As ever, we’re going to try and cover every single Jäger, New Blood and SOPHIE stage band before Bloodstock kicks off on August 9th. Your chance to check them out and start planning which bands to get there early for!
Trust us when we tell you that this is bound to result in some frustrating clashes because, as ever, there are some great bands on these three stages.
Our thanks to all the bands for taking the time out to answer our questions!
Skybrudd – Hobgoblin New Blood Stage, Sunday
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from a town called Drammen in Norway.
How long have you been playing together as a band?
We’ve been playing in a band together for about 8 years, but we changed our name to Skybrudd, and started acting out more professional back in 2015.
Where does the name of the band come from?
Skybrudd derives from the Norwegian name for the weather phenomenon known as “cloudburst” where extreme amounts of precipitation appear without warning over a short period, often leading to floods and destruction.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Skybrudd’s soundscape can best be described as a melting pot where doom, sludge, black and dark metal is merged into a massive, heavy and dark matter. The music come across as immense and complex, but is simultaneously comprehensible and captivating. Their music invites the listener to an adventurous journey through dark catacombs with their heavy, sluggish rhythms and hard-hitting vocals. The piercing riffs and sinister lyrics bear witness of pain and suffering, before one is finally guided towards the light – a transient where alluring harmonies mask the trauma. All while still reminding you that the worst is yet to come.
What’s your live show like? Why are people going to watch you instead of another band?
Our live show is energetic, relentless and passionate. We find it important to make every gig “real”. By giving space for improvisations and variations every gig we do is slightly out of the ordinary which makes the performance a unique experience, unlike itself and studio recordings.
Have you been to Bloodstock before? What did you think?
Unfortunately we have never been to Bloodstock before. However, we are really excited to play at UKs #1 festival!
Did you enter M2TM thinking you could win it? Which region did you win, or did you come through other channels?
Not really. I mean, we came prepared, and were excited to play, but we didn’t want to keep our hopes too high considering there was a lot of other really good bands attending. We drove all the way from Drammen to a tiny place called Sandnes on the other side of the country. The drive took us about 8 hours each way which gave us a lot of time to think, mentally prepare ourselves for the competition, and, of course, celebrate on our way back!
What sort of setlist can we expect?
The setlist we’ll play will consist of songs from our upcoming debut album. We would like to show the audience our different sides musically. We can promise everything from tremolo picking to ambient and beautiful clean harmonies.
Which other bands do you most hope you’re not squished up next to so you can see them play?
We definitely don’t want to get squished up next to Watain or At The Gates. Would be awesome to see those guys!
What are you working on at the moment?
Currently we are working on our self titled debut album, Skybrudd. We are all done with the recording, and about halfway through the mixing-process. No release date have been published yet.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Must probably have been when our bassist almost got kicked out of the venue he played for screaming “I AM A ROCKER!”, or when our vocalist forgot to breathe, and therefore passed out on stage for screaming his guts out during the first song of the set.
Jager, Hobgoblin Ale, Red Bull, Kingstone Press Cider, Kaltenberg Beer or Bulleit Bourbon? And, yes, we’ll be counting all the votes!
Easy, Hobgoblin Ale!
Header photo by Katie Frost Photography
