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With their third album, Love and Other Disasters, Swedish metalcore band Sonic Syndicate has become a personal favourite of their label's, Nuclear Blast. Between accessible pop and brutal rhythms, the record is rather eclectic. Metalo asked Robin Sjunnession (guitar) et John Bengtsson (drums)a few questions just before their show in Lyon, where they were opening the way for GOJIRA and IN FLAMES. Interview.


“Love And Other Disasters”, the last Sonic Syndicate album.

Interview conducted by Metalo



Date : 2008-10-11

MySpace Sonic Syndicate : myspace.com/sonicsyndicate

SONIC SYNDICATE – Jack of Diamonds

"Jack Of Dimamonds" video!

Radio Metal: How is the tour with IN FLAMES going? I guess touring with them is some kind of dream for you.

Robin Sjunnesson: It’s going on really good. Better than I expected, really.

John Bengtsson: As you said, it is kind of a dream. All the members of the band have been listening to IN FLAMES for such a long time. I’ve seen them live between 5 and 10 times before this tour, so it’s really a dream that comes true. We see them every day for hours, they’re very nice guys to hang out with. They’re not METALLICA, they’re not rock stars who don’t want to meet the opening band. They like to hang out and have a beer. Right now they’re playing cards.

Robin Sjunnesson: They’re actually more on our bus than we are on theirs! They’re very cool, all of them.

Metalcore is more and more fashionable nowadays. One can believe that success is easy to attain for a metalcore band. But in the end, isn’t it more difficult for a band to find one’s own way in such a saturated context?

Robin Sjunnesson: When it comes to SONIC SYNDICATE, I think we’re taking all these different genres to the next level. That’s why I see us as an original band.

John Bengtsson: I’m used to saying that everything in music has been done already, so I think it’s hard to come up with something new. We not only listen to metal, we also listen to pop and a little of everything. I think we’re mixing these influences more than other bands, that’s our way to take it to another level.

Robin Sjunnesson: We stand out compared to other metalcore bands.

In many interviews, you have declared that you have a lot of influences, as you just mentioned. You listen to a lot of different styles of music and would like to break the limits of metal music. Are we going to hear many other musical styles on your next album?

Robin Sjunnesson: We released a new album a couple of weeks ago, it’s called Love and Other Disasters. This album is very, very varied. There are songs for everyone on this album: songs for kids who like fast, screaming songs, as well as slow, more radio-oriented songs. When you listen to our songs, you realize that we don’t only listen to metal. My Escape, for example, is not a metal song; it’s more MTV, radio rock. We blend all the things that inspire us into our own style.

John Bengtsson: We listen to so many different styles, I guess we get inspired by everything.



It means that you have followed your own style on Love and Other Disasters, you have followed the SONIC SYNDICATE touch that makes you so different from the other bands…

Robin Sjunnesson: Yes, and we also wrote this album together for the first time. It used to be one member in the band who wrote all the music, but this time every member of the band joined the writing process. We listen to everything from PINK to DIMMU BORGIR, so everybody brought their own thing to the music. Everything became exactly how everyone wanted it to be. Diversity inspired our latest songs.

The title of the album is very good. Where does it come from? Is love so disastrous for you?!

Robin Sjunnesson: Richard, one of the vocalist, writes all the lyrics. He’s pretty deep when it comes to certain thing. He always writes about what he’s going through, and all his stories about love turn out to be disasters. And because his writes mostly about love, he said that everything he writes about turns out to be a disaster in the end. It’s a bit complicated to explain, but I hope you get it!




It’s difficult to resist the Jack of Diamonds video: it’s crazy and very… feminine! Can you tell us more about the story?

Robin Sjunnesson: We wanted to make a video that wouldn’t look like an ordinary metal video. We didn’t want to just stand there and play and look evil. We like Lamborghini cars, we like motorbikes, so why not have them all in one video? The video turned out exactly how I wanted it to be, I think it’s very cool.

