MANTICORA bassist Kasper Gram is featured in a new interview discussing the band's latest album, Safe, with Sea Of Tranquility. An excerpt is available below:

SoT: Safe is anything but what the title implies. It is an even darker album than your last records The Black Circus Pt. 1 & 2in both style and subject matter wouldn't you agree?

K: "Indeed! I actually don't know why it ended up like that. I think it is/was just part of the process Manticora is going through every time we write a new album, and since it has been three years since the last release, I guess the development of our music has taken yet another turn. We didn't do it on purpose (laughs)."

SoT: There also seems to be more instrumentation on this disc. Kristian and Martin really have cranked up the guitars a notch or three. Was this a conscious effort or did it just come out that way?

K: "That is actually a conscious effort. We wanted to have a heavier guitar sound, appealing to fans of NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, etc., and with heavier riffing, we thought this sound was ideal for the tracks on Safe."

SoT: Can you tell me a little about the songs on the new album? How they came about and what is behind them?

K: "Well, music-wise we always use the same process when writing. Individually we write a lot of riffs on our own, and when we meet up in the rehearsing room, we put the pieces together if they fit, or else we try to re-arrange stuff and write some melodies. When it comes to lyrics on Safe, Lars did all of them this time. Since it was not a concept album, Lars kind of just wrote what was on his mind, life/death, religion, being a father, freedom of speech, etc."

Click here for the complete interview.

Safe, which was released last year via Nightmare Records, features the following tracklist:

'In The Abyss Of Desperation'

'Silence The Freedom'

'Complete'

'From The Pain Of Loss (I Learned About The Truth)'

'A Lake That Drained'

'Carrion Eaters'

'Safe'

'Embryonic Man' (bonus track Japan)