Lucifer: The Third Coming
LUCIFER have been around since 2014, in music years it doesn’t sound like a lot, yet the experience behind the name comes up stronger than some who have been together for decades. Formed by frontwoman Johanna Sadonis, she is the only continuing member, but now with the birth of the new album Lucifer III, it appears that she got a lineup now that will be cemented.
When the album was initially announced it was said to be a step up for the band, and speaking with Sadonis she states that it’s definitely an album she’s fond of. “I would say it is a continuation of the second album more so, because it’s Nicke [Andersson, drums] and I again writing the songs. The first album was different stylistically but in the core it’s the same ingredients but different precautions. I’m very fond of this album. I think it’s been a good development of the band.”
Part of this is due to how well Sadonis and Andersson work together, and she admits that being able to work as a collective is great when she can bounce off what she wants with someone who understands her vision. “From the second album onwards it has been more collective, I kind of felt a little bit on my own for the first album, of course the album was between Gaz [Jennings] and I, I was the only one that took care of the band. Now I get to share that with Nicke and we have a lot of same tastes for other music, sounds and visuals and stuff. We do everything at home, Nicke has a studio at home where we live, we do all the graphic stuff, we make a lot of decisions together because we are so in sync with what we like and that matches that version of LUCIFER that I always had in mind. It’s way more collective.”
The perfect harmony between the two rolls out into the live atmosphere as well. They have this ability to create a performance where fans are able to listen to material they’ve not heard before and still have a good time to it, something that is hard to pull off. Achieving having the crowd in the palm of your hands with new, unreleased material live is often sold by how the band execute it on a personal level, and they seem to have it down to a T. Speaking about their first single Ghosts which they’ve been performing for over a year, Andersson says, “it’s always good to play new stuff, and the people who saw us seemed to like it even though they didn’t know it so for us it’s like ‘that’s a good sign, maybe it’s a good song’. I think that’s why we picked the song as the first single.” Although there’s no tedious feelings when sitting on new material, Sadonis mentions that for them it’s a case of anticipation. There’s an excitement in the air to show off what they’re proud of.
LUCIFER have been playing live shows a lot lately, and one thing the subject turns to is the representation of women in music, especially in the live circuit with the current talk of festival bookings etc. For Sadonis, she mentions that there’s a long way to go, but it’s also about being a good enough artist as opposed to just the figures. “There’s a long way to go still for total equality, even if it’s not a very in your face sexism, it’s often like a thing that can even come from women. I’ve been in so many situations my whole life and when I look back now at how I grew up in the music scene as a teenager and in my twenties, back then I didn’t even identify some things as sexism, back then I was right in the middle of it and that’s just how it was back then. It’s a good thing that today it’s spoken about. So many journalists that I speak to ask about this, and it’s a shame that it has to be addressed that way but talking about it is a step in the right direction.”
If anything, Sadonis’ time in LUCIFER has proven that even though she’s faced adversity for her gender, even when it comes to now and how she writes a lot of the material, she has the same power behind her than anybody else. When others presume she relies on the support of her male bandmates, she lets it known in a subtle, honest way of just carrying on and performing that it is simply not the case. She’s created a name for herself in the rock and metal circuit by her own talent, and that in itself shows that she’s making a change. For her, it isn’t about the label ‘female fronted’, it’s simply creating some of the best rock and roll there is and that’s the way it should be.
Lucifer III is definitely an album that is going to bolster the band’s status even higher than it is now, and that’s just because they work hard and between Sadonis and Andersson, the ideas are endless. Their love for creating music and having this life that revolves around it is clearly important for everyone involved in LUCIFER, and if that continues, they will become one of the greatest names to come.
Lucifer III is out now via Century Media Records.
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