Alien has just released their new album “When Yesterday Comes Around” and the reviews are universally astonishing! We’re talking about a stunning album that can be easily compared to the band’s masterful debut offering, so there was no better reason to get in touch with Alien’s vocalist, Jim Jidhed, to get all the details.
Interview: Sakis Nikas
Rockpages.gr: Jim, I know that you probably heard it a lot of times by now but I couldn’t start the interview without saying “congratulations” for an excellent album. I really mean it and I wrote it in my review. You blew our minds!
Jim Jidhed: Thank you so much. It’s funny because we have begun to notice not only through reviews but from people around us…it’s something about this album that just feels right for people and for us for sure.
Rockpages.gr: I gotta tell you that this is the closest it can be with the masterpiece debut album of yours. Do you agree?
Jim Jidhed: Ιt’s so great to hear this because in a sense that was what we were trying to do. We thought if we should make a new album, a new melodic rock album/AOR album, we have to go back to where we started. So it’s really nice to hear it from you that you think so.
Rockpages.gr: Even the title “When Yesterday Comes Around” and the cover artwork suggest that this was a conscious effort to capture the spirit of 1988!
Jim Jidhed: Yeah, it really was because when we started out two years ago with a friend of ours in the business here, he presented some original songs to us they hadn’t been released and I clearly remember him saying that we should make an album like the first one. So we began to do demos to feel these songs we got from him. We ended up having a meeting in the band and we said if we should do this, we can keep maybe 2 of those songs which, in a way, they inspired us and then we have to go back to our roots of the first album. I remember telling Tony (Borg): “you have to lock yourself up in the studio and you have to go back and create the riffs and play in the way you played before in the early days”. Tony comes from a pure, guitar-driven rock background…I am more of a softer, Journey-like songwriter. So about six week later, Tony called me and he had written guitar riffs and the basis of at least six songs and then I, as I usually do, put melodies on and I arrange everything we do with the music. After that, we said we should also have the artist that made the artwork on the first album! We wanted him to do this one too. So, I talked to the artist and I specifically told him that we would like something similar but not the same.
Rockpages.gr: Congratulations! The artwork is excellent and it captures perfectly that feeling of going back full circle to the debut album.
Jim Jidhed: Exactly! Thank you so much.
Rockpages.gr: Let’s talk a little bit about the timeline of the album. When did you start working on it?
Jim Jidhed: I think we began writing some songs two years ago but the actual recording started almost a year ago. We were writing stuff even when we entered the studio. We recorded from March up to the end of June.
Rockpages.gr: The album was released by Pride & Joy. Did you have any other offers?
Jim Jidhed: Yeah, the funny thing is that the day we announced that we were about to do this album, two years ago, we got three labels that contacted us nearly the day after. One of those labels was Pride & Joy. A couple of other labels expressed interest in us but we felt like that this was not for us. We are talking about big German rock labels that really loved the music, but they were a bit skeptical of how we would sell because Alien is a band that makes a record, plays a few gigs and then you don’t see us for a while. We decided to go with Pride & Joy, mainly because at our age…I’m 62, Toby (Tarrach) 65 and Tony turned 70…it’s very important for us to work with people that are for real, not playing games as we’re not so impressed by the business.
Rockpages.gr: Yes, I know what you mean.
Jim Jidhed: We have done that in early days and time is not on our side anymore…we don’t get any younger. If you want to work with us, you have to be for real and have an honest conversation with us.
Rockpages.gr: The core three members of Alien sign throughout the album. How does it feel to be playing and recording with Toby and Tony after 35+ years?
Jim Jidhed: It’s almost 40 years since we formed the band…incredible. I have to say that it still feels very natural and you know, I am at the front of the stage. And then there is Tony. So Tony and I have always had a special bond, if you can say and also on stage, you know, it’s just a natural feeling and we are working very well together and so it feels great to play with both of them.
Rockpages.gr: Did you expect that you would get such a positive feedback for the album?
Jim Jidhed: When you’re doing a record, you don’t really know how it will turn out. Obviously you’re happy with the final result as an artist, but do you expect that everybody will be saying the greatest things about that record? Not really! You can’t be sure. Honestly, for us it’s always a matter of doing our very best, as we did on the last album “Into the Future”. We can only hope that people will like our songs as much as we do.
Rockpages.gr: I know that you are planning a few shows in Sweden and a short run in South America. Any chance of doing a European tour?
Jim Jidhed: Europe is in the works too. It would be really nice to play in Germany, Holland, Italy Greece, England…all those places. But the truth is that we have not been an active live band and we haven’t been touring so much. So the question is: “is there an audience for Alien?”. I think there is! Do you know what I mean? I hope that there will still be interest for us and we are prepared to play if people still want us. We would love to do festivals or share the stage with some great bands in smaller venues.
Rockpages.gr: Don’t underestimate the legacy of Alien’s music. So many newer bands like H.E.A.T, Crazy Lixx and Eclipse wouldn’t have a career without the influence of let’s say Europe and Alien.
Jim Jidhed: It’s really nice to hear that. I really appreciate it. And you know what, I heard quite a few metal bands say the same thing about our first album.
Rockpages.gr: Jim, what’s so special about that debut album? I mean we all know that it’s a magnificent piece of art which easily matches the quality level of the American hard rock scene of the day but what makes it so special for you?
Jim Jidhed: I think you just mentioned it because at those days, we had many songs that we’d written in the band and suddenly our label director suggested that we should work with people that are experienced in the American market. We somehow created an album that was a mix of English/American hard rock music with a clear Scandinavian sound. I don’t know if many bands in Europe sounded like us because when you look back you cannot see many bands playing like us. That was a very important album for us and a time we will remember for the rest of our lives!
