Sunday, September 17, 2017

Interview with From North done by Patrick posted on 9-17-17



Interview  with  From North  done  by  Patrick
1.Hello  please  introduce yourselves  to  the  readers?
Hey there! We’re From North, a five piece metal band from the Swedish west coast, influenced, both musically and literally, by the Vikings and their way of life.
The music is strong, big and melodic with vocals shifting between aggressive growl to clean. Complete with medieval instruments and powerful choirs!

2.At  what  age  did you  become  interested  in  playing and  writing  music?
I think it’s pretty common for all of us that we’ve played and contributed to the music we love for most of our lives. Either you write the music, words and melodies, or if you contribute with your style of playing and your soul, you are equally a part of it all.
3.When  did you  first  meet  the  other  members  of  the  band? And  how  did you  all pick  From North  as the name of the  band does it  have  a special  meaning?
Håkan (singer) and Mattias (guitar) are both living in the same city and have played together for several years. The other members, Janne (guitar), Mikael (Bass) and Robin (drums) are scattered around the nearby areas. Word spreads about good musicians, and sometime around winter 2016 we were a complete band.
We are from the northern parts of the world, therefore the name!
4. What is the current line-up  of the  band? For  the  readers  who  have never  heard  From North  who  would you  say  are the  bands biggest  influences?
Håkan Johansson (Vocals), Mattias Svensson (Guitars), Janne Lüthje (Guitars, Lead), Mikael Nilsson (Bass) and Robin Hermansson (Drums). We are influenced by band such as Sabbath, Rammstein, Slayer, Thin Lizzy, Dream Theater…
5.From North's self-titled debut will  be released  through  Downfall Rec. how  did you come  in  contact  with this  label?
We sent them a copy of our demo, and they contacted us. It turned out to be a great match there between the band and DF!
6.How  long  did  it  take  to  write  the  music  for  the  debut  release?
Håkan has been working on writing the music for over a year. Finding the right musicians for the band and recording everything took even longer. But now that From North are complete as a band, the next one is already in the making.
7.Who  usually  takes  care of  writing the  lyrics  and  what  are  some  subjects  the  band  writes  about?
On this record all the lyrics are written by a guy named Andreas Lindvall who have a big interest in the Scandinavian history and mythology. His narrative style just fitted the music well. The lyrics are a mix of historical events, tales about the old Gods, and stories from the life of people living these days.
8.Besides  the  self-titled  debut  release does  the  band  have  any  other  merchandise  available for the readers to  buy? If  yes  what  is  available and where can the readers  buy  it?
There certainly is! Aside the CD (and soon hopefully vinyl) we have T-shirts, pins, stickers and a lot of good looking stuff! If you gonna have just one cool band-logo on your jacket, you’re definitely wanna have From North’s!

9.Has   From North  played  live  yet  or do you  prefer  working  in the  studio? Who  are  some  bands you  have  shared  the  stage  with?
We have our first show in October here in Gothenburg, then we start looking for gigs and festivals, so hopefully we will have the pleasure to meet many fans in 2018!
10.Are  their  any  upcoming shows  or tours  the  readers  should  watch  out  for?
Keep your eyes and ears open, and most of all, check our website and FB for further info!

11. From North  comes  out  of  Sweden's  Viking  death metal scene what  is your  opinion  of  the  Swedish  death metal scene  over the years? I would rather say that we come from a mixture of the myriad of Swedish sub-scenes: from DM, Viking-BM, Power Metal and Doom-scenes amongst others. Sweden is producing so much kick ass metal and hard rock and it´s great to be a part of it! When it comes to Death metal; maybe only USDM can stand alongside the rows of legends from the Swedish scene… Recent years retro trend with bands like Vampire, Tribulation, Entrails and Morbus Chron, brings up the rotten old School again which is nice. But you can never go wrong with the old albums.
12.Who  are your  all-time  favorite  Swedish bands? And  are  their  any  new  bands  you feel  the  readers  should  watch  out  for? I
personally have to give the horns to up and coming Gothenburg Speed Metal-heads Armory, with members from Irrbloss: and Black Metal band Nekrokraft.

13.When  not  working  on  new music or  band  business  what do you  enjoy  doing  in your  free  time?
We are simple men: Give us some 70s muscle cars, motorcycles, the northern nature with fjords, forests and fishing rivers, some music equipment to play on, good beer and mead to drink, some “pulled moose” with summer potatoes, our beautiful women and good friends to  shout “Skål” with, and we will call it a good day!
14,Thank  you  for  taking  the time  to  fill  this  interview  out  do you have  any  final  words  for the  readers?
Keep calm and listen to metal! (With a big amount of From North!)
See you!
/From North

Band Contact
http://www.fromnorth.se/
https://twitter.com/Fromnorthswe
Label Contact
http://www.downfallrecords.com/