interview: Dawid Krosnia
‘…the Earth doesn’t give a fuck about a single life, just the mass of life over a long period of time with a goal that lies far beyond our comprehension.‘
photo: Blodsrit
The Goat Tavern: Hi Yxmarder, how are you? It’s been very quiet from the Blodsrit camp for a while now! What have you been up to?
Yxmarder: Yes, it’s been quiet for a while, but it’s no strategy or something we planned, rather a problem with schematics since Naahz travel a lot for his work and Fiebig often works on weekends. After a while it’s easy to forget about the band, rehearsing and creating new tunes. We’ve tried to prepare for some summer gigs but never found the spark needed to follow through with it. Even though it’s been quiet from us for a while, we still talk about the band and I think we might have at least one more album in us before we let go of Blodsrit and an epoch of misanthropy, darkness and death.
On the other hand, we all have been busy with other musical projects separated from each other and Blodsrit. Naahz have recorded vocals for Myrding and Kadaverdisciplin, while Fiebig has Paganizer and Mordenial and I’ve been primarily occupied with recording bands and different projects in my studio. So I don’t think we have lost our abilities when we decide it’s time for new Blodsrit tunes.
I know that few years ago you’ve been hugely discriminated with regards to your job opportunity as a teacher. Did this have any effect on your career as a teacher after this incident? It’s actually quite surprising that things like that happen in Sweden, a country with so many metal musicians. Looking back, how do you feel about this whole situation now?
Yes, the incident has most certainly effected my chances of getting the job I want (even though I would prefer not working at all), since every major Swedish newspaper reported about the witch-hunt, it is all over the web and very hard to get away from. But the whole thing didn’t surprise me in any way and I think the reactions from the public was very natural, bearing in mind that black metal is supposed to be intimidating. The thing that disappointed me the most was the dull minds of the officials who rejected every attempt of discussion and clarification of their standing points, even though national television tried to pressure them they got a free pass by saying ‘I won’t discuss this matter’.
It was overall a good experience for me, I got some good money and a healthy awakening regarding our officials and the state machine. Furthermore, Blodsrit sold a fuck loads of records and the following public debate crushed the moralist even deeper down the filthy hole they once crawled up from, which might’ve been the most enjoyable part.
In the next two years, Blodsrit will celebrate two decades of its existence. It’s quite an achievement for a black metal band. Are you happy with everything that you’ve recorded in the past? Are there any regrets or things you’ve wished it never happen?
It’s easy to have regrets, but quite meaningless. Making mistakes is like finding the path in some sense, and I think that we have been trying to find ours for almost two decades now.
Every record has been like a new experiment and it’s been very hard to predict the final outcome. Our reasoning has gone like this over the years, as I remember it.
Ocularis Infernum: Some good tunes but horrible production (work on tunes, get better production).
Helveteshymner: Better songs but too slick production (get more necro production).
The Well of Light Has Finally Died: Authentic songs, as lo-fi as it gets (refine ideas and get better production).
Hinterland: Really interesting tunes but weird production (keep song, get better production).
Diktat Deliberi: Good songs and production, but not edgy (get edge).
XXX: Probably edgy…
It’s been almost four years since Diktat Deliberi has seen the daylight. Did you start to work on some new material yet? Any special plans regarding your upcoming anniversary?
I think we have some ideas, but not anything concrete or interesting enough to motivate rehearsing, recording and spending a million man working hours on. We discuss the matter from time to time and sometimes it feels like we’re on to something close to the next step in our misanthropic odyssey.
It’s always fun to look back at the early scratch board when you have the final result and laugh your head off at the massive discrepancies between the two. A few examples of what we got right now could be look something like this.
Working title: Anhedoni (inability to feel joy, lust or interest),
Terminal Sedering (puts a human to sleep indefinably or until death comes).
Sound: Slower pace, larger room.
References: Ulver and Felix Mendelssohn
It marks some kind of ambition rather than a vision I think. But with some hard work it can be possible to merge the two.
