Blodhemn "I had the need to create something agressive"

I first noticed Blodhemn a while ago while listening to their EP "Brenn Alle Bruer" & found it to be pretty good,but maybe a bit monotous.

When they released "Holmengraa" in 2012 I was pretty amased how much better they sounded.

So I decided to take a chat with them to tell us abit about more about what going on in the Blodhemn camp these days.

When i listen to Holmegraa the first thing I notice is the brilliant production & much better songwriting,what happened?

-The great production is caused by two things, a bigger studio budget and gathered experience from the recording of Brenn alle Bruer.

When writing Holmengraa I had a clear focus on how I wanted the album to sound. I wanted it not to be as "straight forward" as Brenn alle Bruer but varied and with with elements not  often heard in black metal.

What does your lyrics deal with,do you have any agenda behind your lyrics/music?

The lyrics often evolve around hateful and violent themes. But there is also parts of history, nature and special sites around the world. I have agendas, but I'll keep them to my self.

When & how did Blodhemn start up?

I started Blodhemn in the summer of 2004. The reason for starting Blodhemn was that there were nobody with the same interest in this kind of music at the island where I lived at the time, so I found out that I might as well do everything my self.

What was the reason you ended up playing the music you do,was it planned or did it just turn out that way?

In the beginning I had a need to create something aggressive. From there it has been a natural growth out of my hands.

What's the worst/best  imaginable thing you could end up with as a band now?

The worst thing would be to not have a complete live line-up and be unable to play live.

The best thing would be to have the possibility to play live-shows around the world.

Do the members of Blodhemn play in any other bands?

Blodhemn's live-drummer Felix plays in Fjordfader and Gorefetish.
Skroemt and Hauk has no other active bands at this time, as far as I know.

Where do you see Blodhemn in 5 years?

I don't speculate about that, but what I can say is that I will keep doing the same as always and           wherever that brings Blodhemn, I don't know.                                                                             

Are there any gigs/tours planned?

 We are planning a releaseparty for Holmengraa at Garage, Bergen the 28th of July supported by Dauden and Cockroach Agenda.

Besides that, no official plans at this point.

How did you get into metal and what inspired you to start Blodhemn and was there any bands you were inspired by?

There was alot of bands that led me to the metal genre, but I guess that the most important album was  Metallica's `Master of Puppets`.

I started Blodhemn because I had no one to play my kind of music with with back in the days. I lived on a isolated island at the time and there was no people with the same interests as me. Therefore I found out that I might as well do it all myself.

How has the response been to your latest album?

The response has been great! People obvious like `Holmengraa`. People from all over the world reveiws, buys and listens to the album. I find all this positive response motivating.

I've read some people compare you to Taake,do you see that as positive or negative?

It doesn't bother me. As an artist you will always be compared with other bands or artists to generate pointers to what style one plays.
 

What's your thoughts on the metal scene today and if you were to recommend an album to someone new to metal ,what would that be?

I am not too updated on the metal scene in Bergen but I think that Cockroach Agenda and Arvas are both promising acts and i am looking forward to hear their upcoming releases.

Dissection – The Somberlain/Storm at the light's bane