Interview with death metal band from Norway - BLOOD RED THRONE. Answered Daniel Olaisen.
translated by Markéta, thank you!
Recenze/review - BLOOD RED THRONE - Union of Flesh and Machine (2016)
Recenze/review - BLOOD RED THRONE - Union of Flesh and Machine (2016)
Ave BLOOD RED THRONE! Your album will be released on
July 15, 2016 and it is called “Union of Flesh and Machine”. I listen to it for
a while now and I consider it as a great album. It is dark, sharp and
uncompromising. Are you satisfied with the result?
Absolutely.
This album got everything you would expect from BRT, with a slightly old school
vibe to it. The songs are great and the production is top notch. No BRT fan
should be disappointed by this one for sure.
The cover for your new album was draw by Jobert Mello.
To tell you the truth I haven´t seen for a while a cover which would show what
happens on the CD that well. However, we have made an interview together
recently and you have mentioned that you would like to continue in cooperation
with Rafael Tavares. So, why the change? It seems to me that Jobert Mello shows
an absolute apocalypse on the cover. How did you chose a theme for the new
album?
I totally
loved Tavares work on the self-titled. But, when announcing the idea for Union
of Flesh and Machine, Jobert came up with the best sketch indeed and we noticed
from his website he was a professional. You’re perfectly right, the front cover
really describes the idea of Martin, our producer, who wrote all the lyrics for
this album. It’s man vs technology. Can we manage to control it? Will it take
over completely? It deals with mankind’s stupidity and our ignorance.
Last time you told me that you write song the same way
for 15 years. This means that you do your demos at home, that you like a
certain structure in your songs. And you can hear that on the new album. The
guitar work is a really varied, there are layers and a lots of them and you can
clearly hear the bass. Did you made the new album in the same way? Did Ivan
Gujic also add some of his ideas?
Well, 15 years
ago, I took my riffs to the rehearsal place and practised them with my drummer.
But the last 6-7 years, I’ve recorded guitars on all my albums in my own home
studio. The new album is no exception. It’s always about good riffs and putting
them together nicely. Ivan contributed with 3 songs this time. It should be
easy to distinguish his songs cause he writes very differently from me. But it
works great and makes the album even more interesting!
Daniel, your guitar style is unmistakable. BLOOD RED
THRONE is a recognizable among others thanks to that. I wonder, how often and
how long do you practice? When did you began to play guitar and who were your
biggest influences? Our website reads a lot of musicians and they would
appreciate to know what type of guitar do you play and what system you use.
Well, thanks.
That’s kinda what I was hoping for. To have my own style and sound. You might
not call BRT’s music original and innovative, but think about, are there
actually that many bands sounding like us? Anyway, I picked up the guitar in
1992 and practised like hell for years. My biggest influence then and still
today is Joe Satriani. Believe it or not, you can hear a lot of him in my
playing in various bands/projects. In death metal, Chuck Schuldiner soon became
my big inspiration. Simply a mastermind and founder of his very own death metal
style. I have my own custom made BRT guitar by Halo Guitars. 7 stringer with
DiMarzio X2N pick up. I use Line 6 Pod Farm in my studio, but live it varies.
Sometimes I use the amps at the venue and sometimes I bring my Line 6 Uber
Metal distortion pedal. Besides that I have the usual noise gate, tuner,
wireless system and delay pedal.
Since the previous album (which has the same name) in
2013 your vocalist is Yngve “Bolt” Christiansen. He was great the last time,
however now he literally overcome. It is another clear hallmark of the band.
When he sings in a death metal position I somehow think that I understand where
is it come from. However, on the album there is also the black metal “croak”.
Is that “Bolt” also? I have to admit that on this album I just eats every vocal
from his hand! It must be terribly difficult. Does he take some singing lessons
or something? Does he take care of his voice?
Bolt is a
great singer indeed. He can mix between the deep growls to the high pitch
screaming. Of course he does all the vocals on the album. I don’t think he ever
did some lessons, but he treats his voice with alcohol, haha.
Did Bolt write any lyrics on the new album as last
time? What they should express? Personally, I consider the lyrics in death
metal as an issue and that is actually one of the reasons I buy and original
CDs – I just think that without it the listeners don´t have a complex view.
To make a long
history short, Bolt was out of the band for a year. So, we actually recorded
the album with Martin, our producer, on vocals and he even did some shows with
us. He wrote all the lyrics and is responsible for the concept behind this
album. It’s about everything getting more robotized. Even man himself. Maybe
one day things have become so advanced and out of control that we can’t stop it
from taking over.
According to Metal Archives which I do not believe
that much I noticed that there is a comeback of drummer Frreddy Bolsø in BLOOD
RED THRONE. Does it mean that he is a permanent member of the band? And does he
also performs live? I think that he made this new album very special thanks to
his work. His work is just perfect. Strong, dynamic and it adds more cruelty to
the album.
