Methane Interview
A dangerous, explosive and getting going, Methane band is rising from Sweden to deliver sweet southern sun and careless mood, mixed with full force thrash riffs and fury. I invited bassist/singer Tim Scott for a special interview for Blessed Altar Zine to share with us the band’s formula for success, the elements behind it and the strong magical reactions it brings.
– Welcome to Blessed Altar Zine, Tim ! It is a real pleasure to have you here! How are you?
– Hi, great thanks ! Thank you for taking your time, we really appreciate the support!
– For those who don’t know you, can you introduce the band? What’s the background behind? Who are the members, etc.
– Methane is a Southern Groove/ Thrash metal band coming out of Sweden, although we have 2 American members in the band. Tim Scott (me) and Dylan Campbell joined by Swedish members Jimi Masterbo and Olle Ekman. We are all experienced and come from different bands, I played in Revenant (Nuclearblast) and HatePlow with Rob from Cannibal Corpse, Olle was the singer of Deals Death for example.
The idea that started the project was really that Jimi and I were looking for a change from playing death metal. My brother Dylan was here visiting in Sweden so we started jamming and that was the beginning of Methane.
Tim Scott (bass and vocals) Jimi Masterbo (guitar) Dylsn Campbell (guitar) and Olle Ekman (Drums)
– Why “Methane”?
– Methane is an explosive gas it seemed to fit our attitude, you know drink some beer, crank up the guitars and blow shit up. And.. no one was using the name..
– Are you good in chemistry?
– CH(4)? Yeah we get along great, 4 brothers having fun and playing music, you can’t ask for much more.
– What’s your secret methane formula? How dangerous or vital is it?
– The members are 4 hydrogen atoms binding the carbon core , creating Methane. But seriously we all contribute to every song and there are no egos. I think that is the whole point of playing in a metal band creating music together, we are all decent musicians which makes it alot of fun. I can come with a riff, Jimi can change the picking then Olle can put a big fat beat on it which changes the rythm and can throw some cool riff under it, boom we have it!
– How would you describe your music according to this formula? The chemical reaction result in Southern metal coming from the North…
– Jimi and I have always been into thrash, Dylan has more of a blues/ rock influence and Olle just great feel. There are not many bands here in Sweden that play our style of music so it helps us stand out a bit, I guess.
– Your fantastic full debut album was released in early 2017. Prior to that you have couple of EPs. How did Methane evolve through these years, what’s your feeling?
– We are definitely learning to write better songs with each other, it is a process and takes time. Our new stuff is a lot heavier and has bigger grooves mixed thrashier, faster riffs but still we are trying to keep the music dynamic with heavy slow southern metal as well. The more we write the more we develop as a band, the more we gel.
– Did the signing with Dark Star give you confidence and helped you to prepare that good record? I mean, we all know some stories by bands complaining by labels, pushed and squeezed completely by their requirements…
– Dark Star gave us free reign over the material on The Devil’s Own. They have been very supportive as well. Its been a positive step forward for us.
– How happened to appear on the soundtrack of “Metalheadz” and on the first e-novel “How an atomic fart saved the world”? Chemistry again?
– lol, that can be a reason we were chosen for the e-novel, but Methane has been found on Mars as well, I aint heard of martian cows.
Metalhedz came about after I was in contact with Simon Fox from Scotland who was the director of the series. After hearing the songs he wanted to use some for the show.
– You have already gained solid tour experience. What was your most memorable tour/fest/show so far? And why?
– We have had some luck, for real. Been allover in Europe and even to the states. We have played with tons of awesome bands its sick! Thats the reason we do this, you know meeting new people and traveling, its the dream. Killer memories from every tour like crashing our van in the snow in Norway, Playing with thrash legends like Whiplash and Blood Feast at Armaggedon Fest in Brooklyn, Ny or sold out venues with Warbringer and Nervosa, just to name a few.
– You have solidly growing powerful fanbase. How’s the feeling of much love and passion for the band?
– Its always an awesome feeling when someone takes there time to check out our music. Its humbeling when we meet people that like the band. We have met alot of crazy new friends that way.
– What’s this the success for you?
– I think there are different levels of success, being able to tour and release new music is one, making money at it is the next, its the proverbial ladder. When someone likes our music enough to come to a show or say – hey man, like your band, that is a success for me.
– Underground or mainstream?
– Underground, I was born in the underground, love everything about it , the community its a big #metalfamily.
– When can we expect your new album?
– 2019 , we are demoing some of the new songs late this summer and should be ready to record the next studio album soon. I can’t wait to get this stuff out.
– Should we expect some changes and new direction in the future writing process and compositions?
– Like I said the new material is stronger and heavier. We are looking to get a much heavier production as well to better represent our live sound. We have released a live video on Youtube of one of the new songs from the last show of our Signed In Blood tour called ” Thin the Herd”.
– What are your plans for the near future touring?
– We just came back from a European tour this spring with melodic death metal band Eyes Wide Open and Germany’s Edge of Ever. We have a metal fest this fall in Stockholm Sweden ” Northern Blasphemy”. It is possible we will be going back to Finland for a weekend of debauchery but the plan is mostly to stay home and finish the new album.
– If you could choose to tour with one or two bands (any), which bands would be?
– Thats a tuff one. There are so many bands I would like to go out with. A month ago I would have answered Hellyeah. Devin Townsend would be intense or some cool thrash band like Evile or Tankard. The most important is they are cool people to hang with, I am a big fan of cross-genre tours so I could see us out with a Saxon or Raven or just about anybody. Its all about havin fun and kickin ass.
– In this respect, can you tell us your main personal musical influences, which inspire you to write and perform so powerful music?
– I get my influence from everywhere. Mostly from lifes own tragedies. I write about the scars I have collected and the demons on my back. Musicly really everyone and no one.
– How do you see the metal see nowadays?
– I see it as one huge community, a family. The genre discussion aside. Its metal, its a way of life.
– And how do you see the future of music industry? CD are already considered obsolete, vinyl is trending, digital rules, the younger generation doesn’t care much, just consumes…What’s your thoughts on that?
– Yeah its tough, we as musicians and record companies for that matter have to learn to adapt or die. Unfortunately the money for recording has to come from somewhere and the return on digital streams makes it hard to be able to afford it. That said, everyone and his sister can put a recording out digitally so the market is over flowing with music available to everyone. We depend on people coming to shows and maybe buying a t-shirt to help us support our music addiction. The reality even guys in bigger touring bands are being forced to be grown ups and have a job when they are home.
– How do you steam off in your spare time? Any personal interests or hobbies?
– Hang with friends, go to the gym, play Madden on Xbox, music is my main hobby.
– Is there anything else you would like to add or share with us?
– Just to invite metal fans reading this to come and us check out and say hi on one of our sites. Hope you guys have an awesome metal summer!
Visit us at: Website Like: Facebook Follow: Twitter On Tour: Youtube Spotify: Spotify
– I would like really to thank you for this interview! It’s been a pleasure! We’ll be looking forward to hearing from you soon as well as news from you guys!
– Thanks ,man, you too! I hope you have tons of success with the zine and thank you for supporting underground metal! We will defiantly stay in touch.
Interview by Count Vlad
