Kampfar pour l'album "Kvass"

1. Hi! At first, could you sum up your carrier so far for those who don't know you yet?

Dolk’s first band Mock released a MCD before calling it quits. But as he was not at all done with metal he decided to start a new thing, and wrote the song ‘Kampfar’ on bass, before joining up with Thomas to have some guitars on the song. They then wrote ‘Hymne’ together, and the rest is history. Together they did two MCDs and two albums, all of which rank highly in my book. After ‘Fra Underverdenen’, though, there were some personal turmoil for one of the members, and it was needed to not focus on Kampfar for a while. In the meanwhile Dolk joined Gruesome and brought the bass player from there, Jon, into Kampfar. They wanted to expand the band and start playing live, so they were looking for a drummer, which I read in an interview, so since I was moving to their area of Norway I got in touch and we hit it off immediately. We started writing new material, and then hit the stage for the first time a year later. After that we’ve been quite active on the live stage, and then in Novembre 2005 we entered the studio to record our new album.


2. How do you think the band has evolved between the 2 last albums in a musical way?

I think there is a stronger focus on song writing. And there is more of a drive. ‘Fra Underverdenen’ is my personal favourite, as it’s the darkest one. But on ‘Kvass’ I think there is more of a blend of the former albums, together with a sharper edge, and even some more progressive elements. Take a song like ‘Ravenheart’, it has a very different time signature than anything Kampfar ever did. Yet it still has a good drive all through it. I also think the structures are stronger now, which is something we discussed a lot during the process.


3. Finally, was it hard to lead this album to an end?

It was a challenge, that’s for sure. When you’re in the middle of something like this you don’t have much oversight, so it can be frustrating at times. But at the same time it’s such a great experience to be a part of building something like this, hearing the different parts being added, understanding more and more of what the record will become.


4. What can we expect from it and what do you like in it?

You can expect Kampfar, I am certain we got that special Kampfar feel on this one. What I like in it is so much. I am proud to be a part of something with Thomas’ guitars in it, his style is truly unique and hits me right in the chest. Dolk’s vocals are very sharp and strong here, so is the general production. The bass fits it all so well too. And I like the energy, the emotions we all put into the music.


5. What does "Kvass" mean? Can you tell us more about the lyrics?

Kvass means Sharp. The lyrics revolve around several topics, both historical and phantasy related subjects. Dolk has a way of creating his own world lyrics wise, yet he bases it on old myths, stories, etc. ‘Hat Og Avind’ for instance is about the first witch burnt at the stakes in Norway, and her spell “Muro Muro Minde” are repeated over and over in the song. If it has some effect there will be some fucked up relationships out there, hehe… A song like ‘Ravenheart’ on the other hand is more a tale of what Kampfar as a band is, how the raven’s free spirited heart is a part of us, in the sense that we go against what our peers do, and choose our own path. It takes a lot out of you to do music the way we do, but we can’t give it up.


6. In the summer 2003, you joined the band as a drummer. What did you bring to the band? Does it change the way of the band to apprehend the composition to have a full line-up?

I’ll try to answer this one without sounding like an ass, hehe. I am a big fan of how Dolk played the drums on the former albums, and I took that approach and adopted it. I am more of a technical drummer myself, so I had to calm down behind the kit, and focus more on feel and power. What I basically did was to play drums the way I heard him do it, but add my own stuff and develop from there. After a while I got a natural style that fits Kampfar well in my opinion, and I never think I’ll do very technical stuff in this band. You have drummers who try to top their last album every time, but for me it’s all about the music, trying to lay down the right drums for any given song. As for changes I think I mark a heavier style, more pounding going on. What also happened when I joined was that Dolk could focus solely on the vocals, which in my opinion has given him the opportunity to have vocal parts that are more worked through. Regarding composition, it is now me and Thomas that do the main song writing, with Dolk being the ears. It’s a very good way of working, as he listens in a way we can’t do while playing, and then gives us feedback, which we talk over and try out. Jon also adds things to this, of course. We’ve leaned more towards writing in a studio, where Thomas brings in his riff ideas, and we jam around them until we find a structure. Then when a song is more or less done, Dolk adds vocal lines to. All of this is done as pre-production, so we can change things in the time before the actual recording.


7. I found the picture of the artwork very beautiful. Who took it and in which way does it reprent the album?

The picture is taken by Svein-Jørgen Wiken, and is something Jon found online. It felt right for him right away so he showed it to us, and everybody in the band immediately liked it, so we got in touch with the photographer and got the permission to use it. It represents the cold and uninviting style of this album, the sharpness.


8. Is there a tour planed to promote your new album?

We’ve just come home from a European tour. The plan was to have the album out in time for the tour, but things took a little too long, as we decided to not send away the album before we were absolutely pleased with it. The tour went really well, and we just wanna get back on the road, but for now we’re focusing on some summer dates. The plan is to try to get out again during the fall.


9. What do you do for a living apart from the band?

There is a computer programmer, a couple of industry workers, and a teacher.


10. What are you listening to these days? Any good metal (or not metal) albums to recommend?

Right now I’m listening to Death’s ‘Symbolic’, the greatest drumming record ever! Of newer albums I think The Shining’s ‘IV: The Eerie Cold’ is great. Really emotional piece of music. Nidingr finally released their ‘Sorrow Infinite And Darkness’, I’ve heard the demo to pieces a long time ago. A couple of local bands that are worth mentioning are Alverg, Cutthroat and Dimension F3H. They all have a promising future! And Nydvind, Berserk and Heidevolk, that we toured with, should really have more acclaim than they currently have! As for the future I have enormous expectations to Dødheimsgard new opus, and Morbid Angel with David Vincent will for sure blast my ears!


11. Thanx for the interview. The last words are yours!

Be free!