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Swedish newcomers We Are To Blame have been quietly building something special. Their sound mixes melodic and progressive metal with catchy, pop-leaning vocals—an unexpected combo that somehow works really well. After making a solid impression with their Duality EPs, the band is back with a new release called Altar, bringing even more depth, emotion, and musical chemistry into the mix.

We had a chat with Johan and Alice about how the band came together, the making of Altar, what it was like playing their first-ever live show at Sweden Rock Festival, and where things are heading next.

First off, congratulations on the release of Altar! What themes or ideas lie at the heart of this new EP?

Johan: Thank you so much, we are all very happy and proud over how it turned out! Musically it’s a continuation of what we did on the Duality EPs, but the level of musicianship and the arrangements was raised considerably by the contributions of Marcus (guitar), Olly (bass) and Seppo (drums). But for me, the heart and the core remains the same.

Your music combines pop-influenced vocal melodies with the weight of melodic and progressive metal—how did you arrive at that unique blend?

Johan: Before starting WATB, I spent a few years mainly in death metal bands and projects as a vocalist. But I missed the more melodic side of metal, and I missed playing guitar as well. I wanted to do something similar to the great bands I listened to in my 20s, but somehow do a fresh take on it. My thought was that I needed to work with someone with a completely different musical perspective than myself, and that is why I started to work with Alice. Her background is very different to my own, but somehow we speak the same musical language and manage to make it work.

Alice, you initially had doubts about joining a metal project. What changed your mind, and how has your journey into metal shaped you as a vocalist?

Alice: Of course I had doubts, because I had not done anything like that ever before. But I’m so glad I did it, that I put my doubt aside and just threw myself out there. I think my way of writing songs has opened up for the better thanks to We Are To Blame, and also my way of singing. Now I’m a lot tougher, and I’m not as afraid as I was to stretch my boundaries and broaden my horizon.

Johan, what inspired you to seek a pop vocalist for a metal band in the first place?

Johan: As I mentioned, I wanted to work with someone who had a different perspective than me, and a lot of pop artists have a great feeling for melodies. And I figured that it could bring something different to the music, something that I couldn’t do with a metal vocalist. And working with Alice has been amazing, not only the music and lyrics she writes but how she has influenced me to write as well. Even for the songs that I’ve written lyrics and vocal lines for, I could not have written if I hadn’t worked with Alice.

The band is named We Are To Blame—what’s the meaning behind that name, and how does it reflect your music or message?

Johan: We as humans often tend to divert responsibility to something outside of ourselves. It can be anything from being too tired from work to do laundry, to blaming former generations for global warming, to hating other people because an authority figure says so. The name ‘We Are To Blame’ serves as a reminder to look at what we ourselves can do to be the best versions of ourselves, to look inside and work on what we can control, instead of focusing on the things we cannot change.

Altar follows the critically praised Duality EPs. How would you say your sound has evolved between those releases and now?

Johan: To me, the biggest difference has come from getting a complete lineup of incredible musicians. Marcus, Olly and Seppo managed to take what we did earlier and make it a thousand times better! Even the old songs, just rehearsing for the first time with these guys made my jaw drop. The core of the songs are still from the same mindset as before, but the execution is at an entirely different level.

You played your debut live show at Sweden Rock Festival 2024—what was that experience like for you as a band?

Johan: Oh, I don’t know if I can find the words for it. It was the first time we played live with this lineup, and we actually rehearsed for the first time with the full band 3 days before the show. But the experience was pure magic, just the opportunity to play at Sweden Rock Festival was something you only dreamt about as a kid, so to actually stand there and play music for that crowd was simply surreal!

There’s a strong Scandinavian character to your music, mixing light and darkness in a way that feels very Nordic. Do you think your geography and culture influence your sound?

Alice: Both yes and no. I think the main reason we have our mixed sound is because of our different musical backgrounds. All our different experiences have led us towards our sound.

