BJÖRN 'SPEED' STRID Keeps The Nostalgia Coming With THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA

By David E. Gehlke

Initially considered nothing more than the fun, AOR, 1970s-styled, retro side project of SOILWORK‘s Björn “Speed” Strid and David Andersson, along with ARCH ENEMY‘s Sharlee D’Angelo, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA has turned into a band that few can resist — even those within metal’s more hardened and serious flank. Boasting highly infectious, catchy, if not occasionally danceable songs to partner with Strid’s rich, soulful, clean vocals, THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA has gone from a curiosity to a band that demands a lot of Strid and D’Angelo‘s attention when they aren’t out on the road with their other, far-heavier acts.

THE NIGHT FLIGHT‘s new “Give Us The Moon” studio album continues the sonic and aesthetic thread that had a coming of age via the band’s third effort, 2017’s fantastic “Amber Galactic”, a happening all the more relevant considering it’s the band’s first since the unexpected passing of Andersson in 2022. Furthermore, the band remains capable of providing a sonic escape route in these ever-bizarre times, something Strid was happy to elaborate upon with BLABBERMOUTH.NET.

Blabbermouth: “Amber Galactic” feels like such a turning point for THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA. Where would you rank it in terms of the band’s progression?

Björn: “That’s when we got signed to Nuclear Blast [Records]. We released two albums before that. The first one [2012’s ‘Internal Affairs’] was very much an experiment. It felt like we had something special from the get-go. We did [2015’s] ‘Skyline Whispers’, which was slightly more ’80s oriented, then Nuclear Blast picked us up when nobody else believed in us. We wrote ‘Amber Galactic’ and that’s when everything fell into place. I think you’re right. It feels like a never-ending journey. I think we developed in a pretty interesting way with this band, but I would say ‘Amber Galactic’ laid the foundation.”

Blabbermouth: Perhaps because NIGHT FLIGHT is this unique thing, it took a few years for people to adjust, and “Amber Galactic” came around at the right time.

Björn: “It’s hard to say. First, it was more, ‘Oh, it’s these guys from SOILWORK and ARCH ENEMY that sounds like ’70s stuff.’ It sounded very much like a side project. Then, people realized that this was the real deal. This is a real band. I think it was a matter of people discovering us because, on the first two albums, we were on a small Italian label. It was hard to discover us. I think it started spreading a lot among other musicians and bands. I don’t know if it was IN FLAMES touring with LAMB OF GOD when the first album came out. They had it as their tour soundtrack, like a road trip soundtrack, which was really cool to hear. It started spreading that way as well. Then, I got a lot of positive responses from other people in the metal world and other bands. I guess it just took some time. ‘Amber Galactic’ has these really catchy tunes. ‘Gemini’ is one of those songs we can’t really do a show without it. That song definitely did something as well. From the start, it was so much more than, ‘Oh, let’s try to do something like this and try to sound like FOREIGNER in 1978.’ It needed to be a lot more than that. We’ve heard that before. People come from a metal band and start a side project and it’s like, ‘Let’s play BLACK SABBATH.’ It sounds cool but doesn’t last. There are one or two albums. The proof is right here. This is our seventh album. It was something we needed to do. It’s something that’s been marinating and waiting to come out.”

Blabbermouth: Was “Give Us The Moon” a hard record to write without David? Did you need some time to separate from what happened?

Björn: “It’s one of the hardest albums I’ve had to put together. It was quite a journey. I think we needed a lot more time. We’ve been releasing a new album just about every year. With the passing of David, we obviously needed to grieve and take time and really regroup and try to find the joy with the music again and find our way back. We had this talk, me and David when he was basically on his deathbed. For him, it was only natural that we were going to continue without him. It was important for me to feel that and to have that support from him. I can only hope he can somehow hear what we put together on ‘Give Us The Moon’. Hopefully, we made him proud. We made ourselves proud and hopefully him as well while also showing all the doubters we can pull this off. I think we needed more time. Obviously, David was very unique in his musical expression. We needed to tap into his world and take that with us and, make our palette a little bit wider and include these ingredients in our sound that made us famous in the first place. I think it’s all in there. It’s been a very interesting journey with this album. It’s been quite a challenge. We’ve had to dig really deep. But there have been times when I feel like David has been present when I’ve been composing. We got together in the same studio, Nordic Sound Lab. That’s where we used to hang out. First, it was really empty. Then, we started having fun again and sharing stories about David, like seeing him in the corridors in his underwear and drinking a beer. Everyone saw that. His last years were quite dark. Now, it’s more of a celebration of his life and remembering the good times. I miss him so much. When you think about it, sometimes, it hurts physically that you won’t see him again. It’s been rough, but it’s also been a very creative time. In the end, it was very empowering in so many ways. This is what came out of it. We’ve been writing songs separately, like we’ve always done, and then we get together in the studio and do these sessions where it’s not only about the recording. We cook, drink, hang out, laugh and record music. I think you can sort of hear that. This is not a band that pays for a studio for a month and tries to squeeze everything in there. We’re taking our time. I guess it’s a luxury in that sense. We had a great deal with the studio and it’s a fantastic place to record. We communicate really well, musically and on a personal level, even though we’re quite different as people. There’s something that clicks and I’m glad it’s still there, even without David. He’s still very present in what we do.”

