Updated interview with Fredde Ernerot of the Swedish soul metal band Temperance.
I think we can skip the introductions (see last interview) and cut right to the chase.
 

When we talked last you were getting ready for a tour. How did that turn out?

FE  True. That tour didn't turn out at all actually. We had some inside problems in the band, me and my brother, which had to be solved before any touring. So we made the decision - let's cancel the tour til we get along fine again. We haven't done any touring still, but the band is in order now, which is the most important for us right now :))
 

So no new tour stories then :(

FE  Nope, nothing.
 

You haven't made it into the studio yet, and I hear you plan on initially demoing the songs on a home studio.

FE  That's right. Well, we will start recording the songs, song by song, and that will happen in a way where we record the songs on a porta studio in the rehearsal place. Then, when we have all the structures right, all arrangements are done, and all instruments are placed...
 

...and then into Los Angered studios - how long till we can expect some studio reports?

FE  Then we will head for LAS, and I guess that will be in the end of this year, so... we will most probably have the stuff out for the listeners sometime in spring 2001.
 

How would you compare the new songs to the ones on the previous album?

FE  Well, in one way the songs still have the Temperance sound and style which we have been known for the last few years, but on the other hand the songs have a different vibe today... more melodic, more "swing" in the sound, more dynamic feel over it all. You will see when the stuff's released. The previous album wasn't fit with itself. There wasn't any "red wire" through it... it was made in 2 halves, one "death oriented" side, and one new more "souly" way. It made a strange impression on the listener. Now the songs are bound together in one style, balanced with each other. More grown in all senses, if you ask me.
 

What label are you on now, and what's the distribution going to be like?

FE  Well, we are not on any label right now. We really didn't want to be on any label, before we knew which label that would suit us best - 'cause this time we demand a label that gives 100 fucking percent belief when it comes to our metal - when it comes to Temperance. No more desperate moves from our side. We were having our 7" released on Strombringer Prod. in Sweden, but that was only for the 7". So, the Cd will be shopped around to suitable labels for a good deal, nothing else. It can take 10 years, doesn't matter. The music is still good as hell, so... we will take the time to search for a label which is killer. The distribution comes with it, so to say.
 

Where do you get ideas for songs/lyrics?

FE  Well, songs: we improvise a lot in the rehearsal place, the way I know Pearl Jam among a few other bands does, the "jazz" way of working. We stop when we find good vibes, we save stuff, arrange, re-arrange, trash, build it up and then possibly we have something to work on. Yeah, that's the way. Lyrics: well, I write them mostly when I'm on busses, or listening to the right music to get me in the mood. The base to the lyric can take 5 minutes, then it can take 2 months to get everything in order. Let's say the mood is more important then the look.
 

If you were going to do a cover song, what song would it be and why?

FE  Hmm, we do a lot of cover songs, all the time, but we test 'em for fun, then we trash 'em. Lately we have done covers of Duran Duran, Bob Hund, Pink Floyd and Nirvana, yeah Lead Belly too. Well, they have to have that certain mood in it, they have to be something totally different to metal as well, to give some substance to what we try to achieve in the sound. Otherwise it's pointless for us, with one exception - Motorhead covers. We do them all the time, they are universal so... Also Sex Pistols and Clash covers, the same thing. Bomber, Stay Clean, Metropolis, Don't Need No Religion and so on.
 

What bands have you heard recently that you really like?

FE  No one :)))
 

I'm not sure if that's a good thing lol

FE  Lol, nah. I listen a lot to Jazz and 70s, so... Well, Miles Davis is something I listen a lot to, Budgie is a good band, Johnny Cash rules, The Doors is always awesome. As well as Motorhead. New bands or releases are the stuff from Coldplay, Manic Street Preachers and Radiohead, as well as the Swedish masters Bob Hund. The last Entombed ruled as well.
 

I notice the band has a fair amount of internet promotion - any plans for online song/album distribution?

FE  Well, maybe. If we find a way to get around our "rights" in this case, 'cause we have all our songs registered at STIM, the control system for songs and rights in Sweden, and we have to follow the rules, which make the chances for us online a little bit lower then if we hadn't been registered. I have to get more into this rules before... but we have our 7" song "With My Raincoat On" online through both Vitaminic and Mp3.com, so the promotion works well at least. There will be live versions put online in the near future as well, so...
 

Any chance of videos too?

FE  Not really. Maybe we will put some underground video together from all our touring the last 10 years, as we are celebrating 10 years as a band this year. Yeah, we thought about that, as well as a special t-shirt design and some more goodies. We shall see what will come true.
 

Are you psychic? lol The band has been together for 10 years now. How do you plan to celebrate?

FE  Well, that is not decided really. Different things will happen, that's for sure.
 

Anything else you'd like to say?

FE  Well, around Temperance, not really. I want the new stuff to speak for itself... and we will go on tour again, just a question of when. But for metal and all the things around it, well, I could say a lot.... We are a bit tired of the whole thing really. Nothing fresh takes place anymore, with a few exceptions. Feels like the era of metal is a bit dead really, and the funny thing is this - I don't bother at all. I'm a bit tired of it myself so... but the music must have a new path soon otherwise... What do you think yourself?
 

It's been "uncool" to like metal here, so now that there's a comeback suddenly it's much easier to find everything again.

FE  Sounds nice though...
 

Now if only the labels weren't into signing bands that sound like other bands... but that always happens.

FE  But... still Heavy metal isn't so Heavy anymore, if you get my point. That's how we see it at least.
 

Oh there's a lot of "unheavy" too - but it's not all boring crap.

FE  Yes. Metal's supposed to be the "untrendy" alternative... but that was the biggest lie of them all. Trends are the only thing that marks metal today.
 

How true. But then a lot of the older bands have been coming back to replace the new trend bands of today.

FE  Yeah, but they see mostly $$$ in their eyes, playing worse than they ever did before. For me its more tragic then nice.
 

Check out the Temperance website