The moment for talk is now.
1. HAILS! Thanks for doing this interview!
First of i just got to ask you how your experience was to be supporting Carpathian Forest at Loppen in Copenhagen? And how did you hook up with them in the first place? Was it the one and only gig with them or was/is there more shows in the pipeline?
- To answer your first question first, It was great to play with Carpathian Forest, really cool guys both on and offstage so yeah we had a good time, And then I got to hear and see “Mask of the slave” “Knokkelman” And other equally great tracks of Carpathian Forest live for the first time which I really enjoyed. It was a small stage with an intense atmosphere where there are less than a meter between the band and the audience and you can look the fans directly in the eyes, which always is something special and which Nattefrost as well as I enjoyed as we spoke of after the concert.
As for how the whole event came to life, it was our manager Patricia Thomas -which manage both Carpathian Forest and Blodarv- that contacted me because there was a chance that CF could come to Denmark on their way to -Kings of black metal festival- in Germany, and I was asked if I could get in contact with Tchort and maybe help arrange it .
So I spoke a little back n forth with Tchort from CF over email, and to make a long story short, I contacted some of the venues that I knew would be able to pull this off, and as you know it ended up with a show at LOPPEN on Christania Copenhagen which was all good. A one-timer so far though, we haven’t planned out any other shows together, but who knows..its hard to predict the future right’.
2. Tell a bit about the DVD "A Doorway Between Worlds Chapter 1" you released back in february, and by the "chapter 1" you seem to have nasty plans for the future as well?
- Yes it was released in February 2012 mainly because there were a lot of fans asking us if we couldn’t release some of our youtube videos on a DVD/ Video CD. It was never supposed to be seen as a pro “BLODARV DVD” meaning that it just contains videos from our youtube channel, and were made for those fans who are weary of trying to watch our videos on YouTube, at the mercy of the vagaries of their internet connections and with poor sound quality.
the Video CD contains videos for tracks from ours albums “Soulcollector”, “Linaria Amlech”, “Civitas Diaboli” and the newly released “Gâst”, as well as a live recording from the show at Club Brutal, in Aarhus Denmark, filmed in December of last year.
In all, eight Video’s from our official youtube channel. Its DVD player and PC compatible and is limited to 666 hand-numbered copie , and is available exclusively through the BLODARV STORE at http://blodarvshop.bigcartel.com/ for only 10 euro. And yes, there will be a “Chapter 2” released sometime in the future with videos we have put on youtube since the release of “Chapter 1” .
3. Your last full album "Gâst" that you released last year was a mighty record with a lot of bleak, harsh but grand emotions, very well made through out. By your own words what does that album mean for you & describe its essence.
- Thank you, yes Gâst was released on the 12 of december 2012 on Self Mutilation services .
It contains 8 tracks in all, which is a little more than 45 min in total. Every album of BLODARV means something special to me, and Gâst of course also has a personal meaning to me just like all previous releases.
Its the essence of my mind, my most inner demons, thoughts, visions and beliefs. It explores life philosophies and life and death itself , the forces of nature, the power of the universe and all the energies that cling to it.
Its full of blasphemous poetry in both Danish and English. Powerful songs, dark visions, possessive muses, soul-seeking demons, haunted and haunting souls, tragic destinies and chilling dreams. In other words, a glimpse into the dark universe of BLODARV
4. Is there new work in process? Blodarv seem to be in good condition now with this current strong line-up.
- Yes indeed we are in the best condition ever, and right now the first seeds for the next spell are being put in the ground. Right now it’s mainly just riffs and ideas about the tracks that are getting sorted in my mind and we haven’t begun writing complete tracks down yet or recording.
The next months we will focus a lot on our Live ceremonies, improving the show in every way we can, but we are always in a constant creative circle in BLODARV so there will also be worked a bit on new material for the next album these following months I believe.
5. How would you describe todays BM activity in Denmark?
- Not the worst, not the best. I think we are going towards a better period.
There are some good bands rising in DK over the last few years. Some seems to have real potential, and Black Metal is beginning (after some pretty bad times) to pull crowds again here in Denmark.
When this is said I live very isolated with my art here on the island of Bornholm, so there is probably a lot of bands and stuff happening that I am not the first one to hear about.
6. How would you describe todays Denmark with one word?
- I wouldn’t, because I can’t.
7. How does Blodarvs plans for the rest of this year look like?
- Its hard to predict an entire year, but next show will be a headlining act on June 28 here on the island of Bornholm were we will set up a special show as we´ve done the past years.
When we play here on the island we can bring as much stage stuff as we like because we are not limited to what can fit in the van, as we do when we travel, so we will make a very special stage for this show and we have also made a longer set-list than at previous shows, which will be a perfect blend of old and new tracks
We also got some other shows in mind but its to early to say more about those. Beside from that we have a video on the drawing board for “Indelukket”, and again a video for “Korset Paa Baalet” set to be recorded –if everything goes as planned- at the end of june 2012. And then as I mentioned before we are slowly sinking into the next album.
8. How did you come in contact with your label Self Mutilation Services (Mexico)? Did they have a better contract etc then Northern Silence Productions (Germany) that you were on before?
- Actually it was a question of not compromising our art, and release it through a label who could apriciate it for what it was, not what it could be. Yes, we were on NORTHERN SILENCE as you correctly state, where we had released the “soulcollector..The thousand years tale” gatefold LP + CD, and also the “Linaria Amlech” CD. But with the new stuff we started to create after that, (which was also ment to be released on Northern Silence) there suddenly wasn’t the big enthusiasm around from Northern Silence.
At that time they wasn’t so keen on Black Metal unless it had commercial potential, and in general we had to many different views on to many different things concerning BLODARV, and as I said we never compromise on our artistic freedom which is the most important thing for us when it comes to being signed.
Long story short, we broke with Northern Silence, got them to send our master CD and cover-layout back, and paid northern silence the money they had given us to record the album back to them. This way the master and the layout was ours again, and we needed a new company to release it through, so we send out a few mails to various labels that we knew we could work with explaining the situation.
We got offers from half of them, some better than other but ended up with making a deal with Self Mutilation Services, recommended by B.G Black Hate among others and we have been very satisfied with that. They might not be the biggest label, but they are dedicated to what they do and they give us the freedom we need for our art.
9. Any last words?
- Thanks for the interview, and a big fucking hail to all those who walks with us through the fire!!
