, da, da..." while having a shower, but of those traditional Metal/Doom style vocals you're kind of famous for?

"Uh, I don’t know really. It’s just the way it comes out. I was in a couple of other local bands before joining STORMWARNING (who became COUNT RAVEN later on) in mid 80´s, and I don’t think I adjusted or altered my style all that much from previous bands. It was more a case of the music becoming much heavier and slower. But initially deciding upon thinking that vocals might be the thing for me, I guess could be narrowed down to two things; first off, I could never learn how to play an instrument. I tried to learn how to play the guitar there for a while, with no success at all...and secondly, it’s a lot cheaper! Ha! No, it was like this: I used to hang out with an older cousin of mine when I was in my younger teens. His closest friends were playing in a local band called JONAH QUIZZ, and he brought me with him to their rehearsals sometimes. They were really great, very professional. Musically they were a crossing between early Saxon (Denim And Leather - era) and Judas Priest (Screaming...) and their singer sang in Swedish then, later on changing to English as well. Anyway, he became an instant God of mine as I was totally blown away by his voice and presence. I totally worshipped him, and I still do, as he is no doubt the actual real reason why I felt the call of duty in the first place. His name is Johan Längqvist, and he later on ended up singing on the first Candlemass album. He possesses the greatest Metal voice ever coming out of this country, in my opinion, simply brilliant."

Of course, I dig his voice as well. "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus" is still one of the biggest releases in Doom history, mainly "Solitude" is such an amazing song causing goose bumps when listening. But I would for god's sake never wish to harm any people with my awful singing voice - it's quite bad, but loud at least! If you had the job to introduce any newcomer to your career, which album of every band having been involved would you recommend and why?

"COUNT RAVEN - "High On Infinity". When I heard it the first time i actually regretted leaving them there for a minute. The overall sound and the songs on there are really good. A fantastic album.

SAINT VITUS - "Mournful Cries". Again, for the sound and the songs on there. Looking Glass, Shooting Gallery, Dragontime...awh, man! The solos in that song, where they are taking turns like that is just pure genius!

TERRA FIRMA - Both the self titled first one and "Harms Way". Sorry, this is not what You wanted but I could not possibly choose just one of them! I love them both just as much. That band and the music we created together marked such a clear turning point in my life. And had You asked me of an era instead of one from each band I’ve been involved in, I would have said this band.

LORD VICAR - "Fear No Pain". Obviously I’m proud of it and very happy I was asked to participate in this constellation. Gotta love the guys involved, and how much more Doom than this can it get? Feel free to ask me again when next album is recorded! Ha! ha!"

As I know you've several times been trying to and now run another band besides LORD VICAR. This one is called WEEKEND BEAST! Who is it metaphorically and in person?

"The idea for this band came up some time after Terra Firma was no more. Since becoming a parent grants one certain responsibilities, party habits are most often restricted to weekends. Hence the name. I confess my own situation at the time being the sole source for coming up with this phenomenon, as thinking along those lines before my son arrived was unheard of in my book. Ideas for line-up has varied now for the past two years, and only just a few months ago we finally managed to get hold of personal to fill in the spots. Its me on vocals (duh!), Nicky Beast (guit), Kenta Beast (dr) and Brynemo the Bjaerv on bass. Some Death Metal fans might now Brynemo from a band called INQUISITOR, where he played most instruments himself. Musically, as much as I don´t like to label shit but I guess it is unavoidable in print in order to give You an idea of what it sounds like, the general material so far falls under the Stoner/Groove monicker. When You hear it the comparison to Terra Firma will be unavoidable, but this was never even the plan in the first place. It could easily have been a pure Doom metal band had people who I first had in mind joined. In retrospect, I’m kinda glad they didn’t, because the feeling we get during rehearsals is fucking out of this world! I am very, very happy with what we do. Pure straightforward relentless sinister stuff. We have a song called "Heimdallr" which I’d say sums up the whole general feeling of the band and music. So maybe we should just release it on a one-sided 7"inch and call it a day! Ha! ha! Seriously, plans are to record the album sometime next year and it’s entitled "Skooma Und Panzerwagen". Run while You can!"

So, just to correct my introducing question, the WEEKEND BEAST is your real baby as it was given birth by you. "Skooma Und Panzerwagen" is quite a strange album title. How do those things come together, kind of psychoactive warfare?

"Yeah, guess you can say that. "Skooma" Is taken from the Fantasy RPG "Morrowind", whom both Nicky and I are huge fans of. In the game there is an illegal potion by that name, with drug like effects. We just added "...Und Panzerwagen" because it’s cool, and very Heavy Metal."

Yes indeed! But some guys may be bothered by this, kind of provocative as well, isn't it?

"Why? Because it involves a fictional illegal drug option and tanks are mentioned in German? Well, I wouldn’t be surprised....Sheesh, it’s just Stoner!"

Obviously, I just wanted to know! Who's actually the main song writer in WEEKEND BEAST?

"We have this riffing machine on guitar named Nicky, you see. He just keeps spitting out good stuff at rehearsals and we all elaborate around that. If there is one specific songwriter in the band, I suppose he is the man worthy the title. He just makes the rest of us go off in a variety of musical fireworks! We have so much fun at rehearsals, and the quantity of beer might contribute aswell. It´s a very nice genuine and laidback feeling when we meet. I am very happy with the way things are developing. And I have come up with some of my best vocal melodies as of yet, in my own humble opinion.""

Sounds promising so far, guess there will run two fine releases over us next year, of LORD VICAR and WEEKEND BEAST! Let's now play this childish game: You had been seperated on that lonesome isle and could take just three things of every of the following categories with you! Which albums are worth it?

"I guess ROBIN TROWER - "Bridge Of Sighs", THE MARS VOLTA - "De-Loused In The Comatorium", KATE BUSH - "Hounds Of Love"."

I wouldn`t have thought, but you have to survive! Which three persons would you like to have around you to sweeten the isolation?

"Kate Bush, Tori Amos and whoever’s on page three in The Sun tomorrow. They still have that, by the way! If not, the woman known as The Perverted Old Goatess on Myspace. And as much as I love him I suppose I should’ve said my son here, but that would not be fair - he´d have nowhere to go when his parent rebellion phase comes!"

That's true, sustaining puberty on that isle would be kind of dreadful. Since there would come the time you have to share Kate, Tori or the Goatess as well, ha ha, to say nothing of unavoidable turf wars! Which three tools do you definitely need there?

"I Know, Huh? And He Looks Better Than Me Already! ...A hammer, A saw, and a tire wrench!"

The saw I understand, but a hammer and that tire wrench?

"…to open the coconuts. The tire wrench just to figure out how it may be useful."

Maybe you find some lost screws & nuts for constructing an amphibian vehicle or anything else to get off that isle, as a couple of men, including the Doom community, would miss you. Thanks a lot for spending your time to answer my questions. See you in Würzburg at Hammer Of Doom Festival part three. Doom! …any last words?

"Yeah... if I was on a deserted isle with the women mentioned I would throw that tirewrench as far away as I possible could! Thank you for the conversation, Good Man and See all You Shiny Doomy People in February! Ta - ta!"