After the covid filled years, 2023 was a music year that saw musicians, fans and all and everyone who wanted to, return to the big stages, topped of tours and exclusive shows. Where some bands opted for new releases, others decided to hit the road.
Tungsten released their third album (Bliss) in the later stages of 2022, and with all the covid constrictions lifted, several opportunities arose for this dynamic Swedish foursome. As 2023 kicked off, Tungsten embarked on their very first European (club) tour as a support act to Swedish Bloodbound! Together with Arion (Finland) and Northtale (Sweden) the four bands visited 13 venues across Western Europe and gave their fans a heavy power metal experience during the “Tour of the Dark Realm”
As the bassist and growling voice of Tungsten, Karl Johansson was off course part of this tour and for the first time Tungsten embarked on an extensive tour. How was this?
Karl Johansson: “That was a really cool experience, first time for us on a tour, and was really cool to hang around with the guys from Bloodbound, Northtale and Arion as well. It was as a memory to cherish.”
Yeah I can imagine that! Is there a venue or a crowd that stood out for you during this tour?
Karl: “For me it was at Thurock in Essen, Germany for sure. The whole venue was full and the crowd was so engaged with every band. It was really awesome.”
As the guys aren’t afraid to say yes to “smaller” festivals, the range where Tungsten can be seen live is wide. During the festival season Tungsten played a number of shows across their home country Sweden. From being part of the Metallica Gothenburg Take-Over all the way to the well-known and massive Sweden Rock Festival! How was it to play at the latter?
Karl: “That was an incredible experience as well. I’ve always wanted to play at Sweden Rock since I was there with my father when he played with Hammerfall back in 2001.
Also we opened the Friday at 11 am, we thought that there weren’t going to be much people at that time of day, but to our surprise it was full of an energised crowd which delighted us very much!”
To “balance” the big festivals, Tungsten also played in Uppsala, Sweden at Rock The Park Festival. Can you explain the differences between those?
Karl: “The thing with greater venues is that they feel a lot more epic and almost unreal in a good way, as where smaller venues feels more closer and more connected to the audience.”
As the end of year 2023 is rapidly closing in on us, it’s a good thing to look to the things that are on the horizon. In the later stages of 2023 Tungsten announced that work has started on their fourth studio album which has not got an official release date, other than 2024. Perhaps you could enlighten us a little bit on that?
Karl:“Things are looking pretty great if I can say so with the next album. The only thing I can say really, is that the next album will probably be our most epic album to date! At the moment we are working hard on Tungsten 4 and planning around the release of that. Next to that we are of course busy with filling our agenda with shows and festivals! But more on that in due course!”
With another year done, future is looking bright for Tungsten. With new material in the works, an ever larger growing fan base and live shows on the horizon, 2024 promises to become yet another year filled with new heights for Mike, Anders, Karl and Niklas.
Copyright Photo’s: K.M. Natana, C, Soer, C. Seifert, Tungsten, TFW e.o.
OFFICIAL PHOTO’S BY MIKE NORGREN
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