#newwaveoftraditionalheavymetal — Public Fediverse posts

Helvetets Port: Tomas Ericson on inspiration vs influence

The Nwothm

I am sometimes asked the question of what has inspired or influenced Helvetets Port’s music. I am sure these terms are interchangeable to some, but to me the question has made my brain rev up to a higher degree than I expected. Perhaps because I have felt there is a difference that I should take more seriously in order to answer the question. In this article I would like to make a distinction between inspiration and influence: the former is something that can act as a “muse”, or something which you strive for, even if it is not necessarily heard in your music. Whereas influence is something that could be more clearly heard, or an “inspiration that has broken through” if you will. Let us start with five sources of inspiration and why it stays on that side of the fence:

Thor (CAN) – Unchained (1983) and Only the Strong (1985)

This is peak efficiency in songwriting. The songs are straightforward and catchy without being cheerful or predictable. I often see my songs getting out of hand when it comes to complexity and abstruseness at the writing stage, and then I try to think “more Thor”. No one could do it quite like them though. They could get seriously epic and heavy with the same simplicity in songs like When Gods Collide and Ride of the Chariots, and it is genius level.

Killen (USA) – Restless is the Witch (1989)

This is perhaps not so much a direct musical inspiration, rather a “heavy metal-philosophical” one. On this cassette, particularly on the two songs that are unique for this release – Birth of a King and The Resurrection/Vampire – Killen demonstrate the ways in which you can warp heavy metal to its limits while still being impervious of accusations of deviating from trueness. And, check out the video of “Scream in the Night” on Youtube for some serious overall coolness inspiration. Their full-length album from 1987 is also a major lesson in giving zero fucks.

Witch Cross (DEN) – Fit for Fight (1984)

In heavy metal there are two overarching themes with their respective moods, from which all sub-themes stem. The old and the new (well, 80s new). The old is the ancient or medieval; fantasy, the epic stuff. The new is the (80s) contemporary, nightlife, street level stuff. And although Witch Cross can excel in the former (especially on some older demo stuff) it is in the “new” category where they truly set the ultimate mood. The first minute of “Light of a Torch” and “Face of a Clown” is like the equivalent of 100 Stranger Things first seasons. It’s all you need if you want to get in the mood to make neon light music – but never to be equalled.

Tyrant (Gloucester, UK) and Tyrant (Mansfield, UK)

For two bands with the same name from the same country to be inseparable regarding the same kind of inspiration is a cosmic fluke. But there they stand, as the two most important bastions of the medieval sub-theme of the “old” category. One of them only having recorded two songs. Listen to a few Tyrant songs and you have bathed yourself in enough medieval melancholy to subtract a few hundred years from the atmosphere of the music you write next. Highlights if I have to choose: “Day of the Knight” and “Shadows of the Night”.

Overkill (Winnenden, GER) – Demo (1984)

It is difficult to be directly musically influenced by these Germans, perhaps because all the songs are so different from each other, but each superb in their own way. Heavy Metal Forces, the catchy anthem; The Iron Sword, the medieval epic song and Killers in the Dawn, a number that surpasses the meanness of all thrash metal while being classic heavy metal. They are a major inspiration when it comes to varying your songs without losing the core, and also to try and change your vocal colour depending on the song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBxKivzih7I

And here are five sources of influence and it turns out to be a somewhat patriotic list:

Gotham City (SWE)

The elephant in the room, the influence of all influences! Notwithstanding the music, the sharp-sighted can probably tell that our logo and the artwork to our first single are heavily influenced by Gotham City. They are the main reason I got into obscure heavy metal and the main influence to start Helvetets Port. Their music has the perfect blend of coolness, quirkiness and regalness. Right now I am working on a song which is especially influenced by them, called “We Played Heavy Metal”.

Heavy Load (SWE)

There is always a bit, small or big, of Heavy Load and especially Ragne Wahlquist in one’s guitar playing, singing and songwriting. It is as though their work is the template for heavy metal. When you sit down with a guitar, there is always this little quick subconscious process in your head of “what is guitar playing all about?” in order to get your bearings as to what you are about to do with that strange object in your lap. And that subconscious backdrop is made by Heavy Load. The melancholy and earnestness, the E minor riffs that can always lead to greatness.

