Proud (Swe) - Second Act [Japan] (2021)

Hard Rock / Melodic Hard Rock

Japanese press with 2 bonus tracks. Comes with OBI + booklet in English and extra insert in Japanese.
Under exclusive license from AOR Heaven to Rubicon Music.

Also released with 10 tracks by German label AOR Heaven [#AORH00232]

Music videos was recorded for the songs "Sail Away", "Magic" & "Hold On".

Recorded at Handsome Hard Studios 1 & 2.
Mixed and Mastered by Erik Mårtensson at Mass Destruction Production
Except songs 1, 3 & 5 Mixed by Thomas "Plec" Johansson at The Panic Room.

This album is dedicated to the memory of Anders "Kagan" Holmqvist.

Mats uses Ludwig drums, Paiste cymbals, Remo drumheads, Wincent drumsticks & 101 Drums snare drums because he wants the best!

Proud thanklist
Georg Siegl at AOR Heaven for believing in us, Richard Larsson at Handsome Hard Studios, Erik Mårtensson at Mass Destruction Production, Thomas "Plec" Johansson at the Panic Room, Kevin Alexandersson, Linus Luckman at Theater of Landskrona, Mike Magnér at La Rental. And a very special thanks to Anders Fästader for great advice and good conversations.

Anders Magnell thanklist
There is no bond stronger than family. Thank you for always supporting me, love you. Anette, Christoffer and Alexandra.

Robert Horvath thanklist
My family Marie, Sarah & Fredrik

Mats Christiansson thanklist
Love goes out to Anna, Elias and Tilda, the rest of the Christiansson and Schultz family, Lars Nileskog at Nileskog media, Ola Bengtsson at 101 Drums, Rickard Ozols for making my drums sound great.

Press release info
The famous Nordic metal band PROUD from the early 80's has made a miraculous comeback! This is their second album, their first in 36 years since "Fire Breaks The Dawn"! After 36 years, the "Passionate White Nights" PROUD have come back to the scene with their strongest album. They were formed in 1982 in Landskrona, a small city in the south of Sweden, under the name BURN, and soon changed their name to PROUD and made their album debut in 1984 on the major label SWEDEN EMI. Their only work, "Fire Breaks The Dawn", which is filled with melancholy singing voices, mysterious songs, and tearful twin guitar masterpieces that hit the sorrowful melody line after sorrowful melody line, was released by Toshiba EMI here in Japan, and was popular among Nordic metal fans who were already creating maniacs at the time, along with EUROPE, SILVER MOUNTAIN, MADISON, 220VOLT, etc. They finally reunited in 2019 with the two original members, vocalist Anders and bassist Robert (now Bobby). Unfortunately, drummer Anders Holmqvist passed away in the same year, and guitarist Peter Horvath, probably the brother of Robert Horvath, and guitarist Magnus Olson, the main members of this reunion, are also not participating, but Anders Magnell, who was only vocalist on the first album, is now in charge of guitar as well. They also welcomed Richard Larsson of The Night Flight Orchestra as a guest keyboardist, and the mix and mastering was done by Erik Mårtensson of ECLIPSE (Erik also participated in the 10th song as an acoustic guitarist). While keeping the melody of the original, they have completed a miraculous melodic album that is even more powerful and lives up to the name "PROUD". Bonus tracks included on the Japanese version!

PROUD Interview with Anders Magnell (Translated from Japanese insert)

PROUD's new album "Second Act" will finally be released in Japan. How do you feel about it?
I'm super excited and looking forward to it, can't wait for it to be released in June.

First, let's start with the history of the band. The band was formed in 1982 under the name "BURN." How did that come about? Also, please tell us the origin of the band's name "PROUD."
We started as BURN with the brothers Peter and Robert Horvath and Anders Holmkvist. Then Magnus Olsson joined the band and we started writing songs for the album 'Fire Breaks The Dawn'. Around that time, Magnus Olsson asked me, his friend, to join the band. Since there was already a band called Burn, we decided to change the name to Proud together with our record company EMI.

