Introduction
Todays interview is with Bristol based Doom collective Froglord! Returning today with their 6th album “Lower & Slower” it felt like the perfect time to get to know them. The album was recorded live in a single take. The band fuse their love of music with environmental causes (More on that later). So get to know Froglord in all their glory.
Interview
Let’s start with the band’s name. What made you settle on that particular amphibian?
Froglord: Frogs have been found in the iconography of many cultures and spiritual practices around the world to represent good fortune, transition and renewal – a metamorphosis if you will.
It is our hopes to pay homage to the Froglord as he is reborn and brings the earth into a new era of environmental balance, restoring it for the destruction caused by the age of man.
We are discussing all things Lower & Slower today, which was released on 4 March. The album was recorded live in a single take. What were you hoping to achieve by working this way?
Froglord: The majority of Froglord up till this point has been predominantly a one-frog endeavour during the writing and recording process.
Having played these songs live for many years with the help of my three swamp priests, we wanted to capture something that directly involved all four of us, taking on the new life often given to these tracks when we perform them.
In this manner, it’s hoped this record feels like a live experience for the listener – imperfections a plenty; warts and all.
The album focuses on reimagined versions of pre existing songs. What made this the right moment to look back instead of forward?
Froglord: I couldn’t see why we chose now to do it exactly. It’s an idea we’ve been talking about for a while. Quite a lot during the second half of our rehearsals once we’ve gone through the set a couple times – and usually once a few toads have been licked too- we end up downtuning a bunch and seeing how stupidly slow we can play. So, it was just birthed out of that ultimately.
You slowed things right down on this release! Were there any tracks that surprised you at this pace? If so, how?
Froglord: I remember we did struggle a little over Die By The Slime, as we had to play with the structure a little bit. Some of the tracks lent themselves perfectly to what we were trying to achieve, while others needed just a little bit of tweaking.
This album’s digital proceeds and half of the physical profits go to charity. Could you tell us why you chose to do this and share a little about the selected charity?
Froglord: We’ve at our core always been an environmentally focused band, be that through lyrical matter, or fundraising. We’d previously done a bunch of fundraising for Save The Frogs, which is a US-based charity.
This time round we wanted to do something a little closer to home, so WWT felt like the natural choice. The goal of Froglord is restore the natural balance of the earth as we prepare for the return of our amphious lord.
Raising money for one of the biggest wetland charities, who protect and restore an ecosystem which is fundamentally linked to the life cycle of almost all species of amphibians, seems an appropriate path to achieve those goals.
If the mythology behind Froglord were turned into a film, would it be horror, fantasy, or ecological science fiction?
Froglord: Definitely a cosmic-folk-horror film. I would imagine something along the lines of The Colour Out of Space meets The Void, meets The Witch. While we wait for the day for a film. Studio to pick it up, the next best thing folks can watch at the moment is the Frogman films.
The first film which we wrote the official single for, is a found footage horror released in 2024, and follows a directors attempt to document the Loveland Frogman Cryptid. Frogman Returns is out later this year also.
Swamp Boogie was the first track that really attracted me to your music. I have to ask though, if there were a corresponding dance to it, how would someone perform it? What are the steps?
Froglord: Imagine a frog two-stepping.
We do not shy away on this site from doom laden fuzz, which you deliver in abundance. Speaking specifically about Green Inferno, could you give our readers some insight into the story behind the song?
Froglord: Green Inferno comes from the second album The Mystic Toad. During this album, The Froglord has overthrown the humans and has restored the natural balance of the earth.
Upon hearing this news, beings from Saturn come to earth to burn down the Amazon rainforest in order to harvest the mysterious minerals found there that power their space craft. Green inferno is the part of the story where The Froglord enters the Amazon to find The Mystic Toad and learn how to defeat the alien invaders.
Do you think doom metal is escapism, confrontation, or meditation? Why have you chosen that answer?
Froglord: It can easily be all those things. When Froglord began as a one-frog project during the lockdown of 2020, it was as a form of escapism from the world. That element is still certainly there, but for fans who want to dig a little deeper we of course deal with a lot of environmental and spiritual issues.
I was thrilled to see your cover of Iron Man by Black Sabbath on the album, especially so close to the sad passing of Ozzy. You are also going on tour with the Sabbath cover band Bat Sabbath. Where can people see you on tour, and how did this come about?
Froglord: We’re beyond honoured to have been asked to join those guys. I got a message on Instagram a couple months ago from Liam (singer of Cancer Bats), which to be honest I just assumed was spam when I first saw it. My jaw genuinely dropped when I Realised it was for real.
We’re joining them for 10 shows across 2 weeks around the UK. We’re playing at some wicked venues, some of the biggest we’ve ever played before. A full list of them can be found on our socials.
Staying with Bat Sabbath, their members are from the band Cancer Bats, which I am slightly ashamed to admit I did not realise before this interview. If you could cover a Cancer Bats song, which would you choose and why?
Froglord: It’s the most obvious choice but probably Hail Destroyer. It’s their biggest song and what first turned me on to them and made me a lifelong fan back in 2009. I remember first hearing it for the first time on a Kerrang compilation CD and just blasting it on repeat for hours thinking it was one of the coolest things I’d ever heard.
We also hear you are headlining a tour with Space Pistol. Where can people catch you, and what can audiences expect from a Froglord show?
Froglord: Always love playing a show with our brother is Space Pistol, they a lovely bunch, and makes some absolutely badass music. We’ve got a run with them for about a week in April playing in York, Sheffield, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, and finishing up in our home swamp of Bristol.
If they did not come from Saturn, where else would they come from? Which place in the UK best matches what you imagine?
Froglord: The Saturnalians are creatures bent of harvesting the earths natural resources to its complete destruction, for their own gain. I think there’s a lot of that going in our world’s governments at the moment. So any building of parliament really.
Now that you have taken a trip back, what can fans expect from the next chapter of the band moving forward?
Froglord: The next album will be the sixth instalment in The Tale of The Froglord, as sees the story come full second as it concludes the prequal albums. When that will be even close to being ready, I have no idea. But we’ve got some other exciting things planned for this year, that fans will have to keep their eyes open for.
Finally, how many frogs does it take to achieve the perfect doom tone, and are any of them given names and official credits on the album?
Froglord: Every amphibian big or small is imbued with the pure essence of doom within them. So one is all it takes. We are blessed to have Herman, The Mystic Toad himself join us at every swamp ritual we perform and also provide backing vocals and slime on each record.
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