Artist: Portrait
Origin: Kristianstad, Schweden
Genre: Heavy Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records
Link: https://www.facebook.com/portraitsweden/
Band members:
Vocals – Per Lengstedt
Drums – Anders Persson
Guitars – Christian Lindell
Guitars – Karl Gustafsson
Bass – Fredrik Petersson
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
Hi Chris,
thank you very much for your time. Congratulations to The Host, your new record. How did Portrait come up with the idea of writing a concept album?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
I have felt for quite some years that it would be interesting to try to keep the essence of our lyrics but present them in a story form. This is to push the listeners a bit and to “force” them to focus more on the lyrics. So that is pretty much what I have tried to do – sticking to the same kind of topics as before, but this time in a story instead. The triggering point came during the autumn of 2022 when I read an article about the Swedish Army in the 17th century and how some soldiers had stood accused of making pacts with the devil.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
There is no song called The Host. How is the title of the record to understand?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
The title has a couple of different meanings connected with the story. One of them is the host that becomes the Eucharist or the rite of communion (“Hostia”, the bread and wine consecrated), which has a central role in the story based on the belief that it holds magical powers if stolen from the church and given as an offering to the devil or other spirits. The second meaning is the protagonist himself, who as a result of his pact with the Devil also becomes his host as the story progresses.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
The story is about the 17th century in Sweden and the injustices of that time. You have enriched the original story with fantasy themes. How did you come up with the expansions? Similar to Geoff Tate, who saw someone in a bar and derived Mr. X for Operation: Mindcrime?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Well, the “expansions” have always been there, they are based on my own beliefs and experiences with the occult and have always been part of our lyrics. So I used some form of historical “basis” to mask my perspectives or present them in a bit of a different way. So a lot of stuff in the story is “symbolic” really, even though I think the story can also be enjoyed just the way that it is.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
You explain that the final song The Passions Of Sophia is the summary of the entire story of The Host. It is an ongoing process that remains essentially the same over the centuries but has manifested itself in different forms throughout history and continues to this day. Where do you see the parallels between the abysses of humanity between the 17th and the 21st century?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
The enslaving forces that try to bind the spirit are essentially the same, even though they have manifested in different forms. I view this from a spiritual perspective that is also of course woven into the story, but that which is rooted in the spiritual also has effects on planes that are tangible to anyone. For example, the church is not (in this part of the world at least) the authority in charge, but we are still very much told by authorities through the media what it is that we should believe, focus upon and what the current consensus is. Criticism against consensus is often just dismissed as conspiracy theories to excommunicate individuals and place them amongst the “tin-foil hats” or “trolls”. The phrase “Take the sacrament, and you will stand among the righteous ones”, from the song you mention, is something we heard a lot a couple of years ago, almost literally.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
How was the development process for The Host? Was the story first and then coming the music? Did you write the lyrics as a team together?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Both, for some songs the lyrics came first and for others, the music came first. In some cases, I had written lyrics alone and once we had a song finished I tried the lyrics out in different ways and made some adjustments with them to fit the music, yes. And it also became a wholly different thing when Per put his touch on everything, compared to my demos.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
Karl Gustafsson works for the first time together with the band for record production. Has the production process changed because of Karl? Could Karl help with ideas for the concept and the development process?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Karl is a really talented guitarist. He wrote the song Treachery on the new album, and he has added a lot with his soloing, as well as being very dedicated to the band.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
Heavy metal albums usually have a running time of about 45 minutes. The Host is about 75 minutes long and has various tracks with 5 or more minutes. How important is it that your fans listen and understand the album as a whole piece and not just add individual songs to the playlist?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
I think all of the songs are enjoyable in their own right, but listening to them in full will give the greatest experience, as the album showcases so many different sides of the band. We will always remain an “album oriented” band, and we always think in terms of full albums rather than releasing separate songs now and then. We will not give in to please the modern-day victims with an attention span of five seconds. Music is more important than that.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
The Host is very diverse, fast numbers like Sound The Horn meet the half-ballad One Last Kiss and the sing-along anthem Voice Of The Outsider. Do the different songs see themselves as one chapter of the story, so that 14 pieces of the puzzle make up the overall picture at the end? Is Portrait planning to publish the musical concept as a book or comic, like Jag Panzer created for The Hallowed in 2023?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Yes, I would agree with that. As I mentioned I think all of the songs are enjoyable on their own but it is the combination of all of them that makes the outcome. When The Passions Of Sophia ends there should be a feeling of emptiness within the listener, that is the goal. To cleanse the listener from all of the shit one has to deal with in daily life, haha.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
You play two release shows in Hamburg and Düsseldorf on September 22nd and 23rd. Will Portrait play the entire new album live there?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
No, we plan on doing a mixed set on those shows, as it has been a while since we last visited Germany now. But there will be a lot of new ones in the set anyway, five or six songs at least!
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
If you had to describe the main influences of your music. Which musicians or bands would it be besides Mercyful Fate and King Diamond?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
It is hard to say anything specific. I enjoy all classic bands like Priest, Maiden, Dio, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Manowar, Accept, and so on. But also Possessed, Incantation, Darkthrone, and Dissection. And then also King Crimson, Camel, Genesis, Jethro Tull … Fields of the Nephilim. I guess everything we enjoy somehow reflects on our music as well, even though we don’t consciously try to do the same thing.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
What are your plans for the second half of 2024? Is it possible, that Portrait will come up to Germany for a second time?
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Yes, hopefully, there will be some German shows also during the autumn/winter, we are looking into it now and can hopefully present something soon.
Time For Metal / Jürgen F.:
Thank you very much for your time. The famous last words are up to you.
Portrait / Christian Lindell:
Blessed is he who has crucified the world and not allowed the world to crucify him.
Review for The Host: