By Amelia Waters

We recently caught up with guitarist Jonatan Ramm of Swedish powerhouse Graveyard.

The band, which wears its vintage influences proudly on its sleeve, have cultivated a unique ’70s metal feel that has caught of the ears of the metal community.

The band — singer Joakim Nilsson, guitarist Jonatan Ramm, bassist Rikard Edlund and drummer Axel Sjöberg — won a Swedish Grammy (rock/metal album of the year) for their 2011 album, Hisingin Blues. Their latest album, Lights Out, was released November 6 via Nuclear Blast.

Here are five questions with Ramm, who discussed the new album, gear, influences and more.

For more about Graveyard, check them out on Facebook and at their official website.

01. You’ve already won a Swedish Grammy, and now Lights Out is getting strong reviews. How did things come together so well for Lights Out? What was the plan when creating the album?

We didn’t really have a plan or anything when we wrote Lights Out. We kind of wanted to broaden the material to include harder and softer songs; our hardest song and our mellowest song ever are on Lights Out. Otherwise, we didn’t have a plan for which direction to go or anything like that.

02. You have a pronounced ’70s metal feel, which is unique in 2013. I’m assuming a lot of your influences are from that era?

Yes, we have all listened to a lot of music from the ’60s and ’70s, but we listen to a lot of music, like stuff made today also, so we try not to close doors on any kind of music at all. We just kind of try to listen to as much music as possible. But I think the ’60s and ’70s had a big impact on how we play and how we write the songs. I guess that’s the favorite era.

When I grew up, my dad played a lot of Chuck Berry music. And then when I got into the harder heavy metal, I was curious about where it all came from. And it lead back to the English and American bands that had a lot of those influences. So somewhere in the back of my head, that era has always kind of had a big impact.

03. You’ve also played with a lot of bands that came up during the ’70s, including Iron Maiden and Motörhead. What was it like playing with acts like that?

It was a great feeling and a big honor to support bands we’ve been listening to since we were younger. It was a little scary, to be honest, to play with Iron Maiden because it was in a big arena, and it was the first time we’d ever played for that many people. But it was a lot of fun. I don’t think we’ll ever forget it. It was a nice experience.

04. Is there a particular guitar you’re particularly fond of, one that has helped form the sound of the band?

I got one guitar at the end of recording for Lights Out; it’s a Gibson SG made in 1968. I talked to the previous owner; he said it was put together by parts from 1968 and then they sold it to him a couple of years later in the early ’70s. I like it a lot. It fits my hand. I hardly ever switch guitars now that I have that one.

I have a backup Gibson SG from 2010, so it’s a newer guitar. I think the older one sounds better because they made them with a little more feeling and better craftsmanship and maybe from better wood. So I think you can tell an old guitar that was made a while back. I think you can feel it in the craftsmanship.

05. You guys also have gotten into the beer industry recently with your Hisingen Brew. What led to that?

To be honest, I don’t know if it was the brewery’s idea or the label’s idea. It wasn’t very obvious to make a beer with our name on it or anything, but at the same time it’s something to do and it’s always hard to somehow set the limit for whatever the band name becomes. But we thought that beer is OK to make, but we were a little involved in the process. We didn’t brew it ourselves or anything, but we at least got to try the beer out and let them know what we thought was the better-tasting ones and so on.

Graveyard begins their North American tour in Boston on January 23. For more about the band, visit graveyardmusic.com.

By Amelia Waters

In the summer of 2011, as Incubus prepared to release their seventh studio album, If Not Now, When?, the band built their own performance space in a West Los Angeles warehouse and launched into something new: a participatory media exhibit and real-time performance and documentary project that allowed their fans to experience and interact with the band as they never could before.

For several nights, singer Brandon Boyd, guitarist Mike Einziger, keyboardist Christopher Kilmore, bassist Ben Kenney and drummer Jose Pasilaso participated in instructional clinics, Q&A sessions, video chats and fan-art exchanges. Each night, Incubus performed sets created by their fans, culminating with a full performance of If Not Now, When? on the final night.

