Day Eight

Barely five hours sleep again...in the last two days I've slept less than eight hours and worked twenty three. I can barely get myself out of the sack this morning.

And then I remember I'm meeting up with Eric at eleven thirty, and before that I have to take Bonzo to my sister-in law's place. Not even time for a cup of tea this morning. Up, in the shower and out.

I'm stood on the corner by Skanstull station, waiting for a coffee and a cream cheese bagel, when I spot Eric trudging past in the snow with his suitcase. It's good to see him. We head down the road to the studio and catch up. It seems like the Black Breath tour went really well. I'm pleased to hear it. He tells me they were really shocked with how well they got treated over here, that they got hotel rooms seventy percent of the time. That would never happen in the States. In the States you have to rely on friends to let you sleep on their floors.




We want Eric to put a solo on a song called Theft, which for the longest time has gone under the working title Dismember. Obviously, it's perfect for Eric to lay a Black Breath style guitar solo on it. It's really fun watching him work. He truly is a great guitarist, certainly puts us two idiots to shame. Eric gets to work and it sounds amazing! The original idea was for Jon and Eric to do a dual solo here but I tell Eric just to do the whole thing since it's sounds so good. I know Jon would agree. He tries out a bunch of different stuff but in a very short time he's nailed it.

It seemed with Eric's schedule I was going to be the one to miss him when he was in Stockholm, but as it happened it worked out just right. Eric is going to Düsseldorf this afternoon for a couple of days before heading home to Seattle, it's really great of him to squeeze in the time to come by the studio when I know he's stressed for time. Johan comes by just as Eric gets finished up and we sit around and chat for a while, before Johan walks Eric to Södra Station, leaving me to get on with the rest of my guitar tracks.

Five songs to go.

For the most part, it all comes pretty easy. Johan comes back from the station with a new bag of coffee beans, and the afternoon is fuelled to go. Fuck how I need the coffee!

After a while Johan heads off to work for a couple of hours. He'll be back later. I know he's itching to start playing his bass on this album now. It hasn't really worked out that well for him that we're recording his bass and then his vocals at the end of the session. Tough finish for him.

By the time Jon and Andy come by around five pm. I have one song to go. Maiden, or as it's now called, Nowhere In Time. And then it happens. The fucking nemesis song. The tiredness is catching up with me now. My hands seem to have disconnected with my brain and my fingers are turning to rubber. What the fuck is going on here? I patch together one take of the song, but I'm not feeling good about it. Linus tells me to take it easy and relax but I can feel myself getting angry and frustrated. I didn't think it was going to be this song that was going to fuck me up. I try and play a second dubbed track, but it's just not happening. It's actually just getting worse. I'm now screaming all sorts of obscenities every time I come to a halt and finally I take a pause. Breathe now.

I decide to give it one more go, standing up this time to see if that will make a difference. It doesn't. Twenty seconds in and the song comes to a halt again. I throw my guitar on to the stool and announce that I'm done for today. Jon asks me if he wants me to have him play the dubbed track. I tell him to go for it. I don't have an ego when it comes to that kind of thing. Whatever is best for the record. He puts the bare bones of it down in the first take. He's not laughing though, he knows what it's like. Andy certainly knows how I feel. Mentally blocked.

As soon as I sit down and Jon finished up the track I feel better about it. I'm just glad that all the rhythm guitar tracks are done. I only have over-dubs left now, which I'll do tomorrow. That stuff is far more fun. Johan comes back in a very good mood, and he's brought glögg with him. Glögg is something else I love about Sweden. It's like muld wine. It smells like Christmas and it's beautiful. We warm some up in the coffee maker and we all share a glass. It's a very cosy moment.

Andy and I head off around seven thirty, leaving Johan and Jon to track some of Jon's solos. I'm going to meet Jen for dinner. Today is the day when we met each other, ten years ago. We're meeting at this great little French restaurant called Bergamotte on Kungsholmen. And after dinner is done, I'm going to bed to sleep.