Interview with death metal band from Iceland - ULFUD.
Answered Breki Danielsen Imsland (vocal), thank you!
Translated Duzl, thank you!
Questions prepared Jakub Asphyx.
Ave ULFUD! I am currently listening your new album “Of Existential Distortion” and I can´t help but think that this is the kind of music which will be played during the end of the world. I think it is a great masterpiece. How do you feel about your new album? Have you received any feedbacks? From fans for example? Have you played new songs live already? Do they work?
Greetings, I'm Breki, the vocalist of Úlfúð. Thank you for the kind words, we're quite proud of the album so seeing this kind of reaction from people is very gratifying. We've been playing most of these songs live for quite awhile now since the recording process for the album began back in 2020 and we'd been testing them out even before that. The reactions so far have been pretty positive.
How do ULFUD compose? Are you a traditional band who go to the rehearsal room and compose or you prefer going online and send your ideas via email? I am really interested in your composing process.
A bit of both. What usually happens is that someone will have a skeleton of a song ready, could be just a couple of riffs or an entire song's worth, and they'll share it online. The rest of us will then go over it at home before we take it to the rehearsal space. There we'll flesh it out over time as we get a better feel for the dynamics of the song and where it's going. Each member brings something to the songwriting process which we feel is an integral part of what makes Úlfúð, balancing different influences and ideas to form the whole.
Lyrics are a separated topic of ULFUD. Who is the author of your lyrics? And what are your lyrics about? Where do you find inspiration for your songs? The lyrics on “Of Existential Distortion” just fit so perfectly to the music. What was first – music or lyrics?
That would be me, I write all the lyrics for the band. Inspiration comes to me from all over the place and at any given time I'll have lots of ideas, lines and potential songtitles lying around. I usually like to get a feel for the song before I figure out the lyrics but sometimes a song just immediately fits with something I already have written down. I write lyrics with catharsis in mind and as such a lot of them have something to do with how or what I feel, whether that's mental struggles or a topic I have strong opinions on. I'll often draw from more fantastical elements as well.
Also your cover for „Of Existential Distortion“ is amazing and it fits with the music! I am frightened with the cover. How and why did you choose Bahrull Marta? Did you hear any of your songs to create the cover?
There wasn't any one song in our minds when it came to the album cover, rather we thought of the sound and feel of the album as a whole. We had a pretty clear idea for what we wanted the album cover to be, in terms of themes, colours, etc, but we also didn't want to restrict the artist too much. We wanted him to be able to express his own style through the artwork and Bahrull did a fantastic job on all fronts. His prior artwork and style really stood out to us, there's a lot of depth and texture to his works, which is partly what drew us to him in the first place. We're incredibly pleased with the result.
The sound of the album is great. It is dark, cold and sharp at the same time. Which studio did you chose for recording? Did you have any opinions about the final sound and mastering, were you able to change anything?
A lot of great people were involved in the recording process. Drums were recorded by Stephen Lockhart at Studio Emissary, strings and vocals were recorded by Ingi Þórisson at Windfyre Studios and the whole thing was then mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios and finally mastered by Jóhann Ingi at Studio Fossland. We worked closely with everyone involved thoughout the whole process to achieve our vision of what Úlfúð should sound like - the final product speaks for itself.
The new album was published by American Dark Descent Records. Why this label? Were you satisfied with their work?
We were already aware of Dark Descent as fans of their output, they've worked with a lot of great bands including Mannveira, who we share a member with. That's how we got in touch with them initially. They saw promise in the album and things went from there.
You have been playing since 2015. How was the beginning of your band? How did you create the band and what was the first impulse to build something death metal? Did you have any idols? How was it to play death metal in Iceland?
Iceland is a great place to play any kind of Metal, the local scene is fantastic and full of incredible musicians. Like most bands, we started because we wanted to play music. We didn't really decide on a specific kind of sound or genre from the start, that took shape over time but we knew we wanted to make extreme music.
You can see how much you enjoy your music in your band. Do you have any target which you want to hit? Someone wants a famous label, the other one might want to play on big festival.
I think each individual in the band would have a slightly different answer to this question but as a whole we're quite happy with where we are. Though of course we want what we're doing to reach more people and part of that involves aiming higher and reaching new shores. At the end of the day Úlfúð is an entity born of our collective input and we'll take it as far as it goes.
Breki Danielsen Imsland, unlikely from the other death metal singers I can actually understand what you are singing. Singing death metal music must be very difficult for your vocal folds. Do you take a special care for your vocal folds? Like prepare singing before a concert?
It's a technique like any other but it is intense, for sure. That's partly why it's so satisfying. I usually do a bit of warm-up before a show. I also make sure to always have water at hand, preferably mixed with honey.
How is it to play death metal in Iceland? Do you have a lot of fans on concerts? Do fans support bands? Do they buy CDs, merchandise, etc.? When you organize an event how many people will come?
Iceland is a small country so naturally the Icelandic Metal scene is also small. It's a diverse and supportive community, with lots of passionate people involved. You're almost always guaranteed to have people show up at concerts.
Death metal is a demanding hobby and an even harder lifestyle. What does it mean for you? What do you enjoy most about it and how do you perceive it? How did you actually get to him?
I don't know if I'd call it a lifestyle but it is certainly a prevalent part of my life. It does take some work to get recognition in music though - technical practice, songwriting, recording, promotion, etc. You have to enjoy the process and your partners in crime or else it becomes really stale, especially if its not a full time job. Speaking for myself I certainly wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy it.
I deliberately ask this question to all bands to do some promotion for the future. Please tell us what ULFUD is planning soon? What can we look forward to?
We have a number of shows lined up here in Iceland after the release and hope to add some international dates as well. Beyond that we have a lot of new material we're working on but for the time being we hope people enjoy 'Of Existential Distortion'.
Thank you so much for the interview and I wish ULFUD a lot of sold CDs and only sold out halls. Be happy in your personal life. I am looking forward for your next death metal apocalypse!
Thank you for having us.
https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/of-existential-distortion
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