Sean McLennan

Sean McLennan (Overdrive Music Magazine): Returning with their 17th studio album to date, black metal pioneers and innovators Darkthrone serve up a healthy dose of roaring heavy metal on their newest effort Old Star. The band continues down a path of bringing their classic musical inspirations across the board to life through doom-laden, riff centered rock n’ roll. The band keeps traces of their initial black metal sound present in some of the riffage and atmosphere throughout this record, but it is very subtle. One thing I have always appreciated about Darkthrone over the years is their musical integrity and their ability to never compromise the music that they want to write. With Old Star they certainly uphold that integrity and I spoke with creative force/songwriter/drummer Fenriz about the record to gain some more insight about what lurks behind the making of this album…

Fenriz: G'day, real name actually Gylve Fenris Nagell! Like passport real. I can't believe you used the word ROARING, hehe, album feels a tad more docile (SIC) than that. Also, Roar is a normal surname here in Norway, making that second Voivod album's title extremely funny here.

SM: You guys have had a long history of creating extreme music that is very versatile, ranging from black metal to hardcore punk. Is there ever a planned direction of sound for an album; a certain influence you want to drive the sound of an album, or is it simply just whatever comes naturally while writing?

Fenriz: If I remember correctly, what happened before the previous album Arctic Thunder, was that we had already recorded an album with mostly 80's metal elements presented (The Underground Resistance) and after a long string of predecessors in even more varied styles, I felt the need to do a more diecast sound. However, it was an idea that came seeping and creeping in and listening to a band called Anguish from Sweden kind of cemented my belief that we needed to head in the direction of introvert wholeness, of for instance Worship Him by Samael. Now we all know that Ted and I make songs on our own (meaning he makes his and I make mine) since the summer of 1991, so we know that it's not possible to move this cargo ship around 180 degrees like that, but I could certainly make some grips: I would quite singing. Also, I would stop making that beautiful speed metal style inspired by old Swedes like Gotham City, 220 Volt, and Parasite for instance and go slower instead, a bit more mammothy. And it worked! After the album we concluded we were well pleased with this new GRIP (of winter) and decided to not change much for the next album, which became Old Star. However, with the soundscape and guitar sound of Arctic Thunder, I heard how well the few palm muted riffs worked there and decided to make more for Old Star. And that worked again. Now I can finally supplement the part of the brain that is brimming full of palm mute classic heavy and slow thrash and doom (like old Trouble) and throw myself at it. It was what I/we were doing in 1988 and early 1989 and I wanted to continue that style, making it more effective than it was back then.

SM: The tracks on Old Star possess a lot of throwback elements and a strong 80’s inspired heavy metal sound, producing a very heavy outcome. Would you say that the latest collection of songs are simply the result of classic metal/rock inspiration or is there a conscious decision to move forward with your sound further away from Darkthrone’s distinguished black metal sound?

Fenriz: I made song 2, 4, and 6 and Ted made the others. He doesn't talk about his songs, I guess he writes like he always does and he is also the calm guy, whereas I am the squirrely one that musically runs around a lot. Our main inspiration – for the both of us – is probably Tony Iommi, also because he inspired most bands that inspired us. I think we were further away from black metal sound on the 2005-2016 albums than we are now. Ted's songs have more black metal than in a long time, but he also throws in Epicus Doomicus Metallicus riffs and some classic heavy metal, too. He even has a riff that sounds like prime-time, slow, early Burzum on this album. I am the dude that pulls it in unusual directions, but really not much more than what we did in 1988. We had way more acoustic/clear guitar parts then, which was usually inspired by the slow and soft Metallica of 84’ and 86’ albums.

SM: That being said, the track “Duke of Gloat” has a lot of those primal black metal elements still very present in the riffs and overall sound. Is it important to you guys to always keep those elements present in your music?

Fenriz: I have no idea, it's Ted's song. In the summer of 91’, right after the recording of A Blaze in the Northern Sky, I told the others that from now on we write each on our own, no more writing together. This was a moment of trust and I also said we would not dispute each others material. And this still holds. We don't comment on our tracks to each other a lot, not before or not after recording. I am free to do what I need to do and so is Ted. “Duke of Gloat” is epic, also with included heavy metal riffs which I love! I did the slow Burzum riff like hell, too! In hindsight, 25 years from now, perhaps the best track of the album.

SM: I feel the production on the new album is noticeably louder and more robust than anything you guys have done before, how do you feel the production on Old Star reflects the mood of the album?

Fenriz: Sanford Parker mixed the album to have a whole different world of drum sound than my world of drum sound, but he set out to suit his drum mix for the slow parts of the album which is like, what, 85%? And that was of course the right thing to do. I think the bass drum is a little clicky for the “faster” part of Ted's song and the snare reverb a little on the heavy for just those parts, but for the slow parts it works like a charm, though I never envisioned I would have an “arena” drum sound. On the first mixes it was arena as hell, so we had to negotiate for a long time. This was all because when it came time to record, we had a studio module go missing and had to only use one overhead mic for the drums. Ted didn't feel like mixing it for the first time in ages, so our mastering knight Jack Control had to rustle up someone to mix the album on the double. Stressful times. Anyway, the wall of guitars and overall made this sounding solid as hell and in my ears, the most 80’s we've had. I would want to try more 80’s guitar, but with my usual preference for 1978 drum sound too, so we'll see what happens on the next album.

SM: What does the album title Old Star represent for you guys personally or for the theme of the album?

Fenriz: To me I was just lucky to put those words together, sheer simplicity and primitiveness that suits us to the bone, I reckon. I just like looking at the title and writing it. Now, I have plenty of fave titles up through the years (let's face it, when it comes to metal my faves are mostly in the 80’s, yeah?), but I don't want any of them explained. But stars are dying, what happens when its about to die, and then it's the album cover...

