ENSLAVED
for Painkiller Mag #5
February 2002

Interview with Grutle Kjellson

by Yang Yu/Metal Fan

all pics are linked from www.osmoseproductions.com & www.enslavedunion.com
by any problems refer to webmaster

Please tell us something of the days when ENSLAVED first lined up.

Enslaved was formed in june 1991.The line up back then was: Grutle (Bass/voc),Ivar (guitar/Keys.) and Trym (drums).We started up as" experimental metal meets Death metal" kind of thing and played a few small shows and recorded a promotape in dec.91. We after a short while throw away the promo material,because it sucked,and changed into what we described as Viking metal.After a short period we entered a studio to record our "Yggdrasill " demo.This demo gave us a recorddeal with Deathlike silence prod.The rest is history!

What bands had their influences on you in past and what newer bands are your faves?

Back then we were very influenced by bands such as Bathory,Mayhem,Darkthrone,Destruction,Sodom,Possessed,Slayer, etc..Later on we also started taking inspiriation by acts like Pink Floyd,Yes, Rush,Led Zeppelin,Deep Purple,Uriah Heep,King Crimson,Captain Beyond and other bands representing "The psychedelic" music scene.We are still listening a lot to extreme metal though.

Which metal festival ENSLAVED had played on gave you the most impression in earlier years? We begg for more detail on this point?

We did not played very much fests in our earlier years,because back then it was still very underground.We did, however, play a few small festivals together with acts like Emperor,Obtained Enslavement,Algol,Infinite Decay in 92(In Haugesund and Askim), and one festival in 94(in Oslo) together with Dissection,Marduk,Gorgoroth,Gehenna,Dark Funeral and some others.We started to tour outside Norway in february 95 (With Marduk),and have since then been playing on most the of the big festivals in Europe and USA.

What is differents beweent fans from Europe, America or Asia... on your gigs or in their letters?

Well, there really are not that many differences beetween the fanson the different continents compare to one another, I mean in USA for instance ,The crowd is exellent in California,but suck in Conneticut!! There is also big differenses beetween some contries in Europe,So it`s hard to generalize a whole continent!!!!! But anyway ,a fan is fan and one shall apreciate them no matter where they come from and what they look like.( he,he am I some kind of a fucking diplomat or????????!!).

What kind of guitar are you using. Which tradmark or Guitar type do you like most? Tell us more about how you are using your guitar or any experiences, maybe some advices etc. (for our "heavy weapon corner")

I am using a Rickenbacker 4003(1979 model) simply because that is the most asskicking Bassguitar in the world!! I`m usinga pick when I`m playing, and two amplifiers(The Rickenbacker basses are mad with a stereo output system),one of them with Distortionsound and one with a clean and deep bassound.I am mainly using a Sansamp pedal on the distorted sound.The main thing when chosing an instrument is that you find the right guitar for your style of playing,I mean if you are playing soft or if you are "raping the piece of wood".The same goes for the choose of the amp.

We know Lots of norweigian bands playing black metal in early 90's, how is death metal, rock or techno music doing in your country?

The bigger and greater Death metal bands such as Morbid angel and Deicide are pretty big in Norway, but there are not a very big death metal scene.It`s a small country!!!!!! Techno use to be pretty big a couple of years ago,but as far as I know that "Wawe" has vanished completely! Who cares,it sucked anyway.

How are you works going now, what is the attitude about new ablum yourself?

Our newest album,"Monumension" is going very well with good sales and has brought us the opportunity to play a lot of gigs in both Europe and USA.The attitude is of course the best about the new album , otherwise we would`nt release it in the first place ,would we?. Meaning,Yes! we are very satisfied!

What is the differents between Noweigan viking black metal and Swedish viking black metal? What do want to overbring your fans with your music.

Viking Black metal...................hmmmmmmm......no , never heard of it! I`ve heard of Black metal and Viking metal,but a mixture of those, NO! ........Leftwing Nazipunk?

A lot of chinese kids newly discovered these satanic or nordic cultures and driving them self total seriously into it. The problem is, what does an fallen angel (satan) of an greek book and a dead war god (odin) from scandinavia have to do with the people of the five thousand years old yellow river culture? Any advice for ENSLVED-fans in China?

I see what you mean and I can agree.It is however nothing wrong if they are interested in other cultures but one shall always be proud and take part in your own heritage,and not many people has got a more facinating and greater history than you Chinese people(you do make a decent chicken too but thats another story!) But you mentioned Odin as a Scandinavian War god and that is not entirely true.Odin (Woden, Udin , Wotan etc....) and his cult originally had their orign in Asov,Kaukasus (On the asian side of the river Don,Todays asian Russia) They later came to Scandinavia aprox. 2050 years ago.Those people in that area were dealing with chinese people among others. They also some years ago, find mummies of Scandinavian looking people (3000-4000 years old) on the thundra in China (a province called Xiniang(?) or something , I don`t remember exactly).So There`s been some cultural exchange beetween our two people in bigger or larger scale many thousand yearas ago! Maybe you`re my relative! he,he...

What is more important for you, the music you play or the message you want to bring over with the music?

We only playand create music and create lyrics for ourself and both are equally important.We will never do something to please others or to fit into any kind of market.But it is of course cool if people apreciate what we we do,that means that we can live out of the music and that is a great thing of course. On the "message " side it is a good thing if our lyrical concept can make people dig in the past of their ancestors and then discover lost wisdom and walk in their footsteps,metaphorically speaken of course.

Why you did stayed at Osmose Rec. for so long time, will there be any need for you to change the label in the future? And what will your prinziples be like if you are looking for commercial partners?

