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DARKTHRONE
- Darkthrone Bloody Darkthrone
By Adam Wasylyk
Darkthrone. The very name epitomizes the true qualities of black
metal, a "fuck off!" attitude and an intolerance of anything
trendy. Despite the success of bands like Dimmu Borgir or Cradle
Of Filth, sometimes respect can't be ascertained through record
sales and world tours. Influencing countless bands in the past and
more so in the present, Fenriz and Nocturnal Culto represent an
infamous collaboration that will never be matched within the black
metal genre. Writing and constructing essential black metal albums
like A Blaze In The Northern Sky, Transilvanian Hunger and Under
A Funeral Moon, they've left an indelible impression on the scene
and have in effect immortalized themselves as having influenced
the sound that is and will continue to be black metal. A band that
I'm very honoured to give the cover of this issue to, as they undoubtedly
deserve it.
But these two aren't quite done just yet. Ravishing Grimness represents
another chapter in the prolific history of Darkthrone. Six songs
clocking in at just under 40 minutes, Darkthrone take you on an
old-school black metal excursion as only they could. One hears strong
Celtic Frost and Bathory influences coupled with a Motorhead-ish
rock-and-roll vibe that strongly permeates the album and makes it
sound all the more refreshing. The opening riffs of 'The Beast'
and 'The Claws Of Time' show that the lifeblood of Darkthrone continues
to run cold. Very cold indeed.
The opportunity to talk to Fenriz was a joyous occasion, one that
held a level of anticipation I hadn't possessed since my very first
interview (with Dave Vincent, for those interested). It was odd
to discover how laid back and humorous the Norwegian was, especially
considering my experiences with his black metal contemporaries.
It was also quite something to have our call interrupted by frequent
hang-ups due to his cellular phone cutting out. What a fool I was
for expecting a conventional interview from such an unconventional
individual. In just under an hour's time an interview was finally
completed, Fenriz having answered all of my questions for the meantime.
Here's most of what transpired, minus much of the non-music chit-chat
we both got into, which I totally enjoyed. Long live the legacy
of Darkthrone.
U!: So tell me what events led up to the release of the new
Darkthrone album, Ravishing Grimness.
Fenriz: "For the last five years Nocturnal Culto has
been doing most of the decision making and everything in Darkthrone.
He was also the one that called me like last December, a year ago,
and said he wanted to do the album. I was like "okay"
so I wrote the lyrics and maybe one or two songs. He's been writing
on a fine line between primitive stuff and some melodic stuff and
I guess it's gonna continue that way."
U!: So Nocturnal Culto's the one who initiated the new album?
F: "Yeah, that was Nocturnal Culto. I don't know about
his motives for doing it; I guess he just felt like it. It has been
a while since the last time we were in the studio, so I guess the
timing was pretty cool (laughs). But a lot of people have been like
'Hey, it took you four years – what the hell's happening?'
but for us it felt like one and a half years because we're getting
older and we're finally moving faster."
U!: Tell me a bit about how the songs were written and the
collaboration process between you two.
F: "We've never collaborated actually since we started
doing black metal in '91. We were a three-piece then, so we decided
to go for a 'three-headed dictatorship', meaning that we all knew
what our influences were and what we wanted to play so if one guy
brought a song in we just had to accept the material. Like if I
had a song, the other guys couldn't protest. It still works like
that now with Nocturnal Culto and me. He makes a song, I cannot
protest at all. When I make a song, he can't protest. It's still
working the way we want because we really took a decision at the
time that we wanted to play primitive black metal and we had been
through the progressions of a band, like, from starting out sucking
on our instruments 'til we could really play them, we played technical
death metal and then we just quit that. We don't want to progress,
we'd rather regress 'cause we're really into that old-school sound.
We really (laughs) fit more into an '80s vibe, and that's what we're
trying to do as well – an alternative to all of the new things
that are coming out now."
U!: Are you into the current '80s metal revival that's going
on right now?
F: "Well, I was really happy with the '80s revival.
We started it here in Norway. It started with thrash bands like
Aura Noir back in '95, so I thought it started back then. In '96/'97
it was a focus on power metal back again, and death metal's slowly
coming along again. What's been blowing me away for the last little
while is the new Angel Corpse album. So there! (laughs)."
U!: Since you mentioned earlier that you write the lyrics,
what were your lyrical inspirations this time around?
