In a new interview with Metal Musikast, SOILWORK singer Björn “Speed” Strid spoke about the time more than a decade and a half ago when the Swedish metallers managed to secure an official endorsement from The Metal God himself, JUDAS PRIEST‘s Rob Halford, who praised them as a band that is “taking metal forward with its cutting-edge [approach].”
“That’s just simply amazing,” Strid said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “I remember when I read that. ‘Cause somebody told me [about it]. They said, ‘Oh, have you seen that Rob Halford is talking about you in this Belgian metal magazine?’ I said, ‘What? No. No. Are you crazy? No. C’mon.’ Then he managed to… I don’t know — he picked it up somewhere, and then I got to read it. And I just lost it. I [said to him], ‘Can I take the magazine with me home?’ And [he said], ‘Yeah, yeah.’ I just went straight home and I cried for two hours because it was so overwhelming and so amazing, because he was, and still is, one of my absolute vocal heroes. It was just surreal to read that. I was, like, ‘He’s talking about my band. He’s talking about my voice. This is just nuts.’ Yeah, [it was] absolutely amazing.”
SOILWORK was formed in Helsingborg in 1995. Following two highly acclaimed albums, “Steel Bath Suicide” (1998) and “The Chainheart Machine” (1999) on Listenable Records, SOILWORK joined the Nuclear Blast roster in 2001. The band’s unique blend of melodic metal developed at a staggering rate as they released a new bombshell each year, touring aggressively throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Some of the highlights included Ozzfest alongside headliners BLACK SABBATH and IRON MAIDEN and an arena tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. Their latest release was an EP, “A Whisp Of The Atlantic”, featuring the 16-minute-title track.
