The Dynamic Melodic Rock Reveries of Remedy

Remedy from Sweden presents the next thrilling chapter of melodic rock and roll in the grand tradition of Foreigner and Survivor.  Their latest album Pleasure Beats The Pain has been released worldwide via Escape Music, and the band is about to tour Spain with the almighty Eclipse as 2024 spins to its conclusion.  With gloriously memorable songs such as Crying Heart, Moon Has The Night, and Sin For Me destined to be genre classics, Remedy is ready to break on through in nothing short of an epic way.  Highwire Daze recently caught up with guitarist Roland Forsman to find out more about the dynamic melodic rock reveries of Remedy!  Read on…

We’re here with Roland from Remedy. First of all, how did you wind up on Escape Music?
Well, actually, we had a small independent label with our first record, Something That Your Eyes Won’t See. We had a small label here in Stockholm, which released that one. But they felt as we evolved, and the second album was being made, that we grew too fast for them. So, we finalized everything. The timing was really bad, but everything turned out great because we found Escape. They said, when I had finalized everything, “Okay, this is too big for us to handle now, we need another label.” That’s when we reached out to Escape, and it turned out great.

Pleasure Beats the Pain. Is there any overall story or concept behind that title?
We released a single called Hide and Seek last summer. If you listen to that song, the answer is in those lyrics. Bryan Adams did this in the ’90s. He had, Waking Up the Neighbors, and that’s a phrase from a song. This is something we really like, me and Rob, the singer in Remedy. So that’s something we intend to continue doing.  And Something That Your Eyes Won’t See, our first album. That’s also a phrase from a song. So, everything is hidden on the record. All the answers are there.

So everyone listen to this record and hear the answers.
Yes. Absolutely.

Moon Has the Night. Awesome song. Give me a little background on that song and the inspiration behind it.
It’s crazy when you write songs, sometimes it takes like a few years to get a song in place. And sometimes, it just comes to you like a gift. I was walking with my dog. It was a cold winter’s night here in Sweden, and the moon was a really big, full moon. I started to think about a story. Okay, some people need drugs and alcohol to go crazy. For some people the night is enough. So that’s simply the story behind the song. I was walking with my dog for one hour or so, and I got the whole hook, the whole chorus in my head, so instantly when I came home, I sat down here in my studio and recorded the first idea. Some songs – it’s like a gift. So that’s one of those songs, everything just fell into place really fast.

Crying Heart. What is the inspiration behind that one.
Well, that’s like the polarity to Moon Has The Night, because that one took like 5 years to get in order. We wrote that one for Joe Lynn Turner, me and my friend Søren Kronqvist. It was our first session ever, and I believe it was like 6 years ago. He was doing Belly of the Beast and searching for songs for that album. So I made the riff, and we sent the song to Joe, but it was a little bit too late. He said, “Yeah, well, I like it, but the album is full“, he was polite. But I felt, “Okay, that song, it’s not really in place.” So we made like four or five different versions of it, keeping the main riff, but changing everything else. So that song took like 5 years, I believe, before I felt, “Okay, now we have something.” It’s crazy with the songwriting process. Sometimes it takes one day and sometimes it takes years to get a song in place. But I always follow my heart, my gut feeling. That one took a while.

Who is Angelina? We want to know.
Well, that’s my friend Pelle Arhio, he’s a songwriter. He wrote those lyrics. He just called me and he said, I need a good name for a title, you know, girl’s name. We had Marilyn on the first album and we needed another name. So, he just asked me, “I got this name Angelina. Is that okay with you?” So that’s actually his lyrics. I often write lyrics, but Angelina, it’s his part. It felt right to have that name.

So you need to think of a girl’s name for the third album.
Absolutely. We got a trend going on here, so we need to continue.

Now, every other interview I’ve done has an Eclipse connection with Erik from Eclipse. You guys definitely have an Eclipse connection. First of all, what are you looking forward to the most about your upcoming tour with Eclipse in Spain?
Well, that’s going to be amazing. We just went on a tour together with Eclipse to Europe. We went to Switzerland, Germany, Austria and we had a blast. I’m a good friend with Erik and Magnus since 20 years back. So I knew that we would get along. We felt also a connection through music that I haven’t felt with other bands. The fans of Eclipse seem to like Remedy. So that’s a good combination to get. It’s like we fit each other really well musically. I think it’s a win-win situation with them and us playing together. So I’m really happy that they asked us to join in Spain. And we also got on a tour with them in Sweden. So it’s going to be amazing.

I believe you’ve also worked with Erik as well. What is he like to work with?
In my opinion, Erik is one of the best in the business. When I got the idea for Remedy, I lost all my jobs to the pandemic, COVID. I lost all my jobs overnight. I’ve always been working as a session musician, a hired gun for different pop artists and musicals, and so on, but overnight, I lost all my jobs. I didn’t touch my guitars for like 3, 4 months. But then I felt, “Okay, I need to get going. I’m going to start writing rock music.” That was what I felt because it was rock music that got me going in the first place. And then, at the same time, my neighbor Rob, the singer in Remedy, Robert Van Der Zwan, had cancer. So he was home with cancer and under heavy treatment, and really, he was not doing well. He had cancer in his throat, tonsils. I was home without any work. So, out of these bad things, cancer and COVID, came something really good. And this truly was our remedy in a difficult point of our lives. So, when we recorded the first few songs, I felt, “Okay, I need to call Erik,” because I felt we were on something. I wanted to have the right sound. Before I had any label involved, any band or anything, I called Erik Mårtensson because, in my opinion, he’s one of the best in the business.

