Some of you may already recognise the members of PowerSurge from their time in bands like Primitai, Flesh, and Night Screamer. Now, these talented musicians have come together to create something entirely new and exciting. In an impressively short span, PowerSurge has released music, secured a record deal, and been booked for major festivals. Join us as we delve into their story and prepare to witness the first thrilling chapter of their journey!

TheNwothm: Greetings guys how you all doing? Can you please introduce the band and where you are from?

Srdjan: Hi Rob and greetings to all The Nwothm readers.  The band was started by Roko Nikolic (Zagreb) – Vocals
and myself, Srdjan Bilic (Mostly London, spend a lot of time in Croatia/Bosnia/Serbia) – Lead Guitar.

We’ve recently welcomed Calvin Lever on lead guitar and Radek Koval on bass guitar as official members, both from London.  Drums on our studio recordings are performed by Milan Jejina (Belgrade), and he’ll be joining us for live dates wherever possible. We have several session drummer friends in Europe and UK who will jump in on live dates if needed.

TheNwothm: What inspired you to start this band, and how did you all come together?

Srdjan: We’ve all been active in the traditional metal revival in the last 10-15 years, Roko with Flesh, myself with Primitai and Cutlass (ex Pirates of Metal), Calvin Lever with Night Screamer and Radek Koval had a stint in Neuronspoiler. It was me who decided to throw everything at this project when Roko and I had a beer at his flat in June 2024, he recorded vocals over 2 of my demos. It left such a strong impression, not only was his voice a great fit to the music, he nailed the exact interpretation I had in mind without having to explain or guide him.  There and then I said we’ve got to put out a few songs together and see what happens.  When the demo was shared to our close friends we had an offer to support Fifth Angel, one of my favourite bands, on the condition we got ourselves up and running, so we took the challenge and ran with it.

We were hoping to issue an EP of the songs we’d prepared for the Fifth Angel tour not long after, so we could have something to gain traction with in late 2024, however literally the morning after a late flight back to London we had an email from FHM records with an album deal offer and offers from 2 german festivals who’d noticed us, one being FHM records partners at the Keep It True festivals.  So we’d gone from demos in June to having to finish a whole album by end of November. I had no idea it’d be such a dream start.

The inspiration to start a project like this had been brewing for a while from several things.  I run a live covers night called Metal Heart which has brought together musicians from different bands to play their favourite classic metal songs.  While having such a blast with the night on and off stage, it occurred to me why don’t I do originals music with these kind of people who share my passion and dream of how a band should look and sound. I also noticed the success of the NWOTHM movement built around young bands celebrating their influences, playing festivals from Muskelrock to Keep it True to Up The Hammers, it was a big inspiration watching the scene grow, and it dawned on me that this is the target audience and movement which my music belongs to. It is a scene where I can see success coming from the strength of music and sharing enthusiasm, so I thought why not roll the dice.

TheNwothm: How would you describe your musical style, and what sets you apart from other bands in the heavy metal genre?

Srdjan: At face value our sound is particularly comparable to mid to late 1980s American power metal/ melodic metal/ hard rock ranging from Leatherwolf, late 80s Armored Saint, Dokken, Queensryche , with some occasional dark moments reminiscent of early Sanctuary or Savatage.  But we are not directly based on them, I think the similarity comes from having the same influences and same approach – taking the Priest/ Maiden/ Saxon influences a step further.

If I had to pick a few things that set us apart, I think there aren’t many bands still tapping into the romanticism of heavy metal. If you look back at songs like Out in the Cold or Night Comes Down by Priest, Crimson Glory’s Painted Skies, Queensryche’s Take Hold of the Flame…we want to keep that sentimental touch and soul to the songs. We are not afraid of dynamics, we don’t want to just be stuck on the “fast and heavy setting”. Having said that side A of our debut album is somewhat of a monster, so don’t get caught out by what I’ve just said.  Also there’s an overabundance of bands directly referencing Maiden which is great, but I think we’ll put a smile on the face of the connoisseur melodic metal fans out there too.

TheNwothm: And what made you choose the name Power Surge?

Srdjan: To the general public it works with two strong words, with that familiar two-part punch style of metal band name.  To my closer circle, it’s always been a bit of a nickname, Primitai even had a song called Power Surge, so people who know me will get the reference (you all do now).  I also felt that during the years of playing in other bands I’ve always come across pockets of die-hard heavy metal fans who’ve recognised me as “one of them” and given me a lot of moral support. You can trace a lot of your biggest moments to the good will from other people who recognise that you live and breathe the same things as them, and it’s a little nod to that.  That’s how I met all of these people – Roko, Calvin, Radek, Milan – bumping into each other at the same places because we all chose to head out to play and enjoy heavy metal music and lifestyle. 

TheNwothm: What other bands have you been a part of, both past and present, and how have those experiences shaped the sound of Power Surge? Have you carried any specific influences or lessons from those projects into this band?

