TPD - Hi Ronnie, and thanks for taking some time out to speak with Raging Metal.

Ronnie - Hey, it's my pleasure man.

TPD - So when was Julie Laughs Nomore formed?

Ronnie - In the spring of 1995 when two bands got together as one. The other four guys had played together for about four years in a band called "Loaded" but decided to part ways with their drummer and phoned me up and asked me to join. In the beginning we were called "Bastards." We made one demo tape and the music was some kinda sleeze/hardrock ala Motörhead.

A few months later I quit the band due to some personal reasons but in the autumn I began again and we restarted as Julie Laughs Nomore.

TPD - What led to the musical change?

Ronnie - We discovered the more heavier and darker side of metal, bands like Paradise Lost, Type O Negative and of course Candlemass and felt that it was that style we wanted to play.

TPD - On to the new album, "From The Mist Of The Ruins" - it sounds quite power influenced in places. Do you guys listen to many power metal bands?

Ronnie - Uhm, well we listen to lots of power metal but not that many bands. Helloween, Gamma Ray, Edguy, Grave Digger and Blind Guardian are probably the only ones, especially newer Blind Guardian and old Helloween.
We feel that melody is the most important thing when it comes to music/metal and power metal is all about that in my opinion, great melodies.

TPD - Yeah, this album is very melodic indeed, yet you have kept that dark edge in the music which is excellent. Another thing I love about it is the changing between death growls and clean vocals. Power metal influences again noticeable, with Hansi Kürsch like clean vocals...

Ronnie - The concept we try to have or do is to mix melody with death metal type riffs and to make it sound smooth and not forced. There are lots of other bands doing the same concept but I actually think we have our own specific sound and a lot of our sound is in the vocals as you said.

TPD - How would you describe the differences between the debut, When Only Darkness Remains, and the new album?

Ronnie - From The Mist Of The Ruins is more varied song-wise and it's more arranged within the vocals and guitars.
There are many more overdubbs, harmony vocals and harmony guitars and stuff like that which we didn't have at all on When Only Darkness Remains.
We've also taken the fast stuff faster with some blast beats and the mellow stuff more mellow just to get it more varied.

TPD - Yeah, variation is key if you want to keep the interest of the listener, and you have it done to a fine art on this album.

Serious Entertainment were your record company for the first album, but you are now with Vile Records - what happened with SE?

Ronnie - Well thank you.

SE went bankrupt in April 2000 and about Vile... well all I can say is that our next album won't be released at that label!

TPD - Hahaha, I was just gonna ask you are you happy at Vile!

Ronnie - LOL, no we're not.
Far from it as we feel that they've done zip, zero nothing to promote the album.

They're a small label and they don't have the money to make a proper promotion including tours and stuff like that.

TPD - What are your plans then for a new deal? Are you going to send material to the bigger record companies, or keep gigging around Sweden, or what?

Ronnie - Nothing is set for the moment but we're "fishing" all the time for a bigger and better label so I have to get back to you when we have some interesting news. =) There are a few labels though that are showing their interest but I won't go in at any details yet.
In the mean time we're trying to gig around here in Sweden but it's very tough for a band that's playing metal unless it isn't covers of course or if your name is Iron Maiden or Hammerfall.

The metal scene here sucks for smaller, less known bands.

TPD - Good to hear that about the labels, and I really hope something good happens!

You mentioned Hammerfall. What was it like opening for them at Snake Pit?

Ronnie - Yeah so do we.

It was without a doubt the sickest experience we ever had live.
Snake Pit (R.I.P.) was a very small club, I think they had permission to let 100 people in but it must have been at least double the amount of people there, probably more.
We had people standing next to me in the back of the stage and one guy took our lead guitarist's pick in the middle of a solo hehe.
Danne had to sit at my bass drum and Babbaens bassrigg almost fell apart due to people holding on to it while headbanging.
Hammerfall actually considered canceling their appearance but decided to do it at the very last minute, they were afraid of causing a riot if they didn't play.

TPD - Sounds brutal! But it's the sort of experience you'll never forget :)

Was it intimidating to play before Hammerfall?

Ronnie - No we won't hehe.

