Oi Up Yer Arse Zine, june 2004 – Interview by Marcus Muck  

01. Could you start off by telling us a bit about yourselves?

Hail Marcus Mupp! This is Indy speaking and I haven’t got much of interest to tell you about the wicked minds of Massgrav, except for the fact that Johan is tall, Ola is fat and I’m a black dwarf. That’s the grand declaration of Massgrav. Nothing more to declare.

02. What is your current line-up? Any changes?

The most recent change in the line-up has got to be when I joined the dynamic duo to execute my fills with ultra-academic precision on a borrowed drumkit (snare, bassdrum and ride only). That was in april 2003, and the destructive duo then consisted of the Massgrav merchants of death: guitar wolf Johan and bass (v)amp Ola. They also tried out a vocalist at that time, but he got totally messed up and had some severe near death experiences when shouting his guts out, so now Johan and Ola share the screaming duties. I’m just in the back jerking off, gently touching my new Paiste-cymbal.

03. You formed back in the early 90's.. why did you get that idea, and how has the band changed since the start to this day?

Ola and Johan worked for Distortion Records back then and I guess Bodenmalm made such an enormous impression with his crusty lifestyle they felt they had to start a band. Being fucked up on hard liquor and soft porn they did the easiest thing one could ever do, they started a crust band. However, this was a good one... From being fast and catchy back in the days, Massgrav is now faster and catchier. Always hateful, though.

04. You made quite recently a sideproject of Massgrav official, called Dödsstraff. Tell us a bit about that; will we expect any releases, is the sound similar to Massgrav etc.. ?

No similarities to Massgrav what so ever. Dödsstraff is faster and more brutal… It’s way over the top crustviolence made only for the strong in mind and heart. No releases are planned at the moment, since we only got three songs (one of them being the infamous “Klipp av dig dreadsen å visa pattarna!”), but we’ve been talking to the Kill Rock Stars-label about some future co-operations.

05. You haven't released that very much until during these recent few years.. why haven't we seen more of all the wonderful brutality you've brought out?

Simply put, we are not Human Waste. We never rehearse. We hate playing music and we hate our fans.

06. Though it's been quite some time ago, I wonder if you can still remember where your very first gig took place, and how it went?

Uhm, since I wasn’t part of the band at that time I’ll let Ola do the talking here.
Ola: Back in those days, our drummer - Erlando - was a very destructive influence on the band and his extensive drug abuse rubbed off on the entire band. Not only the first gigs, but big chunks of the early years are very misty. I think we did our first ever gig on the Poland tour though, nobody where we lived could, or would, appreciate what we were doing so we were never asked to play there. I remember getting on the ferry and going to the tax-free shop, but after that it's all a blur...

07. Any funny stories while being on the road?

I could rant all day and night about the twisted things going on in the mind of Ola when on tour, some involving huge amounts of blood, raped teenagers and blasphemous sacrilege of the christian church, but I won’t expose his soul this time. As for Johan, words cannot describe what he did to this poor girl on that vomitdrenched floor in our hotel room on that dreadful night in Orsa when we played the Corpse Feast-festival. So vicious… not much left of her, I tell you.
Me? I’m an angel.

08. What about recording sessions, any mess-up's or stories for the books?

When recording the “Hatfylld och nerpissad” EP I was really sick as fuck, almost throwing up after the first song and shaking like a pig in a street riot. Johan was totally drunk all the time after drinking massive amounts of whiskey, mixing three different brands and acting like a maniac. Whiplash! When laying down the vocals Ola got out and smashed two cars and one baby before entering the mic booth. The vibes in the studio were pretty tense…

09. Ever had any difficulties with the audience during a gig? Them throwing piles of shit at you, tearing down the stage, having sex with instruments etc.. ?

The audience is having difficulties with us. We always leave them speechless, insulting their feeble minds with words of wisdom they cannot comprehend. Wimps and posers leave the hall everytime. They just can’t cope.

10. If you could chose anyone at all to beat up, without consequences..who would that be and why?

No consequences? Then I’d like to pick a fight with Lord K of The Project Hate, and Rikard Alriksson and Danne Wall from Genocide SS. I’d wrestle them to death and then piss on their nameless graves. No consequences, right?

