I am sure most of you have heard Darkthrone’s debut L.P. "Soulside Journey". Their second L.P., which will probably be called "A Blaze in the Northern Sky", is recorded but is not out yet. I was so lucky that I could hear the advance and let me say that their development is just great. From being a usual and trendy sounding techno-death metal band, they have turned out to be a band that plays pure black metal which reminds us of the old days music when Celtic Frost and Bathory ruled the earth (they still do). Does this fire your interest? Well, you can with safety buy this new masterpiece when it’s out. You won’t repent!
Yesterday I heard the advance tape for your second album, and when I was told it was Darkthrone, I was so surprised that I was about to fall out of my shoes. Do you have any comments to that?
No, not really, we are pretty ashamed of our "Soulside Journey" L.P., but what we are doing now is the true thing. The new stuff is much more brutal, dark and Evil. We love darkness and we are gonna piss on the graves to all fucken trendies.
I must really say that you have changed your style pretty drastically (to the better of course) but I suppose some people which don’t know you personally will think you’re nothing but fake and say you started to play black metal because you thought it was cool, etc. Is there something you wanna say to such people?
Yes, they are all invited to us, and they’ll see. And now that everybody is invited to us to see, we really hope that many trendies who think we’re stupid will come and visit us, so we can cut them up to small pieces and shit on them.
You just kicked out your bassist Dag. Did you feel that he was preventing the band’s development? Had it been possible to have had him in the band today after the change?
Let’s put it this way: The guy’s brain in the first place is empty and small and he couldn’t think of anything else other than Autopsy and extremely techno stuff. So we could not at any chance have had him in the band after the change. He was total shit!
What about any new bassist? Have you found any? I suppose it’s difficult to play any gigs with any bassist, but maybe you don’t want to play any gigs either?
From now on we are just three in the band. Ivar will play bass now and we’ll just do minimum gigs, just in the right places with the right people, which is bloody difficult at the moment.
It seems you’re not too fond of your old stuff like for instance the "Land of Frost" demo. What about if Peaceville insisted on releasing the demo on a mini LP or something (I don’t really see that as any danger, but let’s say they would)? What would have been your first comment then?
"Great." I mean the "Land of Frost" demo is much more brutal and dark than our debut L.P. "Soulside Journey" or what do you think? (Well, maybe I had never thought of it that way/ED)
When we talk about Peaceville, what do they think of this change?
We don’t know yet but the guys at Peaceville are always happy about everything everybody does. Peaceville is fucken great but we can’t know the inner opinion they have.
Anything you would like to say to such assholes as, like, for instance Dan Roger?
Well Dan Roger is so bloody stupid that I really can’t understand you wasting space on his name. He’s a total nerd who thinks death/black is cool. He really destroys a bit of the scene. What an asshole!!!!!
You don’t seem to have that rockstar attitude, because I suppose your second L.P. will not sell as well as "Soulside Journey" did. Most of the trend freaks that loved your first L.P., will probably hate your second one.
Yes, they sure will hate our new L.P. I am just glad if we can get rid of those stupid human beings. I would like to see their stupid faces when they first see the new cover and then hear the music.
If not very often you see bands develop like you. Mostly, bands start out very raw and evil, but after a few L.P.s they have slowed down and play more in the techno style, but with you it seems different. I anyway hope that you feel comfortable in the style you’re in now, and give us some really raw and evil LPs.
We sure will, our goal is to make our 3rd album so evil and raw that every flower in the garden to those who buy it, will rot. We are working on raping your soul.
The first band that came to my mind when I heard your new stuff was old Celtic Frost. Are they one of your main influences?
Yes! Bathory and Celtic Frost (old) are our main influences.
Where do you rehearse? Do you know anything about the situation in Oslo? Is it easy to find a rehearsal place there? (I have my reasons for asking this question ED)
We rehearse at Gylve’s place. It’s very hard to find a rehearsal place in Oslo. And when you finally do, it’s damned expensive. But you could be lucky.
In my opinion we should be very grateful to bands like Venom and Hellhammer, because if it weren’t for those bands, we would probably be playing some kind of heavy rock today. What do you think about that?
I sure agree, we can’t fail if we believe in those bands. I would say that Black Sabbath is also a part of it.
Well, will your lyrics be the same or will they be more, should I say, primitive?
The lyrics will be the same totally.
The thing that surprised me most when I heard your new stuff was that Gylve doesn’t play any of that techno stuff on the drums any longer. For how many L.P.s do you think he can keep away from that?
Well, obviously everybody has noticed the guy is pretty hyper-active. But I think so long we exist he must keep away. He can’t and won’t play techno now.
Well I suppose that is all. Please feel free to say what you want at the end Pal?
Stay dark and evil in your heart and we will survive for eternity.