NEW HORIZON are poised to release their new album, “Conquerors,” in a matter of weeks. We caught up with mastermind Jona Tee to find out more about the narratives of this record, how it came together, and if there are any touring plans. Read the full interview below:
Hello and thank you for doing this interview with Tuonela Magazine! How are you doing?
All good here!
Obviously, we’re here to talk about your album, “Conquerors.” How are you feeling about the release?
Feeling really good. We’re very proud of this album.
This album comes after a line-up change, with Nils Molin taking over for Erik Grönwall. How did that change the creative process?
I would say that Nils has been more involved with the songwriting process. Especially, with finding the lyrical themes.
What did the debut album teach you that came in handy when putting this record together?
The first album was mostly made up of ideas that I had written over the course of many years. With “Conquerors” all songs are written within the last two years. Also, I personally liked the more epic tracks on the debut, “Gate of the Gods” and “Stardust,” so I wanted to make more of that.
Did you set any goals for yourself and the band as far as this record is concerned?
Not really. Obviously, we want people to enjoy it as much as we do!
Getting into the theme of “Conquerors,” with so many interesting historical figures to spotlight, how difficult was it to choose the specific topics for this album?
The lyrical themes came very naturally. We discussed a lot of movies and series we enjoy and took inspiration from those. It really was a fun process.
Were you familiar with the details of the stories told on these records, or did you have to do research for some of them to get everything right?
Familiar with most, but also did some research while writing the lyrics obviously.
Let’s talk a bit about some of the songs on this album, and I’d like to start with “Fallout War” and the creation of the atomic bomb because I find it interesting to have this story in two different formats (Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and this song) more or less a year apart. Were you inspired by the movie to create this track, or how did it come about?
I wrote the song before seeing Oppenheimer but when I did, I decided to angle it even more towards that. So yes, absolutely.
Ballad “Before the Dawn” features Elize Ryd in (another) beautiful duet with Nils. Why did you choose to work with her on this track, and what does she bring to it?
I really wanted to have a female vocal on that one as it’s about “Utvandrarna” (Exodus) by Wilhelm Moberg. And lucky for us Nils and Elize know each other very well. And the vocals turned out fantastic so I’m super happy with that.
You included a cover of an IRON MAIDEN track on this album. Was there much discussion about it, or was it an obvious choice?
It’s one of my and Nils’ favorite MAIDEN tracks and it fit the theme of the album so it was perfect!
A song like “King of Kings” is religious in nature, and I get the relation between Jesus and the advent of Christianity, but still, how does the biblical factor in with the historical?
We’ve tried to take the angle of telling history as it’s been told to us. The “King of Kings” chorus turned out to be a bit of a gospel though. Many Christians have taken a liking to the track and that’s all good and well.
From an outsider’s perspective and based on the bits and bobs of information you’ve shared so far, this feels like a passion project. How does it feel to you, looking back on the album coming together and all the people involved in its creation?
It is! I mean, I love this. It’s a style of music that’s really close to the heart.
Are there any touring plans in the works or is this more of a studio project?
For now, we don’t have any plans to tour, but you never know when the opportunity arises.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with Tuonela Magazine!
Interview by Andrea Crow