Freddy is our
original drummer and he made his return in 2013 when playing some live shows
with us. When Emil decided to leave the band, it was quite easy to welcome back
Freddy as a permanent member again. He’s a way different drummer than Emil and
suits BRT perfect!
In 2014 you told me “Believe it or not, but publishers
were interested in us more last year than today. Of course a part of it is
caused by industry but I am still shocked that no publisher in Norway exalt
some bigger death metal band.” Is it still the same? Last time you published
your album by American Sevared Records. This year you did it with British
Candelight Records and Spinefarm Records. Why the change?
There are too
many bands these days. CD’s don’t sell anymore. Labels don’t make money. Sure,
BRT has been around for almost 20 years, but labels are not interested if they
can’t make money on you. Of course there are some underground labels doing it
for the passion. Anyway, it was time for us to step it up again. Sevared Records
is very small and underground, but they treated us fair. Nevertheless, when
Candlelight Records showed their interest, the decision was easy. They are a
professional label with tons of experience and a great network. Spinefarm
Records is a sub-label to Universal Records and they bought Candlelight Records
some months ago.
Lately, I hear more opinions that it is no longer
meaningful to published CDs because people just download music on the internet.
The sold of CDs is just very low. What do you think? Haven´t you thought about
selling digital format via Bandcamp, etc.? Personally, I´m and old school but
there are a lot of bands which do that.
CD sales are
lower for sure these days. Luckily, many metalheads still enjoy buying almost
at shows and get their hard copy signed by the band. But I totally understand
the easiness, time and money-issue to go digital for sure. I’ve collected CD’s
since 1993, so I can’t stop now, haha. Of course we have a bandcamp, but we’re
not allowed to have all our releases there; bloodredthrone.bandcamp.com
I have a friend who literally worships your band and
he asked me where to buy your shirts. Apparently he searched the Internet but
there was nothing. So I have to ask you which I do. J Where can people buy BLOOD RED THRONE
merchandise? I know that the easiest
thing is to go on a concert but what about fans from countries where you don´t
play?
Say hi to your
friend and horns up! Usually we bring t-shirts on tours, but they can also be
ordered directly from me. I know some of our shirts are on e-bay and our
coolest shirt ever can be ordered here;www.jsrdirect.com/merch/blood-red-throne/blood-red-throne-old-school-death-metal-tshirt
When I searched the internet for some songs from new album,
the video with new song “Revocation of Humankind” was prohibited a few times.
Have anyone told you why? At the time when there is no problem to find some
footage with real cutting of heads is available, that is something which
puzzles me – on your video was nothing wrong.
I totally
aware of this. It’s not because of the content. I cannot comment on this right
now, but the video is available here anyway; https://vimeo.com/170337496
o.
I looked at your Facebook page and it looks like you
play more on festivals. Does it mean that you like festivals rather than clubs?
I got this set up differently, for me I like more to be in a club and be closer
to the band. I find it more personal and there are only true fans on these
concerts. But that is my point of view. How do you see it?
Yes, both
please, hehe! We just wanna play everything and meet our fans and have good
time!
And I have to ask – are you going to support the new
album with a tour? And if so, do you want to see the Czech Republic? Do you
want to do a tour with some big band?
We were
supposed to tour Asia in July, but it’s postponed. We will support the album
anyway. Headliner or support tours. Bring em’. We’ll do it all!
Death metal is not the style when there are money
flying in the air. It´s often about renunciation, irreversible investments,
concerts where there are just a few fans. Daniel, BLOOD RED THRONE will
celebrate 20 years anniversary of its existence. That is the time for
retrospection. Have you ever wanted to dissolve the band? What is the force
that drives you and your band to be ahead?
I’m not in
this for the money. I have a life-long passion for death metal. Running a band
is ups and downs. I’ve released a bunch of albums, toured most of world and had
a good time with the fans. Money is just a bonus.
Due to your social networks pictures you seem like
“very cheerful” band. Does it mean that you go well with each other and you
enjoy concerts? Do you go to a pub together? I think that holding a band with 5
different people must be very difficult.
We don’t hang
out besides the band related stuff. We all live in different cities and myself
have plenty of other stuff to do, hehe. We work well on tour and we get enough
time to party and get tired of each other.
Thank you for the interview and I wih the new album
the best feedback and marketability. I wish only the best to BLOOD RED THRONE
and I am looking forward to see you on a concert somewhere!
Ditto! Thanks
for supporting BRT. We’ve played Brutal Assault two times. You should check us
out next time. Cheers!
https://www.youtube.com/user/brtofficial
https://www.reverbnation.com/bloodredthrone
https://soundcloud.com/bloodredthrone
https://twitter.com/BloodRedThrone1
http://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/
http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/
