Interview LIFESICK

LIFESICK’s upcoming release, Loved By None, Hated By All, is their most intense work yet. Guitarist Nicolai Lindegaard shares the personal struggles shaping the album’s aggressive, raw sound.

1. Congratulations on the upcoming release of Loved By None, Hated By All! Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the album title and how it reflects the themes of the record?

Thanks a lot! The album title reflects the overall lyrical theme of the record. It’s a very personal theme, based on Simon’s (vocalist) true feelings, experiences, and life struggles with mental health and depression. The title, created by Simon, means “The more you give to people or society, the more they take.” It’s inspired by things Simon has been through, but it doesn’t mean he feels “hated by all”—it applies to certain situations. Every song has a deep and dark story to tell, which might be unsettling for some listeners. However, Simon wanted this album to be his most personal record to date.

2. Your latest single, “Loved By None,” delves into the overwhelming feeling of being isolated despite your best efforts. How did this personal emotion translate into such a fast and aggressive track?

I think we all agreed that we wanted to make the most aggressive and angriest songs we’ve ever made. Simon knew from the start that he wanted this song to be the album’s title track. It was our favorite song—short, intense, and aggressive—so it made perfect sense for the lyrics to fit this track. The lyrical theme is aimed at a society where mental health (in Denmark) is a taboo, something only "weird" people are seen as dealing with. It’s like Simon wasn’t taken seriously in certain situations. It’s not just Simon who has faced these struggles—almost everyone in LIFESICK has. We want to be honest about this, talk about it, and show that it’s okay to have these "problems."

3. LIFESICK has consistently pushed boundaries in the death metal and metallic hardcore genres. How does this new album build upon or differ from your previous releases like Life And Other Lies?

Yes, death metal and metal in general have always been huge inspirations for us. We all come from a hardcore environment, which is why hardcore is also a big factor when we write songs. We’re all pretty different when it comes to these genres and what we like, which can sometimes be tough, but ultimately it’s a good thing because we tend to agree and mix elements that fit our taste perfectly. I think the EP Love and Other Lies was a precursor to this album; I feel like the songs have a similar vibe compared to our previous full-length Misanthropy, which leans more towards an industrial sound and is more experimental in terms of songwriting and riffs. With this new album, we cut out all the boring parts from Misanthropy and focused more on creating a “live” vibe. We wanted songs you could mosh to, songs that make you feel like moving—not too many “big” sound parts, etc.

4. You worked with Jacob Bredahl at Dead Rat Studio again, but this time he had a more hands-on role during the songwriting process. How did his input shape the overall sound and direction of this album?

We always work with Jacob because he knows us so well, making him easy to work with. We wanted these analog recordings to sound real, and he’s one of the few in Denmark who still does that. Jacob also comes from a metal and hardcore background, and we always knew he was a talented songwriter. This time, we had the opportunity and time to involve him in the songwriting process, which we’d always wanted to do. We gave him the pre-productions to listen to, then invited him to our practice space, where we played the songs for him one by one. This way, he could make edits here and there. By this point, we had been listening to the songs so much that we were a little too close to them, so it was great that he could hear them with fresh ears and tell us what worked and what didn’t. This helped us get the best outcome and be much more efficient in the studio while recording.

5. The collaboration with John Cxnnor brought a dark industrial atmosphere through sound design and samples. How do you feel these elements enhanced the album’s intensity and message?

This was mainly because we wanted to add an extra touch to each song and create a consistent, streamlined sound throughout the album. If we had made the samples ourselves, it would have been too time-consuming and each one might have sounded different. We knew the guys we worked with and gave them all the keywords and the songs, letting them experiment with a sound theme. They added an extra layer to each track, and even provided elements we could use live. We feel like these are the perfect samples for these songs—not too much, but not too simple either. Of course, there were some things we didn’t fully agree on, but we gave them creative freedom to try out ideas, and the final result is perfect. We gave them the album artwork, and I feel like you can hear the artwork in the samples—that was the most important part.

6. “Loved By None” features a mix of blast beats and a groovy breakdown. How important is it for LIFESICK to balance speed and aggression with groove in your music?

For us, it’s actually very important. When you have a fast part transitioning into a slow part, the slow part feels much heavier because of the contrast. This is something we always lean toward. We feel that if a song only has slow parts or breakdowns, the breakdowns don’t feel like breakdowns anymore. So we like to mix different tempo changes in the songs. A major factor in getting the breakdowns to hit exactly how we want is that we recorded the album without a click track. This gave it a true "live" feel and allowed for natural tempo changes that you can’t achieve with a metronome.

7. The lyrical themes across the album seem to tackle deeply personal struggles and societal pressures. Can you talk about how these themes manifest across the different tracks on Loved By None, Hated By All?

All the songs are based on Simon’s experiences and what he’s been going through. We wanted each song to stick to this theme and not go in other directions. It came naturally, since Simon had just gone through—or was still going through—some of these things. These songs are tough for him to sing and share with listeners, but it felt right for him and for us to do this. All of our albums have a dark theme, but our previous work was more general and not always about Simon. This time, it is. We also feel like the aggressive sound of these songs fits perfectly with the lyrical theme. As mentioned before, all the songs were recorded using analog gear, without a click track, and some parts were even done in "first takes" to keep that raw honesty throughout the album.

8. With Loved By None, Hated By All being described as your most intense work to date, what was the most challenging part of creating this record, both musically and emotionally?

When it came to the lyrical theme, it was tough to gather 10 songs with such honest and dark lyrics. It’s not easy for the rest of the band, knowing what Simon is going through, but it’s something almost all of us have dealt with, so we understand and will always be supportive. The intense part of writing these songs was the short time frame—right after the EP—when we had to write 10 new songs, record them, and everything else. But even though this album was written quickly and intensively, it didn’t feel rushed. The process was fun because we felt inspired and knew from the start what we wanted to create, which is something we’ve always struggled with. So we feel like this album captures the sound we’ve always wanted, but it just took years to figure out. 

9. You have tours lined up across Denmark and Southeast Asia. How do you anticipate the new material will resonate with fans in both regions, and how do you plan to bring the album’s energy to the live stage?

Denmark is where we’ve built our strongest fanbase, and we’re excited to headline so many shows. It’s not something we’ve done a lot of, but it feels right to do a headline tour in Denmark with this album. We’re confident the venues will be packed, so we’re really excited for the album to drop. The Southeast Asia tour is also something new for us—we’ve never been there, but there’s always been interest in bringing us over. So when we got the offer, we said yes right away. It may not be the biggest region for hardcore or our fanbase, but we love challenges. This album will definitely be the easiest for us to play live, since it has the energy we’ve always aimed for. You can mosh to every song, so we’re expecting some intense shows. We also feel like the songs have strong hooks, so we hope people will sing along and mosh a lot. We’re also planning more tours, and hopefully a European headline tour next year as part of the album release.

10. Looking ahead, what are LIFESICK’s hopes and plans for the future? Can fans expect more experimentation or new directions in your sound as you continue to evolve?

We hope to tour the US and Australia, especially the US. We feel like we belong there—the scene is amazing right now, and our sound has a strong American influence, so that’s definitely a place we aim to play. We’re always experimenting with new ideas, and we’re thinking about creating more acoustic, dark country songs like the ones on the EP. We’re definitely not done exploring or touring, and we haven’t felt this inspired in a long time. We can’t wait to show everyone what we’re capable of.

 LIFESICK