Sweden is just one of the many countries producing some quality heavy rock bands at the moment. Hypnos are one of the stand outs of these many bands who bring a fresh approach to the sound of the seventies that many people site as the best era for rock music.

 

The Hypnos Facebook page sites their genre as ‘heavy action boogie rock’ which is a fitting description. The energy and heaviness never overpowers, or is sacrificed by, the boogie and swing of the songs. A well-crafted hybrid of influences.

 

Hypnos came to my attention through label mates Spiders who also put out fantastic classic rock inspired album in 2014. While the band has obvious inspirations from the 70s, they have their distinct style and voice, much like the diversity of the classic rock bands from days of old.

 

Hypnos formed in later 2013, they now have a record deal with Crusher Records who released their debut album. Guitarist Oskar Karlsson and bassist Anton Frick Kallmin sat down to answer some questions for Rock Support.

 

For those who are still yet to discover Hypnos, how would you describe your sound?

 

Our sound is a mix between 70´s Hard Rock and early 80´s Heavy Metal. Maybe we can call it a hybrid between Status Quo, Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy.

 

Your influences seem to come mostly from the classic bands of the late sixties and seventies. Who would be your favourite bands from this era and are there any new bands that have influenced your playing?

 

Anton: We all have different influences that make us sound like Hypnos. Some of us are more into the NWOBHM era, and some of us prefer classic grease in the fryin’ pan (Lynyrd Skynyrd).

 

Oskar:  We also like listening to bands such as Horisont and Honeymoon Disease.

 

How did the five of you get together as Hypnos?

 

Oskar: Most of us knew each other as promoters of festivals (Krökbacken, Guerilla Festival) and clubs in the Swedish underground scene. Fredrik and I started jamming in the winter of 2013 after the classic “let’s start a band while drunk”-chat. Some of the ideas we played the first day even ended up on the record.

 

Anton: Fredrik and I used to hang out when we both lived in Stockholm. After he moved to Gothenburg, he told me that he had plans on starting a new band. I was already thinking on moving there myself so I told him that I wanted to join the band. We had our first rehearsal in Fredriks livingroom in the winter of 2013. Our drummer Idun joined shortly after. Idun told us about this singer who had an amazing voice. Philip joined the band. Hypnos was now a fact. ALL HAIL!

 

Having formed in 2013 and to now be signed to Crusher Records and have your debut album out, how does it feel to have achieved so much so quick?

 

When we first started this band, we agreed that we would not be the type of band that sits around in the rehearsal space waiting for some miracle to happen. We booked our first 3 gigs before we even had a singer just to push ourselves. We are happy with this first year but 2015 will be even better.

 

A lot of bands in the modern world have either chosen to, or have been forced into, taking the do it yourself route with self-producing albums. Do you feel record companies are still important?

 

Oskar: We started to record the first album by ourselves, planning it to be an EP. After signing with Crusher Records we decided to record a full-length album. We are really happy working side by side with Crusher Records.

 

Anton: All of us have played in different bands before and have all done the DIY thing. We respect it and know that it also works. But as Oskar said, we are super happy with what Hypnos and Crusher Records have achieved together.

 

What process does the band take when writing songs?

 

Mostly someone has an idea and brings it to the rehearsal space and we finish it together. We all take part in the making of songs.

 

Which songs on the album are your favourite to perform live and is there much room for improvisation during your live shows?

 

Oskar: I like paying Moving Too Fast. It’s a fast song witch you can really rock to.

 

Anton: I prefer playing Viper and Hands of Evil. Both are songs that have a heavy bass line. In some songs there is a lot of room for improvisation. For instance, the break in Hand of Evil with bass and flute is always improvisation.

 

What does it take for young musicians to make a living doing what they do? Do you all have day jobs?

 

Hypnos is currently not something we can live on, so yes, we have day jobs, but our goal is to live off the music.

 

There’s been a lot of talk about rock being dead in 2014. What are your thoughts on this matter and how does the state of the industry, in regards to downloading, affect your band?

 

We think rock is most definitely alive. Regarding downloading, if you really like the band you should buy the record, and most importantly come to our shows.

 

It seems there are countless hard rock / metal bands coming out of Sweden. What is it about Sweden that produces so many great bands and do you think there may one day be enough attention turned towards Sweden for it to become the next scene? Like Sunset Strip in the eighties, or Seattle in the nineties?

 

Oskar: It’s something in our beer that makes us handle the mighty riff. We can’t tell you the rest, if we did we would have to kill you.

 

Anton: I think we already have a “next scene”. Gothenburg has so many dedicated people, not just playing in bands but promoting clubs.

It’s mostly not impossible to go to a Live-show any day of the week in this town. Gothenburg is also home to some of the best bands in Sweden. If you want to see good music and drink cheap beers, Gothenburg is the scene for you!

 

When did music first come into your life and what does it mean to you?

 

Anton: I started listening to Kiss when they had their reunion tour in 1996. From that period of time, Hard Rock has been a big part of my life.

 

What’s next for Hypnos? What do you expect from 2015?

 

This spring we are going to tour Europe and in the summer we got some festivals to play.

We are also going to start working on our next record.

We expect to be playing more and to coming closer to our goal.

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview and good luck for the future.