There is some remarkably good metal coming from Denmark and one band that delivers is Pectora! From being collector’s of western boots and magic the gathering to mentions of Nico Mcbrain and Manowar, get ready to discover the minds behind the metal machine that is Pectora!

THE NWOTHM: Can you introduce us to the members of the band and where you are from?

Pectora: Hi! Thank you so much for letting us tell our story here at THE NWOTHM. So, Pectora. A 5-piece heavy metal band from Denmark with almost every member now living in Copenhagen. Morten Nielsen on guitar, Laurids Münier on bass, Nicolas Frandsen on drums, Philip Butler on vocals and myself, Søren Weiss, on guitar.

THE NWOTHM: How did Pectora form and is there any insightful story surrounding its formation?

Pectora: The founding members of the band (Nicolas, Morten and myself) are old friends from the early days at school. So, we have been playing together since we were 14-15 years old, I think. Nicolas and I played
together in another punk’ish band before we in 2007 created a new band with Morten Nielsen who shared
our wish to play traditional heavy metal. This new band then became Pectora as it is now back in 2014,
where Laurids joined on bass. Our old singer left right after our tour in 2019, where Phil joined immediately.

THE NWOTHM: How did you decide on your bands image and style?

Pectora: We all have different inspirations. We like it fast, and we like it slow and heavy. We are not a band only to play fast speedy songs. We also like the more doom’ish parts of the heavy metal scene. So, we all bring in different inspiration to the songwriting. We all have “a say” when it comes to the songwriting. That is what makes our sound, I think.

THE NWOTHM: As a band, who would you say your biggest influences in life have been, both
musically and outside of music?

Pectora: We all come from different backgrounds. Even though the founding members of the band comes from the same city of Roskilde – pretty close to Copenhagen. In Roskilde we have one of the biggest festivals in the world. The Roskilde Festival. In our early days we saw a handful of major shows at that festival. Bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rammstein, Black Sabbath, Nine Inch Nails and D-A-D all played fantastic shows at the Roskilde Festival. These kind of shows inspired me heavily to pick up an instrument and I know that it also inspired my band members to do so as well. Roskilde is a very cultural city. I feel pretty blessed to have grown up in a city where music was, and still is, so important.

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us an interesting fact about each band member?

Pectora: hmmm… well…. Phil has an extremely cool collection of western boots. They are so fucking beautiful! Nicolas is an eager spare time angler, and he is a collector of mtg (Magic The Gathering) playing cards. Laurids enjoys all sorts of outdoor activities (fx freespee and paddling on his paddle board) and prefers to go hiking on holidays rather than to lying on the beach. Morten is very skilled in a kitchen and enjoys cooking for friends and family. And I’m just a huge, huge record collector.

THE NWOTHM: Who has the biggest collection of instruments in the band and what brands do you
own?

Pectora: Morten – our guitarist – has a great collection of Gibson Les Pauls and Nicolas – our drummer – has a collection of all sorts instruments, ukulele, congas, guitars and drums. I’m not that big of a gear nerd. I’m
happy with my Gibson Flying V and my Fender Stratocaster. That’s the only guitars I have. They have
followed me for over 15 years. Still going strong.

THE NWOTHM: What do you guys think of the current Nwothm/heavy metal scene In Denmark?

Pectora: It sucks! It really does. Denmark is more about death metal, black metal and modern metalcore. We have a few bands within the more classic heavy metal scene. Check out Steel Inferno and Excelerate. Pretty cool bands! But in general, it’s tough to play heavy metal in Denmark. We always end up being either the “pop band” in death metal sandwich or the “extreme band” in the rock sandwich, when we are out playing shows.

THE NWOTHM: What do you think about the resurgence of vinyl and its impact on the heavy metal
world?

Pectora: I love it! In our band I’m the collector of records. I do love both CD, MC’s and vinyls. So, I’m a big fan of vinyls. From a band perspective I think vinyls are the best thing right now. Being playlisted on Spotify etc is a pain in the ass unless your band is called Metallica. To me it’s way, way more important to present your work as a full package with beautiful artwork and the best sound possible. You can actually do that with vinyls. Much, much better than anything else.

THE NWOTHM: If you could go for a beer with anyone from the past or present, dead or alive who
would it be and why?

Pectora: Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden and/or Eric Adams of Manowar. Both seem like very nice guys in interviews. I think I would laugh my ass off at a pub with Nicko and with Eric I think I would be able to talk a lot about music in general.

THE NWOTHM: How do you go about writing lyrics for your records and where do you gain
inspiration from?

