Current line-up:
Mattias Grytting Vocals
Tommy Carlsson Guitar
Mattias Bolander Guitar
Martin Landin Bass
Tomas Eriksson Drums
1.Tell us your name and the band you play for
Tommy Carlsson – INTOXICATE
2.Who made you want to pick up the guitar
I really want to answer like K.K Downing, Yngwie or Kerry King. But my it was my mother.
Not that she could play and was my guitar-idol, but she had that dream that I should learn classic guitar. So I decided to give it a try. I tried a few months and then I plugged in the distortion pedal…
Both. When I was 14 I took my first lessons with a 80-year old teacher (on advice of my mother) which wasn´t cool at all being a long-haired heavy metal rebel. It was boring, but probably very useful even if I didn´t understand it at that time. But after he told me not to come back, unless I didn´t buy a new guitar, the practice sessions were over. Today I understand his frustration, cause when he tuned it, it took approx.15 seconds before the tuning keys were spinning 360 degrees backwards again.
So instead, I bought some Heavy metal-guitarbooks with an included cassette so you could hear how it was going to sound. Really great and gave me some basic knowledge about palm muting, power chords etc.
Then I did the mistake by buying the book with the tabs for Yngwie Malmsteen´s first album “Rising Force” (great album by the way). If guitar was hard to play before, it became even harder now when I discovered it was “mission impossible” to copy two tones in a row. Yngwie almost ruined my career 😊.
Early, I understood that thrash metal was the music I wanted to play and there were no guitar lessons to find in this new genre. So there was only one way to go and that was to practice by yourself and try to play along to “Kill em´ all”, “Show no mercy”, “Bonded by blood” etc.
4. Can you read music, Can you read tab?
Our other “stringbenders” in the band are educated musicians and can read music. But when I discovered there were tabs as an alternative, the lazy side of me told me not to spend time to learn notes etc. It would probably be a good idea to study music to get a broader understanding, but can´t say I´ve missed it.
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5.Do you feel like you have your own sound / tone ?
No, I´m afraid not. And it feels impossible to come up with something original. When you compose a riff there is always a feeling of “haven´t we heard this one before”? Even if it´s not a rip off, the feeling is probably inspired from someone else. Guess to become original is one of the hardest thing to achieve, but crucial if you are going be better than the rest.
6.Tell us about your guitar ( brand ,model . year , color )
Well, my answer on this question and the following four questions about the gear is probably gonna make you cry. You´ve just met the most incompetent guy ever when it comes to technical gear. Ok, I know what kind of guitars I have. One is red and one is black, but that is kind of it 😊. The red is a Charvel from last century and fills the function as a backup when playing live. The other one, yes the black, is a FGN Mythic JMY-R, made in the same factory as Ibanez guitars. Super happy with this one.
7.What about pickups? Passive or active ? Tell us about them
They are active on both. I have changed several times on the Charvel to get rid of the disturbing noise coming out of it when it is supposed to be quiet. Still not satisfied. Pickups from hell. EMG by the way.
8.Lets get into amplification, Same drill brand , model , speakers etc
ENGL on both head and cabinet. Has absolutely no idea what model or from which year, but it sounds really good, especially the crunch in the distortion. Probably need to replace some of the tubes though…
9.Do you have a pedal board? Tell us about that badboy
Ehh…no. But I have 5 single pedals making my life hard when the focus is more on my feet than my fingers.
10..Now tell us your Dream Rig in detail…..
Sorry, but have no idea. Which is really strange, cause I´m extremely fussy when it comes to find the perfect sound (guess I´m not even close), but I just can´t find the interest to find out what gear to use.
11.What guitarist can you not stand?
Janick Gers in Iron Maiden. Does he play or just making circus-tricks?
12. Is tone more important or is technique?
Tone. Listen to the greatest guitar player on planet earth, Andy LaRoque. He has that tone and you can immediately hear it´s him playing. And combined with his feeling, the result is outstanding. Solos doesn´t have be fast all the time, even though it is an important ingredient. I guess when you have your own tone and sound, then you are really, really good.
In our genre of thrash metal, I will say the picking-hand-technique is the hardest part. Wish I had a better hand here, cause every song is a challenge when the muscles starts to cramp and your wrist becomes stiff. And if the downstrokes and “gallops” aren´t tight it sounds like crap.
In my next life I will play something more comfortable… 😊
13. Name your top 5 guitarist
1. Andy LaRoque
2. Michael Denner
3. Glenn Tipton
4. Wolf Hoffmann
5. Chuck Schuldiner
14.Who is the most overrated guitarist
Have to say Janick Gers again. Unbelievable that he plays in one of the world´s most iconic bands.
15.Who would you like a one hour private sit down lessons with anyone dead or alive?
Andy Gillion (Mors Principium Est). Super talented and seems to be a nice and funny guy.
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