THE HIGHWIRE DAZE INTERVIEWS

Updated: 08/26/00

Picture added: 01/30/01

(See below for a picture of The Sins latest member...)

One of the most popular gothic metal bands in Europe right now, The Sins Of Thy Beloved are ready to take the rest of the planet under their magnetic spell. Based out of Norway, The Sins have just put out a chilling new work entitled Perpetual Desolation. Here’s a conversation I recently had with one of the Beloved Sinners…

HD: Tell me what you do in The Sins Of Thy Beloved and how long the band has been together.

Ola Aarrestad: I am the bass player and the band has together since December of 96, so about four years.

HD: Where is the band based out of and what is the music scene like there?

Ola: We come from the Western part of Norway on the West Coast. The music scene here is really great. You have a lot of great bands here.

HD: Where do you get the ideas for the songs?

Ola: It comes from our heads mainly. Nothing like inspirational stuff from poets or anything like that. The stuff just comes from ourselves.

HD: With so many people in the band, does songwriting or rehearsal ever become difficult to do?

Ola: No, actually we haven’t had any problems with the fact that we are so many in the band. When we are in rehearsal, everyone is there. I think the reason why we can make music together with so many members is because we talk so really well together. We have all known each other for so many years and are close friends – so I think that’s the reason why we don’t get into any of these big discussions. We mostly agree with each other.

HD: What is a live Sins show like for those of us who have yet to see you play?

Ola: The main thing is when we play live is that we try to play the songs and make them sound exactly the same as they are on the CD – without using any kind of sampling program. We try to play our own instruments – just like on the CD – and that’s why we have two keyboard players.

HD: Any chance of the Sins coming out here in the States to play?

Ola: Yeah, we have discussed this with Napalm Records America and there are some plans for us to come over and play some shows in America and in Mexico. I think it will be in the year 2001 sometime. We really want to come soon.

HD: Have you ever played out here before?

Ola: No, we haven’t been there – just in Europe.

HD: Have you ever had anything unusual happen during or at a live show?

Ola: No, nothing in particular. (laughs) Just some accidents with being drunk, I guess. Falling and stuff like that, but not any big things.

HD: Has the female vocalist had any vocal training at all?

Ola: No, she’s just been singing all of her life I guess.

HD: With Perpetual Desolation being such a complex album, what were some of the more difficult aspects in the recording process?

Ola: We didn’t have any big problems or difficulties in the studio. We just go in there with the material we have, record the drums, add and change some stuff, and it all went okay really.

HD: You didn’t have any problems with the violins or anything like that?

Ola: The violins was the easiest one to record. He’s a really great violin player – he can play anything in just one shot – and it sounds perfect. He’s been playing violin for 25 years.

HD: What made you guys decide to record the Metallica cover The Things That Should Not Be on the new album?

Ola: It was my idea. I’ve always been a fan of Metallica. Sometimes I take out my old Metallica CD’s and start listening to them. I thought how cool it would be to do a cover version of this song and how well it would suit our gothic style of playing music. So I suggested this to the other members, and they all agreed that it would sound cool. Then we didn’t do anything about it until we came into the studio and I mentioned it again. We decided to just play it in the studio and it turned out good.

HD: What are some of your favorite horror movies?

Ola: My favorite horror movie is The Exorcist, the first one.

HD: What are the future plans for Sins?

Ola: We have played some festivals and a tour that we just came back from. In August we have two more festivals – one in Belgium and one in Holland. Then we’ll come back home and start writing material for a new album.

HD: Do you have any messages for metal fans here in the States?

Ola: I want to give them my best regards and I sure hope they like the new album. And I also hope we can come over and play some shows in the States. That would be really cool to meet some of the American metal fans.


As some may know (and many do not!), Anita (female Vox) decided to leave The Sins... last month. On this page you will find this picture of her more than Beautiful replacement for your use.

ENJOY THE VISAGE!


THE SINS OF THY LINKS

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