Pectora: The lyrics on the new album are inspired largely by sci-fi/fantasy and particularly dystopic sci-fi works of well- known, classic authors such as H.G. Wells and Aldous Huxley. As with a lot of metal, there is probably an element of Lovecraftian horror indirectly permeating throughout. Additionally, there feature some recurring themes of bittersweet victory, ‘the long defeat’ and forlorn hope. Normally it’s Phil and Nicolas writing the lyrics.

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us more about the artists behind your artworks?

Pectora: So at the moment we are finalising our new album – our second album. The first one with Phil on vocals. The artwork for this new album hasn’t been released yet. But trust me. It will be heavy metal as fuck! Pure 70’s- 80’s-inspired fantasy artwork in somehow Marvel comic-book style. The artist is called Roberto Toderico and he has done artworks for bands like Sodom, Immolation, Asphyx and Tygers Of Pan Tang. It is amazing! Can’t wait to let you guys see this bad boy!

THE NWOTHM: From your previous releases, which songs would you say are your personal
favourites?

Pectora: On a personal note I think songs like “Untaken” and “Unkindled Flame” from our debut “Untaken” are personal favourites. They are fun to play live, and I think the melodies and the riffs are strong in both songs.

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell more about your most recent release, the songs and the writing process
behind the record?

Pectora: I would actually rather like to tell you about our next release, as the previous album “Untaken” (our debut) is dated all the way back to 2019. We have been working really, really heard on the new album, yet to be announced. It has taken quite a lot of time to finalise this. Mostly because of Covid. As with the debut the
drum recording and the mix/master will be done by Germany’s Sebastian Seeb Levermann of Orden Ogan
and AngusMcSix, in his studio. We really liked the sound that Sebastian did on the first album. Even though
we are playing heavy metal it still sounds fresh and modern. And that’s how we like it. The genre might be
old, but we don’t want to sound like a “museum-band”, you know.

As for the writing process, we took a new step and utilised Guitar Pro to share ideas with each other during
covid. The Untaken album was mainly written in the reheasal room whereas the comming album has mainly
been written in our separate living rooms and then put together and sculptured in the rehearsal room when
the covid restrictions ended. We are currently waiting for the final mixes to arrive from Germany. But I’m sure it’s gonna be face melting. Expect both midtempo, fast and slow tracks. That’s the diversity we like.

THE NWOTHM: Do you have any interesting and insightful stories from the road? Any particular
countries or places you have enjoyed playing?

Pectora: It has all been great. We played Holland, Sweden, Germany and England in support of our latest album “Untaken” back in 2019. It was good fun. We played at this really, really small club “Jack’s Music Bar” in Zwolle, Holland. It was jam packed. A real sweaty heavy metal show. Really awesome! And then of course we love getting back to Hamburg’s Bambi Galore. We have played there many times now. Last time with Riot City and Seven Sisters. Florian, the club manager, is a fantastic person. All hail!

THE NWOTHM: Have you had any favourite bands you have shared the stage with?

Pectora: We had a great, great time with Tygers Of Pan Tang in both Edinburg and Newcastle back in 2019. Lovely guys. Then we had the great honour of sharing the stages with Riot City and Seven Sisters in Copenhagen and Hamburg last year. Fantastic experience. Great guys as well. Both bands are killer!
Not to forget that we have been drunk as fuck with the Screamer-boys a couple of times. We can’t wait to
share the stage once again in Denmark on their upcoming tour and to play at their festival, Turbo Fest, in
April in Ljungby Sweden.

THE NWOTHM: What are your thoughts about the upcoming Screamer tour?
So actually, because of other plans, we are only playing with Screamer and Skull Fist in Copenhagen. But I
know it’s gonna be one hell of a true metal party! These guys can play!

THE NWOTHM: What other touring plans do you have in store?

Pectora: Because we are at the final steps of finalising the new album we have not yet moved forward with shows. We are playing the Copenhagen show with Skull Fist and Screamer on April 13, we are playing Turbo Fest on April 1st and then we have one major summer-show, which hasn’t been announced yet. So I can’t tell you more about this right now. But of course, when the new album is being released it will be followed by a tour! No doubt!

THE NWOTHM: Will you be writing/ releasing new music in 2023?

Pectora: Oh yes. As written earlier in this interview. Actually, we are looking for the right label to release our new album. Maybe some would be interested after reading this interview? Who knows?

THE NWOTHM: Where can people check you out on social media and buy your music/merch?
Pectora:

Facebook: facebook.com/pectora

Bandcamp: Pectora.bandcamp.com

Thank you for the support!

#pectora #pectoradenmark #thenwothm