Only a few weeks after we last talked to him, alongside guitarist David Andersson, we’re back on the phone with Bjorn “Speed” Strid – which makes sense when you realize the man has released two exceptionally good albums in quick succession, with The Night Flight Orchestra and Soilwork. Since we already questioned him about the former, this time we talked about the latter and The Ride Majestic, the new album. Released after the mastodon that was The Living Infinite, their double record from 2013, The Ride Majestic has benefitted from its predecessor from a creative point of view, and in the way the band redefined itself during the experience. But it is also a special album in its own way: not only is it the first without the band’s original bass player, Ola Flink, it was also created in rather tragic circumstances, as the musicians went through the death of several loved ones. Speed tells us how these events have left a mark on the music and the themes of the album, and even mentions his own vision of death.

A few days before this interview was originally posted, Speed made available an interesting two-part documentary on the conception of the album and the origins of the band. This gold mine for the fans, which sometimes delves into intimate details, has inspired a few of our questions, mainly regarding Speed’s ska/reggae past, or the fact that he liked to take naps listening to black metal when he came back from school in his younger years.

Read the interview…