Interview: Satanic Surfers’ Magnus Blixtberg on the return of the Swedish punk heroes

Sweden’s Satanic Surfers were one of the most beloved skate punk bands in the 90’s, crafting lightning-fast melodic anthems that covered both the political and personal ends of the lyrical spectrum, while featuring the very rare band drummer / main vocalist hybrid in Rodrigo Alfaro.

After releasing a handful of albums, including genre classics Hero of Our Time and 666 Motor Inn, the band called it quits back in 2007, before resurfacing for a handful of shows in 2014. Now the band is back with their recently released Back from Hell LP, a breakneck album that fits in right along with their beloved early releases.

We caught up with the band’s guitarist Magnus Blixtberg to discuss how the band got back together, their new LP, and his memories of playing Montreal over the years. Satanic Surfers play ’77 Montreal on Friday, July 27th alongside Rise Against, AFI, Suicidal Tendencies, The Interrupters, and many more. Admission is free for children under 10. Tickets and the complete festival lineup are available here. Stay tuned for more interviews with the acts playing the festival here in the coming days.

What inspired Satanic to get back together a few years ago?

Personally I missed playing live and touring. The band had been broken up since 2007, and I was playing in a band called Revenge, but we mainly played in Malmö where we live, and I wanted to go out and see the world again. In 2014 we got some good offers from festivals, so there seemed to be some interest for a reunion. Me and Rodrigo talked about getting the band back together again, and he was into it. I think we all missed playing the old Satanic Surfers songs and also hanging out together again.

Did you have any thought of recording new music when Satanic first started playing shows again?

In the fall of 2014, when we started booking shows for 2015 we had no idea if there was gonna be 3 shows or 20 shows, or if we were quitting again after that summer. So no, I don’t think anybody in the band thought about putting out a new album.

Did the time away from the band affect what you wanted to do with the band at all?

Well, we knew that it had to be fun again, otherwise we would quit right away. There’s no use wasting your time in a band that you don’t enjoy playing in. Nowadays the band is only a part-time occupation, which takes away a bit of the pressure. We don’t have to rely on the band for our income, that’s a big difference from before. It’s a lot more relaxed now. But it also means that writing and rehearsing a new album takes so much longer, compared to when we could work on our music 24/7.

Back From Hell is the first Satanic full-length over a decade – how did you guys approach this album? Was there anything different you wanted to try this time?

Rodrigo had a bunch of songs written that he started showing us sometime during fall 2015. So between then and September 2017, when we started recording, he showed us song after song, and we just kept rehearsing and arranging them. We didn’t have a deadline or a record company breathing down our necks, so we took all the time we needed to get the songs just the way we wanted them. There was no reason to rush anything, and all the hard work is apparent in the finished album. We are very proud of it.

Satanic Surfers played Montreal so many times over the years; do you have any special memories of your time here? Any specific shows or tours stand out?

The first time we came here was in 1996, and we mainly toured the Quebec region and Montreal was our homebase, where we returned after most shows. We also had many days off when we could hang out in your beautiful city. Then the second time we came to Montreal was on the Sno Jam tour in 1997. We had toured from Vancouver all the way across Canada, and coming to Montreal really felt like coming home for us. The reception from the audience was incredible. Montreal has always been a special place for us.

Many Swedish punk bands seem to go over so well in Quebec; do you notice any similarities between the scenes here and in Sweden?

I don’t know that much about the punk scene in Quebec and there doesn’t really exist a skatepunk scene in Sweden. That died way back in the 90’s. We’re just fortunate that people all over the world listen to our music, so we don’t have to stay in Sweden all the time.

What bands are you hoping to catch at ’77 Montreal?

Suicidal Tendencies, Sick Of It All and Rise Against.

What else is coming up for the band? Anything else you can let us in on?

First a few more festival shows in Europe this summer, then we’re doing a tour in Germany and some shows in Sweden this fall. We’re definitely coming back to Canada for a tour next year, but I can’t give you any details yet. Be patient.

Satanic Surfers play ’77 Montreal on Friday, July 27th alongside Rise Against, AFI, Suicidal Tendencies, The Interrupters, and many more. Admission is free for children under 10. Tickets and the complete festival lineup are available here.