Leach started out as a melodic death/thrash metal band from their native country of Sweden, in their earlier days as a band, they came to releasing their debut album Blindfold in 2012 which certainly gave the band a good starting point for what direction they wanted to take. So even after this they released a short EP titled Above All which came out in 2014, solidifying their status as a band from Sweden, their second album titled Hymns For The Hollow was out in 2018. I had the pleasure of reviewing their third studio album titled Lovely Light Of Life which was released in 2021, a great album but this was not to be the end, as the band went on to release their fourth album titled New Model Of Disbelief in 2024.

The band themselves are led by singer and guitarist Markus Wikander, who has one hell of a vocal range, as he also plays guitar which provides a great chunk of the guitar melodies. On guitars also is Robert “Böbb” Karlsson as well as Tobias Oja on bass guitar giving the band their tone and their drummer Joachim Dahlström lashing those skins like his life depended on it. After 20 years as a band, it has been said that they “continue on to carve their own path in the modern metal landscape, with a reputation of high-octane performances and a sound that bridges classic aggression with modern precision, embracing a sound that is both punishing, dynamic and wholly their own”. So with that in mind, I shall be speaking to their vocalist Markus Wikander to see what the band has been up to recently as well as some questions on their band formation, their albums and some really interesting facts I found on them.

Thank you so much for having me on.

Well I've been a metalhead since birth basically. Growing up with older brothers who were strongly into metal, especially the NWOBHM era and actually have home videos of me standing in diapers trying to head bang to Maiden/Saxon/Motörhead, you name it. My dad taught me the basic chords on acoustic guitar and I learned some Creedence songs and what not but for me it was Anthrax - I am the law that did it for me and made me wanna pick up an electric. Twin guitar maiden solos always seemed too far of a stretch but this trashy, more riff based songs really felt somewhat more "reachable" and really opened my world into something new.

Me and Jocke (drummer) started out in our early teens at our local youth center. They had like a campaign where they wanted kids to get into music and instruments in general and we jumped on the offer. Got to borrow instruments and start out from scratch together more or less and have continued on since. Started the band instantly with two other friends. First couple of years were mainly spent struggling to learn our instruments basically. First show we did Iron Maiden, Paranoid and Cranberries - Zombie and from there on we slipped more and more into "pure" thrash with inspiration from Kreator, Exodus, Nuclear Assault etc mixed with strong Swedish influences in The Haunted, Entombed, Arch Enemy etc.

Yeah it's crazy when you think about it. It's been a great deal in life for such a long time now. And yeah as I said the first couple of years were mainly spent learning how to play at all and we were kind of happy with that. We were four friends who have known each other since kindergarten and it was more about the "hang" than reaching any type of goals really. Released a couple of demos around -06 ´til -09 and a self produced full length 2012, then we went on some sort of hiatus for a couple of years. Still active as a band but with university studies in different locations of the country made us rehearse whenever we had the opportunity to meet up basically.

I'd say it changed a lot tbh. We matured as people and musicians and became better at the sort of craftsmanship. If Blindfold were straight up Thrash I'd say Hymns had more of a Thrash'n'Roll kind of feel to it and we were more open into trying out different genres and interween them all. We've been called Death, Thrash, Metalcore, Speed and even Deathcore - whatever really. For me it's important not to lock yourself up in a specific genre and just be open with whatever comes out.

Markus - Well Sweden never really had a big thrash wave back in the eighties, but instead went straight into death metal. And still I think it's leaning more towards death as a whole still but we see a lot of younger thrash bands right now who are on the rise. In general heavy music has been recognized more in latter years and gets kudos and prizes from the government etc since it's considered a big export.

So 2020 the pandemic hit and Björn was left with I think two album releases (Soilwork, Night Flight Orchestra) and cancelled touring cycles of them both. So the timing of everything shutting down was as you can imagine not the best for him. So he offered his works through social media and we picked up on that. Us being Soilwork fans since early 2000 jumped on the offer. We handed him the lyrics and he recorded vox in his studio in Stockholm and sent it over to Studio Fredman, Gothenburg where we recorded the single at the time. No retakes, nothing but golden from the start and a total pro.

I usually get super nervous before playing in our home crowd so I'd say I prefer playing abroad and feel more relaxed in general haha.

We get to hear that we got a groove element which I can agree on. Of course big Pantera fans but also Hatebreed and Swedes Raised Fist. It's hard not to take influence from those guys. So a chunk of groove/HC in the mix.

So we stayed the same four piece 'till 2018 and the release of Hymns.. With that release we kind of said hey let's see how far we can take this and have it all on a more serious level. Victor believed he couldn't chip in the time and effort needed and decided to take a step back, leading up to our first lineup change. Had some guitarists in between before settling with Robert, also a childhood friend, who played bass in death metal band "As you drown" before their split. Anders left 2023 on the same terms as Victor and Tobias first filled in on our tour with Belphegor / Kampfar before joining in as a full time member later 2023. Borås has a rather small music community when it comes to metal and we knew Tobias from black/thrash band Rimfrost and since then again a solid four piece.

So apart from Björn we've had Marcus Sunesson (The Crown, Cyhra, Engel) laying down a guest solo on 'Apathetic' from New model.. As easy as Björn , first send out and no changes needed, golden from the start. I could think of a hundred top of mind with native heroes Mikael Stanne, Anders Fridén etc. Jamey Jasta would be cool. Alissa White would be cool. Mille Petrozza likewise but if I could pick freely I'd say LG Petrov. Now that's obviously never gonna happen but it's a nice thought. One of the great.

Always fun to experience new places that we've never been to. Last tour we did some dates in Poland, Hungary and a small town in Transylvania - Romania. Smaller place with older equipment. Didn't expect much to be honest at first but turned out to be the best on the tour. Great response with great people!

That's our hope. We plan on writing new material during summer months and hope to release a single(s) this coming fall. For us it makes more sense right now releasing singles, having proper promotion with videos and stuff than releasing full albums when we don't have the proper backing and muscles of a larger label.

Thank you Andrew, any time! All the best to ya all.