Kim Sixx (DEN) – Demo 1984

Kim Sixx in my opinion have the most commendable mix of guitar playing “tools” out of any band. There is perfect division of riffs, rhythm, licks, solos and melodies. Of course not only the division but the way it is played. This, and the fact that they might be the most true template of a classic heavy metal band imaginable, is a huge influence and inspiration. On a song like “Ruled with an Iron Hand”, I tried to summon the guitar practices of Kim Sixx.

Rising (SWE) – The Show is Over (song from the “Just One Bite …” demo 1984)

Now I am going to talk about a couple of songs that have distinct parts that have left an everlasting impression and which I feel I can never really fully explore, an itch that never goes away. For this Rising song it is about the very end, where it is almost like they are starting a new, awesome song and then it stops. It is the ultimate risky “kill your idols” technique in songwriting, creating a yearning that you as a songwriter want to almost fulfill but not quite. This I tried to recreate in the ending of “Cry of the Night”.

Zone Zero (SWE) – Evil Dream (B side from the “Heavy Metal” 7″ 1982)

With the Zone Zero song it is a similar deal in changing parts, but a more abrupt change and preferably more in the middle of the song. The time I first heard the tempo change in Evil Dream might be the most significant listening experience in my life and I get goosebumps just thinking about it. It shows that if you have written a cool part you can just brute force it into whatever place your heart feels like. Having it become as mind-blowing as in Evil Dream is a different matter though. Some places where I have attempted it is for example in “The Invincible” when the lone riff starts, and “Stan Brinner” when the final kind of chorus starts, and many more. Basically, whenever there is a part change that is not very “natural”, the spirit of Evil Dream looms over it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPgrKjyJrqM

Conclusion by TheNwothm

For Tomas Ericson, Helvetes Port is shaped by inspiration that sparks imagination and influence that leaves its mark in sound. Together they create a vision that balances tradition with individuality, keeping the old spirit of heavy metal alive in a unique way.

How do you see it? Does heavy metal thrive more on unseen muses or on the influences we can clearly hear? Let us know!

Photo Credit: Sabrina (Visual_Evidence) 

#heavyMetal #helvetetsPort #inspirationVsInfluence #newWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #nwothm #thenwothm #thenwothmCom #tomasEricson #tradMetal #traditionalHeavyMetal

Review: Darklon “Mind Reaper”

Release date: November 28th 2025

Label: No Remorse Records

The Nwothm

Emerging from Athens in 2017, Darklon made their mark with the debut “Rise from Death” in 2019. Their second album, The “Redeemer,’ dropped in 2023 via No Remorse Records, featuring the commanding vocals of Nikos Migus A. (Omen). That release earned widespread acclaim for channeling the raw intensity and grit of classic American heavy metal echoing the spirit of early Savatage, Omen, and Jag Panzer.

With Nikos stepping away due to scheduling demands, the vocal mantle now passes to Bill Chrepas (Wildfire), ushering in a new chapter steeped in the influence of US metal icons like Vicious Rumors, Oliver Magnum, and Metal Church. “Mind Reaper” builds on Darklon’s signature ferocity, delivering razor-sharp riffs, thunderous rhythms, and an unrelenting live energy that’s primed for the stage.

The album was produced, mixed, and mastered by Stathis Pavlantis, with striking cover artwork by Michael Syrigos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuXAP8bsBFA&list=RDBuXAP8bsBFA&start_radio=1

Review

In The Abyss kicks starts off as if someone lit the fuse on a firework. The opening riff feels like a snarling hungry dog. The track is nice and fast and powers forward with plenty of rumbling double kick and heat in the bass and guitar work. The main riff sticks around for quite a large part of the sing so it would have been cool to it develop a bit. The solo is short and sweet and left me wanting more. From there are some harmonies where even the bass joins in. But while everything is going on in the song, the vocals are really in control leading the fire force!

