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On the
lead-up to the release of the bands third album 'Clash Of The Elements'
we catch up with bassist Pontus Egberg to find out what's been happening
in the land of The Poodles since our last chat.
MM - Hi
Pontus, firstly thanks for taking time out for this interview.
Pontus -
Yes sure, no problem.
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MM
- The new album ' Clash Of The Elements' is the band's third
album, some say the third album is the hardest, was this the
case?
Pontus
- Well we’ve all heard that the third album is the make or
break album, but we’ve tried not to think about it too much
during the making of the album. We tried to do the best
album we could and we think we’ve pulled it off pretty well.
I really like the way the album has come out. We’re all
very pleased with the result.
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MM - The
album itself is a little different from the previous two albums, the
guitar sound in particular, does this have anything to do with
Henrik’s introduction to the band?
Pontus -
Yes is probably does. All guitar players have different sounds and
styles so this probably has a lot to do with it.
MM - Where the band surprised when Pontus Norgren said he was leaving
the band to join Hammerfall?
Pontus -
Yeh we were taken by surprise. I wouldn’t say it was a big
shock, we were a bit surprised that it came so sudden as well, but after
a little while we found Henrik who has done a fantastic job.
MM - Did you know Henrik before Pontus left?
Pontus -
Yes we did, Jakob knew Henrik. He was actually one of the guys we
considered for the guitarist job from the very start of the band but he
wasn’t available at that time. We needed a replacement badly and
he was available and very willing to do the job.
MM - The album opens up with ‘Too Much Of Everything’, not the
opener a lot of people will expect, what was the thinking behind this?
Pontus -
Well, firstly let me say we love that song all of us, it's very
emotional opening it very dynamic. In a way it sort of represents
the entire album on one song. That song has all the different
elements of the rest of the album with its catchy chorus and guitar
solo. We really liked the song so that was the main reason, but
also we thought it was kind of a cool way to open the album in a way
that many people would have thought.
MM - The band's last two albums had numerous writing credits to them,
this album also does, what is the reason behind this?
Pontus -
Well mostly we're a very creative band, writing in particular.
Jakob, myself and Henrik, we had something like thirty five or forty
songs written when we started thinking about this album. So we
picked our favourites and this is how it turned out this time. So
maybe some of those songs that were left will make it next time I
don’t know.
MM - The bands only UK appearance this year is at Firefest, are the band
looking forward to this?
Pontus -
Very much so. We haven’t been in the UK for over two years and
we're very much looking forward to playing for you guys again.
MM - If all things go well will you consider expanding the tour to
include a few more UK dates
Pontus -
We would very much like to do more shows, if not this time then maybe
next spring, but would definitely like to do more shows in the UK.
MM - I hope so because when I saw you in Bradford with Krokus and
Hammerfall, the whole place was jumping, even the hardened metalheads
were getting into the band!
Pontus -
Yes I think we came across pretty well on that whole tour, a lot of
people maybe thought a lot of their fans wouldn’t be into our music,
but that was a very good show.
MM - What can the fans expect from a Poodles show when you play live
later this year?
Pontus -
Well we’ll be doing songs from our previous albums and a lot of new
material. It’s just gonna be like last time, full steam ahead
and no holding back and just go for it 110%.
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MM
- The album is full of good time rock n' roll, is it important
to have that feel good factor in your albums?
Pontus -
Yeh, What can I say, it's the kind of music we enjoy playing and
listening to as well. If the music makes you feel good,
especially on stage when you playing live, it's very good and a
very important factor is to have a good time and enjoy the
music.
MM -
Yes, at Bradford when I saw you it was a high-energy show and
that’s what I think got the whole crowd going.
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MM -
There are some great tracks on the album like ‘Like No Tomorrow’,
'Give Me A Sign' and 'Don’t Rescue Me' are a few of my favourites, but
what tracks are the band particularly proud of?
Pontus - Firstly
we are all very proud of the whole album. As for favourite songs
they vary a bit from person to person but I’m very much into the
one’s you mentioned but also 'Too Much Of Everything’. ‘Dream To
Follow’ is another favourite of mine.
MM - Yes I found the album a very eclectic mix of songs, but they all
seem to mix very very well.
Pontus -
Yes that’s really nice to hear. The the album is full of highs
and low’s and everything in between.
MM - The band did the Swedish bands Olympic theme something the band
have in common with Gotthard, you did the same for the Swiss Winter
Olympics, what an honour!
Pontus -
Yes very much. We were very proud and honoured to be chosen to do
represent the Swedish Olympic team. Unfortunately the Swedish
athletes didn’t do so well, so the song didn’t have as long a life
as we would have hoped for.
MM - After the tour what do the band have planned for 2010?
Pontus -
It’s not in any way definite yet but we are hoping to do another tour
later in the Spring and hopefully do a few UK dates on that tour, and do
some festivals in the Summer and continue to promote 'Clash Of The
Elements', then maybe in the fall start talking about our fourth album.
MM - The band have only been going since 2005 and have three albums
already!
Pontus -
Yes, we’ve been keeping a pretty good pace. The first album was
released only in Sweden but the second in 2006 and then this one three
years later, so I think this time we’ll have a little longer before we
release the next one. Maybe 2011.
MM - I understand you’ve played some of the new material live already?
How have the new songs gone down with the fans?
Pontus -
Yes we’ve been touring in Sweden and playing five new songs, which
have been very, well received.
MM - Have you had any plans to take the band to America?
Pontus -
Yeh definitely, we're looking at the options right now to get the album
released in the US. Hopefully that will resolve itself very
shortly.
MM - Finally thanks for taking time out to chat with us this evening,
any words for your army of fans out there, not just here in the UK but
Worldwide?
Pontus -
Well just like to ask everyone to check out the new album 'Clash Of The
Elements'. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed and if you
have a chance come and see us live. Also check out our website at www.thepoodles.se
for information
about the tour dates and all kinds of stuff.
MM - I can whole-heartedly recommend this band to anyone who like good
quality, catchy hard rock with plenty of sing-a-long chorus's and great
hooks. Their new album is well worth checking out. Fingers
crossed we'll see The Poodles return to these shores again soon to do a
full UK tour.
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