Tröjan / Comeback Continues: New Music, European Festivals And More

It has been a fascinatingly interesting year so far for Pete Wadeson and Tröjan. Both Pete and new drummer Dave Edwards were in fine form when they spoke to MetalTalk, having returned from the Helicon Metal Festival in Warsaw, Poland. And that is not the end of the boys having to dig out their passports this year.

A 49-track, five-disc box set of the complete works of Tröjan and Taliön is available from Cherry Red Records. This set includes a live show recorded at Dynamo Club in Eindhoven, Holland. “We decided to do that,” Pete says, “so we could draw a line under what we have done and start afresh. It’s like Tröjan 2.0 now.”

Wadeson has also signed a deal with Jawbreaker, for a specialist cassette release in Sweden. “These are great,” he says, “because they come out in a red body casing. It gives you a good ’80s vibe.”

Since MetalTalk last spoke with Tröjan, the phone has been busy. “A few festivals approached us,” Pete says. “We did Helicon and Headbangers, then we have MearFest. We’re going over to Athens for Into Battle Festival then it’s Romania. We go to Bucharest for the Old Grave Festival, and then we’ll be in Spain for a bit of Mediterranean Sun, where we’ll be at the Metalcova Festival in November.”

It is fantastic that things are picking up like this. “For me, it’s been unbelievable,” Pete smiles. “The interest and how many people remembered us. People are glad to have us back. What we’re doing now just seems as relevant as it did back then because we’re picking fans up all along the way.”

“There’s lots of people wanting to hear new material as well,” Dave says. 

“When we played Helicon, it was unbelievable,” Pete says. “There were people who were probably not born when the albums first came out. They were singing through every song, which was amazing. Then we had the die-hards, who remember you the first time around. They couldn’t believe we were back together. It’s been fantastic how we’ve been received back.”

The live Dynamo Club shows sound amazing, given their age. “It was just a total coincidence,” Pete says. “We got a tape off the desk which then started to circulate as a bootleg. Back then, everything was tape trading and bootlegging. The Dynamo was the club to play. The night after we played, Slayer played. It was like flipping heck, man, we’re in good company.

“So we had this tape that just got buried. But when we looked at what we had got and what we could put into reissue formats, something a bit special for collectors, we noticed a lot of it was already up on YouTube. The first time it was reissued, it came out on Sonic Age. But Cherry Red has done a really good job. They’ve taken old demos. They’ve taken all the stuff that now can be put to bed. So you’ve got everything. That’s why it’s called The Complete Works of Tröjan and Taliön. It’s just so comprehensive.”

Pete and Dave, along with vocalist Graeme Wyatt and bassist Ste Anks, are working on new material, too. “We’ve got these festivals coming up now to the end of the year,” Pete says. “But straight back out after Head Bangers, we’ll be booking in the studio, and we’re definitely gonna start getting new tracks down.”

The band recently premiered a new song, Tricks Up My Sleeve, which was recorded in Rotherham. “We’ve got a full album,” Dave says. 

“But we thought we would just air that one,” Pete says, “because we were supporting Smoulder in Rotherham, and it was just like, let’s try it. It was a small club, but it just came across so well. So it’s time to get these down. 

“It was very well received,” Dave says, “which was quite nice. Some of the new songs have gone even heavier.”

I ask if Pete has the same anger, enthusiasm and excitement now that he did back in the day. “Oh, yeah,” he smiles. “Definitely. Even more. You don’t slow down, you just keep going faster. If I slow down all, it will all stop.”

Tröjan played at the Headbangers Open Air Festival this weekend in Germany. Here, they teased the new song Born For War. The band told us they had a great time there. It was awesome to see the photos of the queues for the signing tent on social media as well.

The plan now is to start recording in blocks of two to three songs. “We’ve already got interest from a few labels in Europe,” Pete says. “We obviously can’t say too much about that. So the first thing will be to get some tracks off to them so they know what we’re definitely doing. Like I said, it just seems to be festival, festival, festival. Before you know it, it will be Christmas. When we get time in between, we’ll get another two tracks down. We’re gonna try and look at it like that.”

It is an aggressive schedule, with plenty of live shows. “If we do run out of time because of the live work, we’re thinking, well, at least we can get an EP out.”  

With some real momentum continuing, Tröjan are definitely back, and Pete says this is fantastic. “We’re miles ahead of where I thought we would be when we reformed,” he smiles. “Obviously, we have Dave, the new drummer. He has kicked, literally, new life into all the tracks. There is more power than before, and there is a fresh enthusiasm.”

“There is some double bass drum in there that wasn’t before,” Dave smiles. The pair worked before on Pete’s Metallic Savage album. “I keep saying it’s mine and Pete’s solo album,” Dave laughs. 

“We feel we definitely still have that unique sound,” Pete says. “I think you can just listen to that new track that was recorded in Rotherham, and you can tell that’s us. It’s great. We’re being more accepted, and things are going forward faster than they did back when we signed with Roller in ’85. So that’s crazy in that sense.”

The band are selling CDs across Europe, and there is even interest in Peru. “The main emphasis now is to get this new material down so we can get it properly out to the punters who want to hear it,” Pete says. 

“We’re glad for the support that we’ve been given. In Germany, we have a good friend, Holger Mahlstedt, from MediaMarkt Stuhr, who has been doing a lot for us. So I have got to give him a mention.”

2025 will be the 40th Anniversary of the release of the debut Tröjan album Chasing The Storm, originally released on Roadrunner to rave reviews. You know they will be touring that milestone occasion as much as possible.

“We’re hopeful for the future,” Pete says, “and we’re just glad that everybody is liking what we’re doing.”

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