Sworn Enemy - Prepare for total world domination
With the release of Total World Domination just around the corner, I had the chance to ask a very informative Lorenzo from Sworn Enemy a few questions over the mail. I had the chance to listen to the new record as well and review it before the interview, which can be found here. Let’s get to the questions!
Hi Lorenzo! Thanks for doing this interview with Metalrage. To start I’d like to ask you a few general questions.
I’d like to know how you got into hardcore or just heavy music in general.
'My 1st record I bought was Iron Maiden's Number of the Beast, that was when I wanted to listen to everything that had to do with metal. How I got into Hardcore was in 1993; I was in high school with Freddy Madball and he had Madball demos on his walkman. So I took a listen in the class one day and loved it.'
Have you been in Sworn Enemy since day one?
'Yes, me and Sal (Sworn Enemy’s singer – red.) started Sworn Enemy.'
Can you tell me what the band has been up to since the release of Maniacal?
'We’ve been to Europe 3 times, Russia once, Japan, Mexico and toured the United States.'
You guys are basically always on the road. From big tours such as Persistence Tour to headliner tours in smaller venues. Do you prefer bigger of smaller venues?
'It’s always awesome to play in smaller venues, but I love playing the bigger shows as well.'
What’s your favorite kind of crowd? It seems Sworn Enemy attracts metal heads next to hardcore kids!
'I love to see both crowds; it’s always awesome to have the metal heads banging their heads and the hardcore kids kicking everything in sight, haha. I love it all!'
Is the crowd in Europe any different from the American crowd? According to your touring schedule you guys seem to like Europe!
'Europe blows away the States.'
What’s currently on the playlist in the Sworn Enemy tour van?
'Yann Tiersen.'
I must say I love the new record just as much as the old ones! Let’s talk a bit about the new album Total World Domination that’s set to be released soon.
First of all, can you tell me something about the new album title? Can we expect total world domination from Sworn Enemy in 2009?
'We will try to hit every country possible… And if so then I think we dominated.'
How did the writing process go? Were the songs written during the tours?
'Some of the riffs were written during the tours, but me and Jamin just sat in my house writing riff after riff. The writing process was cool; we really thought it was our best work.'
How long did it take to record the whole album?
'1 month, it felt like forever though…'
'With every album, Sworn Enemy seems to move more towards (thrash) metal. I think this album is even more metal than Maniacal. Have you lost interest in hardcore?
'Not at all! Just want to play what we feel, and with this album I think it’s the most hardcore next to our first.'
Did the many member changes that happened during the years influence the music towards a more thrashy sound?
'No, not at all. I’ve always been the main song writer. But Jamin brings a lot of riffs to the table, I like a lot of his stuff.'
It seems you are ‘Still Hating’. Did the music in general get any better after you wrote ‘We Hate’?
'Hahaha. Not at all! But Sal is the one who hates everything.'
Are there any guest appearances on the new album?
'Yes, Bobby Hambel from Biohazard. He did an amazing lead on our cover song.'
What can we expect from Sworn Enemy in 2009 and 2010?
'A lot of touring for the new album.'
What can people expect from a Sworn Enemy set list nowadays? Will you still play old tunes?
'Of course! Everyone wants the old tunes so we’ll make a good mix of old and new tunes.'
Any last words or something that you like to add to this interview?
'Our record comes out June 22nd. Go get that shit!!!'
Thanks a lot for this interview and we’ll see you on tour real soon!
Sworn Enemy will be part of the Hell on Earth Tour 2009 together with Earth Crisis, Nearea, War From A Harlots Mouth, Waking the Cadaver, Thy Will Be Done and War of Ages which will tour the European continent in August and September. For more dates and information check out www.mad-tourbooking.de. Total World Dominiation will be released on the 22nd of June.
