Dear legions, As we always say - this Patreon is to give you insights in what we are actually doing when we are not on stage. Which is a bit funny - because being on stage is the thing we do the least 😅Grab yourself a coffee, tea or whatever you'd like to keep you company while going through this post with us! ☕️Lately we have been in a bit of a bubble, called "mix bubble". When doing the mixes of a new album it truly requires your FULL attention and you have to listen with different kinds of ears, through different units to compare and really ask yourself: What do we want? What is important to us when our music comes on?We already know - to be fair, but sometimes it is easier said than done to get there since there's x amounts of instruments in the game that all require their space in the sound picture you end up hearing! With "We Stand United" we came the closest we've always wanted, and for this next full-length album we want to take it all the way. No compromises, just pure great result. So, with that said - we're not fully done but the majority of the work is done and hopefully everything lands where it's supposed to this week! Besides that it has been a lot on top of it - let's dive into some pictures to enjoy this blog post a bit more! This entire post is written by both myself, Madeleine, but also Rikard!
Rikard and I positioned in the studio ready for mix take off! About 3 weeks ago now I started to feel something. And oh my - it was SOMETHING. I caught a virus that quickly threw me down to the bottom. Voice gone, fever, pain in my chest, difficulties breathing.. absolutely terrible. On the Saturday morning of February 21st I had slept terrible from coughing up my lungs, and I stood in the bathroom trying to clear out whatever monster that had moved into my body and I was in absolute pain - everywhere. I felt like I looked like a just hatched chicken in that moment. So weak.. and I was declined by the doctor the day before basically.
One of the meals I could have once home. Broth with tofu! Couldn't taste anything but the heat was just.. pure healing, haha. I knew something had to be done - so I went to another doctor in Lund where I got an amazing one that actually listened. He gave me antibiotics and for every pill I had to eat for 8 days I slowly got better. I am for sure better now, but it didn't help that I had no choice but to go to the studio anyway and listen to mixes and be a part of the process alongside with Rikard - a deadline is a deadline. And that's the heavier part on being lucky enough to do this job fulltime - if you have a deadline you can't call in sick and go and lay down. It's heavy when it happens, but all the good things happening within this profession weighs it up very fast!
My setup! Coffee, water, pen, paper and a proteinbar! We had hours and hours every day of listening, fixing, being closely in touch with Thomas "Plec" Johansson that we are doing this together with - and the result will be GREAT, and I can't wait for when it is finally 100% done.
At the same time we were preparing for our headliner tour to be announced properly! Quite many peopled involved nowadays, which is a bit surreal when thinking about that it just started with Rikard and myself trying to figure things out, haha. How absurd really when you zoom out? Why I show you this photo in particular is because at our tour tab on our website, you can see a tour schedule. That is a great tool we have using bandsintown, which is an app I have been trying to encourage EVERYONE to use! If you want to make sure you're NOT missing out on when your favorite band is going on tour - download the app, follow the band and set what ratio you want them to keep track on shows for you to attend to! It is a brilliant idea, and is truly THE key to push through all the social media fog with all posts to right and left - here you have exactly the most important if you want to go to concert. I am not exaggerating when I say that all the concerts I have been going to the last couple of years - I have been notified via Bandsintown and seen it much later on social medias because how saturated the feeds are! So when a show is being set up, it looks like this ⬆️ 😊 Can be quite time consuming if it is a lot of shows since you have to type in venue, opening hours etc. And honestly - this early I don't even know when doors open really, I always just set 7pm and ending at 11pm because it's a standard. Then I have to head back to give everything an update later when I have the info!
At the same time we are working on the mixes, an artwork for the album has to be created (as a step 1, after that the entire graphic layout for vinyls, CD's etc follows..), plus single artworks, new merch for webshop + tour (also Patreon exclusive merchandise!), as well as music videos are being planned and the 1st will be shot very very soon! What you see in this photo is Rikard putting up our smaller green screen! Why? Well.. that artwork has to be done! And again we are working with Nestor Avalos, and how we have done it throughout all these years is to create a mock up - and then take photos to position what we see in front of us for him to have as a template basically when he starts to draw! I am very eager to see where this artwork takes us. Which makes me curious? Which artwork is your favorite so far of all our albums and EP's? There is no right or wrong, would genuinely love to hear which one is your absolute top favorite!
What is this? Drum parts?
Indeed it is! The drum kit here ain't complete since cymbals and more details are missing but here the foundation is - the new DRUM RACK! Obviously it will have 2 matching bassdrum heads as well and not one of each! Whenever the set up is complete and we have a decent picture (hopefully from the upcoming music video recording) we will make a more proper post about this, and even if we will repeat ourselves by then we would like to give a HUGE thank you to Wolfram, Whoracle, Dandrayan & Healingwillow, crazy4cooking, Marita, Equalizer1987, symphonic_metalhead and farewellchild for supporting this cause. We are stunned by how professional this looks now and it truly make us level up in regards of the visuals on stage but also how much faster and more efficient it will be with rigging up- and down! We are so deeply grateful for this incredible support!
