"Drums are more like driving a motorcycle or running. It’s not like having sex with a woman, unless you’re perverted."

He is the drummer. Born 25 May 1962 in Gothenburg, SwedenВ Anders isВ the son of Jan Johansson, famous jazz pianist and brother of keyboardist Jens Johansson.

We talk to Anders because of the newВ Hammerfall album 'No Sacrifice, No Victory'.

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

FOR THE NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS WE HAVE DONE WITH MEMBERS OF HAMMERFALL OVER THE YEARS, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IT IS WITH YOU. SO, IS THIS YOUR FIRST INTERVIEW FOR BULGARIA?
I think it is. I did one with Romania before, but I think that is the first with Bulgaria.

SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A COUPLE OF THINGS TO TALK ABOUT. THERE IS A FIRST HAMMERFALL SHOW IN BULGARIA, BUT BEFORE THAT – WE HAVE AN ALBUM ‘NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY’. VERY GLORIOUS TITLE, ISN’T IT?
Yeah. It comes from the movie ‘Transformers’ and Oscar, the guitar player, thought it was cool. But also - two members of the band, they were sacrificed and now we’re back with new people and everything is bound for victory. That’s what we hope for. The title doesn’t mean that much. It’s just metal!

WELL, IT IS SAID THAT PART OF THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED IN ANDY LA ROCQUE'S SONIC TRAIN STUDIOS, HOW WAS IT?
I was never there. I recorded the drums first and that was in a different studio. It was in a very small village and there wasn’t much to do. And La Rocque’s studio was closer to home for them and he is a very nice guy, good studio too. Actually both studios were good, but La Rocque’s was in a better position.

‘MY SHARONA’ IS A VERY POPULAR TRACK. AT LEAST IT USED TO BE. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PUT IT ON THE ALBUM?
Well it was because of our sound engineer, and he is from Finland, and didn’t like to hang out with the rest of the crew, who were Germans. So he used to seat in the back room and play this, he’s an old guitar player. And then at shows we told Oscar, who is not a very technical player, he used to play riffs and rock anthems, to play this instead of a solo. And the rock crowds, the metal crowds really liked it. And we were surprised because it is an old pop-rock song.

And also when we first started recording the album we were little short on songs. So I told Oscar maybe we should play this because it is nice to mix different styles – rock and metal – and make a cool metal song out of it. At the end we weren’t short of songs but we decided to keep it anyway.

IS THERE A PART, BESIDES THIS 11TH SONG, ONE OF THOSE 10 BEFORE THAT, WHICH WAS PARTICULARLY HARD FOR YOU TO PERFORM ON DRUMS?
Yes. One was. It is called ‘One of a Kind’. Not that I had problems with it, but it is very physically demanding. When you record songs you do it over and over again and this song was the fastest we had recorded. I broke some sweat at this song. I’m a big person – 104 kilos – and it is not natural for me to play that fast.

YOU PREFER TO HIT HARD RATHER THAN PLAY FAST?
It is also because, when I started to play drums, this double bass stuff didn’t really exist. I was in the very first wave of bands that played that way. Now the young kids, they play a lot softer than old drummers do. It is not really my style. With Hammerfall it is OK, it is medium fast.

But to play in a speed metal band wouldn’t be my thing. Then again I can play with my hands – I’m an old jazz drummer. I can play faster with my hands than most guys do.

LAST WEEK THE BIG BRITISH MAGAZINE ‘RHYTHM’ THAT IS ESPECIALLY FOR DRUMMERS VOTED BUDDY RICH TO BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL DRUMS PLAYER OF ALL TIME. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ALL THIS?
I think it is a good choice. When I was a kid he was one of my favorites. My father was a jazz musician and we listened to jazz a lot. And now days when I listen to him on YouTube or something, I realize he is very technical of course, but he has a swing and a seal that is very special. Even though maybe other people can play technical and fast it is not the same thing, he is very special. There are definitely many guys that are great, and he is among them.

