DARKTHRONE interview

Darkthrone needs no introduction, i guess. Norway's
best and the most untrendy metal band in the world!
Fenriz answered our questions in august 2008, and the
answers are really interesting. Just as always with
Darkthrone.
The interview was splitted on two parts by Fenris,
and i left it like that.

=======================================
PART ONE

1-Hi Fenriz & Darkthrone! Great to talk with you. What
you been up to lately, how's life?..
F: I have a day time job since 1988, and apart from that
i am tenting alot (29 trips so far since april, today it's 21 august)
and hanging with my girlfriend. i stopped going out and such in
May 2005 so i have a lot more time to use in the underground
metal scene now. This scene is as good now as it was in the 80s,
but many more idiots now hahaha...

2-Of course i cannot not to ask about your upcoming
new album. (in august of 2008 it was "Dark Thrones and
Black Flags", out now on Peaceville) There was a shitload
of misunderstanding with 'F.O.A.D.',but i guess (and hope)
this new album will be also as original and surprising,
as FOAD was. So what can you tell us about new stuff -
in a couple of words?.. What inspired you or what have
you been listening when writing the riffs for that new songs?
F: After all these years we mainly inspire by ourself,
our own bold direction these days, but yeah, it has been
a lot of REAL metal (i guess Ted has listened to alot
of Judas Priest) and for me, i've been into a lot of NWOBHM
and SPEED metal. So it will be alot of that, combined with
the sound and songs of our 2 last albums. The biggest years
of change for us was 1991 and 2005.

3-The name 'FOAD' somehow reminds me of Broken Bones
and Black Uniforms.. are these punkmetal bands inspired
you in any way?..
F: I heard Black Uniforms already in 1987, but neither them
or Broken Bones has inspired our music. But FOAD was a title
that was EXTREMELY COMMON in the 80s underground,
also VENOM and VOIVOD had songs called this,
there was even a ZINE called FOAD...the list goes on.
That's one of the reasons we used the title, so 80s freak
could see that our album was HOME.

4-In my opinion, there were even MORE oldschool riffs in
last two albums,early Bathory-oriented and even some
influence of early crust/stenchcore. So why in your opinion
people are saying crap like 'they're selling out' or
'they've lost their roots' when the band actually is still
AS close to its roots as always? This dislike of oldschool black
and heavy metal in nowadays generation, why is this
happening what do you think?..
F: Yeah, if we wanted to sell out, as in SELL LOTS OF COPIES
AND TRY TO MAKE KIDS LIKE US we would have played
dimmu borgir or pantera style since 1995! What we are doing
now is doing EVERYTHING ourself, we take VERY BIG
CHANCES, changing our sound to even more free sound,
even more underground, even more down the path of
metal history.
Some people think old school is 93, well, i sing about how
little i have in common with those crybabies in our song
RAISED ON ROCK on our last album. I advice people
NOT TO STAND IN OUR WAY of our freedom sound
of 80s underground and beyond. They can go put on
corpse paint and take a photo in their back yard when
it snows instead. just don't make me hear their cry-baby
complaints.
HAIL REAL METAL

5-I really believe Darkthrone are one of very few bands
today who plays pure oldschool. You guys do what you like
the most, so is it really important for you to make some
influence on young dudes?.. In other words, do you care
will or won't your music 'educate' young generation of fans?
F: Well as i said the scene today is better than ever, it seems
a lot of young people understand the barbaric sound of the
80s underground, the real metal is back too and speed and
nwobhm and thrash and traditional doom metal... yes yes,
it's very great (as idi amin used to say hahahaha), so it seems
the 90s was a shit decade for metal, all the styles died, death,
doom, black, power, traditional and, yeah, every style was
replaced by some plastic versions of itself - or faster and
stupider versions. BUT NOW THE SOUL IS BACK INTO
THE WARRIOR OF METAL. So we play for the really old
ones, 30-45 year olds and also the die hard kids who are into
TRUE HARD RAW AND CRUSTY sound. Those who like
plastic metal, trendy 90s standard bm can go away and
listen to something else.

