Interview:

2006-02-03 Solstafir

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All Viking Metal - fans in this world should jump for joy these days, because the band SOLSTAFIR from Iceland has brought up one of the best albums of this genre for years! A good reason to ask Drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason how such a "Masterpiece Of Bitterness” has been accomplished and what is also going on on this lonely island… InterviewHi! How are you?


I could hardly be better. And you?


At first, of course: what does the name SOLSTAFIR mean exactly?


Crepuscular Rays.


You live in the cold depths of Iceland! I don´t think that Metal-fans around the world are able to enumerate many bands that are home there. How does Iceland look according to Metal? Do you have a big scene there?


The Metal - scene isn´t that big, but I guess the Hardcore - scene is rather big for such a small nation. There are some good bands here worth mentioning. POTENTIAM, used to be signed to the assfuckers of Avantgarde Music, but are currently releasing a quality demo and searching for a good deal (www.helviti.com/potentiam). CHANGER is a Death Metal - band that might do some cool shit soon (www.changer-metal.com), DENVER are young but promising Post - Thrash (www.denverboys.com), and MONUMENTUM are one of the best and most talented Death Metal - bands I have ever seen, you just have to check them out (http://www.dordingull.com/momentum) and of cause the Grindcore - veterans of FORGARDUR. HELVITIS can´t go unmentioned (www.helviti.com) - probably the fastest band on the planet! Also for those who like hardcore I must recommend our friends I ADAPT (http://www.dordingull.com/iadapt), they´ve been doing a lot of touring in Europe and are really going strong.


When I´m right informed, you once started as a Black Metal - band with corpsepaint and all the other typical stuff. How did you develop to a band that plays very epic, melodic and hymn - like music?


We never had corpsepaint and that stuff. We just developed the epic aspect that we always had. We´ve had at least one epic song on each release ever since our first demo, our "Seasons In The Abyss” as we used to call them. All the second half of our debut full - length "Í Blóði Og Anda” is made up of such songs, and somehow we just ended up developing that aspect of our sound more than the fast songs.


What can you tell about your musical influences?


We try not to be directly influenced by other bands, but rather draw inspiration from our own persons. But of cause everything you hear, see and experience influences your person in one way or the other, on a small or on a big scale, thus our personal tastes shape our music. But we never say "Oh let´s sound like this band or that”.


Most bands playing that kind of music refer to BATHORY. Are you also inspired by the legend Quorthon and his music?


Not musicly no, but personally I am a big BATHORY - fan, but I don´t think the other guys are much into BATHORY.


Your new album "Masterpiece Of Bitterness” is declared as your debut! But with "Í Blóði Og Anda" you already had released an album before, in 2002. And before that, there were many demos and compilation-tracks. So why did it take about ten years to finish two complete albums?


I don´t know why Spikefarm Records calls "Masterpiece…” our debut, maybe because it´s our debut for them. But yeah, we released "Í Blóði Og Anda” on a German label called "Ars Metalli” in 2002. We started recording that album in early 1999 but ran into lots of trouble, so it might seem to the outsider that we were idle for those 3 years. Then shortly after it´s release the label fell apart, so it didn´t get good promotion. Then we recorded and released some songs on a 7” - EP that same year (2002) and immediately after that we started working on songs for "Masterpiece Of Bitterness”. We started recording it in early 2004, but didn´t finish it until mid 2005, so there are another 3 years that might seem wasted on idleness to the outsider.
We also released a 4 song MCD in 1996 which was re-released (in Russia only) with it´s original 6 songs two years ago.
Truth is we´ve never in all those 11 years taken more than a couple of weeks off from the band at each time.


Here in Germany the press and everyone I have talked to seems to love your new album! Have you ever bargained for all these positive reactions?


I´m really glad to hear that. But no we didn´t expect such good response. We´ve not only been getting very good reviews. I expected this album to get very mixed reactions, because I do understand that not everyone likes such long songs and that they can possibly be hard to get into. So all this good reaction is really a pleasant surprise.


What are your songs exactly about?


All and everything, nothing in particular. On "Masterpiece..” most of the lyrics are about personal psychedelic experiences evoked by light.


For example a song called "I Myself The Visionary Head” with about twenty minutes is not so usual. Where do you get these ideas from?


I don´t know really. Personally I love long atmospheric songs. But we just played it by feeling, and it came out this way.


Are you going to visit Germany live? And if so, what do you expect from the fans there?


Yeah, hopefully we´ll finally make it over to Germany this summer. I really don´t know what to expect. I don´t think we are that well known in Germany, but I hope people will like what they see and hear. But I´m not really worried about that as SOLSTAFIR is even better live than on CD!


Do you have some final statement for your probably growing bigger fan-community in Germany?


Buy our album, make us rich! Hehehe!




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