Sweden have produced many fine guitarists over the years. Of the lastest batch to have emerged in the last few years none are shining as bright as Winterlong's Thorbjorn Englund. The band recently released 'The Second Coming' which was a very impressive slice of Nordic Metal showing a vastly different band to that that appeared on their debut. I caught up with Thorbjorn to find out how the change came about and what else he has planned over the coming months.

Hi Thorbjorn, thanks for agreeing to this interview. Winterlong's The Second Coming has been out a few months now, how has the reaction been to it?
Hi Andy!
Yes, that´s right. It was released in June. My expectations for this album have already been overrided thanks to all the great reviews I´ve recieved about it. In most of the reviews the main difference from the first album, according to the journalists, are a better sound and a more "mature" approach to the metal. I must of course agree, cuz there has been improvements in every aspect on The Second Coming... and I feel proud about it. It feels powerful and honest, and it doesn´t sound like just another band in the genre of "powermetal", that nowadays has become so popular!

I noticed quite a change in the sound from 'Valley Of The Lost' to 'The Second Coming'. Was the change intentional or was this just how the album panned out?
A-ha, see there! Yepp, it was very intentional. I already had the sound in my head as I started to work out the songs. I wanted to make it very "in-your-face"-kind of sounding, and to really maintain the raw guitar sounds that comes out from the amplifier, not so polished and glossy-sounding like most powermetal. And eventhough we have synths and stuff it still never feels too "fine", at least in my opinion..., but it´s difficult to explain, once you hear it you´ll know what I´m talking about.

When did you start working on the album?
In the spring of 2002.

What did you have in mind when writing for it?
I wanted this album to speak out, and what I had in mind other than the sound was to put my guitar a little more in focus than on the first album. I think I got it quite right this time.

Mikael Holm took over the vocalist spot, what led to the change and where did you find Mikael, he's magnificent!?
Yepp, he truly is a great singer! The change, (actually all the members were replaced except me and the keyman) was due to different intentions within the former line-up. The other guys wanted to "make it big" and to search their fortune without me, so I had no other option than to look for some new fresh musicians.
Mikael is an old friend of mine, from the time in school... so it was just natural to call him up since I knew what kind of guy I was looking for to handle the mic. He has the talent and the voice to really boost Winterlong that little extra.

I must say I feel there was a noticeable leap in quality in every department on the new album. How do you compare 'The Second Coming' to 'Valley Of The Lost'?
They are almost like night and day. The second coming is truly the metal I really wanna play, and the compositions are really something other than just the powermetal that we now are associated with, thanks to Valley..., not of course saying there is something wrong with powermetal, but nowadays they all sound like Helloween and Hammerfall, so someone must break the circle... I´ve figured.... hehe.....

Do you have any plans to tour in support of the new album?
Actually not right now. You see, I am currently working day and night in my studio with the second album of the band Starqueen. And I´ve also started to write for the third Winterlong album, so right now is seems like time is just not enough to realize all on my hands, however, a tour will be off, but not right now.

What led you to pick up the guitar?
I got my first guitar at the age of 10 after a few years of keyboard playing... but I quickly got tired of it since I felt so limited and unknowing about guitarplaying. I left it in the closet for a while, just played it from time to time... improvising to Guns N´Roses and Iron Maiden. (Must have sounded horrible, *laughing*). Then at age 16 the breakthrough in my playing came about when I watched a video with Yngwie Malmsteen. This guy turned my world up-side down and I didn´t do anything else but playing for about five years... It was incredible what things you could do with a guitar, and I started to unlock the mysteries with scales and arpeggios etc. etc. etc., and well... time passed by and I recorded demos and formed bands here and there, and finally we got a record deal and a few years later I am here presenting my second album.

Who were your early influences and what did you draw from their playing?
My early influnces, besides Yngwie, are all the classic metal bands of the 80´s, like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Guns N´roses and all the others that I grew up with. I just love the metal music of the ´80´s, and I guess you can trace it pretty well into Winterlongs material.

Do you play any other instruments?
Yepp, I am quite handy with most "rock n´roll"-instruments, drums, keys, bass and such, but I wouldn´t dare to say I am a multi-instrumentalist, cuz my focus is in the guitar.

What guitars do you use, are they modified in any way?
Fender Stratocaster, nothing else. I have tried some other guitars, and as a matter of fact my very first guitar was a Yamaha with a scallopped fretboard, but I´ve always returned back to the strat. It´s the best.
My guitars are not modified other than when it comes to the microphones and the frets. I put stacked singel coils in, to prevent the guitars from the well known hum, and change the frets to jumbos. I do have a scallopped strat, but I prefere the stock ones.

What about amplification and effects?
I prefere Marshall, but I also like Fender very much.
When it comes to effects I don´t do other than reverb and delay.

How do you record your guitars?
Level on 11, glowing tubes and a big potion of adrenalin. ;-)

What sound do you look for when recording and playing live?
A great tube sound, where the characteristics of the pre-amp really comes alive.
I usually max the pre-amp until I get a choking kind of sound when I play the neck pickup on the lower strings, and then I look for the crispy sounds for the bridge pickup, this makes my sound.

What areas do you feel you have grown in as a player over the last few years?
Technique, feeling, and overall improvising. I really like to improvise, and all my solos are caught on the fly, except for some melodic pieces here and there that I keep to, but otherwise I just wait for the red light and go crazy. It is a nice feeling to be in control over the guitar, and to not be "afraid" of the notes.

What do you have planned next?
The release of Starqueen as I mentioned earlier. We´re currently recording the vocals.

Where do you see your music heading?
I hope I will grow with my music in the same pace as I´ve developed so far, and that Winterlong eventually will become a name well known in metal. I can see no other future but to keep on doing what I love - to play guitar.

Any tips on dealing with the music industry?
Be true. This goes for both sides. Honesty is rare in the music business, especially in the commercial division... Luckily I´ve got a very dependable partner in LionMusic.
My tips of the day are; do what you like, stand for what you are, and do not sell out to the first best, be wise.

Anything else to say to the readers of virtuosityone.com
Check out Winterlongs The Second Coming, and see you all on the road, hopefully soon!

Thank you for your time and for taking part in this interview.
Thanks Andy! It was nice talking to you!
All the best,
Thorbjorn Englund.


Interview by Andy Craven

Thorbjorn Englund/Winterlong Links