Mind Reaper rips things open with its teeth. The song continues with double kick, the brutish rhythms and commanding vocal ideas. Everything feels very solid and focused, leaning on strength rather then flashy ideas. Just like In The Abyss the song uses the main riff to drive the song forward. However I do like the rumbling tom-tom section with a big ol’ metal scream to change things up! This is not long before it gets to an absolute smashing and stomping section where solo wakes up followed by more instrumental delight. I am certainly digging the vocal ideas on this song so great stuff!

Soul Stealers feels like your bones being rattled to begin with before the song transitions into a stripped back section of squeaky guitar riffs and vocals. Soon enough the music progresses into the verses, once again feeling focused and in control. Notably everything feels quite safe and straightforward and in all honesty there is not much exciting me about this song. There are some excellent moments of tumbling drums and riff flurries, not to mention a killer little solo section where you can feel the passion and love for for the music. But beyond that I would just say it is mostly simple, no thrills song.

Get ready to pump your fists and maybe get those necks moving with Powercast. It starts off nice and slow to warm you up before throwing you into a storming double kick frenzy and shouts of Powercast. This feels like one of those tracks on the album that is going to get people moving and joining in on the lyrics. If anything, a true strength of Darklon is their rhythm guitar work and this is clearly evident here. I wouldn’t want to get in its way that is for. If you want speed, fury and something to just go nuts too i think this track is going to that call!

The Mad Messiah opens with some spooky organs and a historic spoken passage, something which I dint expect. Soon enough we are plunged into some hard hitting and raging rhythm work. The kind of stuff which is textured and layered on thick. Like all songs before this tears through everything In its path but there is more play between tempos. Especially taking it down for the the chorus sections which opts for more of a walking pace style direction. There are some great little licks woven into the music and the solo section certainly fills fitting throwing a bit of spice into the mix! Personally the vocals performance is something that stands strong and gels with the music very well!

Shockwave breaks out with some squealing guitar notes before the hurricane hits! This will literally sweep you of your feet and the sheer force and speed of quick picking guitars, bouncing bass lines and thunderous drumming. There is a lot of power and determination just running through the veins of everything that is going on here. The vocals are commanding and the little harmonies that highlight certain lyrics are really a nice touch. I certainly think this is one of the stronger tracks on the album when it comes to structure and approach. Interestingly enough the song stops briefly before we are catapulted towards a big section where we come face to face with the solo and more musical madness. The song goes for another big chorus section before taking the album out.

Hell’s Heroes takes a different approach to start things off. We get a small drum section which feels like a solo before moving into some great paradiddles on the snare. All of this ends very quickly when the rest of the music comes crashing in. It feels like a blast to your ear canals. And one thing for sure is that Darklon do not slow done on Hell’s heroes continue the frantic speed and adrenaline. I feel like by this point, I can safely say that the second half of the album definitely shows a band opening up their creativity. The vocals ideas are excellent and I especially like the trailing ghost vocals which add a touch of darkness to the song. The solo section I would say feels well written and thought out matching the pacing and rhythms. Overall another strong track where the music and the vocals step things up to really wake up the room.

And so we reach Psyched Out which is the last track on the album. Guitar harmonies start things off which feel uplifting and bright but that soon takes a turn when the menacing tone of the rhythm work comes in. And holy cow, the riffs here are absolutely sinister and dark. I just felt a shroud pulled over my head and the clouds closed up. Like the devil arose from the underworld. Darklon take the pacing right down to walking kick drums and flowing rhythm ideas for the choruses before returning to the evilness and horror. You know how they usually they save the best for last. Well I certainly think that is the case here. There is an explosion of high pitched cries and rumbling musical Ideas before transition into another meaty yet fearless chorus section and outro section! Brilliant stuff.

Conclusion

Darklon’s album delivers a relentless barrage of rhythm-driven heavy metal, anchored by muscular riffing, commanding vocals, and a clear sense of purpose. While some tracks lean on repetition and straightforward structures, others like “Shockwave,” “Hell’s Heroes,” and “Psyched Out” showcase a band willing to stretch their ideas and embrace darker textures. The rhythm guitar work is consistently solid, and the vocal performances bring cohesion and fire throughout. It’s a record built for movement and volume, with enough variation in pacing and tone to keep things engaging right to the end.

