Blazon Stone has carved out its own unmistakable place in the trad‑metal underground, driven by Ced’s sharp writing style and hands‑on approach to every part of the music. It had been a while since our last chat, so we reconnected for a quick run‑through of what he’s been working on and what’s been keeping him busy creatively.

Let’s get started.

Interview

TheNwothm: It is great to speaking to you once again? How are you doing and how is 2026 going for you so far?

Ced: Hello, yeah it’s okay right in middle of recording bunch of stuff…

TheNwothm: When we last spoke back in 2023 we focused on the how the band formed, where your from and your discography. But I want to focus more on your writing, setup and your latest EP Treasure Hunt. To begin what songs have you been jamming too lately, and who are your current influences?

Ced: I don’t know, I was playing guitar lately to Stratovarius – Stratosphere, Peter And Test Tube Babies – Jinx, and latest Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time playing the vocal melodies hah…

TheNwothm: Do you feel anything you’ve been listening to lately has fed into your writing or expanded your pool of riffs and ideas?

Ced: Not really I guess haha

TheNwothm: What is your current setup for playing at home and does it differ from the studio and on stage?

Ced: I just connect my guitar to the interface and record it straight and put some Vst on for distortion. I dig the Bogren Ampknob plugins because they have no settings to screw around with. They have “one sound” and I’m all for it.

TheNwothm: What guitars do you have in your collection and what would you say are your favourites?

Ced: Most of my guitars are mutated and modified to various degrees, I have a few Warmoth parts builds that rule, but also a Ibanez RG550 Genesis and Solar with Evertune… Well, Evertune is a big deal for me in any case, I have installed Evertune on a partscaster and a combined Ibanez RG parts guitar. Almost all guitars are painted snow white or close to it. With black hardware. Haha! I plan on installing more Evertune bridges soon, since I signed a contract with the company as an artist. Hehe!

TheNwothm: When you’re shaping the Blazon Stone sound, how do you dial in your setup to get exactly what you’re after?

Ced: Different every time… Difficult question… It’s either so much that it would be boring to go into detail in words, or if I describe it too little, no one will get the same idea in their head anyway. Haha!!

TheNwothm: You mentioned before that you overwrite heavily. Roughly how many ideas or drafts were generated during the Treasure Hunt period before you narrowed it down to these four tracks?

Ced: That is difficult to answer. Some of the songs on Treasure Hunt have been laying around for several years unused. There’s just a general pool of songs not intended for a specific release that can be used at any time if they are good enough, unfortunately writing good songs is rare. At least for me. If I write 20 songs maybe 2-5 are good enough. Roughly counting. There’s a lot of throwaway stuff between the “hits”… But I don’t wanna settle for first best. But perspective can change with time too. Something I was excited about one day can next week be my most hated song. Who knows… Can’t trust yourself with your own material 100%…

TheNwothm: How do you feel about the Treasure Hunt EP and how it reflects where Blazon Stone was creatively in 2025?

Ced: It was just throwaway tracks from my archives more or less but not the worst shit obviously. But not worthy to get on next album, just like more songs laying around…

TheNwothm: You’ve always had a very specific approach to capturing that late‑80s Running Wild sound. Did you adjust anything in your signal chain or production workflow for Treasure Hunt compared to Damnation?

Ced: I’m more inspired by the 1994 sound of Running Wild than the late-80s, actually. Haha! Damnation was using some EQ matching with Running Wild “Blazon Stone” album guitar tone, actually the same way I did with “Down In The Dark.” But Treasure Hunt was instead using a Tonex plugin with some preset.

However after release I didn’t like the sound anyway, so it has been remixed and now it’s simply using the Bogren Ampknob BDH III which I think sounds better than on the regular release. So whenever the “The Madmans Rejects And Rarities” compulation comes out including the Treasure Hunt EP and much other crap, it will have a more powerful guitar tone…

TheNwothm: From a production standpoint, what was the biggest challenge on this EP — guitars, vocals, drums/ drum programming, mixing, or something more subtle like balancing harmonies?

Ced: We have a drummer, I have so far not released anything with just programmed drums with Blazon Stone! Haha. And I don’t have anything against that, recording drums is difficult and not for everyone. If some band uses programmed drums and gets a cool vibe with it, just go for it! It’s been proven to sound great on many classic albums like Manowar – Fighting The World, Grave Digger – Excalibur and many others. But besides that I always program drums when writing the songs so there’s a better picture of how the song will sound, and for the drummer to learn the material too. 

Mixing is a big challenge… For the upcoming album I am seriously considering hiring somebody else to do that instead of me. That would be the first time in my life hiring an outsider to mix my own music, I have always DIYd pretty much all my releases haha!! Parts because I have been needing the money for other things, but also because I have on and off enjoyed the process. But I feel like I wanna take the upcoming album to a next level with an outsider person to handle that shit….

TheNwothm: Out of the three original tracks on the EP, which one is the most enjoyable to play from a purely challenging perspective? 

Ced: I think I like Cutthroat Island best to play, which is also included in our updated 2026 live setlist for now with upcoming shows in Greece and Bulgaria for example.

TheNwothm: Did any unused ideas from the Treasure Hunt sessions carry over into what you’re writing now, or did that chapter close cleanly once the EP was finished?

Ced: Treasure Hunt EP is literally the “unused ideas”… haha

TheNwothm: How do you balance fan favourites with newer material when building a setlist?

Ced: I think I just wanna go for the easiest choruses generally speaking. For example “High Treason” is easier for anybody to shout along with than something like “War Of The Roses”… but also mostly new material as much as possible I guess. But since there’s so many releases, it’s very difficult to make everyone happy…

TheNwothm: Looking ahead through 2026, what are the key goals you’re setting for Blazon Stone, whether in the live setting or in the studio? 

Ced: I really wanna get started with the recordings of the album. But I still don’t have enough songs for it. Most shit gets tossed aside as usual. It doesn’t get easier with years since so many ideas has been used already, not just by me but also bands in the same style, like, Running Wild inspired bands, like Lonewolf, Silverbones and so on. Most trad metal uses full minor scales, and here we have to limit ourselves to a folk pentatonic!! HAHA!! Which is half joke half true of course. 

TheNwothm: After more than a decade of Blazon Stone, what still motivates you to keep creating and pushing forward?

Ced: It varies. It’s not always super inspiring, but sometimes it sparks something special wihthin. Goes up and down. But I would say playing live and seeing some of the fans really get into the songs is a big reason. 

TheNwothm: How can our readers buy your music and merch?

Ved: We are mostly out of stock but check our Bandcamp hehe!

TheNwothm: Where can fans follow you online?

Ced: Mostly active on Facebook, and recently picking up speed on Instagram too… Very slowly… Haha! I also started a Patreon for people who wanna get a more exclusive insight in our workflow behind the scenes! 

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

Ced: I can really recommend the lunch resturant at Gävle library!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlazonStoneOfficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blazonstone_official/

Bandcamp: https://blazonstone.bandcamp.com/