He’s #1 with a Bullet! For the past quarter century, Hampus Klang has been holding down the fort and laying down the riffs for Swedish heavy rock bad boys, Bullet. He’s toured the globe, released album after album, and even puts on his own festival. Through it all, the power chord remains his best friend. And yet despite all this achievement, when speaking with Hampus viz Zoom, he comes off less as a “rockstar”, in the traditional sense of the term, and more like your typical denim and leather-clad metal dude you’d encounter at your local dive bar. You know, the type of guy who will breakdown which AC/DC record is the best and why the way some dork analyzes politics on the TV. With this in mind, we hope you enjoy our first interview of the year with the one, the only, Hampus Klang.
Greetings Hampus and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?
Hampus Klang: I’m good, thank you! I’m doing really good. I’ve been doing some mechanics on the Bullet bus. We’re playing an indoor heavy metal festival this weekend. Lots of good Swedish bands. It’ll be a really fun weekend.
Sounds awesome! Thank you for taking the time to do this interview amidst your busy schedule, which besides shows includes the release of Bullet’s new album, Kickstarter. It’s been 8 years since we last heard from Bullet. What has the band been up to since the release of 2018’s Dust to Gold?
HK: *laughs* We’ve been writing songs and touring, same as always. Of course, there was a bit with COVID and all that, but yeah, we just moved on *laughs*. It took some time to get all the songs done. It’s a bit tragic that it took that long time, but we’re really happy with the new album at least. Here we are!
As the old saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait.” I gave it a listen to it yesterday in the gym and it was just the motivation I needed.
HK: To kickstart! *laughs* Pumping iron!
Exactly! After a long wait, we’re on the brink of the release of Bullet’s seventh album, Kickstarter. When did work get started on this one and was there anything specific the band set out to achieve with it?
HK: I guess we started in 2020, really writing songs after the Live album and Dust and Gold. We came home from Japan and we were so much in the mood. Then, Corona came. Yeah, it was hard *laughs*. I had to get a normal job, and when you do that, it’s hard to go into heavy metal mode to write songs, so I just drank beer when I came home *laughs*. It wasn’t the best idea if you look back, but we straggled on. We wanted to do simple songs like we did in the early days, just keep it really short and intense. Lots of energy, that kind of style.
And there’s no shortage of energy on this here album. You know, I like to think I can tell when a band is phoning it in or going through the motions, but in the case of Bullet, I really get the impression that you guys still get off on that simple, in-your-face, AC/DC riff-mania. It shows on this album.
HK: Thank you, yeah! I really like the raw vocals. I’m not that much into the high-pitched power metal stuff, but there are some good bands there. When you play those riffs, you need that powerful vocal style. Then, it sounds a bit like AC/DC and Accept, for sure. I love those bands, so it’s not a problem *laughs*.
Good company! This is the first Bullet album to feature Freddie Johansson on guitars. What events led to him entering the fold and how does playing alongside him compare to past Bullet guitarists?
HK: What can I say? I think he played excellent solos, really good. Alex (Lybro), the guitarist before, was a fantastic player also. We were really sad when Alex quit the band. We tried different guitarists, but Freddie was the best one. He lived a bit north up in Sweden. We thought that maybe could be a problem, but now he moved down here, so he only lives 500 meters from my house. He doesn’t have a job or anything, so it’s perfect. We can rehearse everyday *laughs* and tour. It’s perfect.
How often does Bullet get together to rehearse and jam?
HK: It’s so different. Basically, it’s just rehearsing for tours and recordings. We don’t rehearse every weekend. If we play lots of live shows, we don’t really have to rehearse, but if it’s more than 2 weeks, then we have to meet, just to get the memory back with all the leads. It depends.
How did the band go about writing Kickstarter? Was it a group effort, or did each member work on material at their own pace?
HK: It’s mainly me and the drummer (Gustav Hjortsjö) that writes the songs and the lyrics. In the early days, we were more jamming in the rehearsal room. Now, we got small recording equipment, so now we just like making demos. It’s always to change or add an extra chorus or shorten it down or whatever. We do five different arrangements on each song, so there’s no that much rehearsing going on. It’s more trying new ideas, recording it, and seeing how it works. Then, we just throw everything in the trash bin and start all over *laughs*.
At the crux of every Bullet album are killer guitar riffs, and Kickstarter are loaded with them. What’s your process in crafting a killer riff, and what components does a riff need to make it on a Bullet album?
HK: I really want to have energy in the riffs. That’s the most important thing. It must feel right in the heart. Yeah, I don’t know how to describe it *laughs*, but it must have the right heavy metal feeling. Like I said, most of the riffs don’t make it to the album, but I love those old Judas Priest-style and Saxon-style riffing. It’s in our blood, so it’s kind of similar to those legends.
Growing up, who were your guitar heroes? Was there any one guitarist who inspired you to pick up the instrument?
HK: When I was young, I had a really, really good guitar teacher. He said, “There’s only 2 guitar heroes: Michael Schenker and Eddie Van Halen.” I played lots of that stuff, but not as good, of course. I tried my best! When I got a little bit older, I realized that my heroes are the guys that make good songs, like AC/DC and Judas Priest. K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Angus and Malcolm Young: They are the real heroes. I love Chris Holmes *laughs*. When he was in W.A.S.P., he was fantastic. I don’t have one guy, but I think the songs are the most important. The ones that write the best songs have the biggest respect.
