SOILWORK Frontman On Hockey, Lineup Changes And The City Of Pittsburgh

November 7, 2007

SOILWORK frontman Björn "Speed" Strid reveals in the November/December issue of Metal Maniacs that he once had aspirations to be a professional hockey player. He also discusses the band's latest album, "Sworn to a Great Divide", the after-effects of lineup changes on the long-running group, and the city of Pittsburgh. Here are some excerpts:

Metal Maniacs: At what point did you realize you were dealing with a business? No matter how you slice it, the music scene is a business.

Strid: When we released "A Predator's Portrait". We realized there's so much business we had never dealt with. I used to play hockey for 10 years. I was pretty good. I was almost on the Swedish Junior National Team. I quit because I felt it was a business. It wasn't fun anymore. I started a band instead. I just wanted to rock 'n' roll, tour and drink beer. I was silly to think there wouldn't a business around that. It's crazy. It kills some of it. You don't want to be a part of the business. It's a necessary evil though.

Metal Maniacs: What position did you play?

Strid: I was center. I didn't dream of being a rock star as a kid. My dreams were to be in the NHL. I looked up to Wayne Gretzky. I was in his fan club. I had signed pictures sent to my house. I finally got to see him in person. I was in Phoenix in June visiting a friend and we went to see the Coyotes. It was my first NHL game. It was a trip to see Gretzky there as a coach. Also, in the middle of the game I discovered [Mathias] Tjärnqvist played with the Coyotes. I played with him. I used to hate that guy. I couldn't believe he was in Phoenix. For a moment, I thought, "Fuck, why did I give that up?" It would be cool to meet him. Actually, I'm sure he'd be more surprised to see me. I miss hockey sometimes, but I love metal more.

Metal Maniacs: Did you ever think about retiring SOILWORK after learning guitarist/songwriter Peter Wichers was going to leave the band?

Strid: Not really. Of course, when he told us he was going to jump off the band, we went into a little depression period. It felt like a brother left the band. It was a big separation. We talked a lot during that time. We felt we had a lot to give. We don't want to stop. I don't see the point in stopping either because I think we shouldn't underestimate ourselves. We've contributed a lot over the years. I've done all the vocal melodies. We just knew we had what it takes to continue to make SOILWORK music without it sounding forced. We can only write songs in the SOILWORK way. We've been in this band for 10 years now and we have the same mission even if we come from different backgrounds.

Metal Maniacs: What's the song "The Pittsburgh Syndrome" about?

Strid: It's about a day in Pittsburgh. It was on the last tour we did for "Stabbing the Drama" in the States. Everyone was ready to go home. We had done 250 shows for that album. Everyone was mentally frustrated and tired. People were nagging on one another. There wasn't a good vibe with the crew. DARKEST HOUR jumped off the tour 'cause the guitarist got sick. Kids were starting to burn their tickets outside our tour bus, blaming us for DARKEST HOUR for jumping off the tour. It was raining. It's like, "Fuck, I want to go home." We thought the gig was going to be shit, 'cause we know DARKEST HOUR draw a lot of people. When we got up on stage the whole room was packed! The vibe was great in there. The crowd was crazy — absolutely nuts! It turned out to be one of the best shows we've ever done in the States. We had an awesome after-party at a bar in Pittsburgh with the fans, drank way too much, puked in the back lounge. All the good stuff. (Laughs) It was a great party, especially with all the fans there. So the song is about the turning of that day. It's a reminder to the band. Whenever we're in a bad mood, we remind ourselves of Pittsburgh. It's like, "Let's turn this day around." It's a straightforward lyric — almost cliché — but it's a tribute to the fans in Pittsburgh.

Metal Maniacs' November/December 2007 issue hits shelves November 20.

Watch fan-filmed video footage of SOILWORK performing the song "Exile" in Cologne, Germany on October 25, 2007:

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