Interview with death metal band from Denmark - GROMMT.
Answered Jonathan (Vocals) and Thomas (Drums), thank you!
Recenze/review - GROMMT - Aphotic (2025):
1. Ave GROMMT! On May 30, 2025, you released your first full-length album, "Aphotic." As the title suggests, it's a whirlwind of honest, old-school death metal. How did you feel when you left the studio? Please introduce the new album and the band to your fans.
Jonathan: “We felt really tired, hehe. I remember there was a bit of silence as we left the studio and drove home together, but it was a good silence. A moment to breath out after a few really intense days in Full Moon Studio where we recorded the whole album live, but also a sort of “we did it” feeling among the group. Back in 2023 Thomas and Fabian started working on a few things, Kim and I (Jonathan) joined them later in 2024 and during the fall we began to really collect and put structure to the songs that would end up forming “Aphotic”. We wanted to make something really honest, true to who we are, not only as musicians, but as music fans. In modern music it sometimes can be so difficult to distinguish between the bands because many use the same production style, the same techniques and so on, so we wanted to take a look back into the early days of death metal where people didn’t care so much about being perfect or generic, but where the songs had real personality and it was all about the power, the emotions and rawness of the music.”
Thomas - “The album Aphotic contains seven songs, which could be described as old school death metal. However, we have not tried to sound like a certain type of 90’s death metal like from either the Stockholm or Tampa scene. We have created some songs, which have some variation in terms of tempo, dark melodies and what you could call groove”.
2. You are a band made up of talented musicians who have death metal in their hearts. How did GROMMT actually come about? I'm guessing some good pub and lots of beer. Who first came up with the idea of playing death metal?
Thomas - “Thank you very much for your kind words, highly appreciated. We all definitely have death metal in our hearts. I started listening to death metal as an adolescent in the late 80´s and early 90’s when demo tape trading was a big thing and the early albums of Death, Morbid Angel, Carcass, Entombed, Bolt Thrower and many more were released. So, death metal is kind of the soundtrack to my youth and therefore a big musical reference. Fabian grew up in East Berlin behind the Berlin wall and was therefore prevented from buying records with his favorite metal bands. But when the iron curtain fell, he rushed to west Berlin to obtain all the great stuff he couldn’t get a hold of before. So, he too evolved during the early days of death metal. Grommt was basically initiated in 2023, when Fabian and I met at a garden party in Bornholm – and yes beers were involved, ha, ha. We were both looking for someone to play some music with again and arranged a jam session. We quickly found common ground music wise and started writing songs from day one. After six months we started looking for a bassist and a vocalist, which for death metal are not easily found in Bornholm. We had music written for five songs, but when Jonathan and Kim joined us, things started to speed up, when we all participated in the song writing”.
Jonathan: “Thomas wrote and asked me if I would want to play some death metal as a bassist, but at the time I was busy with another band called Raagafnat, so I unfortunately didn’t feel like I had the time, but a few months later that band went on a break, so I contacted Thomas again, at this point Kim had joined as the bassist though. Thomas then asked me if I wanted to do the vocals and at that point, I had never growled a day in my life. So it took me a few more months before I got the balls to come down in the rehearsal room and try it out, and yeah.. So it began.”
3. I must admit that your new album blew me away. I really like that you are not only orthodox and authentic, but you also don't forget about cold and dark melodies. Who is the author of the music and how do you compose and create new GROMMT songs?
Jonathan - “Thank you so much. Usually Fabian will have a riff and together with Thomas, the two of them will begin jamming it out until the pieces starts to form and fit, at which point Kim also comes in and help combine the ideas. Then, when most of the song is done, I will start to pick up on what sort of atmosphere I feel like the song is giving me and then write the lyrics on top of it to adapt the song.”
Thomas – “Thank you again, glad you have picked that up regarding the cold and dark melodies, which is part of what we aim for. Yeah, the songs on the album have mainly been written in the rehearsal room. The process has typically started with either Fabian writing a riff or me sending him some beats, which he then made a riff from. Then the pieces are put together. It can take some time, but we think that writing this way will add something to the songs that will shine through both live and on the recordings.”
4. I was really impressed by the raw and "dirty" sound on the new album. Where did you record and mix the album, and who is credited with the production?
Jonathan - “We recorded the album at Full Moon Studio, which is owned and run by my old buddy from elementary school, Simon, who I grew up with. Actually Simon and I sort of began our journey into metal music together when we formed a band as teenagers and Simon is now a leading member of the fantastic danish black metal band “Orm”, which I highly suggest everyone to go check out. So it was very special for me to work with him on this album. Simon stood for the whole recording process, mix and master and the production was sort of a collaberative effort between us all, so it was produced by both Simon and the band.”
