Mattias Barjed

Free Fall

Swedish rockers FREE FALL have just released their debut album "Power & Volume" through Nuclear Blast Records. The album is the perfect throw back to when bands cared more about jamming than how loud and fast they can play. Filled with catchy songwriting, infectious melodies and dirty guitar licks, Blacknasa had the chance to speak with guitarist Mattias Bärjed about all things FREE FALL
By Eldad "Blacknasa" Stainbook
March 21, 2013
Mattias Barjed (Free Fall) interview

Mattias Bärjed it is a great honor having you take the time for this interview for Metal Temple. I am a huge fan of your band FREE FALL and your new album. The first question that popped up for me was, can you explain FREEDOM ROCK?

Freedom rock it's about the feeling in the music, let the music take you to a better place and let the music free you, Jan Martens thought about that after listening to VAN HALEN that they music sound so easy and flow so nice and the Jan Martens said it's sound like Freedom rock.

How was the band formed?

Jan Martens and me played in a different band already and we stayed in touch and jammed many times, we wanted to form a band and I already knew Ludwig and I know that he was the best Drummer for the band, the hardest part was finding a Lead Singer to be a perfect match to the style we were trying to get, we even thought that it will be impossible to find a Lead Singer that will have the energy for the music we wanted to create, however Don Alsterberg the producer of the band GRAVEYARD said that he knows a guy (Kim Fransson) who lives in the area he lives in , however it took some time till we met him and we did met him by coincidence in a TV show that, and Kim Fransson was auditioning there for a keyboard player gig and we jammed together and he started to sing something and we were amazed by the energy and I asked him to sing a song by THE WHO "see me feel me" and was perfect and we understood that we have found the best singer for us.

There is a renaissance in hard rock music can you explain it?

It's hard to explain, cause for me I always listen to this kind of music and we are playing the music we like and not cause of the renaissance in hard rock music

What about the newly found collaboration with Nuclear Blast? How did that happen?

We had a touch with many labels however they heard our demo cause we share the some management as GRAVEYARD and it's very easy they liked what they heard and we thought that they are big and can help us spread the Freedom rock, it also helped that we had some clue regarding the sound that nuclear blast is looking for so it made it easier

Who are your influences as a guitar player?

When I was very young my brother and sister played alot of THE BEATLES and old bands. However I started to play later on however if I need to be specific I will say Ron Asheton from THE STOOGES, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Pete Townshend, I really like Ritchie Blackmore and last but not least Eddie Van Halen

Did you enjoy the album recording process because a lot of times it can be a stressful time for a band?

It's funny because it was very easy and didn't take lots of time and we had a great time together

Are you guys planning a tour? Where?

Yes we are going to play with GRAVEYARD and we already have some shows by ourselves mostly in Scandinavia however we would like to play as much as possible

Were you clear on a sort of message you wanted to get across in your songs? It's obviously regarding Freedom Rock?

I think that the vibe and the feeling of the album does represent what we are trying to say regarding the Freedom Rock

Has FREE FALL already started composing new material for its second release?

Yes we have already started in matter effect we have many material that we didn't put in the release album that we think is really good so it will probably go into the new one.

Do you have anything interesting planned for the coming months?

Mainly doing live shows and touring with GRAVEYARD, maybe some work on our next release.

Did you enjoy making the Video clip? Many bands dislike making videos?

I've done some videos in the past and I usually don't like it however this time it was very enjoyable and fast

Mattias, I can't thank you enough for taking the time for this interview. I think that you and your band are a breath of fresh air in the metal scene these days. I wish you well and to continue on the FREE FALL Freedom Rock tornado.

crossmenucross-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram