FRIJGARD – Interview with Sandro (vocal & bass)

“Our name actually suggests Pagan Metal. (…) We often deal with dark topics (…) We got some really good reviews… ” – Sandro

Livius Pilavi – What does the band name mean? Where did the idea for this name come from?

The name is fictitious. We come from a region in northern Switzerland called Fricktal. Frick used to be a name in our latitudes for Frija, the wife of Odin. The addition -gard in Nordic mythology refers to a place or a world (like Asgard or Midgard). So it is a fantasy name which is right for us and which describes our home.

Livius Pilavi – What is FRIJGARD’s status on the music scene in Switzerland?

From my point of view there is a very high density of metal bands in Switzerland, many of them are very good and independent. But there are far too few opportunities for young bands to perform live and it is difficult to get heard. Apart from that I think that the scene is very well networked and supports each other. As is the case in all metal scenes of the world – one big family!

Pavel – I’ve had the opportunity to be at the Rock Altitude Festival many times in Le Locle, in Switzerland. Do you know this festival? Both stars and local bands are always invited…

I’ve heard about this festival, but I’ve never been there before.

Pavel – But what I’m going to… After several editions of this festival, I noticed that in Switzerland among young bands is fashionable Metalcore with its variety. Despite this FRIJGARD presents other trends…

I’ve noticed that, too. It doesn’t mean that we should play Metalcore just because it’s trendy. To be honest, nobody in our band listens to Metalcore or Hardcore. Maybe we’re just not a „young band” anymore

Livius Pilavi – Do you perform any shows a lot? Did you give any concerts abroad?

We don’t play a lot of shows and at the moment our drummer is injured as well. Concerts abroad we played in Germany and Liechtenstein.

Livius Pilavi – What about are the lyrics of your songs? Do they refer to paganism? On the Internet, some people describe FRIJGARD’s music as pagan-metal.

In our lyrics we deal with many different things. Our name actually suggests Pagan Metal. The lyrics on our first album “Nebelwacht” are also rather pagan. But this has changed over time. On “Bellum Aeternum Est” and “Chapter Zero” the lyrics couldn’t be more different. Basically, I just write about things that occupy me at the moment and wrap them up in fantasy stories.

Pavel – “Chapter Zero” is your third album. The title suggests that this is just the beginning of some story…

Right, the title has a deeper meaning. First, Chapter Zero is a concept album and the name is appropriate for all the action happening on the CD.

On the other hand, we had some changes within the band last year. Our former singer and guitarist was replaced on guitar by Alex and on microphone by me. Also the lyrics on Chapter Zero are in English. On the older albums everything is in German.

Livius Pilavi – What is the response of people to “Chapter Zero”? Did you receive a lot of signals from fans?

We got some really good reviews. Most of the fans liked the album and we got a lot of positive feedback. Of course with so much change there are always people who like the old albums better. Some liked the German lyrics better or the generally rougher production of Nebelwacht for example.

Pavel – The debut album was released by Black Tower Productions. You probably released your second album by yourself but this time you elected the Spanish label Art Gates Records. How is your cooperation with Art Gates Records?

Bellum Aeternum Est was completely produced and released by ourselves. For Chapter Zero we wanted a bit more support again and that works quite well with AGR, despite the great distance. Praise be to the Internet! Haha!

Livius Pilavi – FRIJGARD’s music is pessimistic, dark, but there is a positive vitality hidden in it. Do you see reality in black colors or maybe do you believe in human strength?

You got that right. We often deal with dark topics and also write the style of the music accordingly. But every Frijgard song always contains a glimmer of hope! We don’t see the world pessimistically, we are convinced that it’s not too late yet. But many things don’t work as they should and that has to be addressed. But it is also important to us that you can have a good time to our music, especially live.

Livius Pilavi – Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world. Is Switzerland a good place to live?

Switzerland is a rich country, but everything is extremely expensive here too. You have to put it into perspective.

But basically it is a great country to live in and I am very happy and grateful to be able to live here.

Pavel – …so what inspires you to such pessimistic music since you live in such a beautiful country?

As already mentioned, I don’t find our music very pessimistic. But there are also many things in Switzerland that are not good. Wealth isn’t everything and I think you have a bit of a false picture of Swiss wealth abroad. Besides, we also see how things go elsewhere in the world. The whole world is connected. If, for example, the world’s oceans are polluted, it affects us too. The problem is that many people here don’t want to see this.

Livius Pilavi – In TV I saw the terrifying report of the melting of the Mont Blanc glacier. Are climate changes also noticeable in Switzerland?

Global warming can be seen all over the world, it does not stop at Switzerlands border. Many famous sights here are endangered and there are also many more floods and rockfalls for example. Unfortunately, there are still people who deny that. Many people say that Switzerland is too small to be able to do anything and have an effect on the worlds climate. But since we have no mineral resources and our export goods are actually our knowledge, I think it’s high time we put a lot more into researching and promoting new energies and technologies. But we don’t want to get too political here 🙂

Livius Pilavi – I am Polish. Do you know any metal bands from Poland? The Polish metal scene is very strong.

Absolutely! Poland has many great bands. Most famous is probably Behemoth, which I like very much. I also find Nergal’s side project “Me and that Man” very exciting. Thanks to the great Witcher games I also got to know Percival Schuttenbach.

Pavel – Yeah, Percival is growing in strength!

Livius Pilavi – And what is your attitude towards Christian metal?

Basically, I find religion one of the greatest evils on this planet. No matter which. But there are good and bad people everywhere. I have nothing at all against Christian Metal and I think everyone can live out his Metal as he wants, as long as one doesn’t harm anyone with it.

Pavel – Thank you for the interview! Finally, I will ask you about your plans for the future…

Thank you very much for the exciting questions! As soon as our drummer has recovered we want to play live again to promote our new album Chapter Zero. We don’t look further into the future yet.