On a cold and wet Sunday evening, 4 Swedish guys and an Englishman sat down at a table in Manchester University’s student union to have a discussion about what they’d all been up to over the past 4 years and also a yet to be announced upcoming album.
It’s been nearly 4 years since we last spoke. How have you guys been?
Niklas: Pretty good! We’ve been quite busy touring on the last album and we’ve been writing the new album which has been taking a little while to do. We work full time with day jobs so don’t get a lot of time to write the album but we’re almost done recording it. We’ve just a few more things to do but it’ll be done soon.
Simon: It should be out by late Summer or early Autumn. We have a title for it but it’s not official yet.
Richard: It’s not written in stone yet, but we have one.
N: Once again, Thomas Holm is doing the artwork which is already made. Just a bit of recording left, then the mix/master and printing and it should be out.
You played at Hammerfest yesterday as well. How did that go?
N: It went pretty well we think. It’s been 1 and a half years since we last played live so there was a few things beforehand which were a little rusty but by the time the intro started, we were all in the zone. Overall, I think it went really well.
R: We had a really good crowd as well which was super nice.
S: Super nice.
And now there’s this run with Primitai once again…
N: Yeah, they approached us after they heard we were coming back and wanted to tour with us again. We know them and they’re really nice easy guys to work with so it was a no-brainer to pick them.
S: Shrapnel also approached us asking for a spot and for us it’s super nice to have two supports. It will be nice to get to know those guys as well on this run.
What are three things you can’t live without on tour?
S: Red wine!
R: Candy!
N: Water!
S: But then, of course, there are the obvious things like guitars but then we are more than 3 things!
N: We’re a pretty easy-going band. We don’t have a lot of crazy expectations of the venue. We just like to have a good sound, good gear and some food and drink.
What is your drink of choice when it’s time to relax?
N: When I’m at home, I normally like to have just a normal lager beer. If I want to have something special, then I’ll have an absinthe. If you have a really good absinthe then that’s really nice.
R: If it’s up to me, I like to have a nice coffee with milk or a raspberry soda.
Anders: I drink everything almost. I like a good beer but I’ve recently been drinking a lot more craft beers and IPAs.
S: Whatever you can find really. We like a lot of different things.
N: We also have our own beer which is a pale ale. It’s really really good which is nice to drink.
A: You can actually order it to the UK now as well.
N: We don’t make it because we want to get rich, we really go for quality and want to make sure it’s nice. The absinthe we make as well is really top quality. They’re not the cheapest, but there is true quality behind them.
S: It’s available from Urban drinks along with the absinthe which is handy.
What gear are you using on this tour?
N: We’re using Blackstar amp heads which are really good. They’re kind of Marshall style in sound but have a bit more modern sound.
S: We’ve got Blackstar series one heads and cabinets to go with them. It was guys from Marshall that started Blackstar in the beginning.
N: I use a Gibson Flying V which I use. I’ve bought a really nice one and I love Gibson but they have their flaws. They’re not really made for metal sadly.
S: I have my Jarrell V guitar which I’ve been playing for a while which is really nice. I’ve been endorsed by them for a while now and it’s super nice guitar. I also have a Solar explorer style guitar which Ola Englund gave me. It’s a really super nice guitar and I love playing it. I also play a few ESP guitars but I don’t have them with me on this tour. I use a lot of MXR pedals such as the crybaby and carbon copy delay which are great. Both me and Niklas use the carbon copy as we really like it.
N: We all use the D-50 relay from Line 6 which is really good. I remember my first wireless unit which was super expensive and really shitty, but these ones are not that expensive and really easy to use.
S: The receivers are really small as well which means you can have it on pedalboard and you don’t need another rack space for it.
N: I prefer to have one sound for the guitar. I use one channel on the amp and use the volume and tone nobs on my guitar. I prefer the sound to come from my fingers and not from the amp.
R: We’re using a Gretsch drums and masterworks cymbals on this tour. I’m not too fussed when it comes to drums, as long as it bounces back when I hit it then that works for me. We’re sharing the kit with Primitai because of the cost for flying with full equipment.
A: We’re sharing the bass rig as well as it’s more convenient and saves having to move heavy bass rigs around. I use a Sandberg bass in an explorer style now and it’s sounds really good. Top quality instrument.
What is one thing you wish someone told you before you started?
N: To not name your band after a really common word that you can’t Google it. We named the band before the internet though! If you go and search for tickets on the internet, there’s some other actor that pops up.
S: On the e-tickets websites, the dates can be correct but the pictures are from this Scottish acrobatics artists. It’s a little strange to see.
R: It’s difficult to find us as if you type in “Wolf” into the internet then nothing comes up. You need to add something like “Wolf Sweden” or “Wolf metal band”.
What bands have you been listening to recently?
S: I’ve been listening to a lot of Soilwork as I’ve been touring with them recently. I just finished up a European tour with them and I’m doing loads of festivals with them this year so I’ve been listening to a lot of them. I’ve also really been enjoying Leporus and the new Judas Priest album which is killer.
R: I’ve a lot of killer old records I’ve been listening to recently so haven’t checked out any new stuff recently.
A: I’ve been really enjoying KXM and George Lynch recently. I re-opened the box of old records as well and have been enjoying some classic Dio.
N: I’ve been listening to a lot of Necrophobic recently. Their new record is really good and we played with them over 10 years ago but I never listened to them until recently. I’ve been really enjoying a lot of atmospheric black metal recently and also some old tv themes.
Tea or Coffee?
All: Coffee
N: We are Swedish and we like really strong coffee.
R: The only way to survive on tour is to add the Swedish powder coffee to the black coffee we order here. We order the black coffee and then add some powder in to make it taste more like “coffee”.
All photos by Bukavac Photography
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