Dolk & II13 (Kampfar)
September 2008
This time we didn't have to wait seven years for a new album but only two...
||.|.|||: No, things are working in a normal pace now. What happened after Fra Underverdenen was that both Thomas and Dolk needed a time-out on a personal level. It had nothing to do with the relationship between them, instead it was matters they had to handle in their own lives. Then after a couple of years, Jon and I joined, which meant that we needed time to gel with the band, and then we also took some time to prepare to hit the stage, so all in all we needed that time in order to get where are today.
Was it difficult to come back with an album after such a long break?
||.|.|||: For me, being the new guy back then, it seems that the process went quite well. We wrote the first song together a month after I joined, and then we rehearsed a lot for some time, to get to know each other musically. Making Kvass, especially the recording process was hard and frustrating, but it gave us the belief that we as a band can trust each other to create music that we all can stand behind.
How was Kvass received by the media?
||.|.|||: Generally it was received well, we got good reviews as far as I could see, and some praise for doing something differently than the overproduced superman metal out there. Still, in hindsight, I think that album sticks out a little from the other albums, including Heimgang in that it's rawer and more stripped, but it was the only way we could sound at that time.
And how about the fans? Did they seem to like the comeback album?
||.|.|||: From the people coming to our shows it seems so, yeah.Especially the song Ravenheart seems to have struck a chord with many people and it's a great song to play live.
Btw, did you keep most of the old fans or you mostly gained new ones with that album?
||.|.|||: It seems we have a good blend, actually. Fra Underverdenen was out of circulation for some time, especially in North America, but people download music these days, so we get some young people coming to our shows and they blend well with people that bought the first EP when it came out.
Your new record was scheduled for an April/May release. Was it the label pushing it back to a later date?
||.|.|||: That was our decision. We were intending to start recording early this year, but had to postpone it for a few months in order to make the record we knew we could make. Patience is generally a virtue, and especially when you deal with something that will exist for a long time it is important to take a step back and decide if this is good enough or if we can do it better.
How did you compose the song for the new album? Can you tell me about the process?
||.|.|||: With me living abroad we use the Internet for exchange of ideas, and then we meet up in Norway once a month or so to rehearse and work on the different ideas. Thomas has a vast library of riffs and melodies he's created through the years, so he throws us a framework for a song and then we take it from there. Some songs are also created in the studio, like Inferno which we recorded the same day it was done. It's a real privilege to work with Thomas' riffs, as he has a unique voice through his guitar playing, and we know that as long as we create the songs, Dolk will add some killer vocals and lyrics to the equation.
The key point for your lyrics is the language as your songs mostly are in Norwegian. Was it obvious from the very start that you'd perform in your native language?
Dolk: When it comes to the lyrics I must say that first of all, I am Norwegian and therefore I do of course also express my self best in my own language. And yes there have always been an idea about this cause a lot of the topics my lyrics are dealing about is northern topics, northern nature, mythology and superstitions that's lies in the Norwegian nature and in the northern nature and heathendom. This very important issues in Kampfars music and aura and therefore also best expressed in Norwegian I think. But we have done 2 different songs in English up til now, Norse and Ravenheart. This is done more in way to try to explain to the non speaking Norwegian listeners out there what our lyrics and music is really about. These songs could of course also have been done in Norwegian, but we decided to do this in English for our foreigner listeners.
Norway is very rich of dialects in their language. What dialect do you speak?
Dolk: I`m from the east south of Norway and I have lived there more than ¾ of my life so I do then talk in a dialect called "Eastland dialect" pure and simple.
Is there any Norwegian authors that you like reading or influenced you?
Dolk: To be honest I must say no to that question. No Norwegian author have been of a big influence for me I must say. But if we are talking about historical "authors"? Well then it's a different story.
Would you ever consider writing an album only in English?
Dolk: The content for the lyrical aspect further will still be mainly Norwegian. But I can not say in this moment wheter it will be more English songs or not. Cause this just goes with the mood and flow that Im in at the moment when the lyrics are created. So for Heimgang it was just so natural for me to do everything in Norwegian, but maybe next time there will be some more songs in English, but its like I first stated... this is just impossible for me to answer at this point. But to make an album only in English...well that will never happen. That I can say for sure at least!
What does the new album's title stand for?
