Trashcan Dance / Polezhaevskaya Station

Collaboration & Concept Questions:

1 “Polezhaevskaya Station” blends shock rock and synthwave – two seemingly disparate genres. How did this unexpected collaboration between Trashcan Dance and Stealth Division come about?

– Lasse: The seeds to this tune were formed when the band was in a bit of a delicate situation. Our original guitarist and main song writer Jürgen had quit the band and the pandemic was still a big obstacle for us, and the whole scene. Due to the pandemic it was even more difficult for us to find a new member so we decided to rearrange the band and swap instruments. At the time Faust played keyboards in the band but his main instrument is bass so he switched to the bass. Our bass player back then in cirka 2022 Hamilkar is actually a guitar player so he stepped up to playing the lead guitar. This left us with a powerful rock lineup, but we now lacked a keyboard player… Since there wasn’t much happening on the live scene due to the pandemic we asked a few fellow musicians but we knew no one who could play keys in a band like Trashcan Dance. But Mike Grönroos (we are not related although we have the same surname!) whom I´d done some vocal collaborations with before at work has a recording studio and I sent him one of Fausts unused demo tracks. On the demo Faust sings and it´s composed and recorded on an iPad. Mike got excited and since he was active with his own synthwave-project Stealth Division at the time he started working on this industrial-style backing track. I popped into his studio to sing the vocals that I had written a few more lines to. Me and Mike added some accordion, various synth effects and samples and Dimitri Paile provided us with the spoken word intro that is a phrase from the book. Trashcan Dance has a gothic side so the collaboration was a marriage made in heaven (or hell).

2 The track is inspired by Metro 2033’s post-apocalyptic world. What specifically about this universe inspired the musical direction? Did you take inspiration from the book, game, or both?
– Lasse: Faust is an insanely big reader and litterature lover, in almost all genres. He had read the book Metro 2033 by the russian author Dmitrij Gluchovskij. The book was first released on the web in 2002 and as a published book in 2005. In 2010 the novel was made into the computer game by a Ukrainian game company. We both enjoy First Person Action games but at least I have never played this particular game. I was intrigued by Fausts lyrics though so I actually bought the books and read them before adding some lyrics to the song. As a huge fan of all things in the vein of Escape from New York, Mad Max, The Last of Us and Walking Dead I can recommend the books. And our song of course!

At over 6 minutes, this is an ambitious crossover track. How did you approach structuring such a complex fusion of industrial metal and dark synthwave?

Mike: I, Mikael (Stealth Division), know Lasse from previous projects. He reached out to me about a possible collaboration. After listening to the track and having played the Metro 2033 video game series, I was immediately inspired and thought it was a fantastic idea! I’m a metal guy who also enjoys synthwave, and I’m really into post-apocalyptic stories. For me, the sound and feeling of the track were like a mirror of my soul. 😊

– Lasse: This was all done by Mike. The original demo has the same vibe and the same verses and choruses, but Mike being a synth wave-guru he added all these breaks and drops and stops and parts where the track builds and explodes. My vocals are brooding and sinister, in a little different manner than usually in Trashcan Dance. After finishing this track our record company Sleaszy Rider records released it on streaming services and we started playing and rehearsing as a band again. We found a keyboard player for the Killing Moon album and the other tracks sound more like what people are used to with Trashcan Dance. But even though the rest of the album is melodic goth/sleaze/garage rock I thought it would be a pity not to have Polezhevskaya Station released on a physical album as well. We actually made a shorter more radio friendly edit of the song, with one less verse If I remember correctly. This was mainly sent to radio stations. The 6’25” version keeps up the intensity to the very end and we got a lot of good feedback on the song. My favorite part is Hamilkars guitar solo towards the end.

Musical Creation Questions:
4. The track reportedly channels Rammstein’s early energy while incorporating EDM elements. Can you break down how you achieved this hybrid sound in the production process?
– Mike: It’s a very heavy, riff-driven track. To achieve the industrial vibe, I used side-chained saw synths to emulate the guitars. I also added real guitars, played through a Mesa Boogie Rectifier, in some parts to make it even heavier. There are also some guitar leads here and there that might give it a bit of a Rammstein feel. The synth pads add an apocalyptic atmosphere in the background. Lasse’s vocals, which are heavily saturated and have an almost megaphone-inspired sound, felt like a perfect fit for the apocalyptic subway world.

Mikael, your background ranges from metal to children’s TV music. How did these diverse experiences influence your synthwave contributions to this dark, dystopian track?

Mike: Over the years of creating countless songs for children’s programs, I think I’ve learned quite a bit about different genres—what works and what doesn’t. I actually made a few synth-driven tracks for those shows, and that’s where I discovered my love for synthwave: melodic, cool sounds from the ’80s, paired with great aesthetics. Even though this track is quite dark, it’s still melodic and fits well within the genre. Sure, it needed a heavier bass drum and overall sound than your average children’s music track, but the foundation of a good song is the same. You just have to wrap it in some dark, monster-skull candy paper instead of unicorn candy paper. Metal has been a part of my life forever, so the heavier elements come naturally to me.

