LOMM: Can you give a little biographical and historical info; who is involved in the band, and how did you guys meet up?
Olof: It all started years ago when Simon became Emil’s guitar teacher. They pretty fast found each other and started playing in a cover band together with different constellations and a lot of different gigs.
After a few years they got tired of playing covers and started rearranging and rewrite and translate the lyrics of a lot of known and popular rock/pop songs to spice things up.
By this time, they realised that they also wanted a lead singer and they found me Olof.
When I joined the band we first worked with Simons and Emil’s rewritten covers. But pretty fast we did our first own song, and as soon we started walking that path there was no going back. No more covers. It has taken us about 1-1,5 years to find our sound. We play “story metal” and it’s a mix from many different genres. We use the heavy sound from Metal Rock to tell different stories. We are really proud of our sound and will probably keep working and develop our sound as time goes on. We have been playing together for 2 years now.
LOMM: Pandemic has taken an emotional toll on everyone yet the arts have been hit especially hard. The musicians are vulnerable to financial upheaval. How have you guys have been holding up?
Olof: Until now pretty good actually. We have been recording and doing a lot of new material and working with our sound and our concept. But now it really starts to get to us. We really want to go out there and do some live gigs.
LOMM: Tell us about your genre, what does it means to you, why did you choose this genre?
Olof: Our genre is “Story Metal” and it is a self-invented genre. People had a hard time to put us in one genre so we invent our own ;-). It means we tell stories from real life through hard rock metal music. With a little mix and input from other genres as well, as folk music, 80 rock or whatever fits to tell the story in the right way.
LOMM: How did the initial musical and thematic elements evolve?
Olof: The lyrics has always been really important to us since we want to tell a story, but equally important is it to get the right feeling/mood when you listen to the song. When Simon start writing new songs/drafts he start pretty basic with good riffs and a well thought threw story/lyrics. He records everything from bass, drums, guitars, and vocals. After that I take the song and work with it to see if /or what we should change everything from key, lyric changes and melody changes. I do some recordings that we all listen to and then we work together to see what kind of harmonies, guitar melodies we would like to add. That’s been our working process, and that’s also how our sound have evolved and will continue to evolve.
LOMM: Are you happy with your product? What aspects of it do you think you guys nailed, and what parts do you think you could improve upon?
Olof: Yes we are really happy with our product, otherwise we would not make it, or release it. I think w nail really good riffs, have nice melodies and a tell you a great story that hopefully can start a discussion. Improve? I could definitely improve my guitar skills, and of cause some vocals also. You never stop learning and improving. If you believe that then its “game over”.
LOMM: How has the overall reception been?
Olof: Really good. We are not well known yet, but most of the people have been very positive.
LOMM: Have you ever been on a tour? Given live performances? Is it tough for you not to be able to do so now?
Olof: The Corona hit before we were ready to start touring, we were only able to play at a few live gigs before everything shut down. BUT when everything opens up again, GET READY to feel the PRESSURE!
LOMM: What is the next step for you? How is the future looking?
Olof: It depends on Corona, If we are able to get out doing tours live gigs then we will focus on that. Still work on more new material but focus on live shows. If we can’t get out there and do live tours I guess we will continue to focus on making and recording new material.
LOMM: Could you tell us about the lyrics / themes /concepts you focus on or plan to focus on? How did the ideas come about, and how do they influence the writing process? Who is writing the lyrics?
Olof: We write and tell stories from real life about different kind of pressures. Not always bad pressures, and many times its up to the listener to interpret the song in a good way or a dark bad way. Simon is doing all of the lyrics drafts. I sometimes rewrite much of it, and sometimes only change a word or two.
Simon is our collector. He collects stories and then makes song of them. Sometimes the story is his own life, but many times its someone close to him.
LOMM: Who is composing the songs?
Olof: As in the answer above. Simon, but after we get his draft we work with it together to make the final product.
LOMM: Which is more exciting? Being on the road or studio?
Olof: I like it equal much, but since we haven’t been on the road for the last 1,5 years that’s what I am longing for the moment.
LOMM: What first got you into music?
Olof: I thought it would be fun to be able to play the trumpet
LOMM: What do you like the best about being a musician? And what is it that you do not like much?
Olof: When you play/make music everything else around you disappears and you are only in that moment. If want to make money on it, it is pretty hard for most people.
LOMM: If you weren’t musicians, what would you be doing?
Olof: What I already do;-) I own a bakery, and I am a baker.
LOMM: Cool! If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Olof: Stop with the “wear and tear” business. Where you find young people who look good, make as much money you can on them as fast as possible for a short time. Especially if there is no real soul attachment to the music, they perform
LOMM: What’s more important to you? Catering to the audience or music for its own sake?
Olof: Music for its own sake
LOMM: When you look back your music career, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Olof: To be where I am right now. I didn’t have any thoughts to be where I am now 2 years ago. I was happy with playing music as a serious hobby, but then I met Simon and Emil…
LOMM: Who would you like to collaborate with?
Olof: I don’t have anyone particular in mind. I would like to collaborate with people that does what they do because they love what they do. I like to have people around me that challenge me to push forward. Together we create massive energy and will probably create something great (at least we will think that and be proud of it no matter what everyone else say or thinks).
LOMM: Who would you like to go on a tour with?
Olof: Sabaton I think.
LOMM: What does your collection look like? Mostly Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, Digital? A bit of everything? A total mess?
Olof: Total mess
LOMM: What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
Olof: I come originally from the south of Sweden but are now living in Stockholm. The Metal/Rock scene is ok, not as big as it where in the 80-90s but it feel like it on the rise again.
LOMM: If you had one message to your fans, what would it be?
Olof: Dare to live your dream
LOMM: Anything else you think your fans should know?
Olof: Keep your eyes out for our upcoming Album “Path Of A Shadow”. If you like to real life stories check out our Youtube channel, “From The Dome”. There we show you what we are doing behind the scenes and give you samples of what we are working with.
Here is some links to listen to us and follow us!
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/pressuresweden
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pressuresweden
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/c/Pressuresweden
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7a9rKp03MYJv4leDN7Mm8k
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