double-headliner of Sabaton and Alestorm, Glasgow also recently played host to openers Bloodbound. Adding something special to the line-up they really got the party started with their mixture of traditional and power metal. After their set, we had the time for a quick chat with founder member and keyboardist Fredrik – an absolute gent and great to talk to. I apologise to him again that our conversation had to be so rushed, and look forward to another opportunity the next time the band are in town!
Your current release, One Night of Blood, is a live album. Where did you record it?
Masters of Rock in Czech Republic.
Is that the full set from the show and did you pick anything special as you were recording it?
Yes, it’s the full set. It’s not all the time that we get to play for that long, you know? We got seventy minutes and tonight we only got forty minutes. When we recorded the DVD we tried to add the best songs.
Where did you get Patrik from? He’s an incredible singer!
He is, yeah! The funny thing is that in 2008, 2009 or something, he was organising concerts in another city to the one we live in. We got to know him then, and we found out that he was a really good singer. He was playing with a local band there and we really liked him as a person. We got him as a singer in 2010. We noticed a talent right away as he’s a mix of Bruce Dickinson and Michael Kiske or something.
We clicked as persons as well because the former singer, urban breed, wasn’t working so well as a band member. He was with us from the beginning, then he left, then came back and was with the band for a year or so… and then we went our separate ways again. It was difficult to work with him, especially if you’re on the road. You need to be friends.
Talking of that, how’s the tour been going? Sabaton have a reputation for being the nicest guys on Earth and Alestorm are mad…
Yes! [laughs] The Sabaton guys are friends of ours from way, way back. In 2005/6 we played with them for the first time. The Alestorm guys are new to us and we share the same bus. We get on very well.
Are they convincing you to drink more than you normally would?
I shouldn’t say this but… [and I’m editing this bit out as being “off the record” ;) Mosh]
How was Aberdeen? I know there were a lot of very appreciative fans as most bands only play Glasgow or Edinburgh.
They were very happy we played there, yes. We played in a music hall. Normally they’d have classical music there, or pop bands or whatever. I don’t think many metal bands play there. It was a very good a show. Lots of people really liked the Bloodbound show.
It certainly looked like you gained a lot of fans tonight.
Yes, and that’s the whole point of live shows. It’s the first time we’ve done a full tour of the UK. We gain a lot of fans every night and we sell a lot of merchandise.
You guys work hard. Like your influences, you release an album every one to two years.
Yeah, we released six albums pretty quickly – in about ten years – and we just released the live DVD. But we’re going to wait until 2017 until the next album. We’ve released so many in a short time that we decided to leave the next one until 2017.
January? February?
I have no idea about the schedule!
Have you got any tracks in mind for the new album yet?
We had a rest but we now have about half the album written. It’s going to be a great album for sure.
Where do you get your lyrical themes from? You’ve covered vampires, Lord of the Rings… many dark themes.
We don’t have a real plan. It’s important that the lyrics sound right when you sing them, so we look for powerful themes to write about. On the last album, Stormborn, we covered a lot of Game of Thrones.
What have you got planned after this tour finishes?
We have a few festivals booked already. I think the next step for the band is to do headline shows with a couple of bands. We’ve done so many tours as s that it’s now time to go out as headliners. Maybe not the UK, but the rest of Europe – and the surroundings. In the past we’ve toured with UDO, Hammerfall… we’ve toured with Sabaton before. I think the time is right for a Bloodbound headline show.
If you met a young band now who were in the same position you yourselves were in about ten years ago, what advice would you give them?
Stay true to what you do. The most important thing in the business is to get the right record label, to get the right booking agency. And you should be prepared to work your ass off!
Photos by Gavin Lowrey
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