THE METAL PIT: After listening to Manifest Tyranny several times, I get the sense that you set out to make angry, heavier, politically themed album compared to your previous work. What inspired the lyrics for the album?

Martin Hedin: I’m deeply bothered by the way our so called leaders handle things, and the ways of the western world in general. So I guess writing lyrics about it is my way of dealing with that. I feel like I took the red pill of the Matrix, like I woke up, only to find myself in a nightmare. The key is waking people up on a large scale, only then can we change the world for the better. I see hope in things like the Occupy Wall Street protests, things just might have started to move in the right direction. But I also believe things will get a lot worse before they’ll get any better.

THE METAL PIT: Which songs on the album are you looking most forward to playing in front of a live audience?

We already tried out ”Preemptive Strike” and ”Survival of the Richest”, and especially the latter felt like it works really well live. I think the songs on this album are very strong, it’s hard to choose. Maybe we’ll do ”Manifest Tyranny” in it’s entirety sometime. After all, it is kind of a concept album.

THE METAL PIT: Aside from the music on Manifest Tyranny. Can you talk about the lyrical inspirations for each of the songs?

Phew. Ok, here we go:

”Preemptive Strike” is about the current US/NATO wars. They suck.

”Lies ’R’ Us” is about excessive consumption, and is inspired by things like the book ”No Logo” by Naomi Klein and the film ”The Corporation”.

”Stay Unaware” is about the corrupt banking system, and is inspired by things like ”The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein. After reading that book you realize that the story continues with Iceland, Greece and soon many other countries.

”Survival of the Richest” is about the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Many people have been prohibited by the authorities to rebuild their homes, with the explanation that the beaches aren’t safe. At the same time many five star hotels are being built there. There is so much injustice in this world.

”False Flag” is about 9/11, 7/7 and other false flag operations. I don’t have a theory about what happened on 9/11, but it sure as hell didn’t happen the way we’ve been told it did. The official story is a conspiracy theory full of holes.

”Chosen by God” is about the arrogance of the ruling elite.

”Asylum” is about feeling like an outsider.

”Play Dead” is about the war in Iraq. It features samples from the awful helicopter attack on civilians 2007-07-12. It made me sick to my stomach to work with it, but I think I captured the madness of it pretty well.

”Go Back to Sleep” is about waking up to a world where nothing is what you thought it was.

”Antidote” is about the swine flu vaccination scam.

THE METAL PIT: Andromeda has been active for over 10 years, with so much material to choose from does it make it difficult to come up with a setlist for live shows?

Yeah it’s starting to, a bit. Our fans often have a favourite album, and expect us to play that material. So we try to play at least one song from each album. Of course we’d like to play as much new material as possible ourselves. Although we have nothing against playing old material. The interaction with the audience is the most important thing.

THE METAL PIT: Manifest Tyranny is your first album on Inner Wound Recordings. How did the signing with Inner Wound come about?

We felt good about Inner Wound from the start. They realy care for the band and are working hard to promote the album. I’ve worked closely with them concerning the artwork, and it turned out really well, I think.

THE METAL PIT: Fabian recently left the band and was replaced by Linus Abrahamson. Do you feel that this is the best Andromeda line up yet? What has Linus added to the band?

With the new label and the new line up I feel we are stronger than ever, yes. We’ve known Linus a long time, he really was a natural choice. He is very talented and ambitious, a winning combination! We haven’t started to write new material with him yet, but we are already looking forward to that.

THE METAL PIT: Andromeda played the ProgPower IX festival in Atlanta in 2008. What are your recollections of the festival and playing in front of a U.S. audience?

It was a great experience! We had been in Florida the day before, driving all night to Atlanta. Actually we didn’t sleep the night before that either. So we were deadly tired when we performed at the festival. But the overwhelming reception from the audience woke us up! I remember we had a signing session that just wouldn’t end afterwards. Great, great times. We’d love to go back to the states!

THE METAL PIT:  Speaking of live shows, can you discuss what Andromeda’s tour plans are for 2012?

We plan to do as many shows as possible next year! So far only a few festivals are confirmed, but we expect the list to grow. We love meeting our fans.

THE METAL PIT: How did the album cover design by Markus Sigfridsson of Darkwater come about?

We got in touch with him through the label. I had some ideas and we sent some files back and forth. I think he’s very good at what he does. Sofia Bennrup did the amazing illustrations for the booklet, and Markus took them to another level in the layout process. I think it fits very well with the material on this album.

THE METAL PIT: You have just released an excellent video for “Preemptive Strike”. I feel that the video conveys the energy of the song perfectly. What can you tell our readers about the video shoot and the concept behind the video? Who’s decision was it to do a straight performance clip instead of a concept relating more to the lyrics of the song?

Well, we would have needed tanks, missiles and bombs to film something related to the lyrics. J I was inspired by some videos by Cardiacs, and my friend Patrik Ekeblom (who directed our video) really liked the idea to try to make a rehersal video as energetic and catchy as possible. I think he did a very good job! The lights were producing so much heat it was like walking into a sauna. We were shooting for over 12 hours straight. We had a great sweaty time.

THE METAL PIT: In conclusion is there anything you would like to say to the readers of The Metal Pit?

Be sure to check out our facebook-page for the latest news! We also have a brand new YouTube-channel with some nice treats. J See you all on tour!