TheNwothm Score: 7.5/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://darklon.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarklonMetal

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darklon_band/

Label: No Remorse Records

Read More Reviews

• Review: Darklon “Mind Reaper”

  15th Nov 2025

• Review: HyperioN – “Cybergenesis”

  14th Nov 2025

• Review: Ninth Circle – “Anthem of the Immortal”

  12th Nov 2025

• Review: Bergfried “Romantik III”

  9th Nov 2025

#darklon #darklonBand #HeavyMetal #MindReaper #NewAlbum #NewWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #noRemorseRecords #Review #thenwothm #thenwothmCom

Interview: Girder (UK)

The Nwothm

Forged in the seaside grit of Bournemouth and tempered by Brazilian fire, Girder are dragging true heavy metal back to the frontline. With their self-titled debut roaring loud and proud, the quartet channel chaos, camaraderie, and classic NWOBHM spirit into pure sonic steel. We caught up with them to talk origins, mayhem, and keeping metal true.

Interview

heNwothm: For those just discovering you, who or what is Girder—and what should they expect when they hit play?

Metal Matt: We’re a family of old school heavy metal maniacs; half English and half Brazillian! Our band is made up of 4 unique characters; Metal Dress on lead vocals, (myself) Metal Matt bass and vocals, Iron Paul on guitar and vocals and Hordak II on drums. If people like 80’s heavy metal, then they will love us!

Hordak II: When someone hit play they’ll listen to a range of heavy music, from hard rock to thrash metal, eventually melodic, but mostly old school metal. Just don’t expect anything close to nu metal. If they want modern metal, don’t listen to us.

TheNwothm: How did Girder form and what stories can you share from your early days?

Hordak II: Since when me and Metal Dress first met with Metal Matt at one of our gigs we started bumping into each other at other gigs and concerts very often, what showed is that we all had similar tastes in music. As soon as we joined ourselves to make music together we felt a really powerful connection that worked really well as a band.

Metal Matt: We formed the band three years ago, after my previous progressive rock band Crimson Creatures ended. I sang lead vocals and played bass in that band.

I met the Brazilian couple (now my best friends) Hordak II and Metal Dress a year or so before whilst watching their gothic, funeral project Morbus Fatalis. Like Hordak said, we bonded over our mutual love for heavy metal, and Metal Dress urged me to form a band with them on multiple occasions, but I declined since I was busy in two bands.The moment Crimson Creatures ended, I instantly phoned Hordak II to immediately form a heavy metal band whilst they were moving house!

We had a big meeting as Hordak II, Metal Dress and Metal Matt. We started writing ideas for our clothes, style and lyrics. We all agreed that we will never play Nu-Metal- and we would play Old/True heavy metal! I started writing the lyrics for Killers of the Night and 6:30 late at night round Metal Dress’ house, and in the morning, a boy got murdered down the street. As if my pen was writing about what was happening there and then! We agreed that we wanted a fourth member to play guitar. I met Iron Paul in a pub a week or so later, and thus we had the Girder lineup after several pints!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytZ9mDWHUAA&list=RDytZ9mDWHUAA&start_radio=1

TheNwothm: Bournemouth isn’t the first place people associate with dragons, slugs, and metal mayhem. How has your hometown shaped your sound or attitude?

Hordak II: Girder was basically forged in Boscombe, Bournemouth, a place that has one of the highest crime rates in the UK. Me and Metal Dress come from a big town in South America with lots of violence and crime too. So these were the subject of our first songs. But our music is not only about mayhem and crimes, as we also make music about fun and boozing at the beach, as that’s a big thing in Bournemouth too.

Metal Matt: We are all fans (especially Metal Dress) of going to the beach and having parties and BBQ’s, so that sunny, positive attitude blends naturally into our music. Being into progressive rock as much as I am into metal, I love that our area of Dorset has had famous names in the music scene like Lee Kerslake, Robert Fripp, Greg Lake and John Wetton to name a few. Tolkien even lived down here!

TheNwothm: What’s the story behind the name “Girder”? Was it a eureka moment or a pub-fuelled accident?

