“I just wanted to do a power metal project because it’s the kind of metal that I really love” – interview with Nils Courbaron of Bloodorn

Led by the virtuoso guitarist Nils Courbaron, renowned for his electrifying performances with Sirenia, Bloodorn is rapidly carving out a name in the metal scene. With a unique blend of soaring melodies, thunderous riffs, and epic storytelling, this band promises to deliver a fresh and exhilarating experience for metal enthusiasts worldwide. Join us as we dive into the genesis of Bloodorn, their creative process, and what the future holds for this powerhouse ensemble.

Hello! How are you doing at the moment?

Nils Courbaron: Hi, thanks for your interest in the band! So, we’re super excited for the release! The feedback is super cool so far! Reaper is doing an amazing job for us and we can’t wait to … LET THE FURY RISE!

Amazing! You are about to release “Let The Fury Rise”: Were there any particular challenges during the making of this album?

Nils Courbaron: Absolutely yes haha! It was super cool to finally work on this project that I’ve had in mind for years now. I wanted to wait until I got all the contacts necessary to release this project under the proper conditions. This album is a technical challenge, fast songs, and super technical stuff for every musician but I would say that the first challenge for me was to find a strong lineup, especially THE voice. I discovered Mike on YouTube and I’m really happy with his work on the album. Then the second challenge was the lyrics. I’m not a lyricist at all and I was still looking for a singer whilst I was composing and recording the demos. Thankfully, I contacted Johann Cadot from the band Asylum Pyre and he did a great job for us. The third challenge was to find a name for the band I spent many days, nights and weeks reading things about history and torture then my wife who was very supportive of me in my musical career found the name after I mentioned “Blood Eagle”. Then of course we had to record everything from home because of the COVID situation. We did the mixing and the mastering at VAMACARA STUDIO together in France in June 2023 which was our first meeting. The last challenge was to find a Label. I made the choice to keep everything secret until signing with a label. I received some offers and some that I had approached said no because nothing was online at the time but, I’m glad to have kept faith in the Project and finally got in touch with Reaper Entertainment because they’re AMAZING! I really have a “Teamwork” feeling with them!

Can you share with us how Bloodorn was born?

Nils Courbaron: I had this project in mind for many years and I just wanted to wait for the right moment to start the machine. Michael (Sirenia‘s drummer) and I had been talking about making something together since 2018-2019 so the drummer choice was already fixed. Then I met Francesco (Freedom Call bass player) on the road, he’s a super nice guy and after a few months of working on the first demo I contacted him and he was very interested in the project. The main issue was the voice but I finally found THE voice I was looking for by discovering Mike Livas on YouTube.

How do you envision your live performances evolving with the addition of these songs to the setlist? And speaking of live shows, do you have anything in the works for the rest of the year?

Nils Courbaron: Like for the album release I want to do everything in the most professional way. We’re currently looking for a booking agent. We’re very much looking forward to hitting the stage and playing these songs live. We haven’t started the rehearsals at the moment. Once we start rehearsals we’ll decide the setlist after that. 

Nils, you are also Sirenia’s lead guitarist. What inspired you to start Bloodorn?

Nils Courbaron: I’m playing with Sirenia and also Dropdead Chaos. In the past, I was playing with T.A.N.K (Think Of A New Kind). I did some session work for Northtale (Bill Hudson’s band) and recently I played for Chloé Trujillo. I just wanted to do a power metal project because it’s the kind of metal that I really love. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like my other bands haha, I love all of these projects and that’s why Bloodorn use Extreme Metal elements in some parts. 

Bloodorn is about fighting against oppression, honour, Norse mythology, war, inner strength and has also some video games references. Which one of these concepts do you hold dear the most, and which one do you think will resonate more with the fans? Could you elaborate on the concept of the Bloodorn as a metaphorical “Reaper” figure within the band’s mythology?

Nils Courbaron: To be honest I’m really influenced by the actual situation of the world. I asked my friend, Johann Cadot to help me work on the lyrics and we worked together on the vocals lines. The reason is that I’m not a lyricist and I preferred to get some help for that. I was alone when I started to work on this project and I wanted to have some demos with lyrics before sending invitations to join the band. After the pandemic I got a kind of repulsion for what our world has become. That’s why you can feel this anger in our lyrics. In general, the idea was that the Bloodorn is like a Reaper a monster ready to kill and destroy everything in his path haha! I love Assassin’s Creed and it’s like The Bloodorn is a monster and we’re his hunters bringing him every asshole on our way to be butchered by the beast.

Is there a record that you consider the closest to perfection?

Nils Courbaron: I would say Iron Maiden‘s “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son”, Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s “Veleno” and the first album of Beast In Black!

Great choices! Let’s play a little game: what fictional character do you identify with the most and why?

Nils Courbaron: Maybe  Arno Victor Dorian from the Assassin’s Creed saga.

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Is there anything else you want to add to our readers?

Nils Courbaron: We love Finland and we hope to be able to perform in this Metal land as soon as possible!