Hailing from Gothenburg, Knivad has spent over a decade crafting a sound that defies easy categorization. Crust, D-beat, hardcore punk, and death metal converge to create music that is abrasive and violent, yet still leaves room for darkness, melancholy, and reflection. The band released *Insidans ärrvävnad* in 2021 and now returns—five years later—with "Lilla vackra människa", a second full-length album comprising eleven tracks in which the band delves even deeper into its emotional and personal side. Released by "Suicide Records", the new album tackles themes such as mortality, illness, trauma, loss, grief, and self-destruction. Musically, Knivad maintains its intensity while introducing varied tempos and atmospheres, resulting in a much more dynamic album. We spoke with Knivad about their origins, the band's evolution, "Lilla vackra människa", their Swedish lyrics, the album artwork, Suicide Records, the Swedish extreme music scene, and the unique connection between punk, death metal, and black metal that runs through their music in one way or another.
1. First of all, thank you very much for your time. To start off, I’d like to go back to the origins of Knivad. How did the band come about, and what were you aiming for when you first started playing together?
Jonas. I don’t remember what specific intentions were behind it, if there even were any. I do know that we wanted to write music that genuinely hurt, and the lyrics were an important weapon in that. That’s why we chose to write in Swedish, so we could cut deeper with the language.
2. How much has Knivad changed from those early years up to "Lilla vackra människa"? Do you feel you are still essentially the same band, or do you believe you’ve found a different identity over time?
Jonas: Essentially, we are the same. What has changed, from a songwriting perspective, is that it’s easier to know what Knivad doesn’t sound like. Listening to the early stuff, I find plenty of material that would have been cut in the first round today.
3. Your early work already featured a rather unique blend of punk, crust, D-beat, and extreme metal. Where did that mix come from? Was it something you intentionally sought out from the start, or simply the result of the members' various influences?
Jonas: Apart from the bass player, Fredrik, we all come more or less from the metal scene, and of course that influences the songs, more or less intentionally. We never really talked about how we wanted Knivad to sound. I don’t think we’ve ever discussed it beyond, as I said before, defining what Knivad does NOT sound like.
4. The band brings together musicians from different backgrounds—specifically punk and death metal. How does that exchange of influences play out when you’re composing? Is there a sort of balance between the two sides, or do the songs emerge more spontaneously?
Jonas: I would say it’s rather spontaneous. After more than ten years, we know what a good core for a song sounds like. Since we’re spread out all over the country, most of the songs are more or less finished by the time we enter the final stage, and there are usually just a few small changes left to make. We discard whole songs more often than we make changes to them. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably just a bad song, so going into the details won’t make much of a difference.
5. Five years have passed since "Insidans ärrvävnad". What has happened within Knivad during this time, and what finally led you to start working on this new album? At what point did you realize the new songs were shaping up to be an album distinct from your previous work? What was the songwriting process like for "Lilla vackra människa"? Did the songs originate primarily from riffs and musical structures, or did the lyrics and the ideas you wanted to express play a significant role from the very beginning?
Jonas: A lot has happened, for better, but mostly for worse. The years since our last album have been marked by illness and loss, and for a long time, music simply didn’t have a place in our lives. But when we finally came up for air and started to feel joy and creativity again, we suddenly found ourselves with more personal material than ever before. In one way or another, every song on the album reflects something about us or the people around us. Once we started talking about making new music, things moved pretty quickly. I would record the basic ideas for songs, and Manne would come up with lyrics at more or less the same pace. We then developed the songs together, shaping the music and lyrics into what they eventually became. The biggest challenge was actually the logistics of recording, given the distance between all of us. Once we were finally in the same room, though, the music almost seemed to make itself.
6. Your music can be incredibly violent, yet it doesn't feel like gratuitous violence; there is a lot of emotion behind it. Do you aim for KNIVAD’s aggression to have an emotional dimension as well?
Jonas: Definitely. Music that is violent purely for the sake of brutality can certainly be intriguing for a while. But it doesn’t leave you with much more unless the lyrics and atmosphere cut deeper. The lyrics in particular are very important to us. We tackle some very heavy topics, and it has to be done in a respectful manner.Luckily, we’re not quite as serious on a personal level.