IT IS AMAZING THAT AFTER SO MANY YEARS OF ROCK’N ROLL HISTORY, IF YOU TAKE ANY PARTICULAR BAND IN THE WORLD, AND IF THERE IS A GUY IN IT WHO HAS BEEN INFLUENCED BY JAZZ MUSIC, NOT JUST ACADEMICALLY SPEAKING AND TRAINING, JUST INFLUENCED, IT IS MANDATORILY THE DRUMMER. IS THIS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE BUDDY RICH? THERE ARE NOT SO MANY GUITARISTS IN ROCK AND METAL BAND THAT CAN SAY THEY WERE INTO JAZZ…
I never thought about it that way. It might be because jazz drumming is so different. When you play rock drums it is not difficult at all. And it is very demanding mentally. To play fast is like running fast. When I was a kid and I was learning to play all the books were about jazz, so I learned about all the swings and triplets and all that stuff. And maybe that’s why it is.

There’s no scale for drummers. If you want to learn something a little bit more complex it happens to go for jazz.

YOU ACTUALLY STARTED YOU MUSICAL TRAINING AS A KEYBOARDIST, A PIANO PLAYER. IS THAT RIGHT?
Yes, it is. I started piano lessons when I was a kid. My brother is a piano player. He actually plays on the new album, by the way. He used to be in Yngwie Malmsteen’s band and is now in Stratovarius. We used to play at the same time, but I was more interested in drumming somehow. When I was 12 or so I bought a snare drum and a bass drum and I started to spend more time with Jensen playing the drums. He actually became better than me and I couldn’t keep up, so I left the piano eventually because I was bored with it.

And when we started a band I played drums and he did keyboards. He knows some drums as well. He’s mentally a good drummer but not physically somehow.

YOU SAID YOU ARE A BIG GUY. IS THERE SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR YOU DO IN TERMS OF SPORTS, OR PLAYING THE DRUMS COULD BE SO ATHLETIC THAT YOU DON’T NEED THE EXTRA EXERCISE?
Playing the drums is athletic and all, but I think it saved me from being really fat. You do burn calories. But maybe five or six years back I started also to train with weights because I have a friend who does and he called me and I came. I also started doing taekwondo, it’s a martial thing. It is really demanding physically. Not the actual movements, but when you warm up. They always do it really hard for some reason.

NOW A QUESTION I HAD FIRST ASKED CHARLIE BENANTE OF ANTHRAX – IF YOU TALK TO GUITARIST AND IT IS A KIND OF A CLICHÉ EXPLANATION COMING FROM THEIR SIDE, WHILE PLAYING THE GUITAR IT IS LIKE THE FEELING OF HAVING SEX WITH A WOMAN. SO WHAT IS THE FEELING WHEN YOU PLAY THE DRUMS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE A DOUBLE BASS DRUM?
Drums are more like driving a motorcycle or running. It’s not like having sex with a woman, unless you’re perverted.

CHARLIE SAID IT IS LIKE FUCKING AN ELEPHANT.
That’s a good one. If you think about it sexually it is like torture sex – you hit people.

LETS FINISH WITH THAT FIRST EVER SHOW IN SOFIA, BULGARIA. IT IS GOING TO BE ON APRIL THE 10TH, SO I GUESS YOU’LL HAVE SOME SHOWS BEFORE THAT AND YOU’RE TRAVELLING WITH BLOODBOUND AND SABATON, RIGHT?
Yes. With Bloodbound it is more in the eastern countries. We have Sabaton and Bullet, another Swedish band, in the rest of Europe. But you’re right. It is going to be very exciting, because we haven’t been there before.

LAST QUESTION IS – PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD HAVE BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO BY THIS ONE PARTICULAR THING – HALF OF THE FANS GLORIFY A BIG WARRIOR BAND LIKE MANOWAR, THE OTHER HALF ARE LAUGHING AT THEM. WHICH KIND OF PEOPLE DO YOU BELONG TO?
When I listen to music I listen more to progressive and the actual music than the guitar players or the drummer separately. I am neither of the sides you described, I guess.

I like Manowar somehow, but I never really listen to the lyrics. I think it is dumb to laugh at styles. I think it is good that we have different styles of music. Otherwise everything is going to be the same. When you’re a metal fan, sometimes it seems it’s like supporting your football team, somehow. And when someone thinks something is stupid, like warriors and stuff, they laugh at it. It’s like laughing at a different football team, maybe.

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