Blabbermouth: You’ve maintained the theme of having songs about cities. What’s the allure behind them?

Björn: “This band started when I met David for the first time on a tour with SOILWORK in 2007. Being on tour, being on a tour bus, drinking beer and looking out of the window and drinking beer, we wanted to have a band that was a soundtrack to touring, like road trip music. Quite quickly, this band came to be about romanticizing travel. I think that’s how it started. There was no master plan; it grew. Then, there were a lot of names, street names, cities, countries, even. It’s a tradition we just felt that really fits. It makes everything so much more exotic. Obviously, with the full concept that we have, the airline, the stewardess. We like gimmicks, but we’re very serious about the music and what we do. I feel that we’re bringing a real rock show the way it was meant to be. Within that concept, you can still have gimmicks but keep that sort of balance.”

Blabbermouth: I thought the “Way To Spend The Night” single and video sums up the band nicely in that regard.

Björn: “That’s not fake when you watch the video. You can tell that’s how we really are. What you see there is real. That’s not staged. I think you can tell. We’re not that great of actors. [Laughs] You can tell it is the real deal. That song is super uplifting and empowering. It’s sort of a song about forbidden love, but it also has a celebration running through it to leave things behind and escape. There’s a lot of escapism running through this band’s lyrics, but there are a lot of songs on the album that are real-life stories. I think we like to have this sort of contrast with escapism but with more realistic stuff. I think that creates something pretty interesting.”

Blabbermouth: Considering the state of things in the world, are you hearing from people that you are perhaps the right band for these conditions?

Björn: “We get that a lot from people saying, ‘I’ve had a really bad year. I had a really bad month or a day or whatever and you guys always pick me up.’ There’s something about it. People also realize that it’s more than a happy/disco-influenced rock band. [Laughs] It’s very multi-layered. It speaks to people. They can relate to it. They romanticize the traveling side of things and make them think about something else for a while. This soundtrack takes them there. That’s really what it’s all about. I think a lot of people relate to it, including people from different backgrounds. I’ve also now discovered that people find THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA first, then they find out later on, ‘I heard you sing in a metal band as well?’ [Laughs] It used to be only the other way, but now it’s kind of both. It brings a lot of different people to our show. It’s a social experiment, in a way. It’s really cool. It has a unifying factor in that sense, which is beautiful.”

Blabbermouth: How much are you leaning into having two personalities? Obviously, your two bands are very dissimilar.

Björn: “I love it. I can switch it so easily, believe it or not. These two bands represent me in a really good way. I feel very blessed to be able to switch between these two bands. It’s the best of both worlds. I get to channel all of my influences and emotions through these bands. I’m sure, at some point, I’m going to do some kind of other project, but I get to channel so much of myself through these two bands. I’m super grateful for that. I can highly recommend it to anyone who’s in a metal band or whatever and would like to do something completely different. Maybe they just feel like they’re not going to be taken seriously. Just do it. If you feel like you need to get out there, just do it. That’s the only thing I can say. I find it so satisfying to be able to have these two bands. We’ve done festivals in Europe with just a half an hour between. I’m not sure people in the crowd realize it’s the same guy, which is awesome. It’s something completely different. Yeah, it’s fantastic.”

Blabbermouth: THE NIGHT FLIGHT started in 2007 when SOILWORK‘s career was really in full swing. Do you think it has extended SOILWORK‘s lifespan?

Björn: “I think it has, especially with David coming into my life and really encouraging me to pick up the guitar and pushing me to write more songs, both with SOILWORK and also with THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA. That did a lot of things. I was really inspired. I think, after [SOILWORK‘s 2013 double studio album] ‘The Living Infinite’, which is still one of our best albums and was quite an experiment to go through and I feel like it is underrated and hasn’t gotten the attention it deserved. But I think when NIGHT FLIGHT came in there, I felt inspired and I took that with me to SOILWORK. It was also very important to divide the two bands. Of course, your sense of melody, you’ll take that with you wherever you go. That will bleed over a bit. For me, it’s completely different musical expressions. I took that with me, the inspiration, to feel inspired to compose. Good things happened after that. It might have extended the SOILWORK career somehow. It’s good to have both.”