Roko: I play the bass and sing also in my heavy metal band Flesh, and play the bass in a heavy/doom band Elusive God. Occasionally I step in live for Jelusick when their bass player is unavailable. As far as lessons…I think it’s not overthinking if a recording take is “good enough”. If it vibes, keep it and move on.

Srdjan:  The bands and musicians I’ve played with have been a great learning experience, I’ve been lucky to share bands with some great songwriters which has helped develop my own, Alistair Hodgson of Pirates of Metal/Cutlass has always been a great riffer so I’ve had to hold myself to a high standard to keep up with him, and all the band songwriters in Primitai and producers worked with have taught me a lot about arrangements and hooks whether musical or vocal related. 

TheNwothm: So as you’re all a new band can you tell us about each of yourselves, maybe some insights in where you learned to play your instruments/ music and what you do outside of music?

Roko: I’m a self taught player and singer. Just a trial and error system and using your ears. Outside of music I’m a ninjutsu blackbelt and run my accouting company.

Srdjan: I’m mainly a self taught electric guitarist but I’ve had a few months of lessons over the years.  As for my day job, I have a masters degree in civil engineering and I’m currently a freelance structural engineer designing small projects with architects, after working full time in some design offices for 10 years. Calvin is a full time graphic designer, Radek is a delivery driver and Milan is a full time musician. 

TheNwothm: Srdjan I must say I love your guitar work especially having seen you play with your other band Primitai. Who do you admire in the guitar world and what kind of rig do you have?

Srdjan: Thanks for the kind words. I think my riffing style is perhaps more instantly recognisable than my lead work, and the guitarists that have really given me an ear for riffing are Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt with their 1997-2009 “power metal era” Saxon, Glenn Tipton and KK Downing riffs from any era of Priest, and Chris DeGarmo / Michael Wilton of Queensryche really show how much you can do on rhythm guitar higher up the fretboard and with inversions.  Lead guitar wise I haven’t developed my playing to a excessively virtuoso or technical level, I follow the path of those aforementioned guitarists and others like Adrian Smith with a focus on phrasing and doing the best within your abilities. 

I really admire, but can’t compare myself to, Alex Skolnick, Marty Friedman and all the early Megadeth guys, Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, Fifth Angel, Paul Quinn, Jeff Waters, and hope to one day have the vibrato style of Warren Demartini and John Sykes. I’ve recently really been impressed by the lead work on Nite’s last album. Lastly I have to give a shout out to all guitarists I’ve played alongside that have kept me on my toes and motivated me to try my best – Nick Saxby, Alistair Hodgson, Mladen Pecovic, Tom Draper, Sergio Giron, some monster players at Metalworks in London.

Gear wise I keep it simple with my trusty Marshall JMP-1 valve pre amp and boss delay and chorus pedals, run through a power amp. I’ve had this set up for over 10 years and most of the time with a good speaker cabinet it can hold its own against other rigs, it’s outdated 90s gear but in its day was in every big guitarist’s rack. 

TheNwothm: Let us talk about your music. You have just put out your new single “Calm before the Storm.” Can you tell us about the themes of the song and how it came about?

Srdjan: The song started with that main riff which comes in before the drums, and then I had the idea of a groovy drum beat under it. The rest of the music wrote itself, I wanted to use the forgotten art of little pushes and offbeats on the kick drum, and of bass playing one note under the riff, which really adds tension and drives the song, a bit like “Lonely” by Crimson Glory or “Digital Dictator” by Vicious Rumors.  The words “Calm Before The Storm” and chorus vocal melody came to me first, and the rest of the lyrics wrote themselves with the theme of mentally preparing for a new challenge you’ve committed yourself to. 

TheNwothm: Do you find the process quite easy or do find it a challenge? 

Srdjan: Because Power Surge plans kept getting overtaken by bigger ones it’s been pretty much going with the first idea that comes to mind and running with it cause whatever we’ve been working on needed to be finished yesterday.  So I have no idea if it was easy or a challenge haha, I just had to do get the music done there and then. The process has been very do or die, no second guessing yourself… luckily we’re really proud of the songs and wouldn’t really change them if we suddenly had a time extension or chance to re-work. A lot of the song ideas and lyrics were written in my head while going about daily business, because there was so little time for sit down writing sessions.  I think the positive pressure and excitement of the opportunity luckily gave some extra inspiration to make up for the otherwise short window.

One thing I would say is that deadlines and time plans help keep you focused and give you a bit of “positive stress”.  My advice is when starting an album is to set the release date, even if its 12-24 months in advance, because then all the other deadlines fall into place and form your plan for you. 

TheNwothm: And do you all write together or share ideas for instance online?

Srdjan: Because of the time constraints and rapid turn of events, there was not much time for co-writing or gradually moulding songs together, as I explained in the previous answer. In the future we imagine we’ll do things more collaboratively. When Calvin joined just before the album deadline we had time 2 integrate two of his songs into the album, which is great because it expanded the band’s identity.

