Interview with Alex Svenson (vocals), Jonas Fransson (drums) and Hugo Zombie (guitar) from Then Comes Silence
Formed in 2012 by Alex Svenson in Stockholm, the band draws inspiration from touring experiences and a fascination with horror and the occult. The current line-up includes Svenson, drummer Jonas Fransson, and guitarist Hugo Zombie. The new album, ‘Trickery’, explores themes of friendship, unity, and belonging within the Goth and Post-Punk community, highlighting the dark and light aspects of group dynamics.
Svenson emphasizes the importance of friendship and acceptance within the community, noting moments of unity and harmony as invaluable. The album was recorded over three days at Stockholm’s Kapsylen Studio by Jörgen Wall and mixed by Tom van Heesch, with mastering by Svante Forsbäck. ‘Trickery’ follows their 2022 album ‘Hunger’ and maintains the band’s signature Alternative Rock sound with added electronic elements. THEN COMES SILENCE’s musical journey, which began with their self-titled debut in 2012, has seen the release of several albums, including ‘Blood’ in 2016 and ‘Machine’ in 2020. The band has toured extensively, sharing stages with notable acts like The Fields of the Nephilim and THE CHAMELEONS, and performing at various festivals including Wave Gotik Treffen and M’era Luna. ‘Ride or Die’ is available on major streaming platforms, and ‘Trickery’ will be released on April 5 in multiple formats. THEN COMES SILENCE will embark on a North American tour with VISION VIDEO starting in late April.
Great, insightful conversation about the new album, the importance of friendship and how to record an album in 3 days (!) with THEN COMES SILENCE!
Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: Could you discuss the inspiration behind your upcoming album ‘Trickery’ and how it reflects your band’s journey and experiences over the years?
Alex: It was time to try something new so I started writing it and we began the work on the new album after the US tour back in 2023. I think it’s a natural and a reasonable choice of sound after putting out albums like ‘Nyctophilian’, ‘Blood’, ‘Machine’ and ‘Hunger’. The journey is right there in front of us all.
RoD: Considering ‘Trickery’ was recorded in just three days, how did this tight timeline impact your creative process, and what challenges did you encounter during the recording process?
Jonas: We’re used to recording like this, if you are well prepared you don’t need more time. Something that usually takes a lot of work is to make the drums sound as you want it. “Jugglo”, the engineer at Kapsylen Studio, is a great engineer and drummer. He is an absolute master of drum recording and it’s always a bliss to work with him.
Hugo: Well, we recorded in just three days, but making the album took way much longer than that. We worked for months in the songs, recording many demos, and playing the songs a lot at our rehearsal space. When we entered the recording studio, we were very clear about what we had to do, so we just played and recorded the songs. We even had time to rework one of the songs, Ghost House, because it didn’t really sound like we expected. Then we had some more weeks to mix the album, and do the mastering.
RoD: Your sound has evolved significantly throughout your career. How would you characterize the evolution of THEN COMES SILENCE’s sound from your earlier albums to ‘Trickery’, and what motivated these changes?
Alex: I don’t think it’s so different from before. I always work with my synthesizers when I make music. I jump from guitar to bass to synth and piano. Having said that, there is obviously more electronic arrangements this time and that was on purpose. We didn’t want to make another ‘Hunger’, the previous album. It was time to try another angle, make music from another perspective. We decided to let the arpeggio synth bass take more space and replace the regular bass guitar on some of the songs. There are some drum machines here and there too.
RoD: The album features collaborations with artists such as Dusty Gannon, Gözde Duzer or Emma Nylén. Can you share how these collaborations came about and discuss their contributions to the overall vision of the album?
Alex: We prefer having more than just one voice on a record, which is why we invite more vocalists and sometimes additional musicians. They didn’t contribute in the writing process. The songs were already finished and ready to be recorded in the studio. They did add their own touch and feel to the sound. Emma is currently one of the most intriguing acts in the Synth and Industrial scene in Sweden. She has a great voice too and is very professional in the studio. Dusty Gannon became a very good friend to the band after touring with VISION VIDEO and THEN COMES SILENCE for quite some time. It was a natural choice to invite him to sing the chorus on the track ‘Stay Strange’. Stay strange. It’s a mantra that he uses on stage. He always ends every show with a loud call to the crowd: Stay strange! Gözde is a part of the TCS family and Jörgen was the engineer in the studio. He is also a very good drummer, so he filled in and played a small part with the extra toms on one of the tracks.
Jonas: Gözde is my wife and Dusty and Emma are our friends. When you are surrounded with talented people, collabs happen! We have invited musicians to our albums since ‘Blood’, it’s fun and inspiring.
RoD: ‘Trickery’ explores themes of friendship, unity, and belonging. Can you elaborate on the lyrical themes explored in the album and discuss how they resonate with your personal experiences and reflections?
Jonas: TCS is artistic expression, friendship and family, business and lifestyle. All is important to make it work. ‘Trickery’ for me is a celebration of this.
Alex: The album is among many things motivated by our frequent touring and travelling as a band. When touring with other bands, they have different routines and ways of doing things on the road. Your only option is to stay, work, and sleep closely with your bandmates every moment and second. You are dependent on everyone and they are dependent on you. You are absent from your loved ones at home. There’s not much space for divas and special treatments. Fortunately, I have a great time being with my bandmates on tour. Despite our differences, we seem to have developed a level of tolerance and acceptance of each other. Like brothers, but without competition. And... to be honest, there are not many big differences between us really. We pretty much think the same about most stuff. It’s probable that we realize the value of being friends, and if we don’t, we’re trying to make it work. Seeing the worst sides of everyone is something you can do on tour. Both your band members and those from other bands. Friendship that is highly valued is more lasting, joyful, easy, and memorable. All in all, it’s about friendship and the sacrifice you make to make it last.
RoD: You’ve mentioned the significance of the Goth and Post-Punk community in your music. How has this community influenced your creative process, and what message do you aim to convey to your fans through ‘Trickery’?
Alex: Well, it’s a fact that we work, hang out and live most of our time in that community. We go to clubs, play the festivals and watch bands. We get to meet a lot of people. I’m happy to be a part of it. When we started touring for real in 2014 we met a lot bands in the Goth and Post-Punk scene that sound pretty much the same today. I think the development is slow. I’m calling for more originality. Don’t be afraid to try something different. From my perspective, many bands in the dark scene are too dogmatic and fail to take inspiration from other genres. I’ve come across comments about the conformity and generic direction of numerous new groups. I think people, listeners, followers want something new and fresh. ‘Trickery’ is a that healthy salad they need. In the US we meet a young crowd wherever we go. I hope it will spill over a bit to the European scene. We need young blood and someone to take over when the senior goths stop coming to the shows. ‘Trickery’ is that camp fire where we all can gather and sing-a-long. At the very least, I hope for it.
RoD: As the release of ‘Trickery’ approaches, what are your plans for the future? Can you share any details about upcoming tours or collaborations that fans can look forward to?
Hugo: The new album is going to be released the 5th of April, and shortly after that we will go to the US for a three-weeks tour supporting VISION VIDEO. We’ll playing at Dark Force Fest and going back to cities like New York, Chicago, Minneapolis… visit new places like Detroit, Boston, Cleveland… And also, we’ll jump to Canada for the first time, we’ll play at Montreal and Toronto. In the summer, we have a couple of festivals, like Amphi Festival in Germany and W-Fest in Belgium. Then in September, we’ll make a headline tour in Europe. To see all the dates, please visit linktr.ee/tcsontour and hopefully we’ll meet somewhere.
RoD: Thank you very much for your time!
Pictures by Haris Milvic
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