SM: The cover art for Old Star is killer, what were some of the key ideas you wanted to see come to life for this album cover and what was your reaction to the final piece?

Fenriz: This cover was sent in again and we had it in our files as a “want.” Paul from Peaceville thought it fitted, so I decided to listen to Paul and try to fit the cover into the title. I thought about the roots, branches, and stories around the campfire. The professor saying that we were essentially burning the sun when burning stubs of branches and logs and the whole life of beneath the trees and it's what I have been dealing with for some time before and it all fell into place. I think the cover also drags the album more into Ted's songs than mine and therefore the overall feel is blacker. Then there's my lyrics which are truly damned and really is more of a pitch black heavy metal or black metal tradition. I guess what is black metal is Ted's riffs (well I had a CF riff and a couple of Hellhammer riffs in the final song of the album) and the vocals/lyrics.

SM: I believe that Old Star is some of Darkthrone’s heaviest work to date. A lot of the riffs and percussive elements are simplistic, but delivered with electrifying power. You and Ted are able to create this sort of Iommi/Ward energy throughout many parts on this record. Looking at the songs from the drummers perspective, is there a beauty and comfort you find in keeping the drum sections more simplistic?

Fenriz: But I am not playin’ like Ward, I am a disciple of Appice. Mob Rules is the big one for me, man! So you were damn close! Bravo! Yeah, what I remember from the contemporary scene back in 1990 was that every drummer overplayed and this I quit on A Blaze in the Northern Sky album. NO other bm band of Norway shifted to more primitive drumming. They all continued overplaying, as did death metal and the whole 90’s as a rule, except the stoners of course and some bands here and there trying to hold back. I never liked the typical tempos of the 90’s, which was really a normalization of the extreme last parts of the 80’s. One decade seeps into the other. But I can't sit and copy Mob Rules. I do a lot of Appice drumming sure, but the riffs I make sound rather like a heap of other slower stuff from the 80’s, which I start to get tired of mentioning. All the riffs I got since February for the next album are even more in the style of slow, old heavy metal like early Fates Warning or Queensryche, but I constantly think about Bonded By Blood and the 3 first Metallica records, Agent Steel, first Crimson Glory, first Metal Church, and a lot of bands related to that and Iron Maiden never left my ears for long periods of time. We never had a soundscape or guitar sound that fitted the palm mute riffs of this part of metal, but since Arctic Thunder we truly do, so we hope it will keep until the next album at least. We are extremely comfortable with playing the riffs and tempos on Old Star, at least.

SM: As you get older and continue to write songs for such a prominent project, do you find yourself solely gaining inspiration from your classic musical influences or are there notes that you’re able to take from newer bands coming up either in the local Norway scene or internationally?

Fenriz: Newer bands that I listen to always sound like styles of the 80’s, so it doesn't really matter. Like the first riff of “Alp Man” is inspired by new godly band Lifeless Dark (I am not worthy), their demo. Then again what I hear in Lifeless Dark is one of my main inspirations, 1987 era Sacrilege, which again was inspired a lot by Metallica, so it goes in a kind of circle, doesn't it? Especially since Sacrilege went on to inspire a large heap of Bolt Thrower riffs the way I see it. Then we have Black Viper as one of the best new heavy metal acts, certainly inspiring me, but they play a faster heavy metal style, often than the riffs I am getting thrown at me from my brain.

SM: Having worked side by side with Ted for a number of years, what are some things you can say about his work ethic towards the music? What are some things about your guys relationship that makes writing together work so well?

Fenriz: I don't know how he works. I don't think he gets many riffs into his head and hums or records them into a device for keeps, the way that I do. And many times I scrap the riffs and make something brand new just before recording anyway. I think he has to wait for a general inspiration and then sits down and plays and make and shape out his songs, but that is just what I envision. I am not about to go all emotional and ask, "Hey Ted, so how do you actually make your songs?" It doesn't seem right. I think that we are able to just find the distance to not get in each others faces. I can certainly be a handful and perhaps that was why he moved away in 92' in the first place, he certainly hasn't moved back yet, HAHAHAHA. Darkthrone has in many ways had an easier fare than our personal lives and so Darkthrone has in many ways been the mast in which we could cling to in heavy weather. It feels like that now, but that's because I am in interview mode and have to answer something, it's not like I think about just that on a daily basis, hehe!

SM: Referring to your quote, “Ted said that this time our fans will get to hear a song first,” did you guys find that releasing the single “The Hardship of the Scots” was beneficial to the release of this album and was there any reason you chose to release this particular song first?

Fenriz: I think the first song will do well anyway because of some news interest in it. The interesting thing is how the other songs and the whole album will do, obviously. Having said that, first impressions are important, TOO important, it is certainly a brain feature that I deem faulty. So the choosing of the first song is agonizing, at least when we make Ted-throne and Fenriz-throne songs and they usually emphasize different riffs. So it's grueling. And everyone wants ONE song. I said we needed TWO this time. I had one of Ted's and one of mine, but then Ted said let's go for mine and it was “The Hardship of the Scots.” It will probably be a difficult decision the next time, too. We are kind of choosing if we are presenting (TO PUT IT BLUNTLY) black metal Darkthrone or classic heavy metal Darkthrone as the first song. Tricky.

SM: Thank you very much for your time Fenriz, I really appreciate it! I am absolutely loving the work that you and Ted put into this record, especially the guitar work and overall heaviness of it. Congratulations on another record and cheers to the future of Darkthrone!

Fenriz: Thanks, please tell people about the mammothy Spotify list I made for y'all and I will keep adding to it as long as I can. “Fenriz Metal” has 600 songs by now and I am always adding.