CRUCIFIED BARBARA Frontwoman MIA 'COLDHEART' KARLSSON On Band's Reunion: It Feels 'Like Coming Home'

In a new interview with the Apex Lifestyles podcast, CRUCIFIED BARBARA vocalist/guitarist Mia "Coldheart" Karlsson spoke about the band's decision to reunite for its first live performances in 10 years. CRUCIFIED BARBARA's comeback will begin with an appearance at Sweden Rock Festival, taking place June 4-7, 2025.

Asked how the reunion transpired, Mia said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Actually we didn't talk for a couple of years after we split up, The break was mostly because of me; the other three [girls] kept playing in the band THE HEARD. And yeah, I just was hiding under a stone for a few years. And when I started to play again, I thought I was only gonna play the acoustic stuff because that's what I felt like. And then I was introduced to a process to come back to the stage and play first the guitar with DONNA CANNONE and then the bass with THE GEMS. And all of a sudden I found myself on these rock stages again. And then two years ago, we actually reached out and met, just had a beer and talked, and it felt really, really good to meet everybody. And it just was like a big relief to finally meet them again and talk. But we didn't talk about like playing or anything back then. We just wanted to hang out then. Now it was maybe [last] summer when I realized, like, I love playing music again, and there's nothing in the way. We felt like, why don't we just meet and rehearse and see how it feels and just play some songs together? And we did. And it just felt like coming home. Yeah. It was amazing."

She continued: "I love the girls and I missed them so much during these years. It's just been so much to process and now so much to work through. And, yeah, to get this chance was amazing. So we just felt like, yeah, why not do a reunion now when we all want to play together again? And I'm really happy. And people are surprised. [They ask], 'Are you the original lineup?' It's, like, yeah, of course. There is no other way to do CRUCIFIED BARBARA."

Regarding what CRUCIFIED BARBARA's plans are for the coming months, Mia said: "We wanna do shows and just have fun with it. And as long as it's fun, we're gonna keep playing."

CRUCIFIED BARBARA's 2025 lineup consists of Karlsson, guitarist Klara "Force" Rönnqvist Fors, bassist Ida "Evileye" Stenbacka and drummer Jannicke "Nicki Wicked" Lindström.

In addition to the Sweden Rock Festival, CRUCIFIED BARBARA will appear at this year's Resurrection Fest in Spain, Skogsröjet festival in Sweden and La Guerre Du Son festival in France.

From the release of their debut album "In Distortion We Trust" (2005) up until their split in 2016, CRUCIFIED BARBARA became known as one of Sweden's hardest-working hard rock bands, with countless touring miles across the globe. Whether playing in gritty rock clubs on four continents, under the spotlight of Melodifestivalen or on numerous festival stages, they consistently showed how hard rock should be done.

CRUCIFIED BARBARA is a band that has always walked its own path. A group unafraid of exploring both dark metal and heartfelt ballads, blending the soft and the heavy to create their own unique hard rock brew. Now, they're back to once again deliver that brew live, in a celebration showcasing the best from their four albums: "In Distortion We Trust" (2005),"'Til Death Do Us Party" (2009),"The Midnight Chase" (2012) and "In The Red" (2014).

In a January 2019 interview with France's Loud TV, Klara said that CRUCIFIED BARBARA's 2016 split had been a long time coming. "It had been kind of a hard time for a while, so it was time for us to move forward," she said. "It was just the next step in life — to quit the old and start fresh."

After CRUCIFIED BARBARA's breakup, Klara , Ida and Nicki joined forces with DEATHSTARS bassist Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur (on lead guitar) and burlesque performer, model and singer Pepper Potemkin in a new group, the aforementioned THE HEARD. THE HEARD's debut album, "The Island", was released in November 2018 via Despotz Records.

CRUCIFIED BARBARA announced its breakup in June 2016, two years after the release of the band's fourth album, "In The Red". The group explained at the time that "our lives have parted and we need to move on. The last years have taken its toll on all of us and the joy of playing together got lost somewhere along the way."

More recently, Karlsson has been the touring bassist for THE GEMS, the new band featuring former THUNDERMOTHER members Guernica Mancini, Emlee Johansson and Mona Lindgren. She has also pursued a solo career.

Photo: Damon Zurawski