www.facebook.com/ashesofsouls.se
From: Sweden
Sounds like: Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Ashes of Souls" and is there any meaning behind it?
When the vocalist of Black Judas quit the band Micke, Animal Steel, H.Cullin and Dempan started the hunt of a new vocalist. After three different tryouts of a new singer we started to give up but suddenly Micke announces he found a new vocalist that fitted well in with all of us and our sound. After some meetings and sit downs we all took a day at the rehearsal studio and everything fell into the right places and Chris Lundgren was the new vocalist. Pretty soon Chris had some lyrics done for the two new song we’ve recorded and we took him to the recording studio. The outcome was the 2 songs Broken and Disturbed. With a new singer that gave us a complete new sound we decided to start all over with brand new name and logo type. So from the Ashes of Black Judas 5 Souls raised with a new hunger and creativity and after some intense namedropping we decided that Ashes of Souls sounds really nice and then we created our logo type as well, a clean and modern logo that’s easy to remember. The sound we have created is a mix of what the members like in music, such as classic 80:s metal 70:s hardrock, the Gothenburg sound, melodic metal, thrash and death metal and so on. We usually come with some basic riffs or very easy assembled songs to the rehearsals and then we work on the song together and give inputs and suggestions to work out a final version to present to Chris and then he starts the work with the lyrics and melodies of the lyrics a home and sends us different takes to listen too.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
We would like to know that people listens and like our music. And hopefully they can connect with the lyrics wich mostly is based on mental illness and feelings in general about all or nothing around us everyday and start to talk and take notice of their environment if there is anyone that seems to feel bad. ”How are you? How do you feel?” is two very important questions that’s not that common anymore with all the focus on the internet and social media.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Our sound is somewhere around melodic metal with hints of death, thrash, classic metal and the gothenburg sound with influences of modern metal styles too. We don’t really know ourselfes what style of metal to put us in directly but it feels like we have found our sound and like it, if we didn’t like it we wouldn’t play it. In every song we write it’s important to find the hard and heavy parts and really build it up and also put in some more catchy or melodic parts to get the songs to be interesting to listen to, not sound like a flat song mith some vocals over it that is made in 2 minutes and not produced by all the parts of the band.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Three bands that we would like to tour with..hard question! The dream would maybe give us a tour with In Flames, Judas Priest or Arch enemy..Slipknot of course..too many bands that would be a dream to be on tour with!
5. How has Covid affected what you do as a band?
How Covid-19 has affected us is in the way that we left the old band and started Ashes of Souls and also released our first EP as AoS. But we all longing to be out on stage and play live in front of an audience, that’s the best thing to do when you’re making music!
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
Modern metal often seems to be as technical as possible with many effects and backtracks. We like to play modern metal but with the simplicity of old school metal and have one foot in the classic metal genres all the time when writing new songs. It’s not that we don’t like modern metal but it’s not the type of music we want to play because all of us is raised with all the classic acts.
7. What’s the current music scene like in Sweden?
The current state of music in Sweden right now is probably really good now when the country is opening up after Covid-19. So many new album releases that’s coming out and the livescene is about to explode with every artist eager to come on stage. It will be a sick season at every venue around the country. Sweden is as strong as ever in the export of music in all type of genres and there’s new young talents on the way up all the time.
8. What’s your take on the royalties that streaming services pay out to artists?
The take on royalties for artists from streaming services..there’s no take on that really. It could be worse and it can always be more in the pay outs.
9. What’s next for Ashes of Souls?
The next thing we’re working with is a merchstore online with print on demand and worldwide shipping and a new release hopefully before the new year. A re-release with new lyrics of two of our old songs that made the cut for AoS and we hope it will be a good response on those two songs too. And we’re writing new songs also to get a good setlist and start playing live soon again and also do some more recordings. We’ll try to put atleast a song or two every 6-8 month hopefully.
10. Any shoutouts?
Shoutouts? Our family, friends and all you people that find us and listen to us and support us.