5. I was also intrigued by the album cover. If I understand correctly, it shows the entrance to the underground. The cover is simple, mysterious, and fits the music perfectly. What is this theme supposed to express? Who is the author? How did you get together and why him?
Jonathan - “last year the band “Molder” from USA had released an amazing death metal album called “Catastrophic Reconfiguration”. I had bought the vinyl record and just loved the heck out of their cover art, so I looked up who had made it and it’s this very talented artist from Bogota, Colombia called Julian Felipe Mora Ibañez. So I jumped in his dm’s and we started writing back and forth on Instagram. Here in Bornholm, where we are from, we have this stunning rock cave, which you can sail 70 meters deep into, called “The Wet Oven” and I showed him som old photos of it as inspiration and asked, if he could make faces come out of the walls. He thought it was a great idea and created this beautiful work of art that we are very happy and proud to have as our album artwork.”
Thomas – “The Title “Aphotic” refers to the deep underwater zone where no light can reach and little life dwells. You can say that the album cover and the title reflects the entrance to complete darkness.”
6. As a band, your lyrics deal with dark fantasy and death. What are the new recordings about? What is the main theme and idea behind "Aphotic"? Where did you draw inspiration for the lyrics?
Jonathan - “yeah, it’s sort of death perceived in 7 different ways. I rarely plan what a song should be about beforehand but just listen to the music and try to dial in on what atmosphere it’s giving me. For example, the song “War Crush” have this really in-your-face main riff and a very pulsating energy that just got me ready to go into battle, so the song sort of become how a maniac would love to just go on this killing spree. Two of the songs though, “He Who Awaits Us” and “Grab Them”, the two singles, were written about some mythological creatures that Thomas came to me about and that was a fun challenge for me, cause it was a different way for me to work cause normally the inspiration comes more from inside of me and my own turmoil living in this mad world.”
7. I can't help but ask. You play an extreme style of metal. You live in Denmark. How are death metal bands perceived by the general public? Do you have any problems with that? Do you get any coverage on TV or in newspapers? How is life in your country influenced by religion? Wikipedia states that 74% of the population is Lutheran.
Jonathan - “I would say that metal is pretty well perceived here in Denmark, although the general public of course don’t really know anything about the scene or the music. Metal rarely get any coverage at all in the mainstream media and when it does, it’s most likely either when the festival Copenhell is going on or if Lars Ulrich is seen biking around Copenhagen. On the question of religion, it’s true that the majority is a member of the danish church, but that is more a sort of formality. The danes generally perceives themselves as very atheistic and as such the metal community is not really affected by any religious bigotry. Denmark is actually one of the most atheistic countries in the world.”
8. GROMMT has only been on the scene for a short time. How far do you want to go? To big festivals, on long tours? What are your visions and goals?
Jonathan - “I don’t know if we have any goals related to popularity or how far we can take it, but sort of more along the lines on how we will we carry ourselves along within the music. For me, I’ve always wanted to create albums and “Aphotic” was hopefully just the first in a line of more to come. We are also very driven by the live aspect of the band and it’s always just a great day when there is a show at the evening. Obviously it would be super fun to play big festival shows and go on tour, but we have a blast playing small local shows as well, so we are sort of happy either way.”
Thomas - “We all enjoy and pick up energy from creating music together and transferring this energy to an audience that picks it up, is really what it is all about. As metal heads we all know the feeling when some music really can get under your skin and get a crowd going - if we can do this with our music, it is perfect and all that we can ask for.” Then it does not really matter whether the venue is small or large, if we can feel that the audience get a kick from the music. But of course, it would be great playing big festivals at some stage”.
9. Looking at today's society, a lot has changed in recent years, hasn't it? Actually, everything – technology, sound, recording studios, we have the internet, music downloads. How have these changes affected the band? Have you had to adapt a lot? You play old death metal, but you have new resources at your disposal.
Jonathan - “Yeah, that was a thing that was really at the forefront of my mind actually, going into the recording of “Aphotic”, cause I was so tired of the super modern way of looking at music production and you know, in a minute everyone will probably be listening to AI music and stuff, so the word “honesty” kept returning in my mind regarding the album. We wanted everyone to hear that this was made by real people, with all the flaws that we carry, and with a true love of this music. We are of course using SoMe to promote it and different ways of connecting with the fans through the internet, but in all honesty, that online presence will probably never be our strong side. We are more hoping that people will remember us for our music or liveshows, rather then how fancy TikTok posts we can make”.
