Interview with guitarist and keyboardist Andreas Edlund
Sweden's Skyfire have released three albums (Timeless Departure, Mind Revolution, and Spectral) which capture the band getting progressively better. With two talented keyboardists in the band, Skyfire play a mixture of black and death metal which is very melodic and progressive as well. Here are some questions Andreas Edlund answered.
What new ideas did you try out with Spectral?
We didnīt really try them out, because we felt pretty sure what we wanted while writing the music. We wanted an album that sounded new and fresh, and I think we came pretty close. Both Martin and I like experimenting with both sounds and riffs. Often in the metal genre people want riffs and melodies that are what they call metal, but we do what we like and donīt care that much what kind of riff we come up with. Of course we donīt put a lot of crappy riffs into our songs- only a few.
What differences have you observed now that you are on Arise Records, compared to your time on Hammerheart?
There's a lot of them actually. The main difference is that we feel like weīre working closer to Arise than we did with Hammerheart.
Skyfire is one of those bands which may be too extreme for the progressive metal crowds, yet too melodic for the extreme crowds- do you think your sound is too eclectic for its own good? Do you find the conflicting styles of melody and extreme metal can actually work in regards to Skyfire?
We donīt see melodies and extreme metal as opposites. Mixing these styles together generates some fans from both genres. We even put some soft "mainstream harmonies" into our songs just because we like them.
Members of Skyfire seem to be extremely skilled- you all play more than one instrument, does this make it easier to write and communicate with one another?
I donīt know how skilled we are, but of course it helps out to play more than one instrument when writing music. Often when iīm out of guitar-riffs i just to hit the keys. And yes, itīs very easy to communicate with the other guys in the band. Sometimes we think exactly the same, and if we donīt, we always ends up in a better song than it was from the beginning.
You mention South Korea as your favorite country- what do you like the most?
The people. Everyone is so polite that it almost feels strange. And the climate is a hell of a lot better than in Sweden. But you got a pretty good climate at some places in the U.S. as well, so if you get us a tour maybe Iīll pick another country as favourite.
Tell me about your other band, Chaos Feeds Life.
Well, this is just some crazy, fast and heavy songs that donīt really fit Skyfire. We record it in Powernest studio, and we have a lot of fun while doing it. Itīs our own studio, so we only play when we really want to. We have no label who wants to release it yet, but weīll find one Iīm sure. I donīt know how to describe the music, but itīs a lot more thrashier than Skyfire.
I see you're already working on new material for the fourth album; how is that going? Do you want to take Skyfire's music in any new directions or will there be any surprises?
The new songs will be even better in my opinion than anything else weīve done, and of course there will be surprises. Hopefully a lot of them. I personally hate when I buy an album and it sounds almost like the bands previous one.
What do you hope to accomplish on this fall tour?
More fans, beer, and more groupies, and hopefully weīll sell more albums and t-shirts than we did on our last tour. But Iīm pleased if we have just as fun as we had last time.
How are you able to keep such a high level of creativity? It seems like you write an album a year and also have side bands.
We only play when we want to and we never feel forced to do good songs. If you have fun while youīre doing a job, you always do a good job. Weīre just lucky that there are some people who like what weīre doing. Our side bands donīt take much time, itīs only Joakimīs Mist Of Avalon that is really active, so we always have time for Skyfire.
What is the most important thing you personally add to Skyfire?
My creativity.
How do you determine if a tour or album is succesful? Is it difficult to make money from the band's music?
A tour or album is succesful if we had a good time, and yes, itīs very difficult to make some money in music buisness. People donīt buy records anymore, just using sharing programs and downloading from internet. I do it myself but I buy an album once in a while to support the bands I like.
Final comments?
I donīt know if you missed anything Brett. It was a pretty fun interview to do. Just buy our albums and enjoy. Hoping to see you on tour someday.
Discography:
2004... Spectral (Arise)
2003... Mind Revolution (Hammerheart)
2001... Timeless Departure (Hammerheart)
Current line-up:
Henrik Wenngren... vocals
Andreas Edlund... guitars and keyboards
Martin Hanner... guitars and keyboards
Jonas Sjogren... bass
Joakim Jonsson... drums
| TTM reviews of albums by Skyfire: | |
 | 2004 - 'Spectral' |
