HERO OF TODAY: VIDE BJERDE (VANDOR)

THE SWEDISH BASED POWER METAL BAND WILL DEBUT ON JANUARY WITH THEIR SELF-RELEASED ALBUM IN THE LAND OF VANDOR AND THEY ARE ALSO WORKING ON IT'S FOLLOW-UP WHICH IS EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED ON MID 2019. TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THEIR PROJECT AND THEIR BRAND NEW RELEASES I MADE SOME QUESTIONS TO VIDE BJERDE, LEAD SINGER AND GUITARIST OF THE BAND

Hi guys and welcome on the pages of The Bible of Metal! How was born your project?
Hi and thank you! The band was formed by me and my brother Alve 8 years ago, but under a different line-up and band name. Vandor officially started in 2015, and in 2016 we asked Jack L. Stroem if he’d like to be a part of the band, as a lead guitarist. He said yes right away! In 2018 keyboardist Uno Rosengren joined the band. 

What was your first song written as Vandor?
That’s a tricky question, since many of the songs got parts that are quite old. Many of our old songs have been thrown in the bin as well. 

The oldest full song from our album would probably be ”Wrath of the Night. It was written in 2014, but has been refined and changed over the years.

What is your main source of inspiration?
That’s also a tricky question! I can’t speak for everybody in the band, but personally I don’t think I have a ”main” source of inspiration. There’s so many great bands out there that inspires us, so it’s hard to pick one. Usually, a random melody would pop up in my brain, and I would record humming it with my phone. Then forget about it for like half a year… haha! For me it’s usually the melodies that come first, since that is the most important element of a song in my opinion. Most of the times, I already have a finished vocal melody when I start thinking about the lyrics.

But I’m not the only one writing songs in the band. Although many songs on this album is written by me, some of the songs are written together in the rehearsal studio, and all of the songs have got a personal touch by all individual members.

Can you tell me more about Warriors of Time?
Warriors of Time is the 3rd song on the album (excluding the intro), and got some of the fastest parts of the album! Lyric-wise it’s a story about a constant search for something better and about escaping your past, but it’s also about falling back into old habits and trying to fight your way out -hence the name. All written from a fantasy-perspective. 

But essentially it’s just a kick-ass power metal song!

R. Date: 25 January 2019
Tracklist:
1. Dark Times
2. Wrath of the Night
3. Beneath the Sky
4. Warriors of Time
5. Possessive Eyes
6. Uncover the Earth
7. Serving Their Needs
8. With Bleeding Hands I Stand
9. The Land of Vandor
10. In the Shadows
11. Possessive Eyes (acoustic)

How would you describe your album?
Our debut album is called ”In The Land Of Vandor”. As you probably would guess, Vandor is our own fictional fantasy world, which many of our songs take place in. Although many of our songs is fantasy-themed and resolves around Vandor, I wouldn’t call it a concept album. Even though we sing a lot about swords, battles, and forces of evil - the usual Power Metal stuff, we try to hide a deeper meaning behind every song that’s up to the listener to find! It’s all really up up for interpretation! 

That’s enough about the lyrics, let’s talk about the musical side of the album! I think we got a really nice mix of styles! Our music is influenced a lot by the classic power metal albums from late 90s to early 2000s (Sonata Arctica, Stratovarious, Avantasia etc.). Combine that with some modern elements and some old elements (like the 70’s Rock and 80’s Heavy Metal), and our own personal touch, and you get our sound!

The album is recorded in Sweden, and mixed and mastered by Jason Carter at Wavelength Studios in Oregon, USA. It has no pitch correction on any vocals and everything is written to be played live, without any backing tracks! The drums are played by the great Robin Risander (Mark Zero).

You're already working on your 2nd album, am I right? What should we expect from it?
That’s right! We’re currently in the writing process and although we have much left to do, I think that the 2nd album is going to be awesome. It’s going to be fast, melodic and will have some new elements to help shape our own sound even more!

How you feel about working with Tommy Johansson from Sabaton?
To be able to work with Tommy is a great privilege and feels amazing! He is such an awesome guitar player! 

Jack has been a friend of Tommy for a few years. In 2012 he did a guest solo on Tommy’s Reinxeed-album ”Welcome to the Theater”, and now he asked him to return the favour to us! We are so happy that he wanted to record with us!

The song featuring Tommy Johansson is called” Well of Salvation” and is not on the album. It will be released as a separate single in mid-2019!

Would you like to leave a message to the readers?
Sure! - As someone once said - ”There’s two kind of people in this world, people who love power metal, and people who hate fun.” 

Cheers!