Interview: Elize Ryd of Amaranthe (Sweden)
Interview by Sheldon Ang
Known for their thunderous charge and melodic futurism of music, Amaranthe are the Swedish masters of metal that have been storming across the global stage for over 15 years. With their frontal setup of 3 vocalists – 2 clean and 1 growl in a 3-way vocal assault, Amaranthe are uniquely eclectic with a metal genre propagated with cutting edge sounds of symphony, classical, rock, and electronic pop across 7 albums.
Sheldon Ang Media sat with one world’s best metal vocalists, Elize Ryd of Gothenburg ahead of their first-ever tour in Australia.
Sheldon: We met 4 years ago in a video interview for Amaranthe’s previous album Manifest
Elize: Did you change your background since the last time we talked?
Sheldon: Nah, but you had the spaceship background.
Elize: Yes yes, it is probably somewhere on YouTube right?
What Genre?
Sheldon: Yes…2000 views. Anyway what’s unique about Amaranthe is that it’s a band of many genres. The style of music is not just metal, but elements of rock, classical, there’s techno, symphony, and growling.
Elize: Yes, it is unique. I think we’re throwing everything we like into the music. Before we started this band, we were only writing songs together as friends having the same goals and dreams.
I mean, I loved, for example, Destiny’s Child when I was a teenager. They were huge here in Sweden, and I love ABBA. And they’re the bands I was mostly an expert in. I also grew up listening to metal of course, because my brother had a growl. He was a growler doing the death metal, doom metal. So I heard everything. I think that’s one thing that inspired me to know, to think that it’s possible to bring in a lot of different elements into two metals, because to me, what I’ve heard since growing up, like KISS, for example, is much more poppy than Iron Maiden. And then you hear the Gotham Bird sound, and I love that, obviously.
And then you hear the doom metal, then it’s like everything is so theatrical, and then you hear Nightwish which has like classical music. So I realized that this is obviously very common in metal that you blend in other elements, but I only heard the little bit of the pop influence in for example, In Flames and stuff like that, but not so much with a female vocalist.
So that’s, I guess, what I really wanted to try out. And I tried it out and it turned out to be pretty cool. And it was also because Olaf of course, love also the same kind of music I did. So it was very fun to be able to bring in everything we love.
Sheldon: Yeah. So there is no one genre then.
Elize Ryd: Yeah. The main genre is metal. But then we blended in elements of others. So when people have a hard time putting one name on one genre.
The Three Vocalists
Sheldon: Anothef element that’s really unique about Amaranth is that there are three lead singers – two clean vocals and one not so clean. it’s like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (chuckles), except that it has more grunt. Does it give a more cohesive storyline propagation? I mean, the storyline of your lyrics could be complicated and it is easier to explain the storyline through three lead singers?
Elize: Yes. The answer is 100% yes. It gives you so much more. You can work when you have three colors in the palette instead of one.
It gives you much more opportunity to start a song and write lyrics about basically anything. And it can be represented by a voice that’s not, for example, my own voice. Maybe I couldn’t sing like something which I know that the male singers could do like the growls and so on. It’s one of the most fun projects to work on is to write music for Amaranth.
Sheldon: Has it always been three lead singers? I mean, was it like a deliberate attempt to have three singers or it was it by accident that one of you guys could sing as well? You know. So let’s put the other guy as the singer.
Elize: I will tell you, this is funny. I’ve just talked about it, actually. And the thing is that we were friends hanging out in Gothenburg. And everybody was like an expert in their own way. I remember that, I sang the parts I wrote, and it means it’s my voice and I’m a female. And then the other guys put in the stuff they did, and I was actually just invited to complete a song, which we didn’t know really what to do with yet.
The plan was to make it into some kind of project that could have been anybody, not just me, or like it was very much like only the songs itself. It was only like 2 or 3 songs in the beginning. But the thing is that when we put it out on Myspace – so for the people who remember Myspace, it was the song and the photo of me and all Olaf and Jake. And that was the beginning of Amaranthe and it was our songwriting. And then we got a record deal, and then we decided to start a band. Yeah. And then we decided to keep the three vocalists, because that’s how we got signed, you know what I mean?
