Interview by Tony Cannella
Is it me or does it seem like the Amaranthe’s “Massive Addictive” tour has been going on forever? Not that it is a bad thing. “Massive Addictive” has proven to have strong staying power and it has only gotten more and more successful and the band continues to support the record. I caught the band at the Palace Theatre in Stafford Springs, Connecticut and I can tell you that this was the best that I have seen them. They performed a fantastic, relentless and energetic set that the audience truly did not want to end. Prior to the band hitting (owning) the stage I caught up with female vocalist Elize Ryd and we touched on a variety of subjects. She was cool as always.
So the “Massive Addictive” tour continues. How have this string of dates that you are currently on been going so far?
They have been cool. New York last night was amazing. We are covering territories that we have not played before. It is an interesting tour because you don’t know what to expect, the crowds have been good so far which makes us extremely happy and surprised that we actually have people in every city that want to come see us.
It seems like it gets bigger and bigger every time.
Yeah. Even tonight, I know the pre-sales are around 150 so far and we’ve never been here and it’s very close to New York. We’re actually very happy with the results so far, so it should be very interesting to see where it’s going to take us.
Amaranthe has just released a new digital only EP called “Breaking Point”. What can you tell us about it?
We got asked from Japan to release bonus tracks – because they always want bonus tracks, so we made a couple of acoustic versions of some of the songs and we wrote one song called “Breaking Point” that didn’t end up on the first album, it became a bonus track as well only for the Japanese market. Somehow we had to release something and we had all these songs laying around so we thought this would be good timing to put them out there and the label supported that.
I loved the song “Splinter in My Soul”. Is that a newer one?
Me too, that’s one of my favorites. No that one is super old. That was one of the first demos we recorded. I think maybe the second one.
The “Massive Addictive” tour has been going on for quite a while. Do you have any moments that stand out as highlights for you?
I think it is really hard to pick out just one specific moment because every night there is always something that stands out in different ways. It could be a fan who just sings along to all the songs, kind of entertaining us or it could be a crazy audience or it could be a quiet audience. I value the shows most when we feel 100 % connected to the audience. Those are the greatest shows and that can happen with any amount of people in the audience. It depends on the stage and their mood and different factors. Usually that’s my goal and I like that when it happens. Those are the ones that stand out.
“Massive Addiction” has been getting played in sports arenas in North America during games. That’s a pretty cool thing.
That’s very cool. That is what I was hoping for when we wrote the album, I had that in mind actually. I was visualizing the songs being played at sports events, so for me I had this little secret that was my plan and for that to go through is a fantastic feeling. And that shows also that whatever you dream of, dreams can come true. That’s the most awesome thing ever.
Yeah, I freaked out the first time I heard “Drop Dead Cynical” being played in the arena at a NHL hockey game.
Me too.
The last time you toured North America, Henrik Englund couldn’t join you due to the birth of his child. Is he back now on this tour?
He’s back, but now Jake E. is home, taking care of his kids.
Who is going to be filling in for him?
Chris Adam from Smash Into Pieces. He supported us in Europe a couple of years ago with his band and we’ve known each other. I also did guest vocals on their album on a song called “My Cocaine”. He’s really doing a great job, so we’re happy. I guess we’re at that age now where everybody wants to have kids… except me. (laughs)
I really liked the new video for “True”. The song itself has a really positive vibe. What can you tell us about that song?
Some people just don’t allow themselves to dream. Whatever profession you dream to have in the future, you should never let go of your goals. For me, I’ve dreamed about being a prima ballerina, I actually was educated for ten years and I could work with it if I had just continued but I started the band, so that kind of disappeared, but the thing is even though no matter what you do with the dream, what level it takes you. We want to inspire people to dream. So for me, I’m probably going to dance ballet until I’m like 90 – if I live that long (laughs). I take classes once in a while if I have time, because it’s important and also of course my dream was to be a musician.
What are your plans following this latest string of shows?
We’re going to start writing songs for the fourth album. The thing is, I of course – since I always do other kinds of jobs – I’m going to go to Finland to play fifteen Christmas shows during the Christmas (season). I have one day off when I arrive (from this tour).
Is that with Ragnarok Yuletide?
Yeah, Exactly. It’s Raskasta Joulua – it means heavy Christmas with those Finnish superstars. I love those guys, they’re awesome to work with. I have one day when I arrive on the 2nd of December and then I have my first show with them on the 4th. I continue doing that until the end of December and then I am going to go into the studio and start writing.
Last time we spoke, you mentioned that you would like to do a DVD. Do you have any updates on the status of that?
The status is the same as last time unfortunately. We really want to do that. I guess we want to go all-in like I said to you last time. We don’t have the resources yet.
You are also the face the Proactiv on Swedish TV and the web. That’s a pretty cool thing. How did that come about?
Well, I am extremely interested in skin care, especially since I am an official person, of course it is extra important to try to look as good as you can. I’ve always been interested in that since I was a kid. I thought also sometimes that it would be nice just to go to these kinds of educations for skin care, but I haven’t had time – that’s something I’m very interested in. I have been using Proactiv before. I was doing the Melodifestivalen, it’s the Swedish Eurovision song contest – it’s super big in Sweden. The girl that is the boss for Proactiv in Sweden, she saw me and she thought that my face suits very well for that.
I would imagine that it’s also good publicity for the band.
Since I’ve been shown 9 or 10 times a day on TV and the band name is there, of course I guess that a lot of people kind of – whether they want to, or not – they’re going to see the band name.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to Femme Metal again, Elize. It is always a pleasure for us to support Amaranthe. In closing, do you have any final words for the fans to wrap this up?
Yeah, yeah. We want to say thank you for supporting us. If you have the opportunity to come to one of our shows, that would be awesome and if not, continue to listen to our music and get good positive energy into your life.
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