Photo by: Julieth Velandia, photos for Pogoconcert Colombia. @julietavel_ph

Hello. Now you’re in four or five bands… 

Yes, but only two of them are properly active, like The Kovenant and Mayhem. Shining – not much has happened there for a while. It’s just been really quiet. Niklas – there’s been a lot of stuff going on. I haven’t spoken to him for a little while. Actually, I really owe him a phone call. That’s not been so busy, but Mayhem and The Kovenant have been constant the last few weeks since I started to work with them.  

How did the conversation about joining The Kovenant start? 

Sarah. She’s basically pretty much set up my whole career over the years. She’s always been super supportive. She was a big reason of why I joined Mayhem as well. She’s known Jan (Hellhammer) for many years. So she put my name into the mix for the Mayhem stuff, originally. So that was a big part of that. And when they were having problems with The Kovenant, she called me quite a long time ago and said: “Just in case something happens, would you be available to do it?” And I said: “Absolutely, because I love the band.” I think she just wanted to know that there was a safety net. And, of course, I owe her a lot. And aside from that, I just really wanted to do it. 

So what problem caused it? 

I don’t want to say too much because I didn’t know the previous guitar player and I wasn’t involved. I think he has some issues with alcohol. I think it just became the point where it was better for everyone, including him. My drinking is healthy and appropriate.

Apart from the personal relationship with the members, what drew you to the band? 

I loved the music. Nexus Polaris was an album that I listened to weekly for about five years. I mean, I would have it on all the time. I absolutely love that album. So I was really excited to learn this stuff. And it’s really not easy music to play. 

How has the integration been for you? 

So since Mayhem have been doing that for so long – it’s kind of second nature, it’s in my skull. But it’s still much more work for me when I’m doing The Kovenant stuff because I don’t know the stuff as well yet. And the music is just much harder to play. It’s much more technical. And there’s also the pressure. Steinar is just an absolutely insanely good keyboard player. Obviously, Jan Axel is an amazing drummer. Stian is a fantastic bass player and a great vocalist. Sarah is fantastic. And Knut, the guitar player from Arcturus, is also amazing. So I was stepping into this place where everyone around me is playing this very hard music and is really good at it. And then I have to come in to fill in the shoes. So it was a lot of pressure. And it’s not to say that the Mayhem stuff is easy – it’s just different. 

  

You were given a very short period of time after you joined and before your first show. How was it for you to learn everything? 

Yes, and we were doing the new Mayhem album at the same time. And I had to learn that stuff, so I was basically getting up very early, recording up until around midday, then I would go to the gym, I would put The Kovenant set on my headphones, have that on loop, then I’d come home and learn that stuff up until the evening, and would try to get a few hours of sleep, and then I would do the same thing the next day. And that went on for about four weeks. 

How does life in The Kovenant differ from life in Mayhem? 

In Mayhem, we’ve been around each other for so many years. We’re all just kind of go off and do our own thing. But with these guys, because they don’t play as often and because it’s relatively fresh, since they’ve come back together again, there’s still that sort of honeymoon period where everyone likes to hang out. And in Mayhem, it’s almost like a sibling relationship. You don’t tend to hang out with your brothers and sisters that you’ve grown up with because you see them all the time, and you go off and make your own friends. 

How did the fanbase react to you appearing on stage with The Kovenant? 

I was very surprised because I just assume everyone hates me as much as I do. I thought there’d be like a really negative backlash. But it was almost 100% positive, and the fans were so good to me, and I got so many messages after the shows saying that it was great and that I was doing a great job. That really means a lot to me because I really want to do a great job for that band because – A. I like the band, – B. the fans have been waiting for this for so many years, they deserve a good representation for that album. And – C. you know, I promised Sarah I would do it, and so if I turn up and just mess it up, then it’s a bit of an insult to her. 

What was the most surprising for you when you joined the band? 

The biggest surprise for me was that I didn’t just completely mess it up. I had so much self-doubt leading up to the first rehearsal because the music, like I said, is much more difficult. I mean, I do suffer. Every artist suffers with a significant amount of self-doubt, I think. That’s what keeps you working and trying and striving. But the first show was an absolute nightmare because we do everything on an in-ear system. So we don’t have any amps on stage or anything. Everything runs through a stage box, like a mixer on stage. And the very first show, the levels just weren’t correct. So basically, the moment Jan started playing, the moment the kick drum started, I played the entire show basically without hearing anything at all. So I didn’t know how well it had gone until the end, and I was just sort of waiting for someone to come and say: “What the fuck are you doing?” Luckily, I’d rehearsed it so much. And this is the value of doing it in my head as well as with the guitar, that I knew it blind. So basically, I didn’t need to hear it, and I knew that it was correct. 

And there is a new album for The Kovenant in progress… 

Yeah, I keep hearing things about it. I mean, it’s early days still for me. I don’t know if they want me to be involved in it. I have talked with the keyboard player, Steinar, a little bit about it, and he showed me some of the little ideas. And as I said, if they want me involved, I’m absolutely, a hundred percent, I’d love to do it. And at the same time, if they don’t, I won’t be offended because it’s not like they need my help. Their music’s great anyway. I’ve only been working with them for a month, actually. 

How is it like juggling multiple bands? 

Well when it’s projects, it’s fine. But with active bands it’s more complex. The good thing with The Kovenant and Mayhem is that two of us are in both bands, so that makes it a hell of a lot easier to manage schedules. Also half of Arcturus is in the Kovenant, so that makes things easier for them too. Really it’s just a nightmare for the managements who have to work out the schedules. For me it’s ok, but it can be exhausting. We had a festival where both bands play on the same day, and probably close in times. So I had to play, get off stage, get all the makeup off and then back to stage.

The hardest song from The Kovenant to perform? 

It’s the the fourth song on Nexus Polaris. The Last of Dragons. The second half of that song, it’s just insanely difficult. It’s not like super flashy guitar playing. It’s just these chord shapes with loads of picking. And it’s just such an unusual riff. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever played on guitar, just where it is and how it is. And it goes on and on. So that’s probably the hardest.  

What’s your favorite song to perform?  

I really like The Suphur Feast – the first song. Honestly, every song on that album is like a classic. So it’s really hard to pick a favourite. But yeah, I really like the one I mentioned previosuly, The Last of Dragons, even though it’s a nightmare to play, I enjoy it because it’s challenging. 

If you weren’t a musician, what would you do? 

I don’t know…would be in prison? I’ve no idea. I’d probably just sell drugs or something. No, there’d be two things: One, I would do like door work, like security or something like that. Or the other thing, which is what I was actually going to do, would be a psychologist.  

Bands that inspire you now?  

The same bands that inspired me way back in the day… very rarely now I discover new artist that im supoer into. I don’t have any boundaries with my music taste, if the song is good r tge musician is good – I don’t care what they are, if they are a pop musician or a ska band. Obviously I’m more drawn to darker music. And my main inspirations have always been Emperor, Enslaved, Carcass. And Devil Doll (Italian-Slovenian rock band), it’s beautiful but mental.