Die are a Death Metal band from Denmark who formed in 2005 and released their debut album last year.
Earlier this month, I reviewed Die’s debut album Rise Of The Rotten and gave it a favorable 4,5 skull rating.
I’ve gotten the chance to interview Die’s vocalist Søren Christensen (pictured above, on the left), make the jump to check out the interview.
Dose of Metal: Hi Søren, how are you doing?
Søren Christensen: I’m doing good, just enjoying the sun, playing with my ferret, all good man.
DoM: Can you give us a quick rundown of Die’s history so far?
SC: It started out with Bent (drums) and Tajs (lead guitar), who were in another band, and then wanted to start making Death Metal. The reaaaally short version is that they found some guys to play the rest of the needed instruments, Rasmus (also in Panzerchrist) Jonas (Adversary) and Simon (Fairytale Abuse), who after making 2 demos wanted to use more of his time on FA, and then I wrote to the guys, and auditioned, hoped for the best, and got the job! And now we are some happy guys on one of the best labels in the world: Unique Leader Records!
DoM: Your debut album, Rise Of The Rotten, got a 4,5 (out of 5) skull rating from me when I reviewed it. What did you think of my review?
SC: It was down to the point, and it seems you got it. Many people don’t get our solos, cause they are inspired by classical music, so they are flying upon the riffs, instead of being attack attack, which I really like, cause not many do it. But great review man! And thank you again!
Die - Rise Of The Rotten
DoM: Most critics gave your album favorable reviews. Are you satisfied with how the album was received so far?
SC: Yeah, I am quite satisfied, all the reviews were really awesome! — Not satisfied with how few gigs we got, but some of them were our fault, others not, but that’s how the industry works.
DoM: Which bands, would you say, influenced Die the most?
SC: Well, Die is all about Death Metal. We like so many different bands, but here’s a few: Morbid Angel, Necrophagist, Origin, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour of Penance, The Faceless and so many more. Some of us like the old school, and others like both new and old.
DoM: And who influenced you, as the vocalist, the most?
SC: When I got into the band and had to think about what would work for this album, one of the guys I felt inspired by was Frank Mullen (Suffocation) and for some of the quite high pitched screams, I just did my best making them evil as hell, and I hope it worked for the people out there.
DoM: Die isn’t the most imaginative bandname I can think of. It gets the point across but I can imagine it makes it hard for people to find you on the internet. Who came up with the name and did you ever think about changing your name?
SC: I am not the oldest member in the band, but if I remember correctly it was Bent (drums) with some of the older members, who was kidding around with names, and at some point someone said DIE, so they had to see if someone else used the name. And, as the story goes, they used this name. For me, it’s just as good as Death, and what kind of music they threw out! So expect the same from us, Death Metal tunes — maybe not the best name in the biz, but come on, it’s not hard to remember it. If it’s too hard to find us, then here you go: Die HP.
Die kicking ass live
DoM: Do you shout out “DIE!” every time there’s a death reported on the news? I would, if I was in a band called Die.
SC: Haha!! – I have a morbid humor, so I sometimes yell “DIE MOTHERFUCKER DIE!” — at some gigs, I yell “Are you ready to die?” when the mayhem is about to start, some laugh, others dig it. Haha…
DoM: Is there a special concept within the lyrics of Rise Of The Rotten or would you label them as typical Brutal Death lyrics?
SC: Hmm… On this record, the old singer and our guitarists wrote most of the songs. I only had to write one, ‘Vindictive,’ so in a way I had to get some feelings out of the already written songs — and that was kinda hard for me — but now it feels as if they’re my songs too. But concept wise, I was thinking of the album name. Rise Of The Rotten, so “disaster” – I think that’s the best word… Maybe aggressive disaster.
DoM: Are you comfortable with the Brutal Death Metal label or would you label Die something else?
SC: Some even told us we are Tech Death. I don’t care much for all the new names for metal. We are Death Metal, and that’s it. But of course, if you don’t push yourself then what’s the point of doing it? So for some we are Tech and others call us Brutal Death. Fuck it, I think we are some kind of Thrash Death Metal.
DoM: Do you wish death upon anyone in particular?
SC: …. Glad you asked, haha. Anyone who needs something that’s not real.
Die live at Royal Metal Fest 2010
DoM: How is the local scene in Denmark responding to your debut album?
SC: I think we are getting there, more and more people seem to know who we are. But, as I told you earlier, not too many gigs. Maybe the venue people in Denmark don’t like newer bands, haha.
DoM: Describe Die’s sound with five words or less.
SC: Only moving forward.
DoM: Which song, would you say, best sums up your sound?
SC: We all have different songs we like the most, for me its ‘Dread Lord’ and ‘Vindictive.’ Love the riffs Rasmus and Tajs wrote for those songs! I don’t know if any of the songs sums up anything, but we try our best to make the best we can do of it.
DoM: You’re bald. As a bald guy myself, I like whenever I see someone with the same “haircut.” Is bald nowadays what long hair used to be in the 80’s?
SC: Haha! Yeah, or maybe the metal generation is getting older.
DoM: What do you have planned for the future of Die?
SC: At the moment touring, touring, touring is what we want, and now we are ready for it! So we hope to get some soon. But at the moment, the guys are writing some new riffs — heavier, darker and faster!
Die - Vindictive (live)
DoM: On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate doseofmetal.com?
SC: It’s a newer site for me. I don’t read it everyday… Maybe once every three days or so. About an 8 or 9. It’s easy to figure out.
DoM: On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate this interview?
SC: 10, it was fun and something I would do any time for your site in the future!
DoM: What questions would you have liked to appear in the interview?
SC: I think it’s a good, solid interview. It was good man! So nothing, I think…
DoM: What is your least favorite question, that gets asked time and time again?
SC: Why the name DIE haha! And why the PL on your hand? PL – Poisoned Leaves, my other band, I started it many years ago, but now with a new lineup, it’s gonna be banging!
DoM: Anything else you want to tell your readers at doseofmetal.com?
SC: Hope to see you all out there on the road as soon as possible! And I hope we can keep Death Metal alive!
Horns up high from hell! Søren
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