Interview with vocalist Vintersorg
Sweden musician/ vocalist Vintersorg is one of the most respected people in the metal field. He has released five albums of progressive/ folk metal under his own name, Vintersorg, and has also been involved with other bands such as Havayoth and the current incarnation of Borknagar. His latest disc, Visions from the Spiral Generator features the talents of bassist Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Testament, Sadus) and drummer Asgeir Mickelson (Spiral Architect, Borknagar), among others. Vintersorg even played me some of his new material, with is without a doubt his best yet. Here is the forthcoming and brilliant frontman.
What are you up to nowadays?
I'm working on five or six albums parallel. There's Borknagar, Vintersorg, Havayoth, and new project coming, me and Oystein from Borknagar have another band called Ion, and I'm also doing some vocals with our session drummer in Vintersorg in a band called Frenzy. I'm also composing music for a movie. It's based upon old Scandanavian mythology but it's very futuristic. I haven't seen the screenplay yet, so we'll see if I'm able to do it. I also have a full time job.
What is your full time job?
I'm a sound engineer. I work until Friday on a theater, then I'm a music associate working in the studio there. I have learned that silence is a really good friend sometimes.
When will you record the new Vintersorg?
Early next year. It's a concept album. It's linked together. There are going to be complete tracks, but also short compositions which hold it together between the real tracks.
What is the concept?
The album is called The Focusing Blur. It's very scientific based. It's got scientific philosophy. It's about how we never completely understand the universe and we always come to a new crossroads. The focus is more like a blur. You have to read the whole lyrics to undertand it but I'm very satisfied with it.
Are you working with the same musicians again?
Yeah, Steve DiGiorgio and Asgeir are the two session guys I'm going to work with. It was amazing working with them on the last record. I didn't know what to expect. I never talked to Steve until I started to work with him on the album. I was supposed to play the bass on the album, but Asgeir is playing very progressive drums and odd patterns so I understood that we needed a really great bassist. I'm really a guitarist. I don't play fretless bass and Steve is the guru of fretless bass playing. He was really interesting. He's a very big fan of Spiral Architect and Asgeir is playing drums there so he was firstly interested in interacting with Asgeir as a rhythm section. I sent him some preproduction and he was very enthusiastic about it. I went over to America for the recording, in San Francisco. Steve is the best bass player in metal music. I went there and we rehearsed for three or four days and then we went into the studio and he nailed it in a day and a half. He a professional guy and possesses musical intelligence.
How was your experience at the New Jersey Metalfest last year?
It was really cool. It was my first time over in America. Everything went well, we played in the auditorium in front of the sitting audience so it was hard to get the crowd enthusiastic. The crowd was really good. All my thoughts about America were confirmed but there were many other things that I didn't know that I learned about America.
Is there any talk of you touring here with Vintersorg or Borknagar?
We're going to play the New Jersey fest next year with Vintersorg. We will play two or three gigs and then play the metalfest at the end of that. It will just be a mini tour.
Are you working on the new Borknagar record?
Yeah, we are in pre production and we have completed vocals for six or seven tracks. The basics of it is totally completeled. We just have to put it together now. Everybody is working at homeI live at least one thousand five hundred kilometers from where Oystein lives.
How do you feel working with Borknagar?
Last week we did four gigs in Norway with Borknagar and it was really great, I love working with those guys. In all the other bands I am the only guy who writes all the music and lyrics, in Borknagar Oystein writes most of the music. I have the freedom to compose my own vocal lines. Everybody has the same musical goal. It's very smooth and no problems. There are some discussions in the band but we are very open minded band and we are always looking for new things to do. Taking the safe path would be doing another Archaic Curse album but we try to be adventurous and interesting.
Are you satisfied with your career so far?
Yeah, I'm really happy with how everything has become. I never had the goal to become a rock star. I'm the opposite of the arrogant rock star. I never had that goal. I always had the goal to write music for myself and through my own desires and wills. If other people like it that's amazing and cool, but if they don't like it I still think it's amazing and cool. It's good to have a record company backing you up and paying for the studio costs. I can do whatever I want. It has to be that way. If the record company told me that I had to adjust my music to the market more, I would never agree to such terms. My artistry comes from my heart and not with my brain. I'm not scanning the market trying to do some power metal which is huge in Europe and ride the power metal wave. You would just be fooling yourself to make a quick buck. I feel like I'm in charge of my career. I'm not a victim of record company troubles. I compose my own musical destiny.
Where does your lyrical inspiration come from?
I'm very curious about what life can give you. I've always been open minded and looking for new things. I don't know where my interest in science, philosophy, and psychology comes from. I've been like that since I was a kid. I have the great opportunity to be an artist so I can share it with other people. I've written a lot of stuff that hasn't seen the light of day. I read a lot and from that I get inspiration. My music is much more inspired by my reading and myself than other bands or music. That's very important to me, to keep some sort of unique sound. You don't come across a band that sounds like Vintersorg very often, so it feels like we have accomplished what we wanted from the beginning. It's always an evolutionary thing and now we have found our sound. This I say after every album though.
Have you read any good books lately?
I'm reading one by a guy called Brian Green, it's called The Elegant Universe. That's the translation in English. My bible is Cosmos by Carl Sagan.
Do you aspire to become a writer yourself?
I haven't had the will to write books. I have written poems. I don't know if I will ever make that into a book, the writing itself is great. I compose a lot of music that anybody else but me has ever heard. It's a platform that I need for my artistry.
What will be your release schedule for next year?
Borknagar is sceduled to be recorded the first of the year, the release date will probably be before the summer. We will record the Vintersorg album next year. Havayoth, we have a little trouble with a record company, but it should be solved. The other project, me and Oystein will record this year. We will record a lot at home in our home studios.
Do you ever get overwhelmed by everything?
Sometimes it comes to a point when silence feels really nice. I haven't bought an album for a long time. I'm so occupied with my own music everyday, I don't put on a c.d. I listen to music but I'm not that hungry to go out and buy new albums.
Do you go to the movies much?
I'm going to the theater tonight to see The Red Dragon. The reviews here have been really good, it's like Manhunter with a better cast. Hannibal wasn't really that great. There was too much physical not much psychological. Pi is my all time favorite movies. Darren Aronofsky's other movie, Requiem for a Dream, is also really killer.
Discography:
2002... Visions From The Spiral Generator (Napalm)
2001... Cosmic Genesis (Napalm)
2000... Odemarkens Son (Napalm)
1998... Till Fjalls (Napalm)
1997... Hedniskhjartad (Napalm)
Current line-up:
Vintersorg... vocals and guitars
Steve DiGiorgio... bass
Asgeir Mickelson... drums
Website:
www.vintersorg.com
| TTM reviews of albums by Vintersorg: | |
| 2004 - 'The Focusing Blur' |
| 2002 - 'Visions From the Spiral Generator' |
| TTM editorials involving Vintersorg: | |
