"He was so close to death - they had to cut off his finger": Bonafide are back, and they've got some stories to tell

Pontus Snibb and his Malmo-based band Bonafide first emerged more than a decade ago. Combining brutal riffing and Snibb’s bluesy vocals, they were dubbed ‘the Swedish AC/DC’.

Since then members have come and gone, they’ve released six albums and supported icons including Deep Purple, Status Quo and compatriots Europe. But, after 2017’s Flames album, the band went uncharacteristically quiet. Until now.

It’s been six years since Bonafide’s last album – where have you been?

Well, we’ve been playing. We actually released a live album around 2019, but it was just a special album for fans, that could only be bought at shows. Then a little thing called covid happened. The Swedish government dealt with covid in a different way from the rest of Europe.

How much were the band affected?

We couldn’t play any shows. I’m a full-time musician, so I didn’t get any support from the government. So it was like “What am I going to do to pay the rent?” I played acoustic shows for people at their homes, up to the number of people that was allowed. I have a blues side to my music as well as the Bonafide rock side. So when I came to the stranger’s house, I didn’t know if I was coming because of the blues or because of Bonafide. That was always fun to see.

Snacket, a track on the new album Are You Listening?, is sung in your native tongue – which must be a first for the band, and a rarity for any internationally renowned Swedish band. What was the thinking there?

It’s mostly directed to Sweden. The song’s message is kind of ‘don’t get too big for your boots’. The song is actually in Sconish, which is like a Southern drawl, like a Texas dialect. My dialect is from Malmo, which people think of as a hillbilly accent. So yes, that was the first time for us, although Opeth sing in Swedish as well.

There’s a track called Tommie Nine Fingers. Who is he?

He’s a friend of ours. You know the bacteria that killed the Slayer guitarist’s hands? The one that eats you up from the inside? That’s what he had. He was so close to death. He’s so-called because they had to cut off his finger. He survived but he had nine fingers. So I dictated a story about him being the getaway driver in a bank robbery thing.

The first line of Hero To Zero is: ‘Are you king of the hill or on a slippery slope?’ Where are Bonafide on that scale? 

Hopefully we’re heroes. We’ve got good reviews on the album, and the single seems to have got good reactions. So I think we’re on an upward slope.

In the early days Bonafide used to be referred to as 'the Swedish AC/DC'. How did you feel about that? 

I remember one of our early highlights was being featured in Classic Rock, and it had that we “sound like” Powerage. I’d say that is still the album for me and the band. That’s why I named the band Bonafide – Bon Scott and John Bonham. The idea was how would it sound if John Bonham played drums with AC/DC. Though, of course, it’s evolved from there.

What plans do the band have for 2024? 

Touring. We start in Sweden, and then in the spring we’re going to do some German dates and in the summer Stonedead in the UK. We’re going to keep busy.

Are You Listening? is out now via Black Lodge Records. Tickets for Stonedead are on sale now.