Uhm, of course we had painted up the worst scenario with getting all booed out and all that and when we entered the stage the audience screamed HAMMERFALL, HAMMERFALL but...
Danne grabbed the mic and said "we're not Hammerfall, we're Julie Laughs Nomore" and all of a sudden everyone began to shout JULIE, JULIE instead. That was one of the greatest feelings I and the whole band ever had.
The gig wasn't one of our best performance-wise but the energy and feedback the audience gave us was killer.
It was also good in the aspect that we now knew that we could "handle" a pretty big audience.

TPD - Sounds amazing!

About you now, is JLN your first band?

Ronnie - It sure was.

Nope not really. Before I joined the guys I used to play with some friends in a band we called "Everlife". They were actually newborn Christians so I didn't fit in that well lol.

TPD - Hahahaha, maybe you should have stuck with the first answer!

How did you meet the other guys from JLN?

Ronnie - LOL yeah maybe I should have done that.

I went at the same upper secondary school and class as Benny and Thomas N so that's how I meet them.

TPD - Do you all live in the same area?

Ronnie - We used to do, sort of. When I lived at home with my parents we lived about 25km from each other, the other guys lived in the same community.
Nowadays I live in Stockholm which is 300km from the others but I travel up north two times a month to rehearse.
From September 1999 to July 2001 I lived in Oslo but we (me and my wife) moved home to Sweden last year.

TPD - Excellent :) How long have you been drumming? And what do you do when you're not on the sticks?

Ronnie - Almost 20 years, 18 I think it is.

I got my first real kit from my parents when I was 8 and before that it was my mothers saucepans, pillows and buckets that got beaten.

When I'm not playing the drums I play guitar a lot, composing and just playing along to records.

The Internet is also a big "hobby" of mine and of course my wife and friends. I've been married since September 1999.

TPD - Hahaha saucepans. Kinda like me with the desk, glasses and phone book :)

Is your wife a fan of metal, or is it something she just puts up with?

Ronnie - Hahaha, I'd like to see that. =)

Well...she's actually a huge synth fan, Depeche Mode and stuff like that but she's getting there. The only band she can't stand basically is King Diamond lol but everything else I've shown to her she's accepted.
She enjoys good music, it doesn't matter if it's metal, pop, industrial as long as she thinks it sounds good.

TPD - Nice one!

Ronnie - Indeed.

TPD - How involved were you in the writing of the songs on From The Mist Of The Ruins?

Ronnie - I was involved a lot this time. On my own I wrote three songs and co-wrote one with Benny. The music that is, not the lyrics.

TPD - Well it's all great material. You're very creative blokes :)

Which drummers do you admire most, and who has been your influences?

Ronnie - Thanks. =)

As influences I'd say Mikkey Dee , Nicko McBrain, Mike Portnoy, Nicke Andersson, Thomen Stauch, Gene Hoglan and Ingo Schwichtenberg. (R.I.P.)
I admire Mikkey Dee the most. No-one is even close to what he does live and on albums when it comes to pure energy and power. He kills the drums with his hard hitting style, that's something I go for too.

TPD - Yeah, I noticed the sheer power you put into your drumming :) The fact that you have tree trunk arms probably helps too!

Well, looking to the future, and being the power metal fanatic you are, do you have any plans for a power metal side project?

Ronnie - I do my best. =)
(About those arms hehe, the pic is taken from below so it lies a bit. =) )

Yeah I have actually. The only thing that's been stopping me from getting the material written is that JLN takes so much time but as soon as I feel that I can't write JLN songs I will do some PM songs.
I've got the basics for two already done but they were written a long time ago so I have to see if they're good enough hehe.
The problem will be to get a hold of a good vocalist, maybe I'll just use Danne. What do you think about that? =)
I know that he'd do it and frankly, he's one of the best vocalists I know and know of.

TPD - Sounds good! I think Danne has a great clean voice, but as you say, he is an excellent vocalist - he has a great range. The variety is brilliant, because death growls alone can get monotonous, as can clean vocals.

Well, that pretty much concludes this interview! Cheers for your time Ronnie, and I hope you speak with us at Raging Metal again when more news unfolds.

Ronnie - Yeah sure does.

Well thank you man, it's been a blast and I'd be happy to speak to you again any time. =)