7. The title "Lilla vackra människa" means "little beautiful human being." It’s an expression that, in a way, contrasts with the rawness of the music and lyrics. What does that title represent to you, and why did you decide to use it for the album?
Manne: As you say, it is a contrast—one we were aiming for. It sparks questions, which is a good thing in itself. I also really like the contrast between the beautiful and the harsh or ugly. To some extent, it is meant to depict life and humanity as both terrible and incredibly beautiful in their creation.
8. This is your most personal work to date. The lyrics deal with illness, loss, trauma, fear, death, self-destruction, and the difficulty of moving forward. Was it difficult to transform such personal experiences into songs? Is there a difference between writing about something you’ve personally lived through and writing from a more metaphorical or fictional perspective?
Manne: I wouldn’t say it was difficult, but at times it required a certain amount of censorship and rewriting to avoid being too revealing. If we had laid out the full details of the content, it might have felt "too close for comfort," in a way. Personally, I’m not all that interested in fiction; I prefer watching and reading material based on real life. I can’t say exactly why, but I find reality interesting enough as it is. So, writing purely fictional texts has never really been an option for me.
9. All the lyrics are written in Swedish. Why is it so important for Knivad to use your native language? Do you think writing in Swedish changes the way you convey such personal emotions?
Manne: Fundamentally, it’s a disadvantage, since you need to know Swedish to fully engage with the music the way we want it to be experienced. But if we had written in English, we wouldn’t have been doing ourselves justice. My English isn’t good enough to avoid clichés!
10. For those of us who don’t speak Swedish, the vocals function almost like another instrument, and the music conveys the emotion even without understanding the words. Do you like the idea that the listener can interpret the songs on a purely emotional level?
Manne: Thanks, that was a lovely description. And yes, I really appreciate that it’s possible to experience emotions even without mastering the words. When using vocals that aren't always intelligible—even if you speak the language they’re performed in—that element is almost essential for the result to be good.
11. If you had to explain to someone who has never heard Knivad what they’ll find musically on this record, how would you describe it? Do you still view your music primarily as crust and D-beat, or do you feel those labels are too limiting? Which bands or albums were particularly on your minds while composing "Lilla vackra människa"? Are there any influences that a listener might not pick up on at first listen?
Jonas: To claim that you have no influences in your music would, of course, be a lie, or a sign of ignorance. But the influences are never obvious to us. We have many years of listening to music behind us, so naturally, what we create ourselves reflects that in one way or another, even though we can’t point to any specific bands or artists. As for defining our own music, I would say that, with some exceptions, it’s essentially a cross-pollination between crust and metal. It’s not something we ourselves had really thought about before people started asking us about it. For someone who has never heard Knivad, I would say they’re in for an intense musical experience, with lyrics that ought to disturb the peace of mind of every sane and empathetic person
12. The album retains a very raw production style, yet allows all the elements to be distinguished clearly. What were you aiming for in terms of sound? Did you prefer to keep a certain grittiness, or did you want this record to sound bigger than previous ones?
Jonas: Agge, who plays the drums, is also the one who mixes everything. He’s been part of the metal scene for a long time and knows how it’s supposed to sound. He also mixes everything in analog. The most important thing for the rest of us is that the production doesn’t become too soft and polished. That’s our biggest nightmare. We’d rather have a record that no one can make it through in one sitting than have it sound like a big-budget production. With all these fucking restrictions, Agge just has to do the best he can to at least make it something you can listen to.
13. The album is being released via Suicide Records, an independent label with roots in the Swedish DIY scene. How did your relationship with the label come about, and what does it mean to you to release this record with them? To what extent is the DIY philosophy still important to Knivad? In an era where much extreme music is consumed digitally, do you still place importance on the physical format and everything surrounding a release?
Manne: We reached out to them when we wanted to release our debut album. After meeting Roger, who runs Suicide Records, we realized it would be a great fit for us. We have virtually complete artistic freedom, and he is a straightforward and honest person. He’s also great to hang out with, so we couldn’t be happier about it. The DIY approach is always important to us. We would never say yes to sign with a major record label with everything that entails—if we had, we probably would have chosen a different type of music, haha. As for releasing physical records, that is very important to us. We’d choose a physical record over streaming services any day—if we had to choose.