In 1984 the band signed a major label deal with SWEDEN EMI. How did that come about?
We made some demos and sent them to various labels, and EMI showed interest.

What was the Swedish metal scene like at that time? And what was the scene like in Landskrona, the city where the band was founded?
The Swedish metal scene was very young at the time, with bands like EUROPE, SILVER MOUNTAIN, TREAT and so on. We were quite a rare sight locally.

What kind of shows did you guys do around the time of the release of your first album "Fire Breaks The Dawn"? Were there any bands you toured with?
We did some festivals and a small tour in Denmark.

After releasing one album, the band sadly broke up. What was the reason for this?
I felt like I wasn't being creative enough with the melodic type of music that I wanted to write and sing more, and we were young and didn't have a manager to push us.

Did you have any plans for a second album at that time?
Of course there were plans for a second album, but it never happened.

How did you spend your time after the band took a break?
I was playing in a lot of different bands on the side while working a day job, and that's just how it's always been.

In 2019, the band finally reunited with just you and Robert, the original members. What was the trigger? In the same year (2019), the original drummer Anders Holmqvist unfortunately passed away. Did this also have any influence on the reunion?
Actually, I started this with Anders in 2016 as a bit of a joke. But I soon felt like I could do it more seriously. There were a lot of songs that my friends told me, "It would be a shame if we didn't continue this." When Anders passed away, I slowed down a bit, but I soon found my old friend Mads.

You are in charge of vocals and guitar in this album. When did you start playing guitar? Please tell us about your own musical roots.
I started playing guitar when I was about 14 years old, and my musical roots are mainly from the 60's and 70's, like T-REX, SWEET, Stevie Wonder, etc.

I heard that bassist Robert is the brother of the original guitarist Peter. Why couldn't Peter join the reunion?
Peter doesn't play guitar professionally anymore - he's an airline pilot - but he's been a big supporter of our reunion and he loves our new album.

On the first album, Robert was written as Bobby. Is this a nickname?
That's right! That's what he's been called ever since high school.

Please tell us how your current drummer, Mats, joined the band.
Mads joined the band in 2019. He's been in the music scene for a long time. He played with ex-EUROPE guitarist Kee Marcelo in the old prog days before the band split up back in 2015. We've known him since the Loud days. He joined us in 2012.

Let me ask you about your new album. Can you give us a little introduction to the album?
'Second Act' is a very melodic type of classic rock, with roots in both 70's and 80's music. I believe in focusing on strong melodies backed by great production.

Could you please comment on some of your favorite songs and highlights on the album?
My favorite song on this album is "Sail Away," which is dedicated to our former drummer Anders Holmkvist, who passed away recently. It's a dreamlike, epic space adventure, and the intro is amazing.

Keyboards also plays a major role in this work. Have you known Richard Larson before?
Yes. Our drummer, Mats, has known Richard for a long time. Mats has played with Do in various bands over the years. Most of this album was recorded in Do's recording studio.

Any thoughts or things you'd like to say about the current metal scene?
Metal and the scene is still going strong in Sweden and elsewhere.

I think the impact of COVID-19 is still being felt around the world. What is the promotion going forward after Anolis?
The album has been getting great reviews all over Europe, which has been a promotion in itself, and we have a lot of songs on radio stations all over the world. We are now rehearsing for the upcoming live scene when COVID-19 allows us to resume concerts.

Do you have any plans for future activities and prospects for PROUD?
We're working on our next album after 'Second Act'. We're also really looking forward to performing live. Hopefully, we'll get to visit Japan. This is a big, big dream for all of us.

Lastly, please give a message to your Japanese fans.
Stay tuned for 'Second Act' coming soon! We hope you all love this album as much as we loved recording it. And we hope to come to Japan to perform in the near future!

Interview: Rubicon Music