LIVE Performance
Sheldon: I would imagine that the live performance is so surreal with three lead singers.
Elize: I think so too. Yeah. I haven’t seen ourselves from the outside, but I guess that there is someone or something to look at all the time, not just one front person like you can look. Everybody’s expressing different things at different times. And I think it’s not so boring to watch Amaranthe live.
Sheldon: I think it’s pretty awesome too. Last time I asked you how high you could reach vocally, you weren’t sure and you ending up singing. Have you asked, like a music teacher, how high your vocal range is?
Elize: You know, it’s funny that, until now and I still don’t know, but I’ve seen some reaction video on YouTube. Somebody sent it to me, saying like, hey, look at this. It was something like (Elize tries her range)
I haven’t even warmed up now, so I’m not sure. But there was something extreme, like four octaves or 8 or 3 or something “G” I remember. Yeah, but maybe I would figure it out for 100% sure. My sister is a vocal coach and she’s a ranger, so she could tell me as well. Or someone on the line on internet because obviously, like you said – you didn’t say it…but what you mean, obviously, is that where is my range and what is it? But it doesn’t necessarily mean I use the full potential of my range in the songs I write. So this is interesting. I need to figure it out – and I will you know.
The Catalyst
Sheldon: The latest album, The Catalyst, was released in February. It’s very eclectic, with very different styles. The track album title, The Catalyst, which is like a symphony, dance, techno, rock, you know, it feels like I could dance to it in a nightclub. And then there is Stay a Little While, which is a very heart-wrenching song. So the album has something for everyone.
Elize: Yeah, that’s one thing we tried to think about when we write an album, is to get all kinds of emotions in there and it seems that one ballad has always been there. And, but the ballads can of course be very different. So this one is more towards the old kind of rock ballad. So depending on what’s in the atmosphere, we decide if it should be a happy love song or a sad love song, and then the very heart and then the something in between. So it seems like for me, I can see a pattern, you know, that we have kept ever since the very beginning that there is like a need to fill every emotional box when we write an album for Amaranth.
Sheldon: Beautiful. the video for the Catalyst is very surreal. It’s got a very futuristic sort of outlook. Are you involved in the artistic side in the making of the video? Such as directing and scriptwriting.
Amaranthe: Actually, yes. It’s always been the band itself doing that ever since the beginning as well. Kind of letting the song decide or even sometimes it’s that we have a wish to do something or to bring in something unique into the video. And we do that. So we always ask for something. I think the only video that was not scripted by the band itself is actually the Nexus, because, it was the Patrick had, an idea about that based on the location and the team of people he brought in.
So besides that, it has always been that we decide ourselves. So, for example, The Catalyst, you could give or I gave an instruction which was kind of easy and clear. I talked about it before about the Digital World video. It was to me, obviously it should be like that. And it also depends on how much time the band have and energy.
And if you want to travel to Iceland or if we don’t want to stay in Gothenburg. But, I said at least to as an instruction for Patrick that can we make The Catalyst in the same vibe as Digital World for this music video, because it’s kind of a long time ago we did a video like that.
So he did it again, but with an updated version. And it’s funny because they kind of is connected in a way. Also lyrically, like the Digital World. And then now we are living in the digital world we wrote about what it would be like in the future. So I remember there is a kind of interesting things happening in the world, which gives us a reason to write about it, like with the Manifest album that we did.
The album obviously was very affected by the whole pandemic and the things happening back then, writing viral and making a video based on that. You can decide if you would be in our band, we would talk to you. I would ask, like, what do you feel like, do you want to, do you want to like, have a story, like, based on the lyrics that we just basically, you know, create what we’re singing about?
Or should it be, like a little bit more extra abstractive? Or like, should we go to Poland and be vampires? Yay! Let’s do that.
Yeah. So we need to kind of talk through it with the band and stands where everybody’s at and what we feel like doing, and so it’s always the band itself is the creative force.