Dolk: The word Heimgang itself is in fact a word that was used here in the North some hundred years ago. The word itself explains the path or connection between our own existing world and the underworld. This specific connection or path was called heimgang up here at that time. So it's pure history in fact. When considering this you can say that the whole album is dealing with topics around this theme.
So, can you tell me about some of the lyrical themes on the album?
Dolk: Almost 80% of this album is written lyrically about true events that happened here in the North and events and strong thoughts and beliefs of the dark folkloric stuff people used to believe in hundreds of years ago. This is stuff that people have totally forgotten in these days. So you can maybe say that Heimgang is a history lesson from the forgotten North then. (Laughs) Heimgang is much more directly both when it comes to the music and lyrics. Almost every track here are based upon true events or dark myths that happened here in Norway 200-500 years ago. To start to tell about each single track on the album would maybe be over the top here. But I can take the song Antvort as an example. Antvort was in fact a priest that lived just 1 km away from my house. He was practising for about 200 years ago in a local church here. The church is still valid today actually so it's quite fascinating to see it now in real life and then know the story behind it all. Antvort was what the locals called a "black priest" so he had a lot of knowledge about both the white and dark sides of things. Officially he was a white priest and the Norwegian state was supporting his acts of God, but the locals and especially the kids knew that there was a different side of Antvort if I can put it that way. So as you probably understand this song and also the rest of the tracks on Heimgang deals so much more with true history and dark actual local events from my home place. So for me this is definitely the most personal album so far, no doubt about it!
Do you have a favourite song on the album?
||.|.|||: It's hard to have a favourite among your own creations, but I do feel good when I listen to Inferno and Skogens Dyp in particular. On those songs I notice a big part of myself in the songs, which naturally strikes a chord with my inner being.
What was the biggest challenge that you faced writing this album?
||.|.|||: Being true to ourselves is always an important thing. We have to fight with a lot of people to keep Kampfar what it is. We never budge on the important issues, so when we make music it has to be our natural expression or there will be no album.
Can you tell me about the studio time? Did you work with Rune Jørgensen again?
||.|.|||: It went remarkably smoothly this time. I flew up and spent 10 days together with Thomas and Rune writing and recording drums. Then Thomas and Jon added their parts, and Thomas worked closely with Rune all along to get all the little bits and pieces in place. We then sent Dolk off to the mountains to finish his lyrics and he came back with some of the best lyrics he's ever written, and sang them in the intense way we know him for. Mixing went quite well too, so all in all this was my best studio experience ever. Rune is special because he has done a big job in adapting to what we're doing, and he brings in a strong knowledge of music and recording. He's also very passionate about what we're doing, so it's working out very well with him.
What can we expect from the band as far as touring in 2008?
||.|.|||: We will be doing 14 gigs in October and November. Unfortunately not everything has gone to plan with the booking, so the tour will not cover the whole area we'd like to cover. 2009 will probably bring a couple of more tours as well as quite a few festivals, so we hope to make up for the lack of gigs this fall.
You reached Hungary with the tour of the last album. What kind of memories you have of that gig on the boat?
||.|.|||: That's one of the most remarkable venues we've played! The backstage was the machine room of the boat, and it had a really cool atmosphere. There were some issues having to be dealt with at that gig, but we handled it, and from the feedback we got, it seems like the show went quite well too. We'd most definitely like to come back to Hungary many times in the future!
Where do you consider you fit as far as your musical style is concerned? Is it black metal, is it folk metal, is it Viking metal? What would be your own definition?
||.|.|||: I think we play the bastard brother of black metal. We leave Satan out of the equation, instead focusing on the darkness of nature and folklore. Musically, though, it's based on early black metal, but with Thomas' melodies it changes into Kampfar.
Where do you think Kampfar is the most famous as far as record sales and live gigs?
||.|.|||: Fame I don't know about, but we seem to do quite well in countries like The Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Wherever we go we get good interest, but those are the countries where we get the biggest crowds, at least. I don't know about record sales, though.
How about your local scene in Fredrikstad? Any other good metal bands you could recommend?
||.|.|||: There isn't much of a scene, really. 15-20 years ago there were some really good bands coming out of that area, but now it's hard to get people to your gigs, so young bands don't really get any support. There are a few bands doing their own thing, but nothing that could be called a scene as far as I am concerned. When it comes to recommendations, I think everybody that's into black metal should check out Elite, Alverg and Berserk, all good bands doing their own thing.