Originated : 03/28/00
Vintersorg is not only a band, but also the name of the musician who fronts it. Creating a compelling vision of mythology and mysticism, Vintersorg is beginning to have his creations known throughout the world. Highwire Daze recently conducted an e-mail interview with the man behind the moniker. Here are excerpts…
Highwire Daze: Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Vintersorg and how long the band has been together.
Vintersorg: Hi! I am Vintersorg (the person) and the band has been a solo-project until just recently. Now another guy named Mattias has joined in as a second guitarist. I handle the other instruments and the vocals except for a few guest appearances. And so far I’ve recorded two CD´s -- Till Fjälls, Ödemarkens Son and a MCD entitled Hedniskhjärtad.
HD: Describe the music of Vintersorg to someone who has never heard it before.
Vintersorg: It’s mixture of some kind of black metal, heavy metal and spiced with some folkish tones. And I also think it’s quite gloomy and progressive. The vocals are mostly sung with a "clear" voice and just with the screaming style here and there. But it’s very hard to label it -- maybe you have an idea?
HD: Where is Vintersorg from and what is the music scene like there?
Vintersorg: We are from the north part of Sweden. We live in a very small town so I can’t say that we have strong and productive scene here. There's a few metal acts around -- but we’re the only who have released an album. But if we talk about the whole entire Sweden, there’s like millions of metal bands, and many are on a quite high level.
HD: What are some of the songs on Ödemarkens Son about?
Vintersorg: The lyrics are about worshipping the immense elements of nature, and finding my special place in the cosmos. And they’re written like rhyming poems in a very romantic tongue. On the next album the lyrics will be in English so everyone can share, and it’s also a fresh challenge for me to express myself in English. The topics will
be about cosmology, philosophy and metaphysical matters.
HD: On this album, why did you chose to sing all of the lyrics in Swedish?
Vintersorg: So far I’ve felt most comfort with writing in Swedish as I am from Sweden. I’m much more secure in my mother tongue. In the future I’ll use English – I’ve written some new lyrics and I think it works great. I must admit that I was a bit frightened to switch, but it works.
HD: What is a live Vintersorg show like to those of us who have yet to see you play?
Vintersorg: Only two shows have been done so far and they have been pretty cool, very crazy audience both times. But as it’s not a full line-up, it’s very hard to do live shows. I’ve had session musicians in the past but as our town is so small, it’s not many musicians that suit us around. So I think the "live" era is over, at least for now.
HD: What do you think of the state of the metal scene today?
Vintersorg: I think it’s great. There are many good bands around and I think the quality -- especially in black metal, has improved a lot in the latest years, so the future looks bright from my perspective.
HD: Along with Otyg, you are more experimental with metal music that most. What are some of your musical and non-musical influences?
Vintersorg: I try to not be so inspired by other bands, but I am probably subconsciously. My biggest inspirations I pick up are in seductive paintings and poems. I’m also very interested in philosophy, cosmology and different types of magic and that is giving me very strong emotions and inspiration to write new songs all the time. One of my fave singers is "Frankie Boy," but that doesn’t come forth in my music.
HD: On the latest Otyg album, you do a cool cover of the Dio classic "Holy Diver." Why did you decide to cover that song and give it such a unique arrangement?
Vintersorg: We really like to jam the old metal classics at rehearsals and as "Holy Diver" has been nearly untouched so far, we thought it would be a crazy and cool idea to do that particular one, in the Otyg spirit. So I gave it a try and re-arranged it. It turned out that the others in the band really liked it and therefore we recorded it.
HD: Are you involved with any other bands besides Vintersorg and Otyg?
Vintersorg: I’m the vocalist in a band called Havayoth and we’ve just recorded our debut album entitled His Creation Reversed -- it will be released by Hammerheart this spring. The music is some kind of dark romantic rock/metal, some Sisters Of Mercy touch can be found, but as usual it’s hard to label it, he, he, he.
HD: What are the future plans for Vintersorg and Otyg?
Vintersorg: With Otyg we’re rehearsing a new album right now. The title for that one is simply Djävulen (The Devil) and the lyrics deal with how he is represented in our folklore. I’ve actually already written a new Vintersorg album as well -- Mattias is learning the songs at the moment. But the recording will wait. Ödemarkens Son was released just four months ago in Europe and now in USA so it’s no hurry.
HD: Any messages for metal fans here in the States?
Vintersorg: I just hope that they are open-minded and check my album even if the lyrics are in Swedish. Cheers!
Ödemarkens Son is from Napalm Records and available at all cool indie stores!
AN ALL NEW INTERVIEW WITH VINTERSORG:Conducted early 2001 for the Cosmic Genesis release. Click here!!
NAPALM RECORDS:The record label for the mighty Vintersorg! |