Recently I had the pleasure to interview one of my favorite new heavy metal bands in Trial. This Swedish five-piece released their amazing debut full-length "The Primordial Temple" earlier this year through The Coffins Slave. Read on further to hear about future recordings, live shows, and a little history about the band!
Trial - Hello fellow sinner! Trial first saw the light back in 2007 when the urge to create something real and everlasting manifested, thus making us kill all our previous teenage endeavors to form this unit. We heard the call and answered accordingly!
SFM - You released your debut album "The Primordial Temple" earlier this year through The Coffins Slave. How has the response to the record been and is there anything you would change about it? What have been some of the common praises or complaints (if any) about it?
Trial - Well, it seems like if some people like it and some don’t – just like it should be! Looking back at it I wouldn’t change a thing, what was written years before and up until that very moment when we entered the studio represents us where we stood right there and then. With that out of the way we can now start to unravel ourselves for the next thing to come…
SFM - What inspired some of the lyrical themes on "The Primordial Temple?" (The title track and the very epic and awesome "Phosphoros" in particular).Trial - The beckoning darkness and the urge to explore it further!
SFM - Could you give the readers any insight into how Trial goes about songwriting? Is it a collaborative process or does one member maybe write a song and bring it in for the rest of the group to learn?
Trial - Usually me (A.J) and A.E writes about 50% each. Riffs are received and shown unto the band and then worked on by everyone. A collaboration that works very well for us!
SFM - Being a band from Sweden, how did the collaboration between the Australian label The Coffins Slave and Trial come about? How has it been working with them?
Trial - We first released our demo in the form of a CD-r, with homemade printed covers etc. Somehow Shannon of The Coffins Slave got a copy and liked what he heard, later on he ended up releasing that same demo but on tape and things went on from there. He has been great to work with since he is first and foremost a music fan and the fact that he is doing this because of his passion for the art itself.
SFM - Are there any plans to tour later this year? Any plans to venture outside of Sweden and possibly overseas? Have you played any of the bigger festivals in Europe? What is the main goal for the band as far as what a live Trial experience should be?
Trial - No plans are made as far as touring goes, though we have some shows coming up, for example Metal Magic 2013 in Denmark, so keep your eyes open!
Our goal is to enhance and express the feeling of the music we play with the aesthetics and performance during the shows. To give form to the formless...
SFM - Sweden has been a hotbed for new metal acts recently, with traditional metal and death metal bands being the most prevalent. What are your thoughts on the scene and are there any other bands that the readers should be aware of?
Trial - Well, I’m not sure to be honest. When you live over here you don’t really notice this so called scene that everyone outside Sweden talks about. But yes, there are some great bands coming from Sweden at the moment, except the obvious you should check out: Ensnared, Vornth & Gust. Three completely different bands doing their own thing.
SFM - Even though you just released your debut album, has the band been working on new material? When can Trial fans expect to hear some new songs?
Trial - Yes, we have some new songs that we are working on at the moment. Trial fans should expect to hear from us pretty soon if everything works according to the plan, but on the other hand, it never does…
SFM - That about concludes this interview. Thank you for your time and do you have any words for your fans?
Trial - Thank you for the interview! Contact: TrialHeavyMetal@gmail.com