THE RETURN OF OLD MAN'S CHILD

Updated: 03/27/03

After joining forces with the mighthy Dimmu Borgir, one began to wonder if Galder would ever find time to bring back Old Man's Child. A new album has now surfaced -- entitled In Defiance Of Existence, it's definitely their most extreme effort to date! Highwire Daze recently spoke with Galder about the return of Old Man's Child, his duties with Dimmu Borgir, and other dark and obscure topics of interest...

After being with Dimmu Borgir for the better part of three years, how difficult was it to start up Old Man’s Child again?
It wasn’t too hard. Most of the music for this album was made before I joined Dimmu and then I put it on ice while I did work for them. I just put everything together when I found some time. It hasn’t been any problems really. I’ve been a bit lazy too, so that’s why it took three years. But it won’t be three years till the next album – that’s for sure. But you never know – it might be four years or so…

Was it difficult decision to join Dimmu Borgir and put Old Man’s Child on hold?
No, not really. I’ve known all the guys all of my life and it was a very easy choice to start playing with them. I know that I’m capable of playing in more than one band. Old Man’s Child doesn’t do a lot of touring, so I have all the time in the world. I have a lot of ideas – I come up with ideas everyday for music, so I could easily play in more than two bands as well, I think. As long as I don’t have to have a normal job.

So we might see Galder showing up in three or four more bands!
(Laughs) Maybe. I don’t think so. This should be enough.

How does this new album compare to the previous ones?
It’s hard to say. There’s a lot of elements from all the old Old Man’s Child albums. There’s a lot of riffs on this album I made back in Born Of The Flickering time (our first album). It’s got elements from the whole period of Old Man’s Child I think. It’s probably the most brutal album we’ve done so far – it’s got the most blast beats and bass drums.

I was reading on your website that you went in and re-wrote and re-recorded the lyrics at the last minute. What made you do that?
When we were suppose to go into the studio, we didn’t have the lyrics ready. So we asked this guy to write some lyrics for us – and he gave us like 30 lyrics. We picked out eight of the best but then we got into a bit of an argument with that guy. It didn’t turn out that well so we just decided to do the lyrics ourselves. And I spent like two weeks on it and went back to the studio and re-recorded the vocals.

Where did you come up with the title In Defiance Of Existence?
It was actually suppose to be called Infidel though, but that was the other guy who came up with that title. So we decided to come up with something else. And we had like one day to change the title, so we were looking through the lyrics and trying to find the lyric that was the most suitable for an album title. And that was the best song and I thought, “That’s it!”

What exactly are the Felonies Of The Christian Arts?
It’s more about the crimes that are done in the name of religion. Not perhaps Christianity, but religion in general. And how they tried to make those become Christians and that you have to learn it in schools and that it’s been printed in your mind since you were a kid. That’s pretty much what the lyrics are about. But it’s also about things that are done in the name of religion – like planes crashing into buildings and suicide bombers and stuff like that.

Is Norway a very religious country?
No, I don’t think it’s as religious as the States though. You guys have the Bible Belt and stuff over there. But it’s not that much here. I think many people are Christians, but they’re not like going to church every Sunday and stuff like that. I think there’s more Atheists persons here in Scandinavia.

When can we expect you to come out here to the States to play live?
I don’t know. We’ve been supposed to go to the States many times before actually, but it’s never happened. But if we find a good band that wants us to come along with them. And if everything works out good with the line-up, then of course we will seriously consider it. Other than that, I have to go over there again with Dimmu, so I’m seeing the States anyway. But it would definitely be cool to come over with Old Man’s Child. A lot of people from the States have asked for us, so maybe in the future. Maybe the next album or even this album -- who knows…

Have you ever thought about bringing Old Man’s Child over on a tour with Dimmu?
It’s crossed my mind, but it would just be too much work for me. I would probably die! I’m too lazy for that, and Dimmu plays very long sets. It takes a lot of energy to play with them live, so I don’t think so.

That would be a good show though…
Yeah, who knows. We might do it sometime. I don’t think I would do a long tour though, but perhaps some small shows or festivals together with Dimmu.

When you came over here with Dimmu, was it your first time in the States?
Yeah.

What were your impressions of the States overall?
I thought it was really killer. I was a bit skeptical, but the sound turned out to be really good and you’ve got the mosh pit going on over there which is cool. People just seem to be more into it. I don’t know if it’s because of the fact that there’s no Black Metal bands that play over there, but people seem to be very interested. A lot of people showed up and bought a lot of tee shirts. I was really impressed. I think it’s better than Europe actually.

What did you think of Los Angeles in particular?
That was the best I think. I love LA and it’s got a cool crowd. The last time we were there, we had a really killer time. It was fantastic.

Your definitely going to be involved with the next Dimmu album?
Yeah, we’re going into the studio Monday actually. I’ll be real busy for a couple of months with them.

How do you feel the Black Metal scene is today compared with how it use to be?
I get this question a lot, but it’s really hard to say. I don’t follow it that much. I live far away from Oslo right now. But it’s the same persons now as it was ten years ago – but it’s also like the next generation of Black Metal persons walking around. It’s become a lot bigger than it was ten years ago – that’s for sure. People are still into all sorts of Black Metal and I suppose that’s cool. But I think perhaps the new generation of metalheads are more into the music than perhaps the mentality around the music. It seems to be still going strong.

What did your other guitarist Jardar do while you were off touring with Dimmu Borgir?
Just work his normal job. He doesn’t play in other bands.

What made you decide to use Nicholas Barker on this album?
It was just a natural choice after I started in Dimmu really. I’d been thinking about using him before as well, but I didn’t really know him. I don’t know any better drummer than him, so that was just an obvious choice for us. He’s a drummer that’s capable of doing all the different styles – he can play slow and groovy and very fast at the same time. At that’s what we were looking for.

So what are your future plans?
Dimmu on Monday and I stay there for a month and I’ll be very occupied with that. But in the summer I have some time off, so perhaps we’ll try and arrange some Old Man’s Child shows. It’s too early to say. We don’t have a lot of plans right now. I’m mainly focusing on Dimmu right now and doing Old Man’s Child interviews.

Do you have any messages for Old Man’s Child fans?
I just hope to come over there with Old Man’s Child sometime. I think there’s a few Old Man’s Child fans over there, so it would definitely be killer. I’m pretty sure we will do it some time. And if I don’t see you with Old Man’s Child, I hope to see you there when we play with Dimmu.

If the world were suddenly to come to an end, what song would you want to hear before the final explosion?
I don’t know, perhaps some very dark classical pieces. I don’t know the names of it. Or perhaps a cool Old Man’s Child song…


LINKS FOR AN OLD MAN

OLD MAN'S CHILD: Their Official Home Page!
CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS: The Record Label for Old Man's Child!
AN INTERVIEW WITH OLD MAN'S CHILD: An earlier interview I did with Galder for the previous album!
THE HIGHWIRE DAZE HOME PAGE: Return to the Main Page!

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