Several elements of the experience were streamed online as fans joined in via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and beyond. The experience was captured on HQ Live, the band’s new CD/DVD, which was released in August (in various formats).

We recently caught up with Einziger, who discussed HQ Live, the changing music industry, science, gear and more.

REVOLVER: What’s the story behind HQ Live? How and why did it come to be?

We were releasing a record last year called If Not Now, When?. When it came out, we were in kind of a compromised position with our record company. There was no leadership at the label, and executives were being filed in and filed out. We basically were kind of on our own at the time. So we came up with the idea of taking over a commercial space in Los Angeles and kind of creating a pop-up store. Instead of it being a pop-up store where we sell things, it would almost be like a pop-up concert venue where we would play a bunch of shows.

So we found a space; a lot of times it’s used as an art gallery. It was a big enough space where we could set up all of our equipment in the middle of the room, and then we arranged it so that the audience would be completely surrounding us and we would kind of be playing to each other in a circle. We did a week of different shows every day and then a series of interactive experiences with our audience where we would do drawings and things like that online.

There were thousands and thousands of people that came to just be a part of what we were doing, and there were millions of people that tuned in online to be part of the performances and broadcasts. We did a combination of live concerts, clinics and a lot of interviews. We just thought it would be the most direct way we could reach out to our audience without there being any intervention from any third party. Just us and our audience, and giving them the music they want. We’re answering their questions, they’re talking directly to us in the most direct way possible.

So the box set and the collection of music we just released is really just the recordings of those sessions and those shows in that commercial space. It was just a really interesting way of releasing an album. All those shows and everything was surrounding the release of that record, and we didn’t really know when we started doing it that we would be releasing that as something for our audience. It came out really great. We didn’t fix anything, we didn’t change anything, we didn’t edit it, it’s “as is.” We’re happy we were able to offer something like to the people who care about the music we make.

Have you seen that a lot in the music industry, where executives are coming in and out and bands of all different levels are going out on their own and doing things like this?

Yes. I mean the way the record industry has changed over the last decade has been really, really drastic. It’s totally different now than when we were younger. And people don’t buy albums the they used to. As a band, we make our living playing concerts. The record company, they make money selling albums. And so they’re all struggling. Hugely struggling. It’s kind of a sad situation for them, but at the same time it’s just the way the world has gone. I’m just thankful we have a really large audience all over the world, and I’m really thankful that when we play concerts, tens of thousands of people see them. I wake up every day thankful for that.

Outside of Incubus, you also compose a lot of your own music. Did you learn anything new on that score when you returned to school at Harvard University?

I never studied music before I went to school. I really went back to school to study the history of science. I figured I had the opportunity to study music when in school so I might as well take music classes as well. I never understood the theoretical side of music at all, or at least I didn’t realize that I did.

Studying music intellectually was really eye-opening. I realized I knew a lot more about it then I thought I did. Having spent decades making music and writing music, I just didn’t know what the terms were for certain things and the definitions of other things. But when you start digging into music and looking at how other people write music, and looking at all of the great music that’s been written over the course of history, I started to realize that maybe I knew a lot of things. I just didn’t know what they were called.

Studying music is particularly fascinating; studying music history is even more fascinating. It’s kind of looking at how music has evolved.

Do you think what you learned at Harvard will forever change how you write and play with Incubus?

It’s really something I just wanted to do for myself. It doesn’t matter if it’s with the band. I went to school because I wanted to learn. Regardless of whether or not I ever wrote another note of music, I just wanted to have the experience of dedicating myself to subjects that really were fascinating to me. Most of all, the history of science. That’s something that has always been really important to me. I’ve never really been able to really dedicate my time and energy to it. That experience was really fulfilling.

Can you tell me a little bit about your gear? What did you play on HQ Live?

I think I was playing a Thinline Telecaster during the sessions. And I’m pretty sure that in the HQ session I’m using the Mesa Dual Rectifier combo amps. I’ve used those amps for a long time on and off. The Mesa amps are really diverse and give a wide array of sounds.

Do you guys have any plans for 2013?