TheNwothm: What do you think of current state of the hard rock/ heavy metal scene in the UK?

Srdjan: Things were pretty good for a while, considering how this music runs entirely on good will and no outside support. Around 10-15 years ago it felt like the UK music industry and festival scene had started to open up to traditional metal again, bands like Wolf were breaking through. Festivals like Bloodstock and Hard Rock Hell were booking bands in that vibe, we even had a festival in the centre of London called High Voltage with bands like Judas Priest and Heaven and Hell headlining. In 2010 Download festival had a whole day of new heavy metal bands and “legacy” classic rock headliners, which is unthinkable now. You even had a big UK label Earache getting involved in the action, signing bands like White Wizzard, Enforcer and Cauldron. Primitai had our breakthrough around then and we were even able to score a big booking agent. More bands emerged eventually becoming what I now joke was the class of 2017 – that year a new label Dissonance Productions gave album deals to Eliminator, Toledo Steel, Amulet, Primitai, Seven Sisters, Neuronspoiler. Things were ticking over until covid but unfortunately it hasn’t picked it up again as much as it used to. Heavy Metal lineups are often carried by European or American headliners and they haven’t been able to come over, and middle age commitments have crept up on the ”class of ‘17”

TheNwothm: And do you think other genres of music have taken over or do you still feel that classic heavy metal is very much still alive?

Srdjan: More recently, unfortunately it seems that the door has closed on trad metal bands in the UK, which is why I’ve started something new with Europe as my prime target audience. There is a movement called NWOCR (New Wave of Classic Rock), championed by big rock radio stations and magazines as it is a safe sell to older classic rock fans, which has taken the bread from our mouths, to be accepted in that you have to sound Velvet Revolver meets Royal Blood . What is utterly bizarre is that there are dozens of smaller festivals popping up, headlined by affordable legacy names like Diamond Head, Tygers of Pan Tang, Geoff Tate, FM, Phil Campbell, Michael Schenker etc, but if you’re a “young” band honouring the legacy of those acts you won’t get considered! We should all be allies, sharing those opportunities, not overlooked for being authentic! I do have to give credit though to Tailgunner for managing to build a big following and break the UK festival circuit, they’ve done it through nothing but hard work and determination. My band mates in Cutlass have stepped up their ambition too, Speeder are making a name for themselves too, so I hope better days are coming for our scene.

TheNwothm: Roko as a vocalist who inspires you both musically and outside of music?

Roko: My favourite bands were always the same; Manowar and Judas Priest, so I guess that musically it would be logical to state them as biggest inspirations. Rob Halford for the variety of different voices and styles he can produce and Eric Adams for the sheer power in his voice, it’s insane. Outside of music…hard to tell, but let’s give it a try; Trey Park and Matt Stone, creators of South Park. I would make watching SP mandatory in elementary school (vote for me, lots of good ideas).    

TheNwothm: And do you have any other tips for other hard rock/metal vocalists on how to look after your voice so you give the best possible show?

Roko: Huh…I think the worst thing for me is speaking (shouting) that comes after a gig, due to loud music, so I guess it would be best to just shut up, politely nod to people a drink beer in silence (assume a “Peter Steele” stance).

TheNwothm: For a bit of fun who has the best battle jacket in the band, who spends too much on hi-tops and who has the best hair?

Roko: Well I think it has to be me ; I have a huge handstitched sign of the hammer on my back with “Defenders of the Faith” writing. Quite cool and one of a kind.

Srdjan: I agree with Roko, his battle jacket even has animal fur in pure early Manowar style!

TheNwothm: What is next for the band musically? Are you working in a debut EP or album?

Srdjan: The recording, mixing and mastering our album has been finished and our label FHM records has sent it off for press.  We’d have never guessed when we started in June that we’d have a whole album done in November, I usually plan at least 12 months for the writing and production of an album. The title is Shadows Warning and it’s out 2^nd of May, 8 original tracks and 1 cover featuring a guest appearance from a band we’ve already mentioned we admire.

TheNwothm: And can we expect to see any shows in the upcoming months?

Srdjan: We have been booked to play Keep It True Rising festival in Oct 2025 which means the world to us, that was pretty much very dream to achieve when we started this, and its crazy that we were booked after releasing 2 singles and playing our first dates. We’re also announcing a few album launch shows across our various hometowns to get the ball rolling, and a few other fests.

TheNwothm: Where can fans support you?

Srdjan: You can find all of our socials, youtube videos and bandcamp at Linktr.ee/powersurgeheavymetal

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Srdjan: Thanks again to The NWOTHM for supporting us since the very moment we launched.  Cheers to all the readers, look out for our new album and singles that will be dropping, give us a share and tell your local festivals to book us!.

Website: powersurgeheavymetal.bandcamp.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/powersurgeheavymetal

Facebook: facebook.com/powersurgeheavymetal

Their debut LP SHADOWS WARNING will be released on 2nd May 2025 with an exclusive physical presale at Keep It True Festival on 25th April 2025.