And then it’s nice, of course, if you want to. I know some bands hire somebody to write scripts for them so they don’t do it themselves because it’s also time consuming. But we have always done it ourselves because we love it so much, and we think it’s fun and it feels more valuable when it’s something you decide for yourself than just something you’re forced to do based on what someone else.
I mean, everybody’s different. I’m always thinking in the future when we have kids and stuff, hopefully, you know, maybe you want to give that work to somebody else to kind of take care of it.
The Australian Tour
Sheldon: Amaranthe are coming to Australia for the first time – this month. So you coming to Perth on the 28th of August? You must be excited and must is this your first time to Australia?
Elize: I mean, who wouldn’t be super excited about coming to Australia? I can’t think about when I was this excited. Well, it was probably like 15 years ago or something or 17 years ago when I started to tour for the first time because everything was new.
And ever since, it hasn’t really been anything like we haven’t seen before until now. So, the band is extremely excited. And besides Nils been there already once, nobody else has been there. Oh, wow. And so I don’t even know what to expect. I mean, I’m always curious about, like, how it smells and how the vibe is, you know, things that you can see when you watch. I Googled Australia many times, obviously checking out videos like on what to do in on YouTube. But unfortunately, we have a show every day, so it’s not going to be so much time for sightseeing, but we will come two days earlier to New Zealand just to be able to adjust to the new time zone and then I was thinking about staying maybe a week or so extra afterward, so I can go and see the Opera House in Sydney and like some park there, which is nice.
Maybe go on a road trip and I don’t even know, but I want to really try to stay a little bit longer and take the opportunity, because it’s not every day you fly 24 hours, you know, to the other side of the world.
Sheldon: So. Well, if you have time, I’m happy to take you and the band members member know so in person.
Elize: Oooo that would be nice.
Sheldon: This being the band’s first time in Australia, will this be the greatest hits tour?
Amaranthe: Oh yeah. Very good question. We have absolutely planned to play at least 1 or 2 songs from each album and then, Yeah, like always is going to be the previous album, like maybe four tracks or something, but yeah, we’re going to try to make it like a greatest hits ish kind of tour.
The backdrop is going to be The Catalyst one. It would be fun if we could change the backdrop from each era just because we never been Australia. But unfortunately we can only fit one, and it’s going to be one big suitcase that probably I’m bringing. Yeah, but everything else is going to be lots of focus on trying to squeeze in at least 1 or 2 tracks from each other.
And of course, the singles, like you said, the greatest hits like the most popular ones. Yes. But I don’t know, sometimes the song which was not a single, becomes very popular. Do you have a personal favorite?
Sheldon: I like, the Archangel is good,
Elize: We’re playing that one. Yeah of course.
Sheldon: And then there is odrop dead cynical.
Elize: Oh yes. In the previous interviews, I heard the request of two songs that was not on the setlist, so I already wrote to all of saying, hello. We need to put in this song played in Australia.
Sheldon. Elize, thank you so much for this. Really appreciate you, Liz. I’m so glad to talk to you again and I can’t wait to see you in real life.
Elize. Thank you so much Sheldon See you soon. Bye bye.
The full interview
Tickets are available from https://davidroywilliams.com/tours/amaranthe/ and https://metropolistouring.com/amaranthe-2024/
AMARANTHE 2024 Australian Tour Dates
Tuesday 27 August – The Gov, ADELAIDE
Wednesday 28 August – Metropolis Fremantle, PERTH
Friday 30 August – Metro Theatre, SYDNEY
Saturday 31 August – Northcote Theatre, MELBOURNE Sunday 1 September – The Tivoli, BRISBANE
About the Writer: Perth based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) are a source of news and features on live entertainment. SAM have been accredited to almost 100 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), KNOTFEST (Melbourne), Coldplay (Perth), KISS, P!NK, Fridayz Live, Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart with reviews shared by the likes of UB40, Delta Goodrem, The Wiggles and Toni Childs on social media. The founder has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pic below), Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 45 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Albany as a music journalist
