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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Valkyrja (13.01.2010)
HH: Hello to Sweden from the very south of Germany! Valkyrja was formed in 2004 and is - I guess - for many people still some kind of an insider tip. Therefore I ask you to introduce the band to our readership. Who are the musicians and which circumstances led to the formation of Valkyrja?
A.L.: The constellation was formed to use the channels of audio to manifest our work. The intention was not fundamentally to form a band, but to find the most proper way to evoke violence and the most potent channel simply was proven to be just this artistic expression.
HH: Why did you choose "Valkyrja" as band name? I mean, when I hear this word I do not think about violence, but automatically about Vikings and such stuff. Of course Valkyrja is anything else but a Viking or Pagan Metal Band...
A.L.: The name does indeed originate from the Scandinavian mythology, but has no relevance in our audio, as you mentioned. We chose it for several reasons in our earliest days, but as the years passed the meaning of the word was replaced and is now a collective name for our work, and all that does include. An easy way to clear the mist would be to change the name, but if one individual chose to cast judgement upon us because of that very name it's a shallow fuck I'm glad to have out my sight in the first place.
HH: OK. - this was no judgement, but simply a question. And here is the next one. What was reason for the band members to become a Black Metal Band. I ask this, because I think that today it is really hard to create something new in this scene. Nearly everything has already been there.
A.L.: We have not structured a black metal band nor placed ourselves in this very category, but been placed between these borders by the listeners themselves. I don't deny the similar aspects between us and the Black Metal genre - it's simply due to the fact that I really have no interest in being a prime example, nor a genre misfit. What is being crafted under this banner is the audio we have created with the tools and ambiences we felt natural for the development and to bring forth the quintessence of each track in the most correct and sincere way. Call that Black Metal, call that Extreme Metal - the barrel of the gun is still facing you.
HH: Well, I call it Black Metal. What would you say are the essential ingredients that constitute a wholehearted Black Metal release? Many bands, especially in the late 1990ies just used this form of expression because it was popular. How do you estimate the scene today or perhaps in the next future?
A.L.: Some releases are, quite paradoxical though, not in my eyes viewed upon as music but a monument for each sense and disturbed serpent in the embodied Eden to feast upon. I cannot point out any key ingredients in words at the time, but I guess that symbolize my answer quite good - an otherworldly shiver across the spine rather than a description in words. Such manifests are simply timeless and have been made, are being made and will be made in the future, so I won't pay any interest in the year of a release.
HH: So let us talk about your actual release Contamination. What is it that makes it outstanding and different to other albums?
A.L.: It's an honest Valkyrja album. I can't find it necessary to compare it against other "similar" albums. We're not aiming at eccentricity. We have, however, created something that has lead further into the deeps, reached even higher peaks and everything between has been expanded with vast details. What you'll find while descending this piece is simply up to your thirst to discover.
HH: What subjects are the songs dealing with? The whole album has a really morbid and oppressive atmosphere so I got the impression of some end-of-the-world-scenarios while listening to it.
A.L.: The whole fundament is clawed by a negative aspect, correct. We have always embraced the vital keys of opposition, adversary and defiance in our work since the words proclaimed has never been about uniting people or strengthening a specific group or movement, but to liberate oneself from each chain that is shackling us to this world. There is no sympathy for this world or its limits. There is no empathy for its structures or its chains. May you see this as "scenarios", but in essence it's a dagger pressed to the throat of the world which your loathe only is capable of moving.
HH: Perhaps you could give some examples. What is the womb of disease, what is the cursed seed in the world or when do oceans turn to dust?
A.L.: The adversarial shards within each vessel of flesh are the wombs of disease, the cursed seeds in the world. Listen to the voice of carnage and make it your eyes. Listen to the voice of disaster and make it your hearing. Neglect each boundary taught from birth and burn the chains of regret and remorse with the hungry fires of disorder. I guess I'm simply deconstructive by nature, but if this venom can be transferred into others - I'll poison the whole planet.
HH: Considering what happens today in our world, I think, we all are already poisoning this Planet for many years - what are your visions for the future?
A.L.: I have no interest in this wretched world, I am in no way a remedy and I rather piss in the open wounds than apply healing. But I guess acts of opposition against various topics, may it be political / religious / whatever the fuck you chose, are potent situations of joy since someone from one of the parties always seems to be bringing a gun...
HH: And when is it planned to proclaim your messages live on stage? Do you already know when you will get the occasion to have some live gigs in Germany?
A.L.: At this time we have no specific live schedule, but with the release of the second album I assume additional appearances will come with it.
HH: With which band would you prefer to go on tour, if you had the choice?
A.L.: Bathory.
HH: Well, I think this could become difficult to actualize. I say thank you for the interview and I wish you the best for the future. The last words belong to you.
A.L.: "Contamination" will be out during mid-January of the year 10.