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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Bornholm (18.12.2009)
HH: Hallo and greetings from the entire Heavyhardes-team to Bornholm. First of all I want to congratulate you to your latest output March For Glory And Revenge. I believe you recorded a very convincing and formidable piece of Black Metal. Due to the information in the booklet it was recorded and mixed during 2007/08. Could you please give us some insight into the recording-process: did you actually start with almost completed versions of the songs or was
the studio-inhabitation part of the creative process (and if yes, in what way)? Further the record comes out with a bit of delay (08 to 09). Any special reasons for that?
Sahsnot: Greetings to all readers! I started to write the songs right after our previous release ...On The Way Of The Hunting Moon came out in early 2005. In that time the band has several line-up changes and tried to find permanent members. It's not so easy in Hungary... There was a demo version of each songs with our previous singer(Vlad) and our first drummer who came back for a while in that period. When we finished the recordings, Vlad and Melkor left the band. We couldn't continue that way with this line-up... So there was a long period of composing and when we started to record the LP with the new members in 2007 - Thorgor, Vozargh and D - we had totally complete songs. We talked with David Schramm who is a well-known Hungarian sound-engineer in the autumn of 2007 and we started the recordings in October. There were some months silence before the mastering too. The first version was not the finest, we wanted a different, unique sound. We wanted to create some new atmosphere and we did a second editing and mastering with Viktor "Max" Scheer in the spring of 2008. At this time the studio was moving to another town and there was some months' break again, so it was not a simple job haha! It was a very strange feeling to hold in your hand the final version...
HH: I my opinion one factor that makes March For Glory And Revenge an outstanding album is the interdependency or interplay between the lyrics and the music. So did you start composing with the lyrical ideas already in mind?
Sahsnot: I always used to start composing with guitar riffs in the past. It was different with the new songs, 'cause I had some draft lyrics before I did the first chords. I tried to handle the lyrics and the music together, the vocal is an instrument too I guess. We wanted a complex sound and when you listen the album several times you can find always some new elements what you didn't hear before. Thorgor has a very strong voice, we were surprised in the studio when we heard what kind of sounds were coming from him haha!
HH: On the whole I think that the record deals with the revolt of the Germanic peoples oppressed by the Roman Empire which finally ended with the fall of Publius Quinctilius Varus and the extermination of his three
legions in the year 9, after Arminius was able to persuade the Cheruskers, Marsers, Chattens and Brukterers of an alliance. Can you give us a little deeper look into the historical background and am I right that Lombards from the island Bornholm were part of the revolt, too?
Sahsnot: This is not a concept-album. The stories you mentioned - or moments of history -, are only different points of view. Paganism or heathenism have several faces, ideologies in different ages. Arminius and the battle of Teutoburg is a symbol. It was the shining age of heathenism, a real last golden age. This song and the lyrics are about the triumph of pagan souls, mighty landscapes, war and the taste of victory. I'm interested in ancient history and I red a couple of books in the theme. This song is a metaphorical one, it's all about endless
power and walk your own way to the end. But this end is a new beginnig...
HH: The lyrics are written in a very personal and therefore catching the listener's or reader's interest style. So they transport a very subjective view on the heathen religion of the Germanics. What do the old stories and myths mean to you personally and how do they influence your special way of making music?
Sahsnot: I'm that kind of man who likes to be alone I guess. I read a lot and I like to meditate and to contemplate on the experiences. The myths you're talking about are very great inspirations for me too. The old gods living with us always, they re the essence of existence I
think. You can erase your past but never can erase your cast of mind.
People are looking for their roots nowadays, try to find to hold on to something. Globalization brought freedom for some people but they lost their identity. Very slowly when they don't find anything they start to turn inside. These things living with men from the beginning and when you look inside your soul - you can reach them. And the past will live again I think.
I don't have any special kind of making music. What you hear on the CD is almost the same that I heard in my mind. I just had to note it haha.
HH: I believe the metaphorical opposition of darkness and light is essential to the record - including the cover. Both paradigmas can be interpreted in various ways. Any hints?
Sahsnot: Yes, exactly. Darkness and light both are one. The two parts of the world. They are the poles of the universe, everything are based upon their war I think. But I think if somebody interested in lyrics and the things behind they
can find a possible way. That's all I think, nothing more - everybody has to walk this way alone...
HH: Do you think that Black Metal as a form of art still has the power and energy to overcome personal as well as collective boundaries or has it just become another musical genre? What does a Black Metal record need to touch the fan in its intentional way?
Sahsnot: This is absolute art I think. It's all about the freedom of the musician. Black metal has a lot of uncovered areas I guess. There are no other metal music that can give you so much freedom to express your own ideas. But everything depends on the inner self. Needful to have an inner inspiration because without this element the music loses it's spirituality. The are a lot of Black Metal bands nowadays but only a few have that little plus what makes this kind of music so great. This is not only a musical style. It's a mixture of music, ideologies and a strange spirituality. These levels are different isn every Black Metal band. For us the most important is the music but it's filled up with grim and glorious atmosphere. This form of art will have power until the musicians have it too I guess. It's all about stretching the boundaries and find new ways of dark arts.
