NOCTURNAL RITES – Interview with Nils Eriksson

After the tour with Edguy, Nils Eriksson was kind to tell me a bit, what is going on in the NOCTURNAL RITES camp at the moment…

Hello Nils! Nocturnal Rites released with „New world messiah“ a further great album and you were touring in April/May this year with Edguy and Brainstorm. Which success could you see? And how were the reactions of your fans referring to the album and the shows?

The tour was really great. Probably the best tour we’ve ever done! We’ve done many tour over the years, but in almost all of them I guess we were a bit out of place. We’ve done lost of mixed package tours, but this was a straight on power metal tour that fit us really well. The reactions from the fans and from the people coming out to the shows was great. Only a few slow in nights in some weird places, but that’s really it. Germany, Spain, Sweden (of course) and all through the eastern parts of Europe were really stand out.

Would you say that this tour has been the most successful tour for Nocturnal Rites so far?

Oops, I think I already answered that question above. You know boys, always rushing into things, never thinking ahead 🙁

Is there a special concert of the last tour which has influenced you or which was very worthy of remembering it?

The first show in Pzlen, Czeck Republic was both weird and cool. We had never been to this country prior to this tour and the experience was totally new (kind of like in Japan, but no THAT strange). We also got a tour of the factory making my favourite beer – Pilser Urnquell. That was amazing, walking in those dungeons below the ground *scary*.

What is the band doing at the moment? Is it planned to record another album in the near future? Do you already write songs?

We are writing songs right now and have completed about five or six. They sound great, but one weird thing for being us is that we’ve for some reason started writing the heavy songs first. We usually end up writing only fast songs and then finish off with the heavy and midpaced ones. Not this time. Maybe the new album will be heavier ?!? We plan to record in the spring and hopefully have an EP out by the summer and the album in the fall. After that we will be back to play for all you guys again. Can’t wait – that’s the most fun part of all this.

What about a DVD: Are you thinking of releasing a DVD?

Maybe we will record some shows on the upcoming tour for the new album. We would love to release one and really show people how weird we really are. We all love this “behind the scenes” stuff we had on “New World Messiah” and will probably go even further with it for the next record. But a regular DVD will of course be released in the future. It’s just a matter of finding the right circumstances and the right timing.

How did you go together with the other bands? Didn’t you argue some time? And do you still have contact to Edguy and Brainstorm?

No arguments at all. But since they are both German we could talk shit about them, in Swedish behind their backs and let some steam off that way – ahhhhhhhhhhhahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, everything worked out well, and as you all know we are all sweethearts that no one could dislike. Yes, we are still in touch now and then with the boys from the other bands.

What is next due to gigs and/or festivals?

We will be doing festivals this summer and start regular touring the coming fall. Nothing is booked yet, but we have some ideas we are already working on with our booking agency.

With which bands would you like to go touring next time?

Either we do a small headlining tour or we’ll look for a co-headline or a good spot on a bigger thing. We are not sure yet. We will see. But I already know the new album will sell millions, so why worry. We have some really great songs already written and I actually took a loan for a house in Spain, a new car, and a salami factory in Germany. So the album HAS to do well or I am in trouble…

Do you rather play Open Airs or hall concerts?

Both. They are so different and they are equally fun. Open Airs are more chaotic – no soundchecks, little time and so on. Regular concerts are more planned and easy going. But they both have their individual charm. Opean airs are of course cool because of the amount of people…

Is there any bigger tour planned?

There has been discussions about some territories we still haven’t been to, but right now our only focus is to finish the album. All planned shows were put on hold when Owe had that accident where he hurt his eye recently…so we’re just writing songs and hanging out, drinking beer, coffee, eating wurst and acting weird as always…

What do you guys do when you are not on tour or in the studio?

We are always in the studio (our own). If for some strange reason we’re not, then I guess we hang out with friends, go to clubs, eat candy, watch tv, Fredrik plays his stupid game boy, Nils plays guitar, I watch stupid reality shows, Owe drinks coffee, Jonny “The Shark” cleans his house, does laundry…and so on. Normal stuff. But we do spend a lot of time, at least right now, working on songs, practising, and the usual band stuff you know.