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!
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?
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!
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!
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?
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
/From North
Band Contact
http://www.fromnorth.se/
https://twitter.com/Fromnorthswe
Label Contact
http://www.downfallrecords.com/