No. We actually just finished 18 months of touring and we’re taking a break now. We’re not making plans for 2013. The album process and the writing process — it has to happen organically, and we have to be in the head space to do it. It’s actually a luxury we feel we’ve earned spending after so many years on the road and making records. We’ll take our time and when it feels right, we’ll do it.

For more about the band and HQ Live, visit incubushqlive.com and follow them on Facebook.

By Amelia Waters

It was an action-packed summer for Massachusetts-based rockers Staind.

They released their first official live album, Live From Mohegan Sun (Buy on iTunes), which also is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, on July 10. That concert was recorded and filmed in high def on November 25, 2011, at the Mohegan Sun and Casino in Connecticut, not far from the band’s home base.

The band also enjoyed a long, bruising summer on the road with the likes of Shinedown, Godsmack and In This Moment.

Suffice it to say, Staind — singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April and drummer Sal Giancarelli (who replaced original drummer Jon Wysocki) — are in the midst of a well-deserved break.

Which is why we were happy to track down Mushok to chat about his ever-evolving setup, the band’s upcoming projects and the new live album.

REVOLVER: You guys toured all summer. How has the replacement drummer, Sal Giancarelli, been working out?

Sal’s been very good. He’s someone who’s been with us since 1999. He was actually our drummer’s drum tech, and he has actually sat in a couple of times when Jon was unable to play. So it was a pretty seamless transition, since we didn’t have to learn a new personality. He’s been with us a long time, and he’s a great drummer.

How have fans reacted to your new material and the new live album?

I think the new studio record , which we put out about a year ago, a lot of those songs really lead themselves to being played well live, and we try to get as many as we can in along with the songs that people want to hear. There’s definitely a good portion of new material on there, and it’s really fun to play. Reaction has been really good to it.

What made you decide the time was right for a live album?

We actually had an opportunity to do a DVD, and that’s what lead to the live album. And since we were recording – it was two for the price of one – really, so that’s really what lead to it.

When playing live, is there a particular guitar you like to stick with?

Yes, there is. When we recorded Staind, I kind of went back to soloing again. But now I play a baritone guitar, and I tune it down to F sharp. It’s real low on a baritone than a high E string, so that led me to having Paul Reed Smith make me a couple of 7-string guitars. I never wanted to play a 7-string, but now I am. So, pretty much, that’s what I’ve been playing — my baritone 7-string. It’s really not that difficult to make that change. The longer scale on the baritone — some of the stretches are a little bit trickier because they’re a little wider. But other than that, it’s kind of the same.

Should fans expect a slightly different guitar sounds or elements in the future?

No, hopefully it will be a continuation of where the last one left off — but hopefully growing and always trying to better yourself and trying to grow as an artist.

Sticking with guitars, is there one model you love the most or have been playing the longest?

I’ve had a couple of different signature models. I was with Ibanez for a bunch of years. Probably about five years ago or so I switched to Paul Reed Smith. That’s pretty much what I play — the baritone guitars, my model that we put out. I pretty much exclusively play that, except now they’ve been making me some 7-strings. I actually just heard from them that they’re releasing a 7-string, but it’s not a baritone; it’s just a standard scale, so I’m going to check that one out too.

What do you expect from that model?

I don’t know, really. WWhen I started doing the lower tunings, kind of when Staind started writing back in the mid-’90s, I had to take a standard guitar and put a heavier gauge string on it and tune it down. And I would always have kind of a problem because you would hit it harder and it would go out of tune. When we were doing our first demo, somebody showed me a baritone guitar, which I had never even heard of. So I’m kind of curious to see how that 7-string plays a tune.

What’s in store for the rest of 2012 and next year?

Aaron has a country record coming out. I have a few things going on but nothing in a spot that I really want to talk about. But right now I’m just trying to keep writing songs and working on a few other things. But yeah, there are definitely a couple of things I’d love to talk about, but in this business you just never how things are going to turn out. When something comes out, hopefully I can talk about it.

Again, Aaron is going to promote his country record. When he gets done with that, we’ll get back together and record another Staind record.

Keep up with Staind at their Facebook page and official website.