Johan: To an extent i agree with Alice, but Sweden has a very strong music life with accessible musical education that i very strongly believe is a big reason for why Sweden delivers so many amazing musicians. I, and many others, are deeply saddened that the current government is dismantling it, but I have hope that the tides will turn and that we will rebuild it.

You use both symphonic and electronic elements in your arrangements—how do you decide what to bring into each song’s atmosphere?

Johan: We just try to serve the song with each decision. Some songs or parts require a lot of synths to really pop, others an orchestra. Sometimes it’s better to keep it sparse. I tried to put into words how I reason with each part, but in the end it all comes down to gut feeling. Does it make me feel something, or enhance what I’m already feeling? If so, it stays. If not, it goes away. 

Lyrically, your songs often deal with personal and emotional themes. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?

Alice: All the inspiration to my lyrics I pick from my own life. It can be both very personal and close experiences but also something I read in a book that stuck on me. I always have to feel something in myself so I can write honestly and truthfully. It’s important for me to give a little bit of myself in our music to be true to myself.

Johan: I agree with Alice wholeheartedly. If I write about something that doesn’t make me feel something, how can I expect the listener to feel something?

As a band that’s hard to place in a single genre, how do you navigate creating a sound that’s both familiar and fresh?

Johan: It was a concern when we started writing music, but as things fell into place I’ve gotten more comfortable and secure in what we do. So at this point, I trust our taste and the decisions we make and just roll with it. As long as we make music we are proud of, I have full confidence in what we do as a band.

What kind of feedback have you been getting from fans and press around Altar?

Johan: So far it’s been nothing but positive! Our fans seem to enjoy the new stuff, and we are so excited to share more music with everyone.

Looking ahead, what’s next for We Are To Blame—new releases, more live shows, or perhaps a full-length album?

Johan: As a matter of fact, we are currently working on our first full-length album! No dates are set yet, but we are finishing up the last pieces of recording and have started to work on the mixes. So keep an eye out on our socials for news, and before you know it you will have more ‘We Are To Blame’ to listen to!

For more about We Are to Blame visit the band’s website, and make sure to check out Altar on Bandcamp.

The post WE ARE TO BLAME: Different Perspectives appeared first on Prog Sphere.

A highly concept track, this octane fueled new release is from Italian metal outfit C∀RNELI∀N. Taking a high energy approach to pacing from the very jump, Enemy: Your Reflection is a hard and heavy hitter with an impressive attention to detail. Plucky bass guitar, roiling drum work and impeccably written lyricism, this is an underground act that definitely deserves your full attention, if not for their style and creative musical aptitude alone.

Hear for yourself below!

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Photos: Péter Tepliczky – MyTouché Blog

HEAVY HIPPIES

Turtle Skull are some heavy hippies from Sydney, Australia.  I absolutely loved their 2018 and 2020 albums, and their latest has been in my music rotation since its release in late May.  Here are two of my favorites:

When Kadavar first arrived on the rock scene, they were considered to be a very heavy, doom-influenced band.  They have evolved with every album, and even collaborated with Elder (Nick seems to be a huge fan of Kadavar) on a surprising album, completely different from what you’d expect from either band.  Four years later and Kadavar continues to be full of surprises.  While not overtly heavy, I think the album easily falls into the “heavy hippies” category.  As with so many great albums, this one did not instantly appeal to me but wormed its way into my brain due to its expert songwriting.  Listen for yourself, hopefully more than once so you too can be seduced by these legendary musicians.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

Kadavar are German rock legends.  They are:

Been a while since Desert Psychlist dipped our toes into the Argentine underground scene so let’s make up for that right now by introducing you to Pilotos Del Tiempo, a power trio from Neuquen consisting of Santiago Veiga (drums); Rodolfo Velazquez (bass/vocals) and Martin Walter (guitar/vocals) who have just released their debut album “Ecos de un Ambiente Devastado“. If you like your distortion devastating, your fuzz heavy and your psych even heavier we think you are going to love these guys.

