Tomas Olsson comments on each song on the album Nosferatu (2006):
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First of all I would like to explain that Nosferatu is a concept album about the balance between good and evil. We follow one man on his quest to fight the evil demon Nosferatu (the face of the devil) and restore the balance between good and evil, light and dark, heaven and hell…
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Behind
The Moon - This song kind of gradually turned into the perfect
opener for the album. I had this idea of an intro with a single guitar
pumping just to build up some tension and then add another harmony-guitar
on top off it, kind of like a mix between "Princess of the Dawn"
by Accept and "The Number of the Beast" by Maiden. Urban's whispering
vocals during the intro definitely creates the right dark and mysterious
mood for the song. The following twin guitar melody is one of my personal
favourites on the album, that's why it returns two more times during the
song;) hahaha. I had a different chorus in mind for this song at first,
but when Urban showed us his idea there was no question about that that
was better. Both Fredrik and I felt that this was a very strong track
and we wanted to finish it off in a "grandiose" way, the "ohh
ohh ohhh" arena sing-a-long thing is the result.
Lyrics content: The story begins with a message being sent from behind
the moon telling our hero about the complexity and strength of the sunlight
and how he can use it to his advantage when fighting the demon later on
in the story. He also gets to understand what its like to feel true fear,
a valuable lesson which he will never forget for as long as he lives.
From now on the moon will be his guide, but only the prophet can predict
his path.
Into
The Dark - A song that we didn't feel that good about at first
but it ended up being really cool. We kept on adding small bits and pieces
to it, like the bombastic intro, the "Dream Theaterish" verse,
Fredrik's cool chorus arrangement and the catchy twin guitar melody. Eventually
we had a pretty good song. This track also has one of the best guitar
solos I think.
Lyrics content: In the song Into The Dark he is shown how easy it is
to manipulate and brainwash the human mind into doing terrible things.
And once you have reached a certain point there is no turning back, you
are in total denial and can only fall deeper into the dark, beyond all
salvation. Knowing this point will be crucial for his survival.
Nosferatu
- The best song I've ever written and in my opinion it's the best
track on the album. When I finished editing Urban's vocals for the chorus
I just sat there with a smile on my face with the chorus on repeat. I
sent a text message to Fredrik saying "We have a killer here…"
hahaha, sounds very corny, but it's the truth. The twin guitar melody
when the gallop starts is a personal favourite. We wanted something extra
special for this song, so we added an intro with thunder, rain and a gigantic
church bell. We wanted to capture the feeling of a man standing at the
gates of hell…
Lyrics content: A wrong turn leads him down to the gates of hell where he witness the final ceremony and gets a glimpse of what's behind the gates. They say that you should know your enemy, the black eyes of the demon Nosferatu will forever remind him of whom he is up against. The end is near when the demon feels his presence and unleashes the hellhounds.
Metal
Monster - One of the first songs that we worked on for the album.
Fredrik gave me this guitar riff idea that you can hear in the intro.
I though it was great and immediately started to work on it, and all of
a sudden the music for the entire song was written! I don't think it's
ever been so easy? We usually take forever to get every detail perfect.
It must have been luck! We gave the song to Urban and when it came back
it was called "Metal Monster"!!! Only a guy like Urban can pull
off something like that…hahaha…. He added his touch to it and
edited the chorus and it turned out really good. We had some disagreements
about the twin guitar melody straight after the intro, Urban didn't like
it but the rest of us did, so we kept it.
Lyrics content: When things look the worst and he is ready to return his soul standing on the edge of time, suddenly she appears with a big flash out of the black sky, a metal monster with screaming tires and spewing flames. She saved him this time, but will she be around the next time…
Crucified
- Fredrik wanted to write a song
with a touch of neo classic elements to it, so he wrote the basics for
"Crucified". I thought it was a good idea and saw it as a challenge
to come up with some shredding guitar parts. This song contains great
vocal performance and a high speed guitar solo. This track is one of the
Japanese labels favourites. And I know Urban like it a lot.
Lyrics content: The mystery starts to unfold. According to the prophet
there is only one way to experience true pain and understand the meaning
of pure sacrifice, and that is to suffer stigmata, the very essence of
crucifixion. The fallen angel is sent to inflict upon him this terrible
curse. After seven days and seven nights in screaming agony the horrible
creature in his mind is finally released. Having faced his inner demons
he miraculously recovers from the wasteland of death, but betrayal is
near…
Desdemonamelia
- The first song we worked on as a band. This one is a little bit
different than the rest of the songs. We wanted to step a bit outside
of the frames for how classic heavy metal is made, but still keep the
melodies. It has a more modern arrangement and a "futuristic"
kind of sound. The "spaced-out" bridge between the second chorus
and the guitar solo is another thing that makes this song stand out and
a bit special.
Lyrics content: Confused and weak he turns to the crystal ball for directions
not knowing that behind the friendly mask is the daughter of the beast,
Amelia, so well disguised that only the tail can reveal her. She casts
a spell upon him and sends him blindfolded into the night.
Fallen
From Grace - Full on power metal, following all the rules and with
all the right ingredients. The thick sound of the guitar melody during
the intro comes from more than 40 guitars (three harmonies in every octave).
Urban's majestic sing-a-long at the end of the song is very impressive.
This one has got a lot of energy and if you like Helloween, you will probably
like "Fallen" too.
Lyrics content: Wandering the underworld like a demon for several days
and nights without water, he finally finds the sea of the damned. Without
thinking he falls down on his knees drinking from the forbidden well.
The next morning his soul is trapped at the bottom of the sea, he has
now fallen from grace. Nosferatu can feel it and gradually starts to control
his mind.
Screams
In The Night - This song started out as a bass melody that I keep
playing every time I got my hands on a bass. Eventually I decided to make
a song out of it. The melody also worked out great as the vocal line for
the verse. The chorus was initially a guitar melody that I later changed
to the vocal line. One of the highlights is definitely when Urban screams
"buuuurrn" towards the end. A very straight forward song with
a traditional arrangement.
Lyrics content: A nearby village becomes his first target. Abducting
all the children in the still of the night, he returns to the valley of
fear. Not being able to control his hunger for blood he pulls out his
knife, their screams could be heard for miles and miles around. This terrible
crime can only be described as a bloodbath.
For
The King - I had a couple of good guitar riffs that I didn't know
what to do with. They didn't seem to fit anywhere, then I got the brilliant
idea of putting them together….:| Sometimes you don't see the most
obvious things. At the beginning we were not so sure about the vocal line
for the verse, but it grew on us and after a while we started to like
it. I'm very pleased with the pre-chorus and the high pitch chorus is
very powerful.
Lyrics content: He is now in the legion of the king Nosferatu, fighting
amongst the dead and the unholy for the cause of the black eyes. Prepared
to fight until the end, to kill or to be killed. Without neither heart
nor soul the demon can control his every move, anything for the king.
Midnight
Sun - Another wildcard that we were not so sure of at first, but
it grew on us. After a lot of rearranging we finally saw the light at
the end of the tunnel. This song takes a couple interesting turns, first
between the stiff drum roll intro and the pounding verse, and later the
change between the dark "minor" pre-chorus and the catchy and
happy "major" chorus. The sweep arpeggio before the solo also
makes this song stand out.
Lyrics content: The final mission is now laid upon him. He shall travel
to the land of the forest, ice and snow, in the light of the midnight
sun. His mission is to return all the darkness that has been lost because
of the midnight sun. What Nosferatu does not know, is that the power and
strength of the midnight sun is by far stronger than he could ever imagined.
On
The Battlefield - Again a very straight forward metal track with
a soft "acoustic" intro that returns at the end, it gives you
a nice feeling of closure. There was really no question about which song
was going to end the album. The "outro" of "On The Battlefield"
makes for a perfect ending of the story.
Lyrics content: Our story ends on the battlefield where only the brave and the righteous can win, cause heaven or hell is the end. Our main character is now put face to face with the demon Nosferatu, staring into his deep black eyes. Will he fall into total darkness and submit to the dark powers of Nosferatu? Or will he fight him and use his new skills to restore the balance between good and evil, and bring life back to the kingdom? This epic battle becomes the darkest and bloodiest of all centuries.
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If you want all the details of the story, please read the lyrics for each song on our website at www.bloodbound.se
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Related links:
www.bloodbound.se