SKYRIM #1
The
songs: an introduction by Erik Thompson
HANGOVER
MISERY
This
one we wrote right after the lineup had finally been completed by
Mike's arrival, and it came together very quickly, seemingly out of
nowhere in the rehearsal room. We were all instantly enamoured with
the riffs, groove and general vibe of the song, going for as much of
a vintage Led Zeppelin atmosphere as we could manage. The lyrics,
written by me, kind of wrote themselves as well. Being able to put a
song like this together with that much ease, was probably what
convinced us all that this lineup just might work, and it was given
from the get-go that the song would be the opener on a future
recording as well as future live shows.
KINGS
It
was only after we had written several songs all four together, that
Mike had the courage to ask if the rest of us would be interested in
hearing some of his old ideas. When we said "of bloody course!"
this was the first song he introduced, a full-on hair metal assault
Dokken-style with a darker edge, and already more or less finished.
Obviously a keeper! We originally intended to keep it really
straightforward from beginning to end, but our producer Staffan came
up with the surprise syncopated break after the solo that was just
too cool not to leave in there.
DEATH
DON'T HAVE NO MERCY
The
final addition to the album. When sifting through the material
gathered thus far, to see what type of song that might be missing,
the answer turned out to be: a ballad. Mike then brought out this one
from his archive of old songs: a bluesy, and surprisingly dark track
that we arranged into something of a hybrid of 70s heavy blues and
80s power ballad. I suggested a change of titles to "Like a woman
scorned", and even if this eventually didn't happen the idea did
inspire what became the final version of the chorus.
STEELFEEDER
As
soon as we realised that we had come up with the riff of a true metal
anthem in full on Manowar style, we also realised that with this
song, less was not more: more was more. So we very deliberately threw
everything except the kitchen sink into it: lyrics about a conquering
warrior, chanting, narration, marching drums, thundering bass effects
and harmonies all over the place – literally. It all kept piling up
until the very last stages of recording and the more over the top it
became, the more we enjoyed it.
LOOKING
FOR ADVENTURE
This
was a Danko Jones-inspired piece that Mikkie came up with in the bad
old days, when he, me and Edwin were basically just screwing around
without a lead guitarist to help is finished what we started. After
Mike's arrival, we quickly got most of the song together, including
Mikkie's Thin Lizzy-style verse lyrics. However, the chorus was a
problem. I took it on myself to write that part, convinced we had a
future showstopper on our hands if I could only come up with
something catchy enough. From fear of screwing up, months went by and
I still came up with nothing. Until one day, while doing something
completely different, inspiration hit, I jotted the whole thing down
more or less on the spot. One more rehearsal later, the song was good
to go. In hindsight it feels like taking the time was the right thing
to do, since the song really has turned out just as catchy as we
hoped it would be.
MÄNNISKOR
I
don't think Mikkie really intended this to become a band song when he
first played it to us during rehearsal. "Människor" ("People")
was originally an acoustic track he had written in his younger days,
very much a pub crowd ballad in typical Swedish tradition. We did,
however, realise it could quite easily be electrified and transformed
into another very Swedish type of song: artsy punk in the veins of
early 80s legends Ebba Grön. The final result had us absolutely
amazed, and even I, who is normally not a fan of non-English lyrics
in heavy rock, knew better than to meddle with a song that was so
obviously perfect just the way it was.
THE
FIERY PIT
Another
song that Mikkie, Edwin and me put together in embryonic form back in
the day, hoping to some day find the right lead guitarist to be able
to actually do something with the bloody thing. Once Mike was there,
it all came together pretty quickly – very much an uptempo song
that hearkens back to the early days of the New Wave of British Heavy
Metal. The lyrics are loosely inspired by "The hound of the
Baskervilles", since being chased by an evil, infernal entity
seemed to be a good topic for this type of song.
ODIN'S
WIND
The
main riff came up during rehearsal and inspired us to create
something more unconventional, progressive if you will, but still
very much melodic metal. After I came up with the title and
simplistic chorus, it was pretty much settled that this should be
another epic track, but with a more mysterious vibe. Making all the
individual pieces fit together was demanding and time-consuming, so
everybody was pleasantly surprised that recording the finished piece
was a pretty simple affair. The idea of ending the song with tolling
churchbells didn't come up until the actual recording, but they did
end up adding to the atmosphere and complementing the booming bass
chords really nicely.