Hjules: I think the most important is the spirit of the music.That is the main essence I think the really good songs or melodies are the parts of the universe. When I take the guitar/or bass guitarand I feel the perfect melancholy... Something opens... as a sudden idea without any antecedents... then musician tries to finish his masterpiece. When a genre is too popular, fake bands appear... and venenate the genre. I don't know what will happen with Black Metal but I think we left the golden ages of it. I listened the latest albums of my favorite Black Metal bands... and I felt that they found their way 1-2 albums before... I think I need something new...
HH: Would you agree in calling Black Metal the most extreme musical demand of personal freedom or can in this sense other genres be compared to it?
Sahsnot : I think Black Metal is different and of course it's extreme sometimes shocking. There are a lot of possibilities to express musical ideas or create new sounds of Black Metal. This is simply music for me, I don't like categories. The most important to create your own sound and your own musical world and what will people say about it I don't care.
Hjules: I listen lot of different genres of music... I love a lot of different music... but I feel freedom when I listen to Black Metal for example, I feel that, I'm alone there... in this world. I think about Emperor, Mayhem,
Limbonic Art, Shining, Enslaved etc... I agree with you!
HH: Do you have an opinion about the actions and incidents which occured in Norway in the early Nieneties with involved leading members of the Black Metal scene and did it ever influence your view on the form of music?
Sahsnot: Yes, I have opinion but I keep it to myself. I know personally Attila for example, he told me stories from that era. I think anything what happened was their history. They were young, unexperienced and things can run high easily. These things not depend on music but the music was depend from them. They had to cancel the band, Euronymous died, Vikernes gone to prison... All legends what people know about black metal almost caused it's end...
Hjules: I love their music. We read/heard about their incidents... but their Art is the most influence for me. All the incidents are their history, and I read some liar and different opinions and statements about it. I don't know what's the truth. I'm interested in the music and the feeling or atmosphere of their art. I know of some Hungarian bands who reproduced the feelings of the music
of Norvegian bands and they made some brutal and idiot things... they felt that a lot of Hungarian black metal band are their enemies. As the Bornholm for example. INSANITY! They killed pigeons and they sent the carcasses in
boxes to several bands... and they tried to create home-made bombs too...
Anyway, our influences are the old thrash, speed, and heavy metal bands from the 80'-90's years... and Black Metal bands nowadays...
HH9: In many ways you could call the record a melodic Black Metal-album with the specific disharmonies and dissonances which define this kind of Metal. So have you always been playing in Black Metal-bands, did you use any special training methods, what was the reason for the decision to
make this special kind of music and have there been other bands who influenced you?
Sahsnot: We never followed trends or anything else this is the most important. Try to find your special way and your special kind of music. That was all I did in the past but we are not so sophisticated old guys haha! We like simply this kind of music. Before Bornholm I played in smaller metal bands in several styles but they were mostly cover bands. When we started Bornholm this was the first band where we want to make our own music. We were ca. 19 years old guys from a hidden north-Hungarian town at this time.
We had no bigger plans haha! I did a dark age/ambient album under the name 'Invictus' in 2008 that was all my activity next to Bornholm.
Hjules: I played in lot of different metal style... Prog-power metal, Death/black... thrash metal... but melodies and the feeling of the music is the most important for me... and I found them in the music of Bornholm. This music includes that feeling what I need... the universe, the nature, and everything far from the shity-ordinary mankind... Special training methods? You must feel the music. Practice and more practice. Anyway, you can see a lot of good trainings (videos) on the web. If you are
omnivorous-music-fan and you can learn more different technics on your instruments, and your playing will be more diverse. Play with metronome!!!! And try to create something special!!!! If you feel that your theme sounds similar as something you heard before! Throw it out!!!! I have lot of different influences...King Diamond, Fates warning, Emperor, Arcturus, Mayhem... ahh... I can't write my all favorites... these are 150 bands! But I hate the copy-bands!
D: I had a few bands and projects before Bornholm, like Vortex, Sin Of Kain, DSD but these bands are the past. As a drummer I have a lot of musical influences in the picture of other drummers and percussion artists. My greatest favorites aren't Metal drummers, but I have inspirations from them, especially Hellhammer, /Dave /McClain, Dave
Lombardo or Proscriptor McGovern of Absu. But as a musician, this whole theme is needing a very different approach. We must have inspiration from feelings, fantasies, experiences, and not from a similar band's record.
HH: I specially was caught by "From The Blackness Of Aeons" and "Deconsecrating The Spear Of Destiny" which in my eyes offer many traditional Metal-moments (riffing, leads). Any important influences from this direction?