Blodsrit discography
Every black metal band on this planet has a message behind its music and lyrical concept of the general creation. What is the Blodsrit’s message? What are you lyrics about? Is there a special bonding link between each record you release or each album has its own story?
Our message has always been, if I should try to see a theme through our albums, to defy authorities like culture, religion, law and ideologies with the aim to achieve some kind of freedom. On Ocularis Infernum and Helveteshymner it was mainly to argue that taking one’s life, or expressing the ability, is the key in describing ownership to our meat vehicle and freedom to do as we wish at any time during our existence. On The Well of Light Has Finally Died we began wondering how the Earth is tutoring its humans, an effort to find the well deep down in the dark and if it’s possible to deduce any meaning from that. Hinterland is a continuation of that thought, but darker and with the conclusion that the Earth doesn’t give a fuck about a single life, just the mass of life over a long period of time with a goal that lies far beyond our comprehension. And finally, Diktat Deliberi can be considered as a summation of these ideas but with much more direct aversion against the ruling ideas of what we are, who we are and how we’re supposed to live. So the next record will probably cover some new ground and new perspectives.
There is a lot of Swedish bands that made a decent living from playing live and recording albums. Big labels, big budgets, big tours. Why did this never happen to Blodsrit? Is this out of your choice? Did you ever want Blodsrit to be your ‘bread and butter’ or you’ve always wanted to keep this as a hobby?
We have never ever considered the idea to have Blodsrit as our living. It’s almost impossible to imagine how that would be, and maybe that’s why it never happened. But I don’t think we’ve thought of the band as a hobby either, it’s more like an obligation or a calling. Fun but not funny…
photo: Yxmarder
photo: Naahz
Swedish underground BM scene produced many great bands and projects like Arckanum, Svartsyn, Kaos Sacramentum, Svartrit and many others. Do you have your own favourites from your country? Anyone in particular we should know about?
I like many of the bands you mentioned and I think Armagedda deserves a place on that list to make it more complete. Otherwise it’s bands that was influential a long time ago like Sorhin. But nowadays, I mostly listen to Norwegian ‘overground’ black metal like Taake, the most complete black metal band ever in my opinion.
Over the years your line-up hasn’t changed much, I can only imagine that you are all very close friends. Do you meet often to jam and practice? How do your rehearsals look like?
Yes, we have known each other for a very long time now. I think we became friends around 1995 due to a common interest in black metal and have since then gone to hell and back gathering a wide array of experiences. We have had the same rehearsal room since 1996 so I think you can imagine how crowded it is with memorabilia, old amps, posters and empty whiskey bottles. Since Diktat Deliberi we haven’t had any regular time for rehearsing, but we have a gathering now and then when we put in some long hours down the cave summoning that wonderful evil spirit.
photo: Blodsrit on tour (2008)
In the near future, can we expect any live appearances somewhere in Europe? Lot of bands these days put tremendous efforts to the visual aspect of their live rituals. What is more important to you as a band when playing live? Stage presence, music and emotions or both are equally as important?
We tried last year to organize the band for touring last year but didn’t succeed due to scheduling. Same thing this year. To find time seems to be the biggest problem when have the band as a ‘hobby’. But Naahz and Blodsrit’s session members have held the spirit alive by doing some gigs with Kadaverdisciplin, a band centered around Annti (who played drums on a Blodsrit tour) and Widings (drummer of Marduk), and Fiebig has Paganizer that still tour actively. So I think we have what it takes if we should find the time to do a summer tour or something.
No, we hardly put any effort in the visual part of our performances. We rehearse sparsely and drink a lot before, during and after the gig and hope that something unexpected happens that’s shakes us up and makes the gig memorable.
Thank you for taking time to answer these questions, I hope I haven’t bored you to death! All the best in future and, once again, congratulations on your upcoming anniversary. Any last words for your UK fans?
Thanks for the interview, it didn’t bore me at all. It was rather fun to take some time down memory lane. Last words to our UK fans: We’ll be back… maybe in time for our anniversary.
THE GOAT TAVERN 