Dear readers, it is our pleasure to offer you in this article an interview with Rickard Engström, drummer of the Swedish Progressive Metal band Gigafauna.
Hi Rick, it is a pleasure to have you among our pages, how are you?
“Hello, I’m good thank you. Thanks for having me. I’m very excited about releasing our new album.“
You are a drummer and percussionist, how did you get into music and these instruments?
“Well, I grew up in a family where my parents and three brothers played instruments. And I discovered music with my brothers, cousins and friends, making mixtapes and sharing cds. I started out playing trombone in brass bands. Soon I took up drum lessons and played drum kit in rock band settings and eventually different percussion instruments in brass bands and other settings and musical projects.“
The band Gigafauna was formed about 10 years ago, how did the project and the choice of the name come about?
“Guitarists Matt Greig and Arvid Nydén had already played together since 2009. When I joined in 2015 we formed Gigafauna and the current line up has been the same since 2020 when bass player Jens Ljungberg joined. When trying to come up with band names, we came up with the made up word Gigafauna, sounding like a word for huge extinct animals or monsters. And it is kind of like a tribute to some of the bands that we like, like Meshuggah, Gojira, Mastodon, Opeth, Gorguts, The Mars Volta, Maiden to name a few.“
You play Progressive Metal with more Extreme contaminations, how would you describe your sound and how did your passion for these genres come about?
“The root of our music is metal and we tend to incorporate different styles of metal and elements from this vast genre. We make music that we like to listen to ourselves. The music is sometimes complicated and challenging to play. Sometimes more demanding for the listener as well. But it has a lot of groove and raw heaviness, but still with plenty of dynamics to keep it interesting.“
The new album “Eye to Windward” is due out in May 2025, what should we expect from this work?
“The album is a collection of seven multifaceted, yet crushing songs in true Gigafauna fashion. We are really pleased with each of these seven songs and how the album turned out sound wise. The songs are quite different but have enough in common to really make the album have a great sense of wholeness.“
Seven intense tracks that alternate between instrumental sections and dynamic and incisive vocal parts, what themes does this album deal with?
“Thematically, the album explores isolation, environmental decay, existential dread, and the search for meaning beyond the confines of time and space. Each song tells its own story-whether it’s the slow collapse of ecosystems, journeys across cosmic voids, or the heavy weight of existence.“
Instrumental textures incorporating different genres and styles, how is the creative process of your music and your drumming in particular?
“Well, it usually starts with bass player Jens or guitarist/singer Matt coming up with song ideas and riffs and sometimes whole songs, writing them down using Guitar Pro. Then I sit down at the drum kit and try out beats and fills, usually taking notes on what feel or beat I intend for each part. Then it’s an ongoing process of trying out stuff alone by the drum kit and together with the entire band during rehearsals. Making simple demos in our rehearsal space to listen back on how everything sounds musically. We try stuff out, write and re-write the songs until we feel like they are finished. Bass player Jens, who is also a guitar player, has brought so much to the band. He has great ideas and song writing skills and tend to
write bass parts that are really interesting and yet fitting to the song. Guitarist Arvid, sometimes write these epic guitar solos in advance and sometimes he kind of improvises them. While having the basic idea for his solos, it is not until recording it that he adds his presence and extra ’magic touch’. The process of writing lyrics and vocals started much
earlier in this album process. Matt had more time to sculpt his vocal parts for each song and therefore was more prepared for when we hit the studio. This album has some of his best vocal performances to date.“
The album is due in May 2025, do you have any plans to release singles to present the work?
“Yes, we will release the first single ’Beneath Sun and Sky’ in April 4th, and possibly another one in April. We just have to decide on which song to choose as the second single, since they are all great tunes. Haha.“
Solid and elaborate drumming, what equipment did you use to make the album?
“I recently bought a really cool Sonor S Classix kit that had been used for about 15 years in a studio in Stockholm. Being in really good condition, I just had to change the drum heads (I used Remo Emperor Clears) and could easily tune it to a good sound to fit the recording. And recording engineer/producer Teemu Aalto really liked the way the drums sounded in the studio and was able to capture and mix an awesome drum sound for the album.“
Many of your fans and our readers wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard for the near future?
“At the moment we have a gig at Brother Tuck Bar in Stockholm on May 10th and a gig at Järlåsa Metal, a one day metal festival outside our hometown Uppsala on June 14th. We are planning to book more gigs in Sweden 2025/2026. We all have have young children so touring extensively is somewhat tricky at the moment. But hopefully we will be able to book
some dates abroad as well.“
Do you have any particular anecdotes or memories you would like to tell us about your live experiences?
“Well, on our first gig at the great metal club Fredagsmangel in Stockholm we had a series of misfortunes. First of all our supporting act had to cancel due to illness. Then we realized Ghost were playing the largest arena in Stockholm that same night possibly drawing potential ’soon to be’ Gigafauna fans over there instead. And then there was a large metal cruise, that many of the regular visitors of the club attended instead. Our guitarist/singer Matt was on his way back from work abroad and his flight was delayed so we had to soundcheck without him. Then the taxi from the airport broke down but eventually he arrived and literally went straight from the taxi and up on stage with the rest of us. Although the night was a bit stressful leading up to the actual gig we managed to play a great set! Haha.“
This is your third studio album, how has your sound evolved over time?
“On our first album, ’Vol 1.’ is actually more of an EP, being our first recording together we were quite new to the whole recording process. So we learned a lot doing that one. ’Frozen Wastes’ was much better and ’The Holocene Conclusion’ EP was the first recording with the current line up. Now on ’Eye to Windward’ we have found a good sound that suits our music. The process was fun and inspiring. We have always recorded live using no click tracks to fully capture the live feel and energy of our music.
In terms of how our sound has evolved I think we are getting more comfortable in the different components that make up our sound. For example, the melodic/progressive death metal side is a little more prominent on the new album, but I think it is also better integrated into the whole, both within individual songs and also as an album. The clean and semi-clean
singing has a bigger sense of self-assurance. This makes the songs flow better from section to section.“
Sweden is one of the main exponents when it comes to heavy sounds, how do you see today’s scene in your country and more generally in your genre?
“In terms of musicians and bands creating art – Sweden is alive and kicking. There are so many bands that are creating incredible music, both local bands that few people have heard of all the way up to arena bands. But I think it’s also fair to say that we are struggling to find venues to play. The bigger touring acts have plenty of places and a strong interest from the public, but for bands a tier or two under that it is challenging in Sweden. There are a couple of venues over the country run by what we’d call “eldsjälar” – people who give something every ounce of sweat and blood to make it work. Without these people we wouldn’t have anywhere for up and coming bands and Swedish music would be poorer for it. So yeah, we need more venues for bands in all stages of their career to play. There are so many great Swedish bands. And to name a few bands from the top of my head, some of the bands we have played with, are Dimhall, Murderbird and Quantum. And one of my favorites are Vulkan. All of them are worth checking out.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with sounds like yours?
“Explore and find what sounds you like and create music you like and believe in, not what you think others want to hear.“
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
“Well, I like reading books, do some drawing and play chess now and then. And attending gigs and concerts when possible.“
I thank Rickard for the interview, wishing him all the best for the release of his new album and the continuation of his artistic career.