Metal Matt: Knowing us, probably the latter. I remember Iron Paul and I talking about song ideas and band names down the pub several times. I’m sure Iron Paul brought up the name, as we were looking for something unmistakingly metal. A girder? Brilliant! I’ll buy another round…

Hordak II: We wanted a name that expressed what our music is, so Girder fit perfectly either to the music we make, as well as to what we listen to and love watching. 

TheNwothm: Dorset’s got beaches, fossils, and now a heavy metal band singing about murder and parties. How does the local culture feed into your themes?

Hordak II: Local culture has always much to add to our music, as it is part of our everyday life in the streets. We have the police around all the time. Last year a body was found in pieces at Boscombe beach cliff. At our free time we enjoy boozing and having fun around, so thats all in our music.

Metal Matt: As the main songwriter in the band, I tend to get inspired by Iron Paul’s experiences then Hordak II and Metal Dress’ experiences in Brazil. Whenever I’m not recording and writing song ideas about fantasy dragons or slugs, I’m taking inspiration from local murders and Brazilian drug crime. Unfortunately, we have a lot of local murders and it inspired me to write our songs ‘Killers of the Night’, ‘6:30’ and ‘Rekindle the Flame’.

TheNwothm: Do you feel connected to the wider UK metal scene, or is Girder more of a rogue unit doing its own thing?

Metal Matt: Kind of both. Hordak and Metal Dress will feel connected to their music scene in Curitriba back in Brazil, and Iron Paul would feel more connected to the local grassroots music scene. I’m friends with several London, Somerset and Southampton bands like Toldeo Steel and Sanguis Mortem, so it does feel like we have that dual connection with Curitriba and the Southern UK metal scene.

Hordak II: As Metal Matt says, we feel connected to our local scene and have already started to get connected to a wider scene, but there is much more still to be achieved, considering we have just over two years as a band and we are still quite new to the UK wider scene.

TheNwothm: What’s your take on the current state of British heavy metal? Any scenes or bands you’re watching closely? Do you think Nwothm is still relatively underground in the UK?

Hordak II: British heavy metal scene has always been one of the most influential in the world and it will probably always be. As a South American I can tell the scene over there is quite big too, but we don’t hear about those bands over here, whilst the British bands are known worldwide. Nwothm is underground in the UK and everywhere, as mainstream music industry has no room for true metal music anymore. However, it will always be a strong underground movement with worldwide connections, as true metal culture is widely spread all around the globe.

Metal Matt: I’m friends with a lot of Southern UK metal bands and I go to a lot of local gigs, and it feels alive and strong. It will never go away at this point- especially in the underground. I’m only watching what my friend’s bands are doing like Seven Sisters, Tailgunner, Sanguis Mortem, Desolator or Toldeo Steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Y-kPqkSdU

TheNwothm: Let’s talk about the debut. “Girder” dropped in March 2025 so what was the first track you wrote for it, and did it set the tone for the rest?

Metal Matt: Girder, from the onset, was my chance to finally write metal music in a band, and the others wanted me to start writing songs quickly, so we had songs to practice.

At one point I was recording and pitching a new song idea every other week. I wrote and recorded demos for Headbanger’s Ball, Killers of the Night and 6:30 in a week and in that order. For the Girder demos, I play all the guitars, bass, programmed drums and vocal parts, as I prefer delivering finished song ideas that the band can twist and turn into our own, as opposed to just delivering a riff with no song structure or lyrics.

Hordak II: To my point of view we’ve got a few different styles in the album. Although all songs may be classified as “old school metal”, they vary on rhythms, speed and melody, so I would not say the first compositions set the tone for the others.

TheNwothm: “Headbanger’s Ball” kicks things off with a bang. Was that always meant to be the opener?

Hordak II: Yes! I’m glad you also felt it “kicks things off with a bang”! Good way to start an album!

Metal Matt: It was always meant to be the opener in my eyes, as it was the first song I wrote. We only properly started talking about the album sequence in recording. I convinced the others that the first three songs should be in the order we learnt and played them.

TheNwothm: “Killers of the Night” and “City Dealer” both sound like they could soundtrack a neon-lit brawl. Are there stories behind those tracks?

