ELISE HAS A QUICKIE WITH RAVN OF 1349
(photo via in666moments)
Readers, beware! The ‘Black Death’ has finally made its way into our serene blonde haven, and we couldn’t be happier. Just before hitting the road here in the US, I got a hold of Ravn, the valiant frontman of Norway’s renowned black metal outfit, 1349. Ravn took some time to rap with me about the band’s evolving sound, album writing process, as well as the wear and tear of band merch. Quite a guy. He and the rest of his grim group are providing main support for Cannibal Corpse’s Evisceration Plague tour, along with Skeletonwitch and Lecherous Nocturne. The jamboree kicks off tonight in Orlando, and I’ll be rollin’ up in that bitch this weekend when the tour hits Longuyland. Sure to be a fun time. 1349’s new album, Demonoir, will be out on April 27th via Prosthetic Records.
How long have you owned that same Hellhammer shirt? Does it hold great sentimental value to you?
The wonders of merchandise is that it can be printed in more copies than one and this shirt exists in 10 copies and I had it printed some years back. I hold 2 of them and the rest is held by a very few and specially chosen people. Among these are Tom and Martin and it was the first Hellhammer merch they had. They had never printed official merchandise for Hellhammer and this shirt inspired the merchandise they later made as official Hellhammer merch. Apart from the part that the shirt looks very good it also holds a special meaning in the way of remembering where we came from and honor our roots.
How did you feel about the audience reaction to “Revelations of the Black Flame?” Were you disappointed, and was this the reason that you’ve promised to return to a “more traditional” sound?
Disappointed!? On the contrary we are extremely proud of this release. The audiences reactions to “Revelations” was great and we broke ground to a lot of new fans that had a very stereotypical impression of Black Metal and really opened a lot of eyes and minds. It seems that people have totally forgotten that Black Metal is supposed to be provocative and break boundaries. Thats what started the Norwegian wave so people needs to check the roots in order to make statements about what they think is Black Metal. There is always a few people that will complain but there will always be that so if you choose to pay attention to these few and their blabbering on the internet you will end up at their level and that has nothing to do with Black Metal. I don’t know who has told you that we have promised to return to any traditional sound but it is a lie. The way we work, and have always worked, is that each song gets the sound it needs and that of course goes for the album in total. Demonoir sounds like no other of our releases as none of our previous releases sound alike. The song gets the sound the song needs in order to work as it is intended to do.
Do you write for a record, or do you have a back catalog of songs that you use?
We write for every record, of course, and we often do so in a short burst of time. What happens is when we get into that zone things usually happens on a more rapid scale. Thats why our albums comes pretty close when we first start. 3 first in 3 years and now 2 in 2 years.. seems to be something that just happens..
What importance do you place upon philosophy or ethos when writing music? Would you say 1349 is a force against tyranny?
1349 is a force of its own. A force greater than any one of us members, and it is fulfilled whenever we meet and play or rehearse. We stopped trying to understand what it is many years ago since it only happens when we are together. This force demands that we do everything possible in order to maintain the results of its creative outburst. This means we don’t pay attention to anything else than what is created. Of course you can say this force is a force against tyranny as it is a force of our free minds that lets us put ethos and philosophy aside and also all other impulses lurking around with a religious heritage and mind control as purpose. To think for yourself and make up your own mind is essential in order to progress as a human. Lead not follow, wolf not sheep.
Who are you dying to tour with/take on the road?
It would be nice to tour with Triptykon and Tom again as we got to tour so little together during the CF time. Other than that I would say maybe Slayer, Watain, Aura Noir, Shining (Norwegian) to mention some.
What is most evil: space, ice, or people?
People of course and especially religious ones..
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-Elise