Sahsnot: Yes I like all the classical ones! Judas Priest, Maiden, Black Sabbath are the greatest bands in the world! I like the old great metal bands but I never liked the grunge or this kind of shit. Of course we have huge influences from King Diamond to Slayer haha. But we never
copied anyone I think and that is the most important - I think we found our way on the first demo and we are just following the way...
HH: Do you have some advice for younger musicians who want to become part of the Black Metal scene?
Sahsnot: Take your instrument and go to the rehearsal room! This kind of life is full of very heavy things, you have to fight always. Making a band is one of the greatest and heavyest things. Do it but only when you REALLY want it. It can change your whole life sometimes...
D: Be very strong and tenacious, because the musician-life has every kind of pitfalls and confusing situations what you can imagine. If you're mean or just want to keep your pocket money, I think is not your career haha.
HH: I would call your band and Sear Bliss the spearhead of the Hungarian scene. Can you recommend some other interesting Black Metal acts coming from your country and maybe give us a closer look inside the Hungarian Metal scene on its whole?
Sahsnot: I's a great honour for us! Always strange to hear people talking about our band. In Hungary you feel yourself like living on an other planet haha! People know us of course but we are much more known abroad... If you want to
have some information about the current scene, you have to listen the Hungarian Bathory cover album! It's just released by Black Mark and you can check all active bands of the Hungarian underground playing Bathory! We are on that album too and playing the song "Valhalla" from the mighty Hammerheart album. There were a lot of great black/thrash bands in the past but the most of them are over...
D: We had a pretty strong Black/Death Metal scene a few years ago, but 80% of those bands do not exist
today any more. Nowadays we have a younger generation in the scene, but I don't listen and honestly I'm not interested in line with them. By the way the former Sear Bliss members new band seems very interesting!
Hjules: The Hungarian metal scene is a shit. It is very similar to the politics, or the economy... or the movies or everything. I can recommend some good bands... some favorites or respected bands: Alison Hell, Mytra, VHK, Barbaro, Neochrome, Neck Sprain, Archaic, Gholgoth. But not all of them play Black Metal.
HH: How difficult is it to combine your music with your everyday life?
Sahsnot: We are relative a young band so we have no family or other things. We have jobs, Hjules and me are working in the game development industry as graphic artists and doing LP covers, book designs etc. This is very close to music so no problem to combine. Vozargh studying at a College but that's all, we have a break when he doing his exams haha!
D: We can make time always, when we have a concert, tour or everything what connected to Bornholm, so fortunately it's not really difficult.
Hjules: It's not problem now. I love the band and I can't wait the shows or the rehearsals... Certainly we are very very busy and we have got dayjobs too... I have two workplaces, because I spend my full-time at a computergame company... and after I run to home and I continue the work on the cd-covers... and after I work on my project I have spare-time... This band called ASHEN. It is very strange music... I hope I will ready with it before we go into the studio with the Bornholm, because the Bornholm main member Sahsnot is the guitarist here.
HH: Everybody likes lists. So could you please assemble a personal list of the ten most influential Black Metal records.
Sahsnot: I have no fvourite bands or albums, I like a bunch of bands. When I started listening metal music I liked Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Accept and so on, later the bands like Bathory, Mayhem, Emperor totally changed my life.
D: It's a catchy demand cause it's many of favorites and masterpices! Lets have it!
1. Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss
2. Satyricon - Rebel Extravaganza
3. Dodheimsgard - 666 International
4. Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas
5. Thorns - Thorns
6. Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao
7. Burzum - Filosofem
8. Craft - Fuck The Universe
9. Emperor - IX Equilibrium
10. Disiplin - Anti-Life
Hjules: I don't like the lists and I can make any order...
Limbonic Art: Moon In The scorpio, Ad Noctum, Dynasty Of Death
Emperor: Prometheus, Anthems...
Satyricon: Rebel Extravaganza
Immortal: At The Heart Of Winter
Enslaved: Bellow The Lights, Monumension, Isa Diabolical Masquerade: Nightwork
Shining: V
Dissection: Storm Of The Light's Bane, ReinKaos
Mayhem: Chimaria, Ordo Ad Chao
Aborym: Generator
Burzum: Filosofem, Hliðskjalf
Ulver: (almost all)
HH: Can we hope to see you guys playing German clubs or festivals in the near future?
Sahsnot: Yes, of course! We want to play anywhere haha! Next year we are planning an European tour with Sear Bliss perhaps so it's very feasible!
HH: It really was an honour for me to do this little interview with you. My best wishes for your future-plans. The last words are reserved for you:
Sahsnot: Thanks a lot for this outstanding interview! It was honour for us too! Hold the pagan flames burning, see you in concert!
D: Thank you very much for these excellent and enquirer questions! The new album's receptivity is more than we had imagened before the release date, and it's make us stronger than ever. And don't forget, it's just the beginning!
Hjules: Thanks a lot, we enjoyed the questions - we are coming!
Fuxx