The Lightbringer of Sweden is one of numerous bands that I discovered thanks to the amazing YouTube channel NWOTHM Full Albums. And I’m really glad that I checked this Swedish heavy/power metal outfit out because their debut Rise of the Beast is a top-notch record which I enjoy every time I put it on. Today, guitarist Lars Eng tells us much more about his promising band. Enjoy reading!

Hi Lars, how are you doing?

Lars Eng: Hello, I am doing good. I had a good and calm Christmas with my family at home and I’m waiting for Monday to come now, so I will start again. 

Did this damned pandemic destroy a lot of your plans with The Lightbringer of Sweden?

No, it didn’t, the only plan for 2020 was to release the album Rise of the Beast, and we didn’t plan to tour at all in 2020. So from my point of view, the year was good. But I can feel with all the people in the industry, they have suffered big time and still do. I hope it blows over soon so we can experience live music again! Both from the stage and from the audience! 

I keep my fingers crossed! I think there are still some readers who don’t know The Lightbringer of Sweden yet. Tell us a bit about the founding history of your band, please. 

Oh, where to begin? I started in 2017 to write a story (World of Siege), and when that story was finished, I did not know what to do with it. Afterwards, when I started to write music some time later, I found the story and the music to fit together very well, so in early 2019 I started to put this together and started to contact people I knew to help me with this. So Tobbe, Jonas and Johan were a given choice, and I’m so blessed that they accepted the challenge and came on board. The singer was from the beginning Niklas Stålvind from Wolf who was dedicated to sing with us, but the recording of Wolf‘s Feeding the Machine was taking time and then I saw the Facebook post with Herbie where he was looking for a small project, and I thought I should write him and ask if he want to do the first single «Skeletor», and just there it clicked. Herbie was a perfect match to the music and as a person. And here we are, amazed with all the good reviews and endless streams on Spotify and YouTube. Even in my wildest fantasy I could not imagine that this would go this far as it has now, I’m in shock right now. And so happy and blessed to say: we have awesome fans.

How would you define the style of your band? And what do you generally think of such labels? Are they mainly a tool for lazy journalists?

For me it’s hard to define the style, some songs are pure heavy metal, and others are true power metal. Heavy power metal? No, I don’t know, write what comes from the heart and don’t care if it sounds like power or heavy metal, the most important thing is that it sounds like The Lightbringer of Sweden, so I am more focused on making the band sound like us than trying to place us in a special genre.

Which bands would you classify as your major influences?

You can hear a lot of Gamma Ray/Helloween/Accept in the mix I think, and those bands are what took me by storm as a young guitarist, spending endless hours to play along with Helloween‘s Live in the U.K, Gamma Ray‘s Heading for Tomorrow and Accept‘s Staying a life. 

Your debut Rise of the Beast is a killer record, no doubt about it. Who was responsible for the songwriting?

I write all the music and all the lyrics, but I always want to make sure that all the others are free to set their personal touch on it. Herbie has made a lot of changes from the vocals and lifted the album to another level, without him the songs wouldn’t have been this great, I think. He is amazing. And on the next album, we are going to work even closer and Herbie is going to have more input and I’m looking forward to work close with him. 

What are your favorite tracks on Rise of the Beast? I must confess I go for your power ballad The Beast inside of me, but there are many great numbers, of course.

«Fallen Angels» is a favorite, it has all that you can expect from a metal song, fast riffs, melodic fast solos, and killer vocals (Herbies high pitch is amazing). But also «Heaven has fallen» is a favorite, I think that comes with a special vibe. 

Do you read a lot of reviews about your music?

I try to read everything I see and share as much as I can on Facebook/Instagram/Website as possible. 

What’s your favorite festival? Where would you like to play with The Lightbringer of Sweden in the future?

Wacken, no doubt about that, the capital of metal festivals, and I would like to play there sometime before I die. That’s a dream! 

On our blog, we focus mainly on epic metal. Do you like this genre? If so: What are your favorite bands and records?

I’m not so focused on genres, if it sounds good it sounds good (laughs). My all-time favorites are Gamma Ray, Helloween, Accept, Edguy and Avantasia. They are hard to beat. Everything that Tobias Sammet and Kai Hansen make, always make me smile and crank the volume. 

Do you think that there are some epic elements in the music of The Lightbringer of Sweden?

Epic is a big and hard to define word, «One by One» is quite epic, I think (laughs).

I totally agree, a wonderful track, for sure! 2020 was a disaster, no doubt about it. But there were some great releases: What’s your favorite album released last year?

The Unity – Pride, Primal Fear – Metal Commando, Torch – Reignited and Gathering of Kings – Discovery. That’s what pops up in my head. 

Last question: What’s your favorite Swedish metal band of all time? And could you point out a favorite metal album from Sweden?

My favorite Swedish band must be Bloodbound, Nasferatu or Tabula Rasa are my favorite album by them. But the best Swedish metal album must be Sabaton‘s Carolus Rex (the Swedish version).

Lars, thanks a lot. I hope to see you live on stage, soon. Stay safe!