{"id":616,"date":"2026-03-07T11:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T17:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/theoutcast\/theoutcast\/interviews\/johan-tiamat\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T21:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T02:11:18","slug":"johan-tiamat","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/adkoi.com\/theoutcast\/interviews\/johan-tiamat\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Johan of Tiamat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Johan:<\/strong> Hello?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Johan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> This is Mike from The Outcast. So where exactly am I calling you at?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Ah, I see. So how are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> O.K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Well, let us not waste any time. From album to album you\u2019ve changed styles so to speak. What made you decide to change so drastically from album to album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> We never decided to change anything at all; we just continued writing songs without looking back at what we\u2019ve done previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So you\u2019re saying it was pretty natural?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Will you be touring the U.S. again with this new album?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll get to, but actually, the last tour we did there was not too successful. It didn\u2019t mean anything at all to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Hmm…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I think if we should tour the states, I would like to start from the beginning and play small clubs supporting a band not to big, maybe supporting Monster Magnet or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Well, let\u2019s talk about your songs. What is the song “Teonancatl” about? I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s Mexican?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yes, it is. It\u2019s a mushroom god. The Mexicans used to pray to this god after taking some mushrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So do you experiment with mushrooms or any other substances?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I don\u2019t really like it, but I did a few years ago, so this is my tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> What is the song “Trillion Zillion Centipedes” about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> That song is connected to “Teonancatl”. It\u2019s the nightmare part of the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Let us go back to your past lyrics. I hope you don\u2019t mind me getting personal, but I\u2019m really into your lyrics. On your album “clouds”, actually on a lot of your songs you seem to be talking about love and depression a lot. Would you say that you live a depressing life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> When I write an album I always have to put myself in, um…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> A depressive state?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> For example, on the song “Sleeping Beauty”; “This pain which is always haunting me, what I need I\u2019ll never feel”, are you talking about love?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah, that\u2019s the thing I\u2019ve been expressing in so many songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Tiamat\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tiamat\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> I kind of figured that. Well, the reason I bring that up is because I relate to your lyrics a lot. I myself write about depression and love as well. You know, mainly the stuff when you are in love and the person you are in love with doesn\u2019t share the same feelings for you. Do you have a wife or a girlfriend that inspires you to write your lyrics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I have a girlfriend. I write some songs for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Is that what a lot of the songs on “Clouds” are about or is that even the same girlfriend?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> No, it\u2019s a new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> A new girlfriend, but it\u2019s all the same cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah, it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re a moody person with a lot of mood swings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah, I actually I do. I think the problem is that everything is cool and then it all goes bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So what is your opinion on suicide?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I think if people want to do it, that\u2019s fine. I think people are free to decide what they want to do with their lives. I don\u2019t think anyone has to live just to please other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Going back to “Clouds”, what exactly is the song “The Scapegoat” about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> We were booked for a show in Sweden and the community stopped it because they were told we were using dead animals and stuff on stage (laughter). We were also supposed to have pig heads on poles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> You did have all that stuff!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> No, we did not, but that\u2019s what was heard and they stopped the show. That\u2019s what got me to write the song. About people who spread rumors and them thinking they know you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> And they don\u2019t have a clue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Yeah, where I lived, it was basically the same bullshit, people talking shit, saying that I was this big Mexican drug lord and a Satanist and what not. All these Christians talking shit without even knowing me, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> That\u2019s what Christian people usually do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Yeah, well, besides molest little boys (both laughing). On the song “Leary Biscuits”, you had female vocals; will you do that more in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t really like other people singing my words, even though there are so many better vocalists, I think since I wrote the words, I want to sing them myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> I can see the point in that. So, is Johnny still in the band?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> No, he is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So are the people in the present line-up session musicians or what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I would say we\u2019re pretty much a band now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Really? You\u2019re all on the same thinking levels?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> The cover is very interesting, what exactly does it symbolize? That is you on the cover, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yes, a friend told me it looks like I\u2019m on a mushroom trip looking at myself in the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> I like that. Hey, while I\u2019m thinking of this, on this cover you\u2019re holding a flower and on the “Clouds” band photo you\u2019re doing the same thing. Is there a dark-mysterious-philosophical-only-you-know-about-flowers-secret, or are you just a fag?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> (Laughter) I really don\u2019t know, all the photographers always liked me to hold flowers (laughter\u2019s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> You know why, don\u2019t you, they are all “coming” on to you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> (Laughter)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> (In a gay voice) “He would look so pretty with a flower.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> No, I really don\u2019t know why, it\u2019s always the same. It wasn\u2019t my idea on “Clouds” or on this one to hold the flower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Well, enough on flowers. The name Tiamat is supposed to be a name for an ancient one. On your old logo you had inverted crosses on it and such. With your drastic change musically and with a different “image”, wouldn\u2019t it have been better for you to change your name?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> No, not at all. For me it\u2019s the name for the things that represents my thoughts. For me it\u2019s the name for the things that I want to express with the band. That was the case all along when I started the band. If people think this is not Tiamat anymore, they are completely wrong, because as long as I do what I want to do, it will be Tiamat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So what does Tiamat mean to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> My life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So have your views\/philosophies in life changed any since the birth of Tiamat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Not much. If I go back and see what I wrote a few years ago, I feel that it is similar, I\u2019m just better at doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> When you play live, I imagine you don\u2019t play any of the older material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> We do sometimes. We always play at least one song from “Clouds”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Anything prior?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> It happens, but it rarely happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> On the song “Kite”, the intro. to “Phantasma”, you have birds chirping and stuff. Is that something you like or something you will experiment more with in the future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> I like it myself. I have the idea to record these samples myself for the next record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Nature samples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Yeah, but record them myself and not take them from sound effect records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So what have you been listening to lately? Do you still listen to metal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Mostly electronic bands, The Chemical Brothers, stuff like that. I listen to some of the older stuff in metal, the classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> So what are your live shows like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> We have a lot of projections creating psychedelic patterns. We have glowing body paint and with special lights we glow in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Outcast:<\/strong> Ah, I see. Well Johan, it has been a pleasure talking with you. Good luck with Tiamat in the future and I hope all your dreams are accomplished, take care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johan:<\/strong> Thank you, you to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with Johan Edlund of Tiamat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1504,"template":"","class_list":["post-616","interviews","type-interviews","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Johan of Tiamat - The Outcast Metal Zine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An interview with Johan Edlund of Tiamat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adkoi.com\/theoutcast\/interviews\/johan-tiamat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Johan of Tiamat - The Outcast Metal Zine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An interview with Johan Edlund of Tiamat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adkoi.com\/theoutcast\/interviews\/johan-tiamat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Outcast Metal Zine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T02:11:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adkoi.com\/theoutcast\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Tiamat-1.gif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adkoi.com\\\/theoutcast\\\/interviews\\\/johan-tiamat\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adkoi.com\\\/theoutcast\\\/interviews\\\/johan-tiamat\\\/\",\"name\":\"Interview with Johan of Tiamat - 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