10. How are your concerts going? Do you enjoy playing and do you play often? Do you prefer large festivals or small clubs? What about promoting the new album, are you planning a tour?
Jonathan - “Concerts have been great and we are learning, gaining experience for every show we play and from day one we have been really aware on what we demand from ourselves on the stage. We take it very seriously and try to be the best live-act we possibly can. We are playing a gig in Copenhagen in august and then at the Raise Your Horns festival in September at Bornholm, but no further tour plans. We would love to get on the road and play, we are working on it, but as of now there is nothing confirmed.”
Thomas - “We are super excited about playing live and personally I start longing for the next gig shortly after the last one has ended. At the moment we are searching for new jobs in the autumn. We have only been looking within Denmark so far, but if you know someone who wants us to come and play a show, we are happy to travel.”
11. What is it like to play extreme metal in Denmark? How did you get started? Did you go to music school? Who were your role models? What was your first concert like? And your first performance on stage? Lately, I've had the feeling that when it comes to extreme styles, things are really happening in Denmark. Death and black metal bands are especially great! I'm reviewing new albums, doing interviews, and I feel like your scene is very strong (I'm a big fan of DEIQUISITOR, PHRENELITH, UNDERGANG, and of course MACERATION). But that's my perspective as someone who lives outside Denmark. What's your opinion? What about concerts, promoters, clubs, and stores selling extreme metal music?
Jonathan - “I feel like the death metal community, not only in Denmark, but also in our local area of Bornholm is slowly growing and becoming stronger, more connected and yes, we are seeing a lot of death metal bands flourishing at the moment. There is an energy, a creative and inspirational sort of vibe going on in the country right now which is producing these great bands such as Terrorpy, Plaguemace, Neckbreakker and of course the ones you’re mentioning. Our personal role models are often from the early death metal scene, but we take inspiration from a lot of different places. Our first concert was really great, and it was kinda the perfect way to really begin this adventure with the band.”
Thomas – “Denmark is a great place for playing extreme metal and as Jonathan mentions there really are great talented bands here. Bands generally try to help each other out. For example, our friends in Anthropoid Idol invited us to play a show with them earlier this year in Roskilde and later this year a band called Rektum arranged a series of underground metal events in Copenhagen. You should go check both bands out, super great death metal. We also try to find possibilities for these bands to play concerts in Bornholm to return the favor. All four of us have been playing music before in various genres. Fabian has released several albums with a German band called Shrike and Kim has been teaching music. Some of us have had lessons, I started playing drums when I was 11 years and went to a music school in Aarhus for around 5 years. It was great for learning fundamental beats and techniques, but I learned so much more at a faster pace, when I started playing in death metal bands. Our inspiration mainly comes from early 90’s death metal bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Entombed, Deicide, Bolt Thrower, Carcass just to name a few, but of course we follow the scene. However, we also find inspiration in classical music and other non-metal genres, which we believe is important and makes it more of a challenge to write. Maceration along with Konkhra and Illdisposed are some of the first and oldest death metal bands from Denmark, and the fact that these bands still exist, release great music and put on intense shows, is perhaps a good indication of how well the Danish death metal scene is doing. As a sidenote, one of the nights during our recordings, Kim and I went to see Maceration playing a gig in Copenhagen, and in September we will be playing at the same festival as them and Illdisposed. Super chuffed about that”.
12. What does GROMMT have planned for the coming months? Is there anything you would like to say to your fans or promoters? Here's your chance.
Jonathan - “We are playing at Raahuset in Copenhagen on August the 7th with Rektum and Mortira and at the Raise Your Horns festival on Bornholm the 5th and 6th of September. We wanna say thank you very much to everyone who have been listening to the album, on Spotify, YouTube or bought the CD, everyone that goes follow us on Instagram, Facebook and of course who come out to the shows. Special thanks to Jacob Andersen, who have been at the front of the stage at every single show we have played so far. And thank you so much for this interview.”
Thomas – ”We are currently writing new songs and preparing for the two shows scheduled. If you are a promoter or organizer do not hesitate to reach out to us regarding a concert. Thank you Jakub, for this interview, which is the first of its kind with Grommt. We are really pleased to hear your reactions and comments about our music. We hope that we can maintain interest in future releases and are looking forward to seeing you at a show somewhere. All the best to you as well”.
Thank you very much for the interview, and I wish you great sales for your new album. May your concerts be sold out. I'm really looking forward to one of them. I wish you all the best in your personal lives. May the force be with you! GROMMT FOREVER!
Recenze/review - GROMMT - Aphotic (2025):
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