John Bengtsson: It’s quite fun. When we released the video, we received a lot of reactions from people on YouTube and MySpace. A lot of people love the video, a lot of people hate it, but it doesn’t really matter, I think it’s just fun.

I think guys love the video!

John Bengtsson: Yeah, they do, but I don’t really care if they love or hate it. It’s just fun to have so many reactions.

Robin Sjunnesson: It’s better if people react about it than if they watch it and don’t give a fuck. The funny thing is, if you put the video on mute, it looks like a hip hop video! It’s not a traditional metal video, and that’s what we like about it.

You don’t seem to like all the clichés of the metal scene. Don’t you want to imitate black metal bands and shoot your videos in the woods?!

Robin Sjunnesson: If we did that, it would be a joke. A parody, even.

Why did you choose to cover a T.A.T.U song? It’s a very original choice, and it made a lot of “true” metallers laugh. Why this choice?

Robin Sjunnesson: The idea came from Roger, the other guitarist. We wanted to cover a more rock’n’roll song, but Roger came with this idea to cover All About Us, and he thought it would be really cool.

John Bengtsson: It just ended up on the record. A lot of people name this song as their favourite on the album. I don’t like it much, personally.

How did you react when he proposed to record that song?

Robin Sjunnesson: I didn’t know what it would sound like in the end, but when it was recorded, I though it was very good. It was supposed to be on the Japanese version, but then it ended up on every version. What is done is done, we can’t do anything about it! It’s history!




Apparently you want to forget that song!

John Bengtsson: We don’t want to forget it, but I wouldn’t do it today.

Robin Sjunnesson: A lot of fans have said that they want to hear it on stage, but I don’t see that happening! Except if we play in Russia, we might do it.

Let’s talk about the creature on your album covers. Who drew it? What does it symbolize? Is there a concept behind it?

Robin Sjunnesson: It started out when we released Only Inhuman. Back then we wanted something to symbolize this “only inhuman” concept, as opposed to “only human”. That’s why we have this moth, or this fly, call it whatever you like, which turns into a robot. We wanted to have a second part and see the evolution of the fly. We wanted to see the next step, because our music went a step further. So the fly became more human, more robotic. We don’t know about the next album; maybe there will be another step, but we’re not thinking about that yet.

You’re far from having the traditional metal look. Is it too cliché for you?

Robin Sjunnesson: We just dress like we want to dress. I used to have long hair and walk around with CRADLE OF FILTH T-shirts, and then I grew up! Music in not in your clothes or in your looks. I dress exactly how I want to dress. We’re a cool band, you know!



Roland has declared that, when you heard you’d won the Nuclear Blast contest, you hung up the phone a few times because you thought it was a joke. Is it true?

Robin Sjunnesson: It was our manager who received the call, but at first we did think it was a joke. We’d sent a demo to the label, but we were one out of 500 bands, so we never thought anything would happen. So when they actually called, we were like: “yeah, very funny, guys”, and we hung up. Then we realized it was true.

What do you think of the members of GOJIRA?

John Bengtsson: I think they’re really good. The first time I ever heard of them was on this tour. They’re not that bog in Sweden, so I had never heard of them before. I really like their music, it’s very cool.

Robin Sjunnesson: It’s quite a different kind of death metal. I really like it.

John Bengtsson: Especially the drummer, he’s amazing.

Robin Sjunnesson: They’re really cool to be with, we have a nice time with them in the bus.

It’s now time for the silly question that has absolutely no link with the rest of the interview: how many journalists have tried to get your bassist’s phone number?!

Robin Sjunnesson: I guess it’s close to 100%! They interview her during the day, and after the show they get pretty drunk and try to hit on her. It’s not at all unusual!

Is she the most requested member for interviews?

Robin Sjunnesson: Yeah, especially in Sweden or in Germany: there are a couple of “men’s magazines” who want her to do photo sessions. Everybody wants to interview her. She’s the one who gives the most interviews, and we come next.