How is Rob doing now?
He’s doing well, thank you very much. In Sweden, after treatment, when the cancer is removed, it needs to be like 5 years that you go under checkup. They check you up like each and every month. I believe he has 2 years left before he’s cancer-free. So, he’s doing well, and he will be fine.

What did Rob do prior to joining Remedy?
Well, like I was doing different pop artists, he was also doing backup vocals and corporate, and so on. But he has always been under the radar for the mainstream audience, for everyone. So, people often ask me, “How did you find this guy?” I tell them, “He’s been working his whole life as a musician, but not like real public gigs and so on. So we know each other for 20 years.” We had a cover band when we grew up. He’s one of my best friends. So I knew about his stage persona, his voice, and everything. Like I told you, out of these really bad things, he had cancer. So, for the first time in his life, he had a lot of time. He was home sick and under treatment. And I also had a lot of time. So, yeah, it was just meant to be.

Let’s talk about Kee Marcello. What was it like touring with Kee Marcello Performs Europe? How did that go?
Well, Kee is an excellent guitarist and a really nice human being. I got to know him when we played guitar together in Rock of Ages, the musical. I believe you had it in the States, and it’s been all around the world. It was a movie, I believe, that went to a musical edition afterward. Anyway, I got to know Kee Marcello over there. For me, I grew up listening to Europe. Just to be on the same stage and play the harmonies for Final Countdown together with Kee—I needed to pinch myself, “Is this really happening?” So that was amazing, but that was like 10, 12 years back. Actually, when we recorded the video for Moon Has the Night, I saw on Facebook or through a friend or something that Kee was going to tour in Sweden. So, between the takes there, I was walking in the snow. It was really cold, I remember. I called Kee and asked him if we could join him on tour. He checked us up. He listened to Remedy and said, “Yeah, sure, come along.” And I felt the same way touring with Kee because Europe’s music is also a good combination with Remedy’s music because it’s built on the same foundation. So that was a really good tour we made together with him last spring here in Sweden. It was also a really good match for the audience, I believe.

I believe you guys performed on the Rock Night Cruise with Houston, Captain Black Beard, Dare, Perfect Plan. Such a great lineup! How did that tour go, and what were some of the highlights?
That was our first official gig ever. Looking back at it, that was a really good start for us to get that as our first gig ever. Actually, I don’t really remember that much. We needed to make it through our set, and I was totally focused on that. I remember I got to listen to a few of the other acts, but it was a hectic period as we were a new band, an important gig for us, and so on. But it was a perfect beginning.

Is there any chance of Remedy coming over here to the States? Is that something you would like to do?
My ambition and my goal with Remedy is to become one of the big players in this style. The States are in my future plans. Now we’re touring in Europe, and our next goal is going to be the States. So we’re coming.

Looking back on that first album, Something That Your Eyes Won’t See, what do you think of it now? And, in retrospect, it was just, like, a year ago or two years ago, I believe.
I’m really proud about that album. It was just me playing guitar the way I do and writing music the way I do. I’m really happy that people seem to like it because it was mind-blowing when we got the reactions. Like I told you, we had a small independent label. We didn’t have any promotion at all. We just released an album with music in the way we liked and in the style we love. I thought, Okay, maybe my siblings will buy the album, my mom and dad, and maybe some of my friends. And then it just went boom. My email was filled with interview requests, and we sold out. We hit the top charts in Sweden. When we got to tour with Takida—it’s a big rock band here in Sweden, one of the biggest—it went bananas the first few months. We had zero fans when we started out. It was just my family who knew about this album. So it was crazy, and I’m really proud about it. When I look back at it now, it’s in the framework of what you expect from a melodic rock band.

Roland Forsman of Remedy via Zoom!

I typed your name in my email just for kicks, and One Desire came up along with the song Never Gonna Stop. How did you become involved with writing a song for One Desire?
Jimmy is one of my best friends, Jimmy Westerlund, who’s songwriter and producer of One Desire. We had quite a lot of late-night talks when I was writing the first album for Remedy. It was a big help and inspiration because he was doing the same thing over in Finland, and they needed a song. So me and my buddy Sören Kronqvist, who’s a co-writer for a bunch of Remedy songs, we sent over our demo of that one. He made his touches, played his guitars, made his changes, and a touch-up of the song, and this is how it turned out. So they are good friends of mine. I went to school with their bass player, Jonas.

Do you have any messages for melodic rock fans who are reading this right now here in the States?
First of all, I want to thank the fans. I was in the pop industry before I moved on to Remedy and found my home in melodic rock. I have to say that the fans are amazing. We get so much love both online and at gigs and through interviews and so on. So, this was the best move I ever could make, to get into rock music, because we get so much love. And just writing an album – that takes a lot of energy. I was quite exhausted when I finalized Pleasure Beats the Pain. But, when we go out performing, playing, doing interviews like this, and getting feedback online, it’s amazing. It’s like a Tesla charger. Energy gets filled up straight away. So big thanks to all the rock fans out there. You are amazing.

One thing that I forgot to say, I really love this melodic rock AOR, but I feel it’s a style that here in Scandinavia, it’s not mainstream at all. I got so much inspiration from listening to bands like Survivor and Foreigner growing up. So, if I just could inspire the next generation through Remedy to discover this kind of music, that would be worth everything. So, I want to pass on, maybe a song or two to the next generation in this style. That’s my main goal with Remedy.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Remedy is:
Robert Van der Zwan – Vocals, guitars
Roland Forsman – Guitars, backing vocals
Jonas Dicklo – Bass, backing vocals
Fredrik Karlberg – Drums
Jonas Öijvall – Keyboards

Remedy on Instagram