Metal Matt: A Girder brawl would be insane! Killers of the Night is about the local murders, rapes and stabbings in Bournemouth, and the message of looking out for each other and staying safe. Beware the killers of the night!

Hordak II: As Metal Matt says, Killers of the night was inspired by the sad reality of youngsters stabbing each other for stupid reasons, and at the same night we wrote it a 18 year old guy was stabbed to death less than a mile from us. By the way, there is a music video coming out soon for this one!

City dealer is about drug dealer gangs controlling communities at the outskirts of big towns in Brazil. Believe me, these gangsters can do more benefits for the local communities than than the government would ever do, and so they get the local residents to use fire weapons such as guns, rifles and machine guns to protect the drug business, including drug buyers and sellers, like an army that not even the police dare to tackle. Metal Dress has lived her childhood near one of these communities, where the sound of gun shots are a common thing to be heard daily.

TheNwothm: “Rekindle the Flame” stretches over five minutes. Was that your epic moment or a spontaneous jam that got out of hand?

Hordak II : It was indeed and epic moment.

Metal Matt: That’s my favourite song that I wrote for the album. I thought the others would hate the song when I presented the demo I had made, since this song is closer to my more progressive rock leaning solo music with some complex chords, funkier bits, genre-bending and a longer length that I thought would be a big ‘no-no’ in Girder land.

Fortunately, Iron Paul, Metal Dress and Hordak II loved this song! The concept I created, with the song telling the story of divorced couple reconciling and falling in love again by mutually murdering people and doing other horrible things, was very compelling. I wanted a song where Metal Dress and I sung as two different characters.

What I love about this first album of ours is that has proven that we can go in different directions with our songs: injecting more NWOBHM, glam, thrash, doom, prog, punk or death/black, and dare I say funk and jazz without angering the Hordak and Iron Paul!

Our second album is going to be pushing in multiple directions from shorter thrashier songs to radio hits to more experimental leaning arrangements.

TheNwothm: “Metal Changed, Not Me” feels like a statement. What inspired that track, and who were you aiming it at?

Metal Matt: Iron Paul, being the oldest and wisest member of Girder, once told us three how he fell out of touch with Metal for a while (probably the ambiguity of the 90s), and how it was like Metal changed style, but not him- he still wanted to hear stuff in the style of Motorhead and Judas Priest.

With this concept in mind, I wanted to write a really heavy song- almost a hate song! Which is funny as we tell people that this is our love ballad to metal, which it is, but it is also talking about the styles of music and metal that we do not like.

The song is also about going insane and having fun to heavy metal!

Once we started practicing the song, Hordak II mentioned how we have to mention that modern moshpits are kindergarten compared to moshpits he was in when he was younger!

Hordak II: Moshpit is one of the 80’s and 90’s heavy music trademarks. It was an expression of anarchy and chaos, with no patterns or organised movements and at the same time peaceful. The new metal generation twisted this culture to the opposite of what it used to be. Now moshpit became a circlepit and everyone follows the same direction, like everyone has to move and look to the same side. Now the peaceful chaos is gone. So it makes no more sense as an expression of freedom.

TheNwothm: The album closes with “Girder.” Was that a mission statement, a self-roast, or something else entirely?

Hordak II: It expresses how the four of us engaged at a band project and ended up like a family, where despite of the differences we love each other like siblings.

Metal Matt: We loved the idea of closing the album with a bang, and having our self titled song felt perfect! It ends the album like the ending to a big party. I wanted the self titled song to be about how the band formed in a semi-realistic way minus the dragons!

TheNwothm: What can you share about each of the band members?

Metal Matt: I’m Metal Matt. I’m the youngest member and I love women! I started playing bass, guitar and singing 7 years ago. I’m releasing my twelfth solo album (under my real name Matthew Cornes) very soon where I play all the instruments and sing, and I go from black metal to jazz to prog rock to 80s balladry. I also drew our Girder album cover and I do the artwork for my solo albums too. I am also in another rock band called Rhinefield and we are recording our first album in the next few weeks! 

