Rohan is Thomas Berg’s one-man death metal project from Denmark. He calls it “death metal for headbangers”, which is a fair way into Suffering With a Smile.
Berg started the record with old-school death metal in mind. Five songs were written as tributes to bands that shaped him: Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide. From there, he wrote more material, kept the strongest tracks, and ended up with an 11-song debut that moves between straight impact, groove and more progressive turns.
The lyrics go into manipulation, isolation, mental collapse and distrust in people, leaders and systems. The drums are programmed, which Berg chose partly because Rohan was built to move fast beside his other bands. The result is a record that sounds clear about what it wants to be: death metal with enough hooks and force to make people bang their heads.
In this interview, Berg talks about writing Suffering With a Smile, the old-school bands behind it, his approach to lyrics, programmed drums, direct language and where Rohan goes next.
“Death Metal for Headbangers!”
Suffering With a Smile moves between old-school death metal, groove and more progressive structures. When you started building the album, what parts of classic death metal still felt essential to you, and what parts did you want to push further?
Funny you ask, because with the idea of making a versatile album, I started by writing five songs as tributes to five old-school bands. After that, I wrote eight more songs, picked six of them, and ended up with the 11 tracks that appear on Suffering With a Smile. The five old-school bands that inspired the tribute songs are Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide. Let me know if you can guess which songs are tributes to which bands [he laughs].
A lot of the lyrics deal with manipulation, isolation, mental collapse and distrust in systems or people. Did the album come together around one central state of mind, or did those themes emerge naturally track by track?
Yeah, you are right. Most of the lyrics focus on those subjects. There was no plan from the start, and the lyrics were actually the last thing I worked on before the recordings. Overall, the lyrics represent the way my mind thinks about systems, leaders, governments and people’s behaviour. Most often, I write the music first, then see which lyrics fit which songs, and then I rearrange the compositions.
The programmed drums have been mentioned in several reviews, sometimes positively, sometimes critically. What made you decide to keep that approach instead of chasing a more “organic” production setup?
I have played in several bands and still do, but I am quite productive and like to work a bit faster, so the whole idea behind Rohan was to create an album alongside the bands. My drumming skills are okay, but I would still need about 5,000 practice hours to play what is on Suffering With a Smile [he laughs]. So yes, I have thought about working with a human drummer so the production would sound more organic. But so far, I have prioritised making more music instead.
It took me about three months to write Suffering With a Smile, and I do not think I could have done that if I had been working closely with someone else. But who knows what the future will bring.
Tracks like “Global War”, “Dominate the Weak” and “Fallacy” feel very direct lyrically, almost confrontational at times. Did you always want Rohan to communicate in such a blunt way, or did the music push the words in that direction?
Like I said, the lyrics were the last thing I worked on, so I did not really have a plan for how I wanted to communicate. But the lyrics you mentioned ended up being quite direct, and that is cool. Some of the other lyrics are more discreet, and I like using figurative language, so you have to think outside the box to understand the point, or at least come to your own interpretation.
Suffering With a Smile is your debut full-length, but the album already sounds very clear about its identity. Looking back at the finished record now, what do you think it says most accurately about where Rohan stands as a project right now?
Cool, and thanks. First of all, I am satisfied with fulfilling the plan and getting the album finished. I think the album represents the identity of Rohan both before and now: “Death Metal for Headbangers!” There will not be any tribute songs, but I am already quite far into the writing process for the next Rohan album, and I can definitely hear a red thread connecting it to Suffering With a Smile. To everyone: stay brutal, check out Suffering With a Smile, and bang your head!
Stream/Buy Suffering with a Smile on Bandcamp.
