Finnish powerhouse Angel Sword have already struck the world hard with their sizzling metal through releases like ‘Neon City’ and ‘Rebels Beyond the Pale.’ And now in 2023, they are right in the midst of writing their third currently untitled album. Jerry and Mike from the band joined forces to let us discover more about the band and what lays ahead!

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

Jerry A.S: We hail from Helsinki, Finland. Angel Sword is:
Jerry Razors – Vocals, Guitars
Lightning Mike – Guitars, backing vocals
Eviltaker – Bass
Alexander Depraved – Drums

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

Jerry A.S:Angel Sword was formed by me (Jerry Razors) and our original guitarist Sylvester Shredder back in the day when we met at the university. We wrote some demo songs but things properly started when Eviltaker and St. Peter joined and we started rehearsing with a full lineup.

THE NWOTHM: How did you choose the bands name? And is there any background to it?

Jerry A.S:An angel with a sword just sounded like heavy metal.

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

Jerry A.S:I’m sure we all have different influences; musically I would say there are obvious influences from bands like Heavy Load, Judas Priest, Shok Paris, Accept, Running Wild, etc. Visually Angel Sword is definitely influenced by 80’s cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic movies. Lyrically and thematically Running Wild has certainly been an influence, as songs about freedom are always close to my heart. Anyone who carves out their own path in life without paying too much attention to what others think is usually inspiring.

THE NWOTHM: How would you describe the Nwothm/heavy metal scene in Finland?

Mike A.S: The scene is very underground and not doing particularly well. Current high costs of travel and being in the boondocks doesn’t really help the situation. Smaller festivals abroad can’t really afford to book bands from here and local shows are not that well attended. There’s still a dozen or so interesting bands to checkout e.g. Chalice & Lord Fist. Metal in general always does rather fine in Finland tho but currently its not the case with smaller trad heavy metal bands.

THE NWOTHM: In your music collections what records would you say are your most prized
possessions/favourites?

Mike A.S: “Maiden’s “Best of the Beast” LP box set is one of the most valuable and coolest ones. I used to collect more 20 years ago when it all was much cheaper and space issues weren’t a case. Current LP prices are rather insane!

THE NWOTHM: If you could play with any band or musician from the past or present, dead or alive
who would it be and why?

Jerry A.S: I would transport Angel Sword back in time to perform with the barbaric cavemen of old.

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

Jerry A.S: If I feel inspired, the lyrics come easily when writing the riffs, usually from a song title I have in my head. But sometimes you have to force the lyrics out the hard way. Inspiration can come from movies, books, articles or random thoughts.

THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us more about your releases prior to ‘Neon City’ and any stand out
songs you think people should check out?

Jerry A.S: In 2014, we released our first EP called “Ripping the Heavens” – a punk-influenced burst of vomit-inducing no-nonsense metal. Our first full-length album was the post-apocalyptically themed “Rebels Beyond the Pale”, which got quite good reviews. Try “Midnight Survivor”, “Break the Chains” or “Lawmaker” from that one if you haven’t already. After that we released a 7” called “Kallio Rock City” which has a less well known B-side called “Satan Wears Leather”, so check that one out.

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

Mike A.S: Anu from https://www.facebook.com/artbysaari did two of our latest covers: Kallio Rock City and Neon City.She has done a lot of covers for other Finnish NWOTHM bands such as “Satan’s Fall”, “Evil-Lÿn” and “Loanshark.”

THE NWOTHM: Your last release was ‘Neon City’ back in 2019! Can you tell us about the album, the
songs and the writing process behind the record?

Mike A.S:Writing process was quite standard for us. Jerry writes most of the songs and demos them. Then we arrange them as a band. I wrote the music for “Hardliner” and “Tower of Light” and for both Jerry wrote lyrics and the vocal melodies. For Hardliner I wanted an a cappella beginning in the vein of “Rock America” by “Danger Danger”. “Tower..” instead was inspired by Dokken and Queensryche. And for the next album the split seems to be pretty similar as I’ve written two songs and Jerry the rest.

THE NWOTHM: How did you decide on the direction for ‘Neon City’ ?

Jerry A.S: While writing “Rebels Beyond the Pale”, I already had in mind what the next chapter was going to be – from the toxic ashes of nuclear wastelands would rise the dystopian yet hopeful place called Neon City, where the neon lights flicker and the action on the streets never ends. Some of the songs I had already written a long time ago and some were new ones.

THE NWOTHM: What are your tour plans for 2023? Do you have any big shows lined up?

Mike A.S: Not many live dates for 2023. We are primarily focusing on the third album. Finishing the songs and then recording it and doing all the relevant things from merch to videos and what not.

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

A.S: Socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelswordmetal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelswordmetal/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AngelSword
Merch & music on Bandcamp:https://angelsword.bandcamp.com/merch Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3xDhto0

THE NWOTHM: is there anything else you would like to mention?

Jerry A.S: If you want to book us to play, send us a message!