14. The cover art for "Lilla vackra människa" has a very distinct visual identity. What did you want to convey with it, and how did the artistic concept come about? Was the image conceived based on the songs, or did the music end up fitting the image?
Manne: The front cover is a painting I stumbled upon by chance. I contacted the artist to ask if we could use it, and we reached an agreement. I think the graphic design turned out really great! It suits us as a band, since we want to avoid the typical imagery—like skulls, triangles, and occult symbols—that is so common in this genre of music.
15. You come from Gothenburg, a city that is pivotal to the history of Swedish extreme metal. Bands like Dissection, At the Gates, Grotesque, and Skitsystem emerged there in the 1990s, alongside the entire crust and *käng* tradition. To what extent has that legacy influenced your approach to music? Do you think a distinct Gothenburg identity still exists within extreme music, or have the boundaries between the various Swedish scenes become much more blurred these days?
Manne: The bands you mention played a big part in my upbringing, and I still listen to them occasionally—Dissection, in particular. I don’t think those bands have a direct influence on Knivad’s music, but that style of music is important in shaping one’s sense of how the music should feel and be perceived. As for the Gothenburg sound, it’s not something I’m particularly interested in as such. Many of the bands people associate with it are ones I detest; if I had to choose a scene from that era, I’d prefer Stockholm—which was usually pitted against Gothenburg back in the 90s.
16. Although Knivad’s roots lie primarily in punk and extreme metal, your music can easily connect with the Black metal. What personal connection do you have with black metal? What does black metal mean to you beyond the clichés and the aesthetics? Do you consider it primarily a musical genre, a form of expression, or something broader?
Jonas: To me, black metal is about raw, uncompromising expression. It’s the feeling that something could go anywhere, that it’s completely beyond control. My uncle is Wraath (Behexen, One Tail, One Head, etc.), and the side of black metal that those circles continue to embody and convey is what appeals to me the most. Primitive, atmospheric and utterly ferocious. Thankfully, there’s also a considerable amount of absolutely ridiculous, circus-like black metal out there to look at, if only to remind yourself where the line is. We should at least be grateful to it for that.
17. What were your beginnings in music like—the first concerts you attended, the first albums you bought? What event in your lives drove you to want to become musicians?
Manne: Aside from local rock bands playing at school or similar events, the first established band I remember seeing live was Svenne Rubins (a humorous rock band with Swedish lyrics and silly outfits) while I was on a camping trip with my family as a child. We were from a small town hours away from a city, so it wasn't until I was about 15 that I could discover heavier music live. Back then, we would often take the bus to see many of the Swedish hardcore bands of the 90s, as well as some metal bands. The first album I bought with my own money were Metallica - Master of Puppets, I went by bus together with my 2 year older cousin to “a nearby town” (2 hours 50 minutes one way ride) and bought it in a records store. I still don’t want to be a musician, haha.
Jonas: The first record I remember buying was Sepultura – Arise. We grew up in a small town in northern Sweden, so it wasn’t exactly easy to get hold of good music. Mail order was the way to go. Heavy music exploded in the ’90s just as we were entering our teens, so it was only a short step from listening to it to wanting to play it ourselves.
18. Which album represents the essence of black metal for you? What are the most recent albums you have bought?
Manne: I’d say Transilvanian Hunger by Darkthrone. Not necessarily the best one I know, but it sounds exactly right in every way. The last record I bought was a used Impulse Manslaughter collection on CD.
Jonas :I’d go with Dissection – Storm of the Light’s Bane. It has everything: brutality, atmosphere, and a pace that constantly pushes the songs to the limit of what they can actually handle. Great stuff. My most recent record purchase was probably OZ – III Warning.
19. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for Black Metal Spirit; if you would like to add anything for Knivad fans, this is the place to do so. I hope the questions were to your liking.
Thank’s for showing interest in Knivad! Everyone who likes us or hates us is welcome to get in touch.
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