When Bullet formed in 2001, there weren’t many bands pursuing the old school metal sound. Fast forward 25 years later and the so-called NWOTHM seems to be going stronger than ever. As someone who watched this revival unfold in real time, what are your thoughts on the movement? Are there any new traditional metal acts who stand out to you?
HK: *laughs* When you say 25 years, it sounds so weird. It feels like 5 years. I don’t think we really began the band in 2001. I think we just met at the pub *laughs*. I think we started playing together in 2002. Anyway, I don’t know. I’m really happy there are some old school bands playing our kind of style in Sweden. Asomvel is a pretty good band. Sabire *laughs*, I saw them at Sweden Rock. It was excellent. They have a great presence onstage. He (Scarlett Monastyrski) had a water gun with tequila! It was a really funny show.
Yeah, I believe they relocated here in America, Texas to be exact.
HK: Cool.
Talk about a global band.
HK: Yeah, I wish they could come. We have a festival called Muskelrock here, very close to where I live. We tried to get them. Asomvel has played here before, but it would be cool to have them back too.
While we’re on the topic, besides playing in Bullet, you founded and put on the Muskelrock Festival: An event I’ve always admired and hope to attend one day. Could you tell us the origins of the event and what fans should expect for 2026’s edition?
HK: It’s been going really well for so many years. Now, it’s the same people, almost every year *laughs*. It doesn’t matter which bands come. it’s the same people. It’s such a good atmosphere. It’s so easy. Your tent is 50 meters from the entrance, so it’s easy to go there and have a beer. It’s like Christmas for hard rockers, totally fantastic! We bought the place back in 2007, around Bite the Bullet time. I remember when we had a mixed music festival in the beginning and we lost some money, so we said, “Fuck this, we’ll just do a festival with bands we love.” We called bands like Ram and Wolf. From the beginning it was supposed to be called Swedish Metal Heroes, and only have Swedish bands, but then we booked Thor, the muscle king, so we changed the name to Musklerock Festival. It’s such a good name, so we just kept it. You should really go there. It’s an amusement park from the ’60s, really different with paintings all over. It’s a really different place.
I love seeing the videos every year of the performances and the grounds. We have nothing like it here in Chicago!
HK: *laughs* I can imagine! There’s nothing similar in Sweden either with so much paintings and still have the ’60s surroundings, kept like it was in ’64.
Who is the one band you’d love to see play Muskelrock who haven’t played yet?
HK: I tried to book Heavy Load for so many years, but they said the stage was too small. They wanted a big Marshall wall. Now, with Ragne (Wahlquist) dead, I guess it will not happen. I was at his funeral, by the way. Very sad. Way too young. There’s been so many good bands. It’s a bit hard to have expensive bands who play at Sweden Rock. It’s impossible for us, so we have to look at more underground, cool bands. I don’t know…Judas Priest from the ’70s? *laughs* A time machine would be perfect!
No doubt about it, Bullet are a metal band who’s proud to be metal, and make no bones about it in their lyrics. At this stage in your life, has metal taken on an even greater or new importance for you than when you were younger?
HK: Not really. I’ve been the same since I was 17. I look a little bit older *laughs* and bigger, but I still feel the same. I love the same bands as I did when we were teenagers. I have the same amp and the same guitar, but more amps and more guitars. Even the same clothes *laughs*! You look at old photos, it’s like, “Ah, what the fuck is that there?!” *laughs*
Once a headbanger, always a headbanger. That is for sure.
HK: You can’t change it.
In the 25 years that have passed since Bullet first hit the pub, what’s the greatest lesson you’ve taken away from being in the band?
HK: It was a huge thing when we released Bite the Bullet. We realized that now we sounded the way we wanted to sound. Then, we opened up for AC/DC to 50,000 people, and did 100, 120 shows a year for several years. We were rolling all the time. Those were really, really magic years. I just wanna go back to that feeling, that true metal feeling, and do as many shows as possible, meet all the cool hard rockers at festivals.
Opening for AC/DC, that had to be a pinch-me moment.
HK: Just to meet the crew with mullets, such funny guys. It was such a huge production. We have a bus that we think is quite big, but when it was standing next to all the night-liners and trucks from AC/DC, it looked like a tiny Beetle car. It was like being in another world, to do that show. It felt so weird, but fantastic at the same time. It was the whole Back in Black lineup, so it was perfect.
Bullet has played shows and festivals all over the world, but still have yet to play here in America. With the rise of traditional metal events like Hell’s Heroes, do you think it would be possible for Bullet to play America in the future?
HK: I would love to do it. I don’t know at the moment if there’s anything coming up. It’s a bit hard for us with a working visa. It has to be several shows and quite good payment, just to make it work, but I really want to go there. I just keep hoping someone will put up a tour or a cool festival. It would be perfect. Or maybe join a bigger band, like Airbourne.
That would be a cool pairing!
HK: Yeah, let’s hope it will happen *laughs*.
In closing, what does the rest of 2026 have in store for Bullet?
HK: It’s just touring. I want to go to places we’ve never been to like America and South America. Australia would be totally great to see. I don’t know what’s gonna happen *laughs*. Just survive and we will see!
The new Bullet album, Kickstarter, is out now on Steamhammer. For more information on Bullet, click here.