Swedish Soilwork will return to Mexico in a few weeks to present his latest album, ‘The Ride Majestic’, which launched in August last year. The singer Björn Strid He was able to talk with us for a while, to tell us about this new material and what he expects upon his return to our country.
¿Qué significa el nombre ‘Soilwork’ para ustedes?
Trabajar desde el suelo. “Un trabajo sucio para entrar a un negocio sucio”.
Sweden is a great country with a huge metal scene. What are your favorite swedish bands?
Realmente me encanta una banda llamada Tribulation, sobre todo su último disco, ‘Children of the Night’, sin duda es un gran material y una nueva bocanada de aire para el black y el death metal.
They have shared the stage with a good number of scene legends. Do you have an anecdote that has marked you as a band?
El hecho de abrirle a Metallica fue muy especial. James Hetfield estuvo viendonos desde el escenario y estrechó mi mano después del show y me dijo “Usted tiene una voz muy poderosa, señor”. Eso fue un momento asombroso y muy inspirador.
Estarán de vuelta en México promocionando su nuevo disco, ‘The Ride Majestic’. ¿Cómo fue la etapa de producción para este trabajo?
We made recordings of the album with David Castillo in Stockholm and the mix with Jens Bogren, who were working together.
¿Y la portada? Es muy buena…
Robert Borbas made it. He is from Budapest, he is very talented and has worked with many bands.
¿Cual es la historia detrás de su más reciente video, ‘Enemies in Fidelity’?
We filmed everything in New York, while I was promoting the album. We were looking for a feeling of melancholy and a destructive love story that fit the theme of the song and I think we were successful. It was a magical experience to run at night in such a huge city!
I attended his show a year ago and I can say that it is amazing. What will be new this occasion?
They will be able to listen to many new songs and a lot of energy for all the people who attend. I personally think that the show we did the last time we came to Mexico was one of the best we have done in our entire career. All the people that went that night were awesome, it was a really crazy audience.
How was the collaboration you did with Nathan James Biggs [Sonic Syndicate] for your new album?
He is a great friend of mine and an excellent singer. I asked him to make a special appearance since his band offered me to be invited on his last album. I wanted to return the favor. He did a tremendous job on the Soilwork song, which ultimately became one of the best tracks on the album.
‘The Phantom’ es una canción especial. Tiene un toque más artistico dentro de si, con las notas de piano y las vocales de Pascal Poulsen…
Yes, it has a hunting-like feel to it and is heavily influenced by Swedish death metal from the 1990s. It was great for us. I also invited Pascal - who is also a great friend of mine - with whom I once shared a band, before starting Soilwork. It was a great connection to the past.
Almost a year has passed since Olan's departure. How did Markus engage with the band?
Markus is a wonderful guy and a great bass player too. He is very active on stage, he is present every night and always very happy to rock. He used to be the band's guitar technician, so we always knew he was a very good person before we knew he was a good bass player. Then we saw him play and well here we are.
What do you say to your Mexican fans?
Please come to our shows and show us how crazy you can get! I mean, last time was amazing so this time it must be majestic. [laughs]
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