The mastering was handled by Svante Forsbäck (Chartmakers), known for working with Rammstein and Apocalyptica. What specific qualities were you aiming for in the final master?

Mike: I’ve always used Svante for mastering. He does an excellent job, has a great ear, and top-notch equipment. For me, it’s all about getting that second, final opinion—and of course, adding the loudness needed for the track to stand out and compete. Svante is a good, trustworthy guy, and that’s the most important thing.


Thematic & Visual Questions:
7. The Metro 2033 setting is intensely visual. Did you create any specific imagery or narrative while composing? Might we see a music video bringing this station’s horrors to life?
– Lasse: We had an idea about the sound of the tunnels. There´s got to be th sound of wind in the metro tunnels and spooky echo. We worked a lot on the accordion at the end to get the ambience exactly right as we wanted it. The music and darkwave vibes are pretty cool though so we didn’t want to overdo it by adding too much extra stuff, with the risk of it all turning out too silly sounding.

How did you balance the “horrifically urgent” story elements with the danceable electronic aspects? Was it challenging to maintain the dark atmosphere while incorporating EDM influences?

– Mike: Nothing was particularly challenging about this track. There were no specific requirements or expectations, so it naturally turned out quite danceable, thanks to the riffs that were already there from the demo. There was never any plan to take the track in a certain direction—the result is simply what happens when you mix industrial punk with an ’80s synthwave guy who loves metal. 😄

Future & Industry Questions:
9. This collaboration bridges metal and electronic audiences. Do you see this as a one-time experiment or the beginning of more genre-blurring projects?
– Lasse: Trashcan Dance is working on a new album that will definitely be very rock, but we have a couple of demos that might need a different approach soundwise. The Polezhaevskaya song is very hardcore darkwave so I don’t think there will be anything like that on the next album. Mike is also busy now with his new Power metal band Dragonknight but never say never. We sometimes discuss some other collaborations with me singing and him making the backing track for some cover tunes. Maybe some day? I´l love to do it if we can find the time and right track for it!

Mike:

I’d absolutely love to do another collaboration at some point! I’ve got plenty of projects going on right now, so finding time for everything isn’t always easy. I’m also planning a new Stealth Division album, which will be darker than the first one. Maybe we’ll even create a bonus track together for that album. And who knows what might happen after that!

Trashcan Dance is working on a new album – will this collaborative approach influence your upcoming material? Mikael, will Stealth Division explore more metal collaborations?
– Lasse: No, at the moment we have a new lineup again and we have played a lot of gigs last autumn and this fall. Our drummer Javier just finished a South American tour with black metal legends Beherit and they will tour in the States after the summer. Mister Aggregath who plays bass in my punk/flashrock band The Dogshit Boys is nowadays playing the keyboard parts in Trashcan Dance. He does that live by playing guitar with a lot of effect pedals to make it sound right, instead of using actual keyboards on stage. So we are happy with this arrangement at the moment since it´s easy to perform live. We have yet to decide how we will work in the studio.

Mike:

I think I already touched on this in the previous question, but I can add that I’m not currently looking for any new collaborations. I’ve got the metal side pretty well covered on my own, together with Trashcan Dance.

The track arrives when retro-futurism is thriving in pop culture. Why do you think dystopian themes like Metro 2033 resonate so powerfully in current music and art?
– Lasse: I’m so old so I go back to my childhood watching scifi-movies from the fifties or sixties and especially my era as a kid, which is the eighties. That stuff was top notch back then (Star Wars, Galactica, Mad Max etc etc) and I was / am a huge fan of dystopian comics as well. So it’s not actually a question of hooking up on a retro trend for me, it´s just that I stayed in this mental state since like 1981 or something! 😀 On a more serious note I guess these days of life changing dark clouds over us all with the climate change and wars bring us more close to those dystopian visions and therefore reality reflects on the art of music makers, film makers and game makers.

Bonus Fun Questions:
12. If you had to survive in Metro 2033’s universe as either a) a synthwave producer or b) a shock rock performer, which would you choose and why?
– Lasse: I am absolutely convinced that I would serve my fellow mankind best as a shock rock performer in the world of Metro 2033. The good thing about that is that I would have free hands to use all kinds of sick pyrotechnics and stage props and masks than now!

Mike: I’d choose being a synthwave producer. It’s much easier to hide from the monsters lurking outside when you’re safe in your custom bomb shelter studio than it is performing on stage. 🙂

For gamers familiar with the Metro series: which faction (Red Line, Reich, Polis, etc.) would your musical style best represent in the metro’s underground society?
– Faust: We’re a non-political band but we dig the cannibal bunch that worships the “worm”!

Lasse: I agree. 🙂

Mikael – after creating children’s music and now this dark dystopian track, which is more terrifying to make? (laughs)

Mike: Ahaha, definitely children’s music. There’s always a deadline creeping up way too soon with those projects.