Because we cooperate together very good and that they are not one of the fucking "Rip off" labels! Too many bands have been assfucked by their labels! The so called "big" labels.

Some bands stay at underground labels, and keep their music raw and granulat like your "Hordanes Land" say its true black metal spirit, Do you agree with that?

In some cases I can can agree,but it`s often a question of talent isen`t it?

Who's designed the "Blodhemn" cover? It is a great viking art, showing us a beautiful nordic landscape and great viking-blood, where did you take this cover photos from?

A photographer called Petter Hegre in Stavanger,Norway took the picture and designed the cover.The pictures is taken in Vigrestead ,60 km south of Stavanger, on the Norwegian westcoast.

Do you have other incomings or jobs beside Band and CD sales?

Yes I do have a "dayjob" besides Enslaved. I sell equipment for sportfishing in a shop (reels , Rods ,Lures.livebait etc.)

Over Napster and MP3 people can get your music for free, how do you see this problem?

I think it`s sad that I`m not getting any royalties for my music that is spread through mp3,but that`s not much I can do about it so I do not waste much energy thinking about it. On the other hands it does spread Enslaved`s name.....

Do you ever have been in China? How does your image of Mainland China looks like?

No I`ve never been to China.My image of your country is a facinating land that I would very much like to see some day .I wanna see some big cultural sites and some "huge nature",maybe go fishing in the north or something.I`m not keen on going to the big cities,cause I do not like too many people on one square meter.Big cities like New York,for instance,really freaks me out! Otherwise I see China as a place with a sort of "conflict" beetween "old values" and new things such as market economy. Am I right?

You have changed a little with your last album, how does your fans take this?

The "true " Enslaved fans are kind of expecting us to change from album to album and we somehow do everytime.This is because we are in constant development,and we dont want to bore ourselves to death with doing the same album over and over again.The fans reaction to "Monumension" has been totally fatastic,and also the magazines have been totally in to it!!!!! Not a single bad rewiew so far!!!!!

Are you still viking metal?

Yes we are still Viking metal.Viking metal is something we labeled our music as back in 91/92,this to avoid being looked upon as a black metal band.Not that we dislike black metal,but we are not satanic and therefore nota black metal band! It`s about the lyrics you know,and since we had lyrics about ancient Norse religion and philosophy we thougt Viking metal would be a suiting name. But I really don`t give a fuck if people call us something else as long as they understand that we are not and have never been a black metal band!.

Norweigian black metal has been grown out of nothing but a little diehard crowd of extreme metal maniac. It has reached great fortunes in the 90's, will you have problems with the decreasing of black metal market?

Actually we sell just as many records to people outside the extreme metal scene,for example to the prog scene,so I`m not that worried no.

Will black metal still be black metal if you change the black metal shouts into hard-core like crawlings?

He,he...well can you imagine why anyone would do such a thing? Imagine Chris Barnes on vocals in Wham,now that would be something....(laughs)

BATHORY told us in his interview that he called his music back in 83 as death metal. When you started playing people also called your music as death metal in the 80s. How do you think of your early days?

Did we start in the 80`s ??????? I really thougt it was in the beginning of the 90`s But if you say so......(It`s getting late and Loke Grutle ,the comedian ,has entered the the world of mortals)

Where do you take the ideas for your lyrics from? From literature or more from living?

We get our inspiration mainly by looking upon certain solutions on problems on different stages of life,and trying to set them in our philosophical system based upon Norse religion andmagick.Then we write the in poetic form with usingimages and metaphors.

Do you think one must suffer a horrible life to be able to do really convencing extreme music? How do you judge your cariar and the life behind as an black metal musician?

It has nothing dowith living a horrible life.It`s all down to what you are "burning" for ,what you are willing to sacrifice , to realize what you strongly belive in.Anger can of course drive you towards the goal,but it can also drive you completele mad and totally unable to do anything at all. It`s all individually of course but in the end it`s got nothing to do,isolated,with having lived a bad life. My musical carreer has so far been great,but there has of course been some really shitty incidents.

Me personelly think that the norwaigian black metal was a pure reaction and fire back to the succeding swedish death metal of the early 90's. Do you agree? Tell us more about the relation chip between the swedish and norwagian metal scene.

Well there is some true in that,however it was not aspecially on the swedish scene,but rage against the metal scene in general,turning mainstream. The relationship beetween Norwegian/Swedish bands have with some exeptions many years ago,been the best.

Do you ever have any nameable power metal bands in Norway?

Is there such a thing as a nameable Powermetal band at all?I`m certaintly not able to name any!

Where does the name of your country come frome? The 'Way up North' or what?

Norway in Norwegian is Norge or Noreg and comes from the Old Norse word Norvegr or Noregr,which means the way up north.i.e the North way-Norway.

How do you see the piece of history of the great viking warriors when they has settled down in Normandi for gold, wine and women... or am I wrong? How much glory can be in the deeds of pirats? Sorry I dont want to harm any one, I am just interested into your opinion about this chapter of viking history and doings back in the middle age...

Well in the so called "Viking age" only a few per cent of the the population were actual Vikings.Travelling out "In Viking"meant something like "Going out exploring" .It was also some acts of retalation and bloodrevenge,which have been pretty common in all bigger cultures.The rest of the population was mainly farmers and craftsmen with a great sense of art and philosophy.They were also great explorers and there is evidence that they "discovered" America more than 400 years before Christopher Columbus.They are also the ancestors of the Russian Tsar empire,and they were trading with both people in both Europe,America,Africa,Arabia and people in the Don Delta.So , the expression on the Vikngs as only pirats with hornhelmets(never existed) is only Christian propaganda .


Allright, Thanx for the interwiew.

Grutle Kjellson.

 

DISCOGRAPHY