A Dirty Dozen with JESPER LINDBERGH from SARAYASIGN – September 2025

According to a recent press release: “Black Lodge Records is thrilled to announce that Swedish cinematic rock storytellers SARAYASIGN have officially joined the label’s growing roster. The band has signed a deal with Black Lodge Records and is set to release their highly anticipated third full-length album, Shadows Of The Dying Light, at the end of 2025. Formed in late 2020, with their debut album Throne Of Gold released in May 27 of 2022, Sarayasign is a concept driven, cinematic melodic hard rock band with members from Örebro, Stockholm and Falkenberg that aims for the same experience often seen in movies, for we believe that music can propel narrative and transcend the listener into almost dreamlike and emotionally unknown territory. Through the lens and the voice of the storyteller and the atmospheric music and soundscapes of our own world created by Jesper Lindbergh called Saraya, we want you to close your eyes and dream away.” We get Jesper to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Out new single “One Last Cry” is not just a song — it’s a reckoning. In a world draped in eternal shadow, where the faintest light feels like betrayal and hope bleeds quietly in the dark, “One Last Cry” speaks for the broken, the brave, and the unyielding. It is the desperate whisper of a soul on the edge, clawing through silence, fire, and loss. This is a hymn for the lost who refuse to fade, an anthem for those standing defiant at the edge of ruin. Driven by thunderous riffs, sweeping orchestral arrangements, and vocals that cut like a blade through the night, the music and lyrics brings forth a collision between emotional punch and intensity and devastating beauty. Produced to perfection and wrapped in an atmosphere so thick you can feel it, this release cements Sarayasign’s rise into a realm where story and sound become one — where each note tells a tale, and each lyric scars the soul.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

There were always records lying around the house when I grew up, and back then (with no internet or anything) there was this radio show called “Rockbox” that went on air once a week reporting on anything hard rock around the globe, and that became my first contact with the genre. That and the infamous monthly newspaper about music called “Okej”. The first thing that caught my attention were the sound and looks of the drums. At a very early age I started laying out pots and pans all over the kitchen floor and started ponding away, daydreaming I was Peter Criss in KISS. I was a crazy KISS fan and I collected their vinyls (especially the USA and Japan prints) and had them all over my wall. It was clear to me I wanted to pursue a path in music efter seeing the cover to KISS Alive!

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Peter Criss and Eric Carr of KISS, seeing Peter on the live shows from the 70’s was nuts to me, and I just loved the drum sound they managed to produce when the album Creatures Of The Night was released and Eric was behind the kit.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

For me personally, I think the Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

I’m a huge gaming fan, so I like to put on some Call of Duty: Black Ops and fight Zombies together with my amazing girlfriend and mother of my two children, Lollo.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would describe it as bold, cinematic and melodic hard rock with a lot of emotional punch and story driven lyrics. Someone thought we were a Christian band, and it took me a while to let them in on the stories I have written and that it has to do with something completely different.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I wish we would hang out more a side of the music, but Stefan and Peter lives 2 and 5 hours away so hanging is not something we do too often. But I would imagine I would cook, Peter would get the drinks, Daniel would grab the guitar or piano and Stefan could be at the helm of the singalong.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

For me the last time I was really starstruck and it has stayed with me ever since was Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P).

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best thing for me is the creative side of things. We have a very open environment in the band which helps and really boosts that creativity. There’s nothing we won´t try when we are making our music.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I think more questions about our concept and the world of Saraya would be nice. The one question that I´ve been asked a little too much and is still hard to answer is “what genre is Sarayasign?”

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Not really, I think my vision has been clear since the beginning, and each and every step we have made has made sense if you know what I mean.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I would have loved to be there for the recording of Operation: Mindcrime, one of the soul reasons I started writing the narrative of the land of Saraya and wanted something similar for myself.

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Category: Interviews