F: "Well, there's a lot of depression there. Right now
I only write lyrics when I'm totally fucked in the head. Not on
drugs or anything like that. What the album includes is basically
pain, death, fear and hatred...which is all jolly good for me. One
guy said, this made me chuckle, said that the album cover is like
The Blair Witch Project but if you want some mental beating, you
go for the Darkthrone album. It's a lot of metal shit."
U!: So what's up with that album cover, the old guy, and
the meaning behind the album title?
F: "Damn, wrong person to ask again! I came up with
the title and Nocturnal Culto came up with the cover for the title.
We're not like the type of guys to sit down and talk a lot about
where we're going 'cause we're not heading anywhere, and why we're
doing things, 'cause we've been basically into the same vibe with
Darkthrone for twelve years now. I totally trust what he will do
with covers and everything as we've been into that whole grim thing
for so many years now. I don't think there's any Freudian reasoning
behind that, I think it's all just trying to create an aesthetic
that is Darkthrone."
U!: Fans of Darkthrone know well that you've always taken
a minimalistic approach to black metal, no expensive production
jobs or ultra-technical playing...
F: "Well...I have to arrest you! (laughs) 'cause of
the beginning of that. We're not doing minimalistic, WE'RE doing
black metal and the other bands are doing progressive stuff. I have
to answer like that 'cause goddamnit, I'm right! (laughs) I also
think a lot of bands started out playing black metal but were quickly
bored of doing primitive stuff. But that's not our situation as
I told you earlier on. I think a lot of the other bands got really
bored and did a natural progression in black metal. That's why you
hear a lot of interesting and entertaining black metal today. But
yes, we're doing old-school black metal, but when I look around
there's a shortage of larger bands doing that primitive style so
it's probably important for us to stick with it and try to stick
with this style and see what happens in five years when people start
to chill out a bit again. Again, I can understand totally about
being minimalistic and I can agree, but you must remember black
metal was primitive in the beginning."
U!: Then, in your view, how bad has the black metal scene
got?
F: "I really don't want to see the whole progression
in the scene, but I can understand that people want to... I usually
don't talk too much about that. I hear a lot of muttering and complaining
about how bad it's got, but I don't know, I just want to wait and
see if it gets better."
U!: So which bands do you consider to possess the true essence
of black metal?
F:
"I will always support Mayhem. Mayhem I'm loyal to. There's
probably a lot of bands in the underground that I haven't heard
that are really great, but the record labels want the more 'entertaining'
bands right now. I like Usurper from Chicago, bands with the '80s
sound -- '86 to '89 -- I tend like to like that. Lately the Angel
Corpse as well, and even some grind stuff that I like."
U!: It's not too long ago that it would have been impossible
to hear a black metal musician praise anything that wasn't black
metal in origin. <br><br>F: "I never had it that
way. I didn't read a lot of press at that time, no magazines or
anything like that, so I wouldn't know. Sure, I always, not by will,
but I tend to go against the scene. But I don't care; it has to
do with aesthetics with the guitar riff. I find a lot of guitar
riffs influence me, like for example Disfear -- that I totally use
in Darkthrone. Even Motorhead. I think they're way grimmer than
a lot of bands making melodic stuff today."
U!: Last year a tribute record to Darkthrone was released
on Moonfog. What were your thoughts on it?
F: (pause) "Should I say something about it?"
U!: If you could. Did you like it?
F: "(laughs) Well, I don't really own any tribute albums.
I don't know how great an idea it is to do tributes. We were never
a band that did covers ourselves, at least not for albums. We had
to say no for a lot of tribute albums. But I want to say I'm totally
flattered by all of the bands, that they were willing to do a cover
song and that they did a hell of a job. Emperor played their cover
[Cromlech], and play it more closer to the original than the original
itself! (laughs)"
U!: So whose idea was it to compile this tribute?
F: "Oh, it was everybody's fault! (laughs) We were supposed
to mark the ten-year anniversary of the band, and we had to do something.
I felt that doing a tribute album might be pretentious, but also
a best-of album might be pretentious too so we didn't know what
to do and we wanted to mark the anniversary. That also went down
the drain as the tribute came out like eleven and a half years after
we started (laughs). I hope that people can at least enjoy the material
on the album."
U!: I've spoken with Satyr recently [found in issue #10]
and he spoke a little about Eibon. Perhaps you could explain your
involvement in the band and give us an update on its progress. Whose
idea was it to create this project?
F: "The involvement is that they want me to do a couple
of songs and they want me to play drums. We'll see how it works
out. It's really difficult because all of the people involved are
very busy. It's hard to schedule everything. I'm glad I'm not organizing
it (laughs). The material will be more like '80s stuff, I hope.
