NORRSKÖLD interview on Sword Chant

I inerviewed Henrik Bodin-Sköld, the founder, songwriter and guitarist of NORRSKÖLD
regarding the past, present, and future of the band. 

01. Hi! Back in 2012, you founded NORRSKÖLD after leaving IRRBLOSS. Was everything alright with Irrbloss or have you got different visions for Irrbloss band in that time ?

Greetings! Well, Irrbloss was a very good start for me, in the metal scene of Göteborg, where I got to meet a lot of people in the network and also got to learn more about myself with time as a band member. For a number of reasons, we had a hard time recording new material in the band, and I realized that I could not get all my creativity out at that time. Therefore I decided to quit and kickstart my own studio project, that eventually came to be the band Norrsköld. 

02. How long were you part of IRRBLOSS ?

I joined the band as a guitarist during the fall of 2010 and left during the fall of 2012. 

Two years, in my first “real” metal band. 

03. Now NORRSKÖLD’s founded. What is the meaning of the bandname ? 

“Norrsköld” is a wordplay based on my origin (Norrland region in Sweden) and my family name (Sköld, which means “shield” in Swedish).

04. How did the listeners like the first EP of the band “Blessings of winter”, and debut album “Reflections of the night sky” released last year ? 

I think that the underground metal scene in Scandinavia was a bit surprised, since Norrsköld suddenly showed up from nowhere. We had a somewhat unique folk/black metal sound, while going back to the roots of the Gothenburg sound at the same time. The album got surprisingly good reviews in magazines and webzines from all around the world, ranging from Hungary to USA. 

When we released “Reflections of  the night sky” the expectations were already pretty high aming the fans and media. The reviews however, tended to stay on about the same positive level as before. Although some people thought there were too many acoustic pieces on the album. We also got reviewed in one of Swedens biggest rock magazines (Sweden Rock Magazine) which sure was a blast! 

05. Last month was released in digital your second EP entitled “Ridden”. Have you got positive replies from the people ? 

The response has been very positive, so far! Most people consider Norrsköld to have evolved into a new level, concerning recording quality and songwriting skills. It´s good to hear! Our eminent label is a great reason for the constantly improving sound quality. Most reviewers still prefer having physical discs for reviews, and since we have not been able to produce CD´s yet, the reviews will have to wait a bit longer. 

06. Is the physical format available now ? Where to get it ? 

The CD´s are still in the production phase, and will hopefully be available during late May. Then, it will be possible to get a hold of a copy by contacting the label (www.rexiusrecords.com) or the band (norrskold.contact@gmail.com). 

07. What means “Ridden”? And lyrical themes behind ? 

“Ridden” is based on the old Swedish folklore stories of the evil female demon (Mara) that causes people to having nightmares by riding on their cheast while they´re sleeping, causing them to sweat and choke.  So in Swedish, having a nightmare is called “Mardröm” ie. “Dream of Mara”. The title track is about a person that´s experiencing a quite unpleasant nightmare in hell, and can´t wake up. 

08. How did the recordings and the making of that EP happened ?

The recording sessions were actually filmed, and a video documentary in two parts is available on Youtube (check out Norrskölds Youtube channel). The recordings overall went great, and we´re starting to get a really good network for all of the recording phases through our label, which eases things up a bit. We started recording drums in January, and finished the last vocal tracks in March (2015). 

09. Can you describe us the artwork ? 

As with the artwork for our debut EP “Blessings of winter”, we once again got help from Niklas Sundin (Dark Tranquillity) for the making of the atmospheric artwork for the new EP. Niklas has previously worked with many great metal bands (In Flames, Soilwork etc.) and has a fantastic feeling for finding atmospheric components and styles to match the music. For “Ridden” EP, we wanted the artwork to symbolize the feeling of being in a nightmare, which explains the blood/rust colored backgrounds and the nightmare creatures that inhabits the landscape. Some additional Scandinavian landscape elements were added to  match the folk aspect of our music. The band was somewhat hooked on the mystic creature in the foreground. He really grew on us, so we finally named him “Melker”. 

10. I know that you are already working on a new record planned for this year again; can you reveal us some things about ? :-) 

Well, the upcoming release will surely be something very special! Basically it should be considered as a “bonus” recording, since we´re actually (temporarily) changing the style of the band just to see what the results are. Let´s say we’re taking down the tempo a bit on this new piece. We´re very much excited of the outcome! The new record will hopefully hit the digital sphere somewhere in June/July 2015.  

11. What are your other next plans ? 

First of all we need to focus on promoting the recently released “Ridden” EP, and of course, the new EP coming up this summer. We have some live gigs planned for the later part of summer, both “ordinary” shows and also some acoustic style performances. The main focus for the rest of the year is to work for more live shows and hopefully a tour and/or festival gigs during the winter. The song writings are constantly active, so perhaps we will start to rehearse some new material already during the fall ;) 

Thank you for the interview 

Thank you very much yourself! Keep up the good work!