An Interview with Fenriz from Darkthrone

Joe Daly: So you’re still deep in the throes of the brutal Norwegian winter; how are you spending your time?Fenriz:Working here, working there. At work it’s work while listening to music which is also work, so I get 14 hours of work done every 7 hour shift. Haha! And at home I can go skiing when there’s as much snow as there is now. It was 60 cm some places in the east forest here, and that’s the forest area closest to me but it’s also the one with the least snow in it. A wolf couple just set up territory there for the first time in 200 years, which is great! I’m also busy making the playlists for the Kniven bar we open in downtown Oslo next week, and there’s always DJing to be done, interviews to do and all kinds of media so far this year… I like spending time with my girl as well. And making compilations.

What kind of year was 2012 for Darkthrone?

It was all about finishing our 16th album and working on some re-releases.

Across the six songs on the new album, we hear a range of pretty diverse influences. Are there any lyrical or sonic themes tying the songs together?Sonically, it’s always old metal with an old sound. I want my stuff to sound a bit like a lost Swedish demo from ‘84-’85 or something. Ted has more snapshots of various styles he likes, such as the 80s, of course. Lyrically it all seems to be about judgment, except “Valkyrie”, which is written for a woman.

The new album suggests a calculated shift away from black metal and towards other styles, such as speed metal and NWOBHM. Do you still hear criticism from the traditional black metal supporters for exploring these other styles?

We’ve heard criticism from them since Transilvanian Hunger. I also think some periods of some bands are better than others, but I don’t sit around crying about it on various message boards! Global metal underground had no forums in the 80s and it was perfect. These people say they didn’t like the change. They didn’t like the change before black metal either! These are typically people that came into metal via 90s metal. I heard 60 first, then 70s, then 80s and I knew that the 90s were mostly wrong direction.

 

What’s the state of Norway’s black metal scene today? Are you in touch with Varg (Vikernes) or any of the other guys from the early days in the 90s?

Great black metal isn’t often made by the old dudes, but (Mayhem’s) Ordo Ad Chao was great and I enjoy the new Burzum. Varg got in touch after the release, but now he wants to be left alone. He still does great, but different albums. I took the song from Burzum’s last LP called “Gullaldr (Golden Age)” on camping trips all throughout 2012. I think there are many bands with a great 80s Black Metal vibe, like Aura Noir, Deathhammer, Faustcoven, and 90s Black Metal like Nettlecarrier and the latest Isvind album. But the major force seems to be the Nidarosian scene with Mare, One Tail One Head and Black Majesty. All these bands have been Band of the Week bands, by the way.

 

You have a prominent role in the documentary Until the Light Takes Us. How do you think that film turned out? Do you think it offered any insight into Norway’s black metal culture, or did it simply reinforce old myths?

I never saw it. I know it’s hard to believe, but I didn’t. I don’t even have a copy. Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell (the film’s directors) were great people, so I did it for them.  You can’t get into  black metal in any other way than to understand the music. Listen to old Tormentor from Hungary and so on.

 

In the past few years, black metal has begun to take on new shapes and sounds, particularly in the US. Do you pay attention to the new American black metal and if so, what’s your take on it?

I like the 80s vibe bands the most, and new bands that play that way. I like Negative Plane’s last album a lot.

 

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

You mean today? Haha! It doesn’t matter so much because a lot of what I listen to is merely work or judgment. Today I listened to 3 hours of electronic music that I still don’t know if I want to keep or not, and I also listened to first Obliteration album and the first Incantation album to rate what songs I find most suitable for Kniven (see above). Also some Finnish stuff, and Pazuzu, which is really great except for the vocals; that band should let black metal go and just be their own band instead, it would be superb.

 

The new album was released on February 26, 2013. On that same date in 1992, you released A Blaze in the Northern Sky in 1992. How do you think that album stands up today?

I said a million things about it because people ask me, not because I want to talk about it. The first two songs are great black metal, with a lot of Celtic Frost in them and also the first “fast” riff. “In the Shadow of the Horns” is our first Black n’ Roll riff, really getting Black n’ Roll rolling after it had been lost since early 80s.

 

What’s next for Darkthrone?

Easter holiday. And don’t forget to listen to Hour of 13!