The Night Flight Orchestra: A Journey Into The Unknown
Even now, there are people who aren’t aware that THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA is an alter ego for one of Scandinavia’s most beloved groove metal bands; when they find out that both lead singer Björn Strid and guitarist David Andersson also make up SOILWORK, their minds are completely blown. There still seems to be a misconception among certain areas of metal fans that, if you’re in one band, you can’t be in another that sounds completely different; David, though, makes an insightful comparison.
“If you’re a gourmet chef, it’s not like you’re only cooking tasting menus with seventeen courses – you’re going to McDonalds as well, right? As a songwriter and musician, especially when you’re on tour or in the writing process for a new album, you need to have some sort of input from other sources; for me, that’s generally finding something personal to put into a track or some sort of twist – even if it’s super obvious, I still want something unexpected in there. Mind you, if you only listen to JUDAS PRIEST, I guess it would be difficult!”
David is here to talk about Aeromantic II, the sixth album from THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA and one that, ideally, shouldn’t have even been here. However, the world shut down two weeks into the band’s tour for the original Aeromantic record and within a couple of weeks the band were back in the studio. “We figured we might as well keep ourselves busy,” explains David. “I’m a doctor myself – I was and still am quite pessimistic about the global outlook and still feel like it’s going to take some time before we can play live normally – but whilst that can’t happen we can still create music and it feels like people need music and that particular community more than ever. It’s gonna be hard to work out a setlist when we do get out there though!”
Given David’s medical license, he’s naturally cautious about touring and putting fans at risk. “It’s not a very rock n’ roll thing to say, but look at places in the ‘States where they’re holding these mass events and more people are being hospitalised than there ever has before. As a doctor I’ve worked with COVID patients a bit and what makes the real difference is that if you get it and are hospitalised, you can spend up to eight weeks there; with seasonal flu or pneumonia, it’s generally just a week. Of course it’s deadly, but the overriding factor is how health care cannot cope with you in the same manner – it takes years and years of training to be a doctor or nurse in an Intensive Care Unit and all of a sudden you have to become one overnight.”
Considering the other side of David’s life, music is certainly a welcome attraction and as the conversation swings back round to Aeromantic II, he reveals that whilst not planned, it made sense for the album to partner its predecessor. “The two albums before these (2017’s Amber Galactic and 2018’s Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough) had more of a space theme and these were definitely less up in the atmosphere, more jumbo jet flights. We just felt that these songs, some of which were actually written during the sessions for the first Aeromantic, continued that common theme, so it felt good to write a sequel.”
If you’ve not heard THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA before, it’s everything brilliant about 80s rock, metal and alternative brought forward to the 21st century with an onus on making it as fun as possible. David agrees with that, but also points out that there’s a fine line between the silly and the serious. “I probably write 60-70% of the lyrics and whilst on the surface you might have a tongue-in-cheek love song, there’s a melancholic streak in there too; maybe it’s a Scandinavian thing, but it’s like you’re at the best party of your life and have never had so much fun, but in the back of your head, you know it’s gonna end soon. I’m quite self-deprecating when I write though, so maybe that’s a factor too!”
Whether a factor or not, the bottom line is Aeromantic II, with such anthems as Burn For Me, Chardonnay Nights and the galloping, thunderous, LGBTQ+ inspired White Jeans, is a tour-de-force of synths and riffs, an album that will get you dancing around your room or in the street without a care in the world; and, although it might be a while before we see THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA properly on the road again, they’ve now got two albums’ worth of massive tunes to help form their setlist alongside their well-established songs like Stiletto and the conga-inducing West Ruth Avenue. Rest assured, it’s going to be one hell of a party.
Aeromantic II is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
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