The Scars is a new musical collaboration between Swedish musicians Daniel Badeie and Martin Sandström (Jeniferever, Ştiu Nu Ştiu, Möuth).
After playing in countless bands in their youth, the pair’s paths eventually crossed many years later through late nights spent at clubs and concerts around Stockholm. Conversations quickly sparked about writing music inspired by the artists who shaped their youth and early experiences in music.
“Daniel and I both felt that too much of today’s music isn’t necessarily based on songwriting or the actual songs themselves,” explains Sandström. “We wanted to capture our version of the melodies and riffs we loved so much. In the 90s I discovered so many genres of music, from classic rock to goth rock and post-punk, through bands like The Cure, The Sisters Of Mercy and The Mission. When I first heard Daniel’s voice in my studio I instantly knew we had to make an album together.”
That very first session – held at Martin’s own recording facility, Shadow Kingdom – proved instantly fruitful. Writing and demoing what would become their debut single, ‘Home’, resulted in a swaggering, brooding, riff-heavy hymn that leans reverentially into classic rock alumni of old. With drums by Fredrik Aspelin (Alberta Cross, Jeniferever, Möuth) and bass contributions from Karl-Henrik Mattsson (Ştiu Nu Ştiu, Frusen Sorg), the project quickly took shape before being mixed by Henrik Wikner at Studio Vinden and mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Remount Studios.
They recently released their debut single ‘Home’. While ‘Home’ stands as a powerful introduction to The Scars, it also marks the beginning of something bigger. Ongoing writing and recording sessions have already yielded more material, and with a full-length album on the horizon, 2026 is shaping up to be a significant year for the Stockholm duo.
‘Home’ by The Scars is out now on Widsith Records. We asked the band about their main musical influences…
Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II
Martin Sandström: When Guns N’ Roses released their Use Your Illusions albums in 1991 those two albums together with Nirvana’s Nevermind and Metallica’s The Black Album changed my life. I still can’t decide to this day which one I love the most, but certain songs on Use Your Illusion II still amaze and surprise me even now some thirty-four years later. ‘Estranged’ is the best song I have ever known, and it has been a huge part of my life since first hearing it. It’s almost as though I hear something new in it every time. I haven’t listened to it for a while, but this one song is like three or four songs rolled into one and it’s just so epically magical and emotional. I’ve never heard anything so perfect. A couple of years ago it took on a new meaning for me as it was a new friend’s favourite song and I cherish that last night after an evening out when we sang along to it in his apartment at five in the morning. A couple of weeks later I found out he had been found dead in that apartment maybe while listening to Guns N’ Roses. Now I feel like I have him with me whenever I listen to it and it’s a comforting feeling.
Europe – The Final Countdown
Daniel Badeie: I remember at pre-school around 1986-87 a boy had this cassette tape with him. We had a cassette player in our big play room that we kids used for playing music. I came from a home environment with a lot of different music that was played, so I had heard a lot of music. Anyways, this boy put in the cassette tape and pressed play and these massive guitars started to play and drums that blew my mind at first second. The singing and choirs were awesome, and my body and mind knew that this kind of music will be a big part of my life. The cassette tape was Europe’s album The Final Countdown and the song was ‘Rock The Night’. After that I started to explore and discover more guitar-based rock music leading me into discoveries of 1950-60 music to temporary music across various genres.
The Cure – Disintegration
Martin Sandström: The Cure’s album Disintegration is one I never get tired of. The opener ‘Plainsong’ is just so sad but also celebratory in an unusual way. I think the whole record is quite lengthy but it’s still a solid ten out ten. The title track might be the one I listen to the most if I don’t just listen to the whole record in one go. It’s all so dark and melancholic and it sounds like nothing else. It’s a great record for just about any occasion I think. As a guitarist I’ve always felt that Robert Smith is so underrated; he always plays what the song needs and never too much which I think is something a lot of guitarists could learn from. Simon Gallup’s bass lines are so great, and I think my favourite might be the one on ‘Fascination Street’. The album closer, ‘Untitled’, is another favourite. They play so incredibly well on this album and Boris Williams’s drum pattern on that song stands out. I mostly find myself listening to this album at night like I do right now while writing this because it has this nocturnal feel to it and I like the feeling of listening to it when the surrounding world is asleep.
