Dajana: Hey guys, greetings from the rainy part of the spring. How are you doing? Do you still have to face snow in Stockholm?
Seb: Hey! We are just fine! Busy times... The snow is gone finally!!!! It’s been a long and cold winter here.

Dajana: You are just about to start your promotion campaign, which on the other hand inevitably means that journalists already had a listen to Hammer Of The North. What’s the first response on your fifth record so far? As for me I state: masterpiece!
Seb: Thank you very much! Yeah the response has been fantastic so far. We are very pleased ourselves with the new album.

Dajana: Tonight you are going to play a special release show at Cologne’s club Underground (and I’m not there due to fkg work). What to expect? Or better said: How did it turn out (since you will answer these questions afterwards)? Did you play at all or did you just drinkin’ some delicious booze and party all night? *laughs*
Seb: Haha!! Yes we did play! And the gig went very well even though a lot of people never had heard the new songs. Then we did some delicious boozing!! :-D

Dajana: Being now signed to a major label, do you feel any pressure? How is it working with Roadrunner? And why did you change over? You seemed to be happy with Rise Above in the past.
Seb: Of course we feel a little bit more pressure but it’s been exiting as well and the RR people have been good to us.
Rise Above has been very good to MAGUS but it was time for us to move on. We got the chance and we took it.
Fox: We had a 4 album deal with Rise Above and when that deal was finished we wanted to see what could happen with a label that works hard with promotion.
Actually the change has not been big music wise. We made the songs we wanted to use and recorded them with the people we wanted to work with. Maybe the time schedule was a bit tighter. The big difference started after the recordings with interviews and video recordings and so on. We have not made a lot of promotion earlier on.

Dajana: Hammer Of The North emerges as a pure Heavy Metal album in the old veins, filled up with hymns and supported by an immense power and intensity, as well as incredible vibes and grooves. References are easily made, but standing for your own there is no need for name-dropping. It feels like you have not only found your very own style but also reached a point you always wanted to be at.
Seb: That is absolutely correct! We had a blast making this album.
Fox: I think that we’ve now developed as musicians to that point that we’re able to play the kind of music we want to listen to ourselves. This is the way Heavy Metal shall sound in our opinion!

Dajana: Do you already think about what could be the next step in your musical development? Or do you just reflect on your lives, preference and taste of music and let it flow while writing new tracks?
Seb: No we don’t. The album is still so fresh for us and it has not even been released yet. We are just enjoying everything what’s going on.
Fox: I can’t ignore ideas that pop up in the head but the main focus is on rehearsing for live shows.

Dajana: Did you try something new on Hammer Of The North (regarding techniques, equipment, recording…etc.). What was the most touching moment during the recording sessions?
Seb: Well, this time we recorded all the basic tracks in a proper studio with a proper producer (Nico Elgstrand). The most touching moment was when we heard the mix. It blew us all away!
Fox: Yes, Nico pushed us to the limit, he was really involved in getting the best out of the material – get rid of unnecessary parts for example.

Dajana: As I know JB doesn’t like to discuss the lyrics, please at least adumbrate what Hammer Of The North is dealing with since I did not get the lyrics yet. Is there any conceptual idea behind?
Fox: Make your own decisions and stand for them is one of them besides of that I have to refer to JB; You learn more from trying to find the meaning yourself than having someone telling the meaning to you. “He who seeks shall find...”

Dajana: I personally think the cover art work of the new album much better suits a Scandinavian Black Metal band then GRAND MAGUS… Don’t get me wrong, Necrolord is an awesome artist but it’s just like that music and cover do not want to match…
Seb: Really? Well... everyone must have their own opinion. We really appreciate his work and think the cover art work is amazing.
Fox: I don’t agree. I think the cover art capture the feeling of the music. It’s a unique piece of art just like the music. Do you think Dio’s Last In Line looks black metal as well?

Dajana: I just saw you performing live two times so far (Inferno Festival and Rock Hard Festival). At both shows JB had some slight problems with his voice and/or singing. On the new record are tracks I think they ain’t that easy to sing live as well. Did he has any vocal training in the meantime?
Seb: He drinks a lot of beer. :)
Fox: All of us practice a lot and it seems it gave result.

Dajana: First summer festivals are already confirmed, any further plans to do a club tour too?
Seb: No bigger plans so far but we will probably tour in the fall and winter.
Fox: Nothing is set until this date but I’m 100% sure we will do a proper club tour this fall. People are working on it right now.

Dajana: Thank you much for spending time answering these questions :) Have a great party tonight and hope to see ya soon on a stage anywhere around! Cheers!
Seb: Sk¬l!!
Thank you