This past weekend I also went to a concert in Copenhagen! It was finally time to see one of my most recent favorites; Kanonenfieber. Honestly, after watching this concert - that truly had a theatrical cinematic vibe to it - I am very confident saying that you don't even have to enjoy the music like I do to appreciate this performance. The details, performance, musicality.. absolute on point!I was very impressed, and had that nice "great concert" high the day after where everything felt as if it had been a dream - so the clips I actually captured from the show was watched and enjoyed - and I really can't wait to see this band again. And if you share the interest in the actual music with me.. let me tell you; It's even better live. Holy mama it is great. I am deeply impressed!
I snapped a quick photo today while signing some prints! These prints are 1 out of 4 in total for the Tier Ruby and up. Whenever we have some cool photos, either modeling or like this - behind the scenes - they will be sent out to whomever is a part of the Tier Ruby and higher. If you'd like to have a chance on these 4 prints, you can of course go up a tier for a month and then downgrade again if you want to. I set the time limit to the end of March to join the list for these prints so everyone interested can have a chance! I yet have to reveal in another post which prints it is, but it is 2 from the actual recording - and 2 from around the studio when we recorded - and all 4 are taken by the very talented Hannes Van Dahl from Sabaton! So eager to share this with you! ❤︎Now my part here is done, and you can refill your mug with whatever you feel like having - and Rikard will fill you in about some more going on behind the scenes! ☕️ /Madeleine
Hey you! I hope you refilled your mug because you're in for a ride here.Thank you Madeleine for passing the post torch and how good was her part? Man!Madeleine did give you a lot of insight of behind the scenes work, I will also go this but add some more personal life stuff. HERE WE GOOOO!
As you are aware we have been in a mix bubble as of late and I myself have been in a production bubble just before that with arrangements, synths, FX boom/swoops etc. During mix it is important that key elements "push through" the mix because honestly...a lot gets buried in the sound waves. You might remember when we checked out the arrangement projects for two songs at a hang out.This mix period has been a very anxious one for me personally before, due to many factors but mainly because it just gotta be right and I want to be able to have done a good job. I'm like a dog in many aspects, I just wanna be a good boi 😂
We are soon to record a new music video, and I need to have pants that don't show off my entire legs 😂During the last tour my 2 pairs of stage jeans got so worn out they went from looking cool kinda worn to giving more like a five times divorced and evicted kind of vibe.I needed to buy new stage jeans, or so I thought! When checking the brand/model to order new ones I found a pair that has been used like ONCE hahaha I HAD THIS ALL ALONG!!!! WHAT THE HEEEEELLL 🤣
SO many comments online about my damn pants and these ones were just waiting for me hahaha
Welcome to a BIG personal life thing.I am moving! After 8 years living in a small little house it is time for me to close that chapter and open a new one.
One big positive thing with the new place is the kitchen. Not that it's top notch or anything, but the size of it makes it so I can do cooking streams 😉
BAM now you know 2 out of 4 in total for the Tier Ruby and up! It was great to have Hannes Van Dahl in the recording studio to snap some pictures and also spend time with him, more than a quick "eyyyyy nice to see you" at shows. Turns out we have a lot in common regarding photography/cinematography and nerded out a bit on this topic haha
I've been working extremely hard for a couple of months, 6 days per week and even working the x-mas holidays and even new years. No rest because there was no possibility for it. This is the reality when having this amount of weight on your shoulders.
With that said - Next crunch period will be structured in another way, or atleast the road leading up to it. Sure it's possible to do it like the most recent crunch period when I'm alone and have no one to invest time in. But not sustainable when I hopefully do, I love spending time with and do things with someone I like.
ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! Now that the deadline chaos for the upcoming album is over I have added Mondays to the stream schedule! My brain and work schedule allow it 🤌I wanted to add a day to reach more people with crazy chaotic moments, nerd stuff and metal. Spreading positivity from a real life perspective, promoting mental and physical health.
Remember I mentioned cooking streams? Cooking streams will occassionally be happening, YAY!I'm really looking forward to this, cooking is a huge passion of mine and I love being creative with this form of art. Maybe we can even to a plant based version of stuff in this AMAZING cookbook I got from Klotzidasschaf 🙏 OMG I'M EXCITED! but one step at a time, this will be done from home so I gotta figure some stuff out first. Oh! And the recipes can be posted on Patreon, this is GREAT! GAAAAH CALM DOWN RIKARD!
With more brain space and less fatigue I want to photograph more this year. More model shoots and more scenery stuff. I love playing with angles, light/shadow and....well space if that makes any sense.
What's this, why show a picture from a community game night?This is more than just "a fun thing" for me. This is truly a way to connect with the ones who make it all possible, it is a way for me to connect with YOU.During these past months I've been under immense pressure, and the gaming night although being considered work has been a highlight. Thank you all for believing in us, I always try to get us to the next level, we both do, and I can't wait to see what coming years have in stall.
We hope you enjoyed this read!Did you like this type of "combo post" with both Madeleine and myself?Let us know!Much love 🖤Rikard & Madeleine