11. The all-time favorite song you've made, in my opinion, is "Spräckt skita i piketen".. is that a self-lived experience or what?

I’ll let Ola in on this one, he’s the only one able to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God.
Ola: Well, Johan had an unfortunate run-in with the filth back when the band was still based in Skövde - the shithole of Sweden. He tried to outrun them on his bike but was forced off the road, slapped about and dragged to the station for interrogation. That's all we'll say about that...

12. I heard you had ranted down a bit at DS-13, that they wouldn't know shit about punk. Why was that?

Because it’s true. DS-13 is the most vile fucking scums that have ever walked the earth. Purely in it for the profit, the tattoos and the girls. They are sexist racist homophobic white trash, for all I care. I wouldn’t even call it punk, the way they did things. It’s no different than the shit you see on MTV, all these fucked up bands with numbers in their band names… Sum 41, Blink 182, DS-13 - it’s all the same! If you can’t see that, you’re probably an oi-wanker.
Or maybe it’s just us having a little bit of fun with their album title “Vad vet vi om kriget?”... You decide.

13. Could you mention three things each about one another that your audience probably doesn't know about you?

No, we cannot. What we can do on the other hand is reveal to the readers of this zine that Marcus Muck, the one doing the interview, is a groovy-looking half-albino with 14 fingers, tight eyes, unruly ears and a banjo on his back. How about that?

14. Which band would you say are the biggest bunch of cunts you've ever stumbled upon?

All bands are big bunches of cunts, so I’ll just say Anal Cunt and leave it at that, hehe…

15. I'll write something and you write down the first thing that comes to your mind:

Drugs?
Cigarettes, Coca-Cola and Coffee. I’d say Cocaine too, but it’s not a drug – it’s a way of life.

Family life?
Trailer parks, frustration and violence. Hate, misery and despair. Chaos, warfare and destruction. Göteborg, Lappland, Ultima Thule…

Violence?
Power.

Politics?
Bert Karlsson.

Inner chaos or street rioting?
Shall I choose here or what? Then I choose inner chaos. That’s what really matters when the shit hits the fan. Johan and Ola would probably say street riots, cuz they’re always out fighting the cops and the citizens.

Friendship?
Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole.

Skinheads?
Sheep molesting.

Female vocalists?
I don’t care what sex you got as long as it sounds brutal and insane.

Norrländsk HC/crust?
Final Exit, Teg, Umeå… One of the best swedish bands ever.

Profit hunger?
80 crowns for a CD-R with Arsedestroyer-songs…

Sheep molesting?
Skinheads.

Amebix or Acursed?
The other guys are older than me so they prefer that old shitty heavy metal punk outfit Amebix, but I’d say Acursed right away! Or is it the other way around? Hmm… I think I’ll take a walk on the beach. The air smells like Dachau today…

New wave or Old school?
Old school, like back in the fifties. We are way into raggare and their comfy lifestyle. Ola’s got himself a new custom car that we all enjoy spending time together in, and I’ve got a new haircut, Jerry Williams-style. It’s me and Ola in the front listening to old Rock-Olga-tapes, and Johan’s in the back making out with some underaged chick who is in possession of a huge collection of cheap lipsticks.

Live or recorded?
Everything in the studio ought to be recorded live, and everything should sound like the first W.A.S.P.-album. That’s what we’ll aim for when recording our new album this weekend, entitled “Napalm över Stureplan” – to be released on Sound Pollution later this year.

Vinyl or CD?
CD for the convenience, vinyl for the looks and atmosphere. I bought an EP today named “Hatfylld och nerpissad” just because of the title and the cover art. It was a total floor filler!

DIY or EMI?
We prefer to wank our dicks ourselves, not having somebody doing it for us, thank you.

16. Any last words or rants?
I’ll just quote Nifelheim on this one: “FUCK OFF!!!”

/indy, on behalf of Massgrav, june 2004

Website: http://www.massgrav.com
Email: massgrav@gmail.com