Peter Tägtgren is one of the most relevant personality in the international metal scene, 20 years of successful career as producer, founder of Hypocrisy as well as PAIN.
The last album of PAIN “Coming Home” has been released last September and now they are burning the Europe with an energetic tour. Before one of their sold out gig in Finland we had the opportunity to meet Peter and talk about the album, the video-clips and the opportunity to see them also in America.
-Hey Peter, how are you doing?
Good, just got here from Sweden so ready to go.
-Your new album “Coming Home” has been released last September, what can you tell about its genesis and lyrics? And what are the main differences compared to the previous ones?
Well, I don’t know for me is a little bit more mixed up. You know, it’s a little bit wider album, same with lyrics it’s about everything and nothing. I mean, there is a little more dynamic stuff in this album. I don’t know it was just feel natural to do it, for me is just a Pain album.
-Your son Sebastian tracked the drums, how has been work with him? Also Joakim from Sabaton made an appearance in this album and you managed to get him singing something else than war, how happened this collaboration?
With Sebastian we live in the same house, so for me it was the easiest way to do it. I wasn’t sure when I was needed a real drum and stuff like that on what I was writing, and when I was done I had to do it very quickly, to do the drums, so it was easier to take Sebastian than David also because he lives 3 hours from here.
With Joakim was easy too because I had Sabaton knocking on the door when I was doing the Pain stuff, and that’s also the reason why Joakim was singing on the album. When we’re done with their album I asked if he wants to put some vocals on “Coming Home”. It was fun to see him singing something different.
-From the album have been released 2 video-clips; “Call me” and “A wannabe”,would you mind tell us something about the making-off of both videos?
I wasn’t really involved in “Call me”, actually they did it here in Finland because our director, that’s been doing a bunch of Pain’s video-clips, had someone who can do dolls and stuff. So he had an idea for it and he started to spinning around a lot. “A Wannabe” was more easygoing, you know, against a green screen and a lot of computer visual effects and stuff like that.
-In 2017 Pain will play for the first time in America, in fact you will play at 70.000 Tons of Metal, How do you expect will be the reaction of the audiance?
This is what we was hoping and we are working on. I don’t know what to expect, I think there are a lot of people that are curious but also a lot of Europeans as well that goes on the cruise, so not only Amaricans on the audiance.
-In the last 2 decades you have been one of the most relevant figure in the international metal scene as producer, founder of Hypocrisy as well as Pain, how would you describe this music journey you have been on?
I don’t know, I mean,I’ve been just lucky to working with a lot of good bands and also doing my stuff. There is nothing that you choose, it just happens. I’ve been just lucky enough to work with all these great bands for over 20 years.
-What’s on plan for the future?
I think a lot of festival this summer, I hope, and we definitely gonna do another European tour more Eastern. We are just going to work it as long as we can and see what happen after when the summer is ending.
-What advice would you give to a young band that is going to record the first demo?
You have to do and redo it, you know, you can only get better what you do. Just keep on believing in yourself and keep on doing it because it’s going only to be better. More experience, better songwriting and so on. I mean, the production is not so important before you get sign in a label. I think the most important thing is to get the feeling that people can hear, it comes from the inside, and then in the future if you get a contract then you can get fancy, producer or whatever but first you have to capture the moment that other people can get into.
-We have done with this interview, thank you so much for your time! Would you like to say something to your fans?
Thank you for your support and I hope to come to your town and turn it upside down.