The durability of your speakers/headphones get tested right from the very off with swaggering opener “Detrás” not only do they have to contend with thunderous swinging drumming, growling heavily distorted bass and fuzzed to the max guitar riffage they also have to deal with vocal lead and dual harmonies pitched at the raw, loud and throaty end of clean. Those speakers do not get much respite with following instrumental “Queena” either, this tune comes at you lathered in distortion so filthy it will stain your ears, and don’t expect to hear some swirling lead work cutting through all the delicious nastiness because even the solos are coated in grimy dissonance. Next up.is “Say My Name” the albums only song with English lyrics, here we find the band offsetting their full on stoner metal attack with elements of heavy psych beneath slightly cleaner but no less gritty vocals, the swirling guitar solos do cut through a little more here but are still far from anything close to being pristine. “Labertino” follows and begins with a mix of whispering and throat singing accompanied by a low bass motif and some weird crackling effects before the song explodes into desert/stoner groove drenched in close to breaking up fuzz, vocals here are a little more melodic and a tad mellower but not what you would call exactly harmonious. Doom makes its presence felt on the slightly schizophrenic “Esclavitud de la Razón” but it is a quirky doom with a hard to explain off centred feel, a feel made even more off-centred thanks to its semi narrated vocal dynamics. The doom sticks around for the blackened and sludgy “Invertido” this song boasting crunching reverberating riffs and pounding steady percussion supporting thick guttural vocal tones, the song also features some cool Iommi-esque shredding in its last quarter. Final number “Vagabundo” brings back the speaker shredding fuzz and distortion and twins it with a vocal harmonies that are a strange mix of stoner rock rawness and clipped goth like cleanliness, even stranger is that those vocals work really well against the wall of noise that is surrounding them.

Been a while since Desert Psychlist dipped our toes into the Argentine underground scene so let’s make up for that right now by introducing you to Pilotos Del Tiempo, a power trio from Neuquen consisting of Santiago Veiga (drums); Rodolfo Velazquez (bass/vocals) and Martin Walter (guitar/vocals) who have just released their debut album “Ecos de un Ambiente Devastado“. If you like your distortion devastating, your fuzz heavy and your psych even heavier we think you are going to love these guys.

The durability of your speakers/headphones get tested right from the very off with swaggering opener “Detrás” not only do they have to contend with thunderous swinging drumming, growling heavily distorted bass and fuzzed to the max guitar riffage they also have to deal with vocal lead and dual harmonies pitched at the raw, loud and throaty end of clean. Those speakers do not get much respite with following instrumental “Queena” either, this tune comes at you lathered in distortion so filthy it will stain your ears, and don’t expect to hear some swirling lead work cutting through all the delicious nastiness because even the solos are coated in grimy dissonance. Next up.is “Say My Name” the albums only song with English lyrics, here we find the band offsetting their full on stoner metal attack with elements of heavy psych beneath slightly cleaner but no less gritty vocals, the swirling guitar solos do cut through a little more here but are still far from anything close to being pristine. “Labertino” follows and begins with a mix of whispering and throat singing accompanied by a low bass motif and some weird crackling effects before the song explodes into desert/stoner groove drenched in close to breaking up fuzz, vocals here are a little more melodic and a tad mellower but not what you would call exactly harmonious. Doom makes its presence felt on the slightly schizophrenic “Esclavitud de la Razón” but it is a quirky doom with a hard to explain off centred feel, a feel made even more off-centred thanks to its semi narrated vocal dynamics. The doom sticks around for the blackened and sludgy “Invertido” this song boasting crunching reverberating riffs and pounding steady percussion supporting thick guttural vocal tones, the song also features some cool Iommi-esque shredding in its last quarter. Final number “Vagabundo” brings back the speaker shredding fuzz and distortion and twins it with a vocal harmonies that are a strange mix of stoner rock rawness and clipped goth like cleanliness, even stranger is that those vocals work really well against the wall of noise that is surrounding them.