6-I know you're interested in underground stuff like
Nocturnal or Bludwulf... maybe you can recommend some
other modern oldschool-like bands, some names you
discovered lately?..
F: Nekromantheon, Salute, Em Ruinas, Creep Colony, Corrupt,
Whip, Portrait, Old, Midnight Rider, Demon's Gate,
Alpha Centauri, Karnax, The Devil's Blood, HEVN, it's a million
cool bands out there, just make sure you take the right path
in the myspace world so you don't end up on some 14 year
old with a computer band tributing 1995 bm stuff hahahaha
or some plastic big shot band. STAY DIRTY and soulful.

OK I WRITE THE REST LATER, i have to meet a friend of
mine to deliver him my old backpack for tenting!

PART TWO
F: YES I'm back and listening to WITCHES HAMMER
demos 85 and 86 from Canada!

7-Some underground bands are turning into big labels now,
like Toxic Holocaust for example (signed on Relapse).
Many people immediately decided they've 'sold out'.
Do you think being on big label can prevent development
of the young bands?
F: Many people says that Joel (Toxic Holocaust) sold out?! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IDOTS! Last time
i saw Joel he was playing Onslaught "Thermonuclear devastation
of the planet earth"-cover on small club in Oslo. He deserves to
be known by more people because he is cool and has done
GREAT work for the underground and everybody loves him
in the underground. TOXIC HOLOCAUST, I AM GLAD YOU
GOT A SOLID RECORD DEAL. It is great for the barbaric
metal kids to see that Joel could get that deal.
No bones about it.

8-It's reeealy interesting to ask you about your PUNK
(crust, hardcore) tastes, 'cause such a questions are not so
oftenly asked by many journalists... so what punk bands
influenced Darkthrone and you (Fenriz) personally?
Just a several names.
F: Well in the 80s almost everyone was influenced by punk.
Even Cronos from Venom said he was influenced by Rush
and PUNK haha. Discharge was extremely important. I have
only 2 riffs on this album DARK THRONES AND BLACK
FLAGS inspired by punk, it is a part played like HIS HERO
IS GONE and another part i was thinking of PUKE from
Sweden, one of my all time favourite punk bands. I have
learned to like original punk band the most, Amebix,
Raped Teenagers, Rudimentary Peni, Warfare, English Dogs,
Dead Kennedys, Septic Death, Beyond Possession,
Cryptic Slaughter ...most of these from when i was young in
the 80s, in 90s more style of DETESTATION, and 'Everyday
Slaughter' album by....DISFEAR was very good. The 2000s
i got into very many bands like Hellshock, World Burns to
Death, Hevn, Skitsystem, Uncurbed, Accursed, Sanctum,
Crow, the list goes on forever. I get around 400-800 records
every year, so it's alot of every style that i listen to.
I like atleast 150 music styles/sub genres.

9-Are your musical tastes differ with Nocturno's tastes
very much or they're mainly similar?..
F: I think he is busy with a lot of other things than always
listening to music. i am the one OBSESSED with music in
this band. He likes a lot of the styles i like too, yeah.
But i am completely possessed by music.

10-What kinds of literature do you prefer? Who's your
favourite authors?
F: I am a public person here, and have to concentrate
mostly on newspapers like AFTENPOSTEN. I hate and
boycott TABLOIDS by the way. And i also read a lot of
literature and other facts about the forests around Oslo,
since this is where i am at home and i am known for this
here in Oslo. (1560 km2 of forests around here, it's
enourmous for a capitol)

11-If i decided to travel to Norway, what would you
recommend to visit first?..
F: Uff i don't know, i am so specialized in my interests
so i only know about forests of Oslo. Most people should
take the HURTIGRUTA a famous boat trip. But maybe
it's expensive i don't know. I wouldn't visit Oslo, people
should see the west of norway or north i guess. But my
home is the forests around here.

12-If you've ever been to Russia, tell us about your
impressions?.. And, maybe you know some russian bands? :)
F: Hahaha, no no, i do not like to travel. I have everything
i need in my life, and i am extremely busy here.
I have almost only heard ARIA/apur, i really really like
their KROV ZA KROV album. Fucking great Iron Maiden
worship!

...thank you a billion for the interview and i hope
readers could learn something about great bands
and right underground attitude!

p.s. originally printed in GRIND THE WORLD #1 in december 2008 on russian.