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Interview
Deutsche VersionInterview mit Nidingr (20.12.2012)
HH: Hello together from Germany / Bavaria! Congratulations to you current album Greatest Of Deceivers, a very intensive journey into the darkest depths of extreme metal! How are the reactions so far - from press and fans?
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: Thanks. Feedback has been good. We have gotten some great reviews and the fans of course are crazy about it.
HH: Before we're going a little bit more about the album please tell me about the meaning of your band's name Nidingr. This might be interesting for all the people who got in touch with you just now.
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: The Google tell us that: In historical Old Norse society, nÃð was a term for a social stigma implying the loss of honour and the status of a villain. So Nidingr essentially means Bad-guys.
HH: Are these bad guys currently active in other bands, too?
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: Indeed. It goes like this.
Teloch playes with Mayhem, Umoral, NunFuckRitual & The Konsortium, Blargh and Void with Dodheimsgard, Myrvoll with Finstad Drumline and Valverde. I am also playing in Captain Starfat & The Cliff Clutchpedal Band.
HH: Do you have something like a creative head in your rows or is everyone giving his own contribution to writing the songs?
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: At this point Blargh and Teloch make all the music while Cpt. Grasa makes vocals and lyric adaption.
HH: OK. Lets talk about your third and latest work. Who is the greatest of deceivers? Does the cover artwork give some clue for the solution. Please tell us a little about the idea of the title.
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: Greatest of deceivers is actually an Enochian "angel" of 20th Aethyr. He speaks: "I am the greatest of the deceivers, for my purity and innocence shall seduce the pure and innocent".
As a side note, the Quran states the following in S. 3:54:
"Wamakaroo wamakara Allahu waAllahu khayru al-makireena".
HH: Aha. Em... hä?
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: This translates roughly to "They deceived and God deceived, and God is the greatest of deceivers". There is (of course) some discussion about this and "makr" is often made to be "cheating", "planning" or "scheming" instead of "deceiving".
HH: Of course. Very scientific that all. So lets return to some more trivial topics. Comparing Greatest Of Deceivers with your previous albums - what would you say are the most significant differences?
Teloch: The sound is the biggest difference. Also the songs are a bit different of course, since we are growing musically each year. We get different influences etc etc. It's maybe the most dynamic and grown up album we have done to this date with Nidingr. Looks like we are on the right track too, looking forward to start on the next album soon as fuck!
HH: As you know nearly every metal fan is an expert in putting music into special drawers. But imagine you have to describe the music on your album to somebody who has absolutely nothing to do with extreme metal, or metal at all. What would you tell this person?
Teloch: I would say, "I'm not even gonna play our band for you or even make you try to understand, its too late for you... lay down to die old man, but first... buy a cd and a shirt!"
HH: Haha. What music must someone like that it is not too late for him? To do a little advertisement - what are your own selling points for the album?
Teloch: Our selling point is how diverse this album is, you get everything on this album, all the metal genres are covered. Also it has got a very good production on it. We used some heavy hitters to get the sound we wanted. Plus you have to understand that Nidingr is the best band in the world. Remember when checking out this band that we are NOT a black metal band. So put away all that black metal nonsense when checking us out, that kind of thinking just ruins the listening experience you could have when slamming in our new cd. Here is a mantra for your readers and every other metal head reviewer in Germany, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal, Nidingr is NOT black metal.
HH: Regarding your current promotional band pictures, indeed one cannot see Black metal there. You can see three modest and peaceful men - no sign of aggression. I guess a few years ago the most musicians behind such a music would have tried to look as evil as possible to do effective promotion. What do you think about corpse paint, nails, blood and all this stuff?
Teloch: The use of spikes and corpse paint is very efficient for black metal bands, but we don't really play black metal anymore, we did from 1992-1996. Now we play something else, with roots in black metal. Why do we need to look angry or evil? One listen to our albums and you will get the feeling that we are some evil motherfuckers, that is if you're not deaf. If you are deaf and only have a photo to look at to get a feeling of what we are doing, fix your ears motherfucker! Own that shit!
HH: I actually like the artwork of Greatest Of Deceivers. First there is this striking abbreviation in bold letters, then the snakes and a lot of cryptic symbols. Who is the author and what is the intention of this picture?
Cpt. Estrella Grasa: The artwork for G.O.D. is made by the almighty Valnoir of Metastazis, Paris. The intention is to give some clues to the lyrics. The symbolics are partly taken from the Enochian system of magic and partly from the depraved mind of Valnoir.
HH: Gradually we're coming to the end. I think our readers got some new information about your band and your album. Will they also get the chance to see you live on stage somewhere in Germany in the next future?
Teloch: Thanks brother, nice questions and thank you for your interest in Nidingr. Of course, if Germany wants us we will come play. Actually, if you don't want us there, we will for sure come down there to play gigs just to fuck with you.
HH: Let's risk a little look into the future. Is there some kind of special goal, you necessarily want to reach with the band?
Teloch: To make a better album than the previous one, that is always a goal. Goes without saying maybe, who the hell wants to make a worse album than the previous one, then we are talking in black metal terms again. Hah! see what I just did there? haha
Well, at least in my head I have some plans for the next album already, gonna be interesting to see if we actually, for once, pull off what we set out to do.
HH: I keep my fingers crossed that you'll reach your goals and say thank you very much for this interview. If you have one last message or maybe (and even better) one universal wisdom for your readership, then out with it!
Teloch: Thanks again for this interview, thanks to the readers for putting up with this and thanks to all of your mothers. I want to ask your readers: How high can an airplane?