Hordak II and Metal Dress are the Brazillians. They came over to the UK to be closer to the music they love, and to form a metal band with some British blokes like Iron Paul and myself. Metal Dress loves the beach, and is like having an older sister. She loves putting on new outfits for our shows. Hordak II killed Hordak I, because he was jealous of Hordak I having Metal Dress to himself.

Iron Paul is the oldest member and has played guitar for longer than I have been alive! He loves a Les Paul, and he was forged in the fires of Hades!!! Iron Paul eats his own guitar strings and has beef with microphones and they end up falling down! He plays in a local covers band called Oktober Rust, but has played in many more!

Hordak II: I’m Hordak II. I started playing at the punk rock scene in Brazil in 1996 as a teenager. Soon after started playing also at thrash and death metal bands. Always very involved in the music scene of Curitiba, have produced festivals and played gigs all around South Brazil and Paraguay. Metal Dress also has a punk background having sung at punk, post punk and grunge bands in Brazil.  Metal Dress and me have a duo project of funeral gothic music caller Morbus Fatalis, and we have just released our second album.

TheNwothm: What’s your go-to post-gig ritual: pub crawl, kebab run, or straight to the sea?

Metal Matt: Unpack, have a beer and chat to our fans, then straight to bed and sleep!

Hordak II: At summer time we’re definitely straight to the sea, but we also love to sit at a pub and watch a good rock’n’roll band performing. We’re very keen to watching local bands, even if they are of different styles. It is very important to support the local scene.

TheNwothm: What’s the dream tour setup for Girder? Any bands you’d love to share a stage with—or avoid at all costs?

Metal Matt: The dream tour setup would be pairing up with like minded fellow metalheads. We would love to go on tour with our friends Sanguis Mortem or Toledo Steel. I know Metal Dress and Iron Paul would want to tour with Seven Sisters, a London Nwothm band that we supported in Portsmouth this year. Great metal music!

We missed out on supporting Tailgunner a year or so ago in Bournemouth, which frustrated me, as I really enjoy their music, and I’m glad that they have been getting attention in the last few years. I know Hordak II and the other two would say this too- as Girder we want to keep playing new gigs with different styles of metal and music in general. We think it is important to be respectful of other artists even if we don’t like them.

Hordak II: We’re still working our way to play around the UK, as a first step. But we certainly intend to strike Europe within the next few of years, before we start looking at South America, where I’ve played most of my life. Touring around the world might feel like a distant dream for a band thats barely two years old, but the time is passing and when the right moment comes we’ll be ready. Anywhere we go we’ll be happy to play with local bands, to show them our support just like we enjoy playing with touring bands that come over here.

TheNwothm: Thinking ahead are there any shows or tours planned for the rest of 2025/2026?

Metal Matt: We are supporting London thrash metal band Thrasherwolf, who are playing on November 14th in Bournemouth with our friends Sanguis Mortem. Tickets can be found on SeeTickets or through our links attached to this interview. Apart from that, we are busy writing new songs for the second album. Even Hordak II has been writing songs this time, and Metal Dress and Iron Paul have had more input into my song ideas as well!

TheNwothm: Are you already penning ideas for your next release?

Hordak II: We already have two new songs at our current gigs, but we’re working on another few ones. We shall soon have the songs ready for the next album.

Metal Matt: We are expanding on the foundations we have made on our first album. We want to continue the mix of styles. Our songs will be covering themes such as beach parties, slugs, prostitutes, teaching metal (I’m a guitar/bass teacher too), dragons and death!

TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?

Metal Matt: Come to our shows, we sell our merch there. For the time being, you can get our album digitally on Bandcamp!

TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?

Metal Matt: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Bandcamp!

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Metal Matt: As Hordak said earlier, we have a music video for ‘Killers of the Night’ coming out soon. You can check out the music video for our song ‘Fire to the Realm’ on our Girder YouTube channel right now! Thank you guys for interviewing us. Girder will continue to bring metal mayhem to the world!

Hordak II: GIRDERRR!!!!!

Metal Matt: GIRDERRRR!!!

Bandcamp: https://girder.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551896919110

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girderband

Other: https://linktr.ee/girderband

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GirderHeavyMetal

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