Hardcore Superstar

Sweden’s premiere purveyors of thrash metal meets sleaze rock, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR last hit Australia in June 2018 and the demand was there for an encore appearance, so here they are! Fusing a base of hard, aggressive heavy metal with the catchy, melodic and decadent hard rock of glams glory days,HARDCORE SUPERSTAR’s self-coined ‘street metal’ is made for the stage! Jocke Berg talks to Hi Fi Way about the upcoming tour which is only a few weeks away.

Welcome back to Australia this coming October. It was ten years between your first and second tours and it’ll be only eighteen months between the second and third tours. Is it safe to say that Australia will a regular stop on your tours from now on?
I hope so because we love coming to Australia. It’s a wonderful country with wonderful people, so I hope we’ll be coming there at least every second year from now.

The Last tour was just before the release of the album You Can’t Kill Rock n Roll. At the time we only got a glimpse of maybe two or three new tracks from the album at that stage. Can we expect to hear a bit more of the new album this time round?
Yes, we are going to play five new songs in the set.

I see you’re touring up with Buckcherry for this awesome double header. How did this come about?
I think it was Danny from Silverback touring that came up with the idea. Buckcherry and Hardcore Superstar are friends. Buckcherry liked the idea, and we loved the idea.

Have you played with Buckcherry previously?
We did a tour with them back in 2013 in Europe and the UK. And then throughout the years we have met at all kinds of festivals and we try to keep in touch. I try to keep in touch with them, so we are very familiar with each other.

This time in Australia you’re going to go coast-to-coast and will see the majority of Australia’s major cities. Often bands that come to Australia will do only the east coast but you’re making it all the way over the Perth.
Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. First time! I’ve heard the beaches are beautiful in Perth.

Since you were in Australia last your tour has taken you all the way around Europe, to the US, to Japan. What have been the highlights of the tour to this stage?
The highlight is doing every show, because every show if different to the other ones. Especially in japan…. the audience. Before you walk out on stage you know you have sold out the place, but the place is quiet. So I ask the other guys in the band last time we were in Japan “We’ve sold this place out tonight, there’s 1000 people here but I can’t hear anyone” so I went out, looked behind the backdrop on stage and they’re just standing there waiting, waiting, waiting, and then with the intro song they go fucking nuts!
But there’s so many highlights I can’t name any one. It’s been an awesome ride.

I saw recently some footage that the band put up that looked like you were playing inside a castle. Where was that one?
Yeah, we played in an old castle from the 1200’s. It was festival with “In Flames”… it was their festival. It was the second year in a row they have had this festival called “The Castle Burns” festival because the castle burnt down three hundred years ago.

It’s been well over a year since the release of You Can’t Kill Rock n Roll. Can we expect any more singles from the album, or are you already in preparation for the next chapter?
Yes, we’ve started to write. We have six new songs done already for the new album. So we’re releasing the new single hopefully in January.

I must admit that I’m pretty impressed that you guys still release video clips for all your singles. Nowadays a lot of bands generally only release a lyric video, or completely ignore the video media. What keeps you guys going back the ‘old school’ type video clips?
I think its something we do – release a song, release a video. That’s how I grew up. Watching the bands. Whenever they release a single, release a video – Not a lyric video as you said. It’s for the fans to see, to see that we are working hard to get it done.

As a band who evolves their sound from album to album, is there any hints you can give us on what to expect from the next album? I think you said you have six songs already to go…
It’s going to be heavier. A LOT heavier. Heavier and full of attitude. I can’t reveal too much now, but you won’t be disappointed.

Heavier than Dreaming In A Casket?
Yeah, similar, but maybe even heavier.

Wow! That’s something to look forward to then.

You’re very renowned for your live shows. Anybody you speak to about Hardcore Superstar always mentions the live show. Have you ever played with the idea of releasing a live album, or is that something that’s in your thoughts?
We’ve talked about it but haven’t decided yet. Hopefully we’re going to do that but I don’t know when.

I remember back in the day when I first go into Hardcore Superstar, if there was anyone I was trying to turn onto the band, I would always show them the live DVD you released recorded at Sticky Fingers. That DVD won you a lot of fans.
Yeah, we spoke about a live album and live DVD, so hopefully soon.

With the new album I saw you released yellow vinyl, clear vinyl, red vinyl, black vinyl. Is that something driven by the band or is it more of a record label arrangement?
It was us. It was driven by the band. We wanted to have the difference. We love vinyl, we grew up with that so why not do red vinyl, yellow vinyl, it’s awesome. It was our childhood dream to do that.

I see you’ve also been doing a few re-releases through the Night of the Vinyl Dead label. They’ve released some really great stuff. Have you been involved in that directly?
That came from Adde, our drummer, because he’s a vinyl collector. He knows everything about vinyl. I think he’s got four thousand vinyl at home. I know when he was here last he picked up a bag full of vinyl. Yes, he’s crazy. He has this app called ‘Vinyl Search’. He puts it on and it pin points all the vinyl stores for him.

So every city he goes he’s out shopping for vinyl? A good way to see the world I guess.
Yeah. Haha.

I know last tour you said you were very restricted for time. Are you going to have any time to see some of Australia this time round?
Yes, I think we have one or two days off so we’ll get to do something.

Australia is really looking forward to hosting you guys again. I know last time there were a lot of people who were really impressed by your live show. What can they expect this time around that might be a bit different to last time round that they saw you?
I feel we can stage dive more live. I don’t know what it is… something just grabs me and I have to throw myself out into the audience. I’m forty-five years old, but inside my head I’m eighteen.

So we should tell the front row to get ready to catch?
Yeah. Exactly. Hopefully! Haha!

With the big double header lined up with Hardcore Superstar and Buckcherry coming soon in Australia do you have any parting messages that we can give to everybody?
We want to thank all the fans in Australia for their patience. First time it was ten years between shows, but now it’s only eighteen months, so we’ll be back to raise some hell for you.

Interview By Lindsay Bulach

Catch Hardcore Superstar on tour with Buckcherry, tickets through Silverback Touring…