You never know, as we've only done one song, where one riff sounds
like Celtic Frost and another sounds like Motorhead and another
riff sounds like Necrophagia and another sounds like Satyricon.
hope people don't expect the moon and the stars from everything
as it's gonna be a long wait and it's not a really progressive type
of sound or anything. It won't be 'new' black metal; there's a lot
of things it won't be, but it'll be a mixture of solid underground
metal."
U!: How was the idea spawned to create the band? How did
you join into the band?
F: "That was between Maniac and Killjoy, who met at
the Milwaukee Metal Fest and Maniac asked me to join in. I really
liked to work with Killjoy as I've been a fan of Necrophagia for
a long time, from '87. I must admit I'm a very bad spokesperson
for projects that are about to happen as everything is like a fucking
problem and shit like that...I'm a little bitchy every now and then
(laughs). After I'm done, the project is over, it's going to be
much sweeter talking about it as I'll be so happy looking back at
the memories. It's almost like a chore right now."
U!: Satyr and I also talked about your role on the Satyricon
album Rebel Extravaganza...
F: "I was in the actual studio for about three minutes
or so. I played some tambourine (laughs) and a gong. That's it.
It didn't really feel black metal standing there with a tambourine,
no. It would have been worse if it was a triangle."
U!: Yeah, that would be a little gay...
(We both laugh, and we talk about the triangle for a few hilarious
moments)
U!: Let's go back in history a bit if I may...
F: "Cool, I love to reminisce."
U!: ...I'd like to hear from you what it was like to witness
black metal grow and develop into what it is today.
F: "When I think about black metal I usually think about
the period before the scene exploded and got real hot. That was
like '90 to '93. That time there was a much more maniacal feeling
rather than businesslike, which there's a lot of today, marketing
and such. I'm even doing interviews, which is quite shocking. You
know that I'm undermining my credibility (laughs)?" <br><br>U!:
Can doing a lot of interviews hurt the mystique of a band like Darkthrone?
<br><br>F: "Not really. If I was a Darkthrone fan
I certainly would be interested in reading what Fenriz is saying.
I don't know what's worse, reading an interview with a band that
just talks about what type of equipment they use in the studio or
a guy that just rambles off about anything. Like I do. I haven't
really done that so much this interview, 'cause I was dragged away
from my beer at Elm St. [a popular hangout in Norway] (laughs).
But now I'm safe in an apartment with a beer and a normal phone.
Everything's looking up."
U!: Do you miss the old days, the spirit of those days?
F: "No, because now I'm a rock star! (laughs) Just kidding
-- that's my answer to doing interviews, as someone wants to talk
to me. It's gonna be worse when I'm 45 and I'm just sitting in a
bar being bitter and no one wants to talk to me, including the bartender.
So of course I miss the old days, being a three-piece with Darkthrone,
rehearsing and hanging out. But times they are a-changin'. But you
can at least say we're really, really trying to stick with the old
feeling, preserve that with the regressive music that we're playing.
As long as it sounds like the weed that someone pulls out of their
garden, 'cause when I hear compilation CDs I hear a lot of bands
having sound production in which they are trying to create a beautiful
garden. Well, then we're the weed."
U!: Where was the album recorded?
F: "It was recorded at the same studio as Mayhem's Wolf
Lair Abyss. They're not going back there; I don't think they were
happy with [the sound]. But we were pleased as peaches, as we're
going back."
U!: So there will be another Darkthrone album?
F: "I hope we'll record in the Summer of 2001. So there,
in about one and a half years, I hope. Darkthrone are preposterously
bad planners, anything we say usually goes down the drain. We're
working towards that."
U!: That's great news.
F: "Oh, yeah? (laughs)"
U!:
I
had heard this may be the last...
F: "We thought about that for a week, but we decided
that was weak (we laugh uneasily). We can't quit now. We could have
quit in '94 which would have been good, but we can't do that now
when we're one of the bands that does that old-school thing where
everyone else wants to do new and exciting things. We just stay
old and boring. We have to do that at least for five more years."
We wrap up our chat talking about the year 2000 ("Fuck the
millennium. I don't like fireworks, but I'll surely get drunk though"),
his open- mindedness towards music ("I'm into everything --
Cuban, Caribbean, hardcore, jazz -- my mind is open enough for a
fucking drive-thru!) and whether Shania Twain is hot or not. And
thus concludes the most
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