Karina Noctum Archives - Page 9 of 9

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FROM THE VASTLAND (SINA)

Oct 252016

(Norway-based NCS contributor Karina Noctum brings us this interview with Sina, the man behind From the Vastland, whose new album Chamrosh was released last month by Immortal Frost Productions.)

You are from Iran, but moved to Norway, tell us about how did this happen?

Yeah, true. Well, it is a long story, but to make it short I can say I had another band when I was in Iran, and back in 2007 one of my albums was released on vinyl here in Norway, and then I got an email from the producer of the documentary film Blackhearts and he told me about his project and how he discovered my band by that release, and then everything started from that point when I got the chance to come to Norway and play my show at Inferno Festival. Later in 2014 by help of the Safemuse organization I moved to Norway to continue my music works here. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CRATOR

Interviews 2 Responses »

Oct 142016

(Norway-based metal writer Karina Noctum returns to NCS with this interview of guitarist Jeff Liefer and vocalist Jason Keyser of the band Crator, whose line-up also includes drummer John Longstreth and bassist Colin Marston. Their debut album The Ones Who Create : The Ones Who Destroy was released last month and can be streamed at the end of this interview.)

I think Crator is the best of all the bands you play with (Origin, Krallice, Skinless) and it makes it sound pretty unique actually. Why did you guys feel the need to start this band? What are you aiming for with this project?

Jeff: The aim was to create something punishing, dark, and cerebral. Our styles clash to create a production whose sound diverges from our separate projects yet still retaining each individual’s creative signature. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SAOR

Interviews 1 Response »

Oct 052016

(Norway-based Karina Noctum returns to NCS with this interview of Andy Marshall, the man behind Scotland’s Saor, whose new album Guardians will be released on November 11. Photos by Land of Light Photography.)

When it comes to composition of both music and lyrics, do you need to have a particular mindset or do you need to be at a particular place to compose?

I don’t need to be in any particular place but I like to take my acoustic guitar with me when I’m visiting my family’s cottage in the Isle of Skye. It’s really remote and the landscape from the garden is stunning. I also get a lot of inspiration from hill walking or when I’ve been out exploring in the wild. Sometimes it just takes a film, book, or soundtrack to trigger my creative side. I usually start out with a guitar riff or melody then start adding other instruments. As for mindset, I definitely have a place in my head I go to when I’m writing Saor material. It’s total escapism. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PER VALLA (VREDEHAMMER, ABBATH)

Interviews 1 Response »

Sep 212016

(Karina Noctum returns to us with this interview of Norwegian musician Per Valla, founder of Vredehammer and Valla and former member of Abbath.)

Tell us about yourself, your musical career so far…

I was born and raised in a small town in the north of Norway called Mo i Rana. Here I lived a typical small-town life with typical small-town friends and typical small-town dreams. When I was around 15 years old I injured my knee, and my dream of becoming a professional football player instantly died.

That same day after leaving the hospital, I went to our typical small-town music store, and the first thing I saw when I entered was a VHS with the amazing John Petrucci on the cover — entitled Rock Discipline. I bought the fucker and from that day on I started practicing guitar and my focus on being a professional football player quickly turned into working towards becoming a professional metal guitarist, preferably lead guitarist. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NARBELETH

Interviews 3 Responses »

Mar 162015

(We welcome back Karina Noctum, who delivers an interview with Dakkar of the one-man Cuban black metal band Narbeleth.)

Narbeleth is black metal made in the most adverse conditions in Cuba. When I first heard about this band I was impressed because of their achievements, then I listened to the music and I really liked it. It’s a display of raw feeling and I really appreciate that in a band.

Not always can you learn something good from BM bands; it is almost the opposite. But when it comes to Narbeleth, they are living proof that passion for metal knows no boundaries, and that the impossible can become possible if you work hard enough and never give up. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MAGNUS OLSFELT (THE CROWN)

Interviews 4 Responses »

Jan 122015

The Crown – photo by Patrik Skoglöw

(Karina Noctum rejoins us with the following e-mail interview of Magnus Olsfelt of Sweden’s The Crown, whose new album Death Is Not Dead was reviewed by our Andy Synn here and will be released on January 13 (tomorrow!) in the U.S. by Century Media.)

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1. Ok, I would like to start with a little update about The Crown…

Ok we have the new album to be released next week and we will have a release party gig here in Gothenburg this saturday. Live drummer Henrik Axelsson will join us, but unfortunately he was rushed to the hospital yesterday with bad fever so let’s hope he can recover by Saturday!

2. What can the fans expect from the new album? Would you say that the fact that you guys were actually writing a The Crown album this time influenced the sound?

People can expect us doing a new album that we have done our best and put a lot of effort into. We think it should be listened to as a whole experience, from beginning to end, to have the full ride, with ups and downs and everything. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: INQUISITION (DAGON)

Interviews 6 Responses »

Nov 172014

(In this post we welcome back metal interviewer Karina Noctum. In this post she talked with Dagon of the black metal band Inquisition during the Under the Black Sun festival in Germany this past summer.)

Inquisition is a pretty special band for me. I got my first Inquisition tape when I was a child, I was 13. It had a great impact on me on many levels. It was pretty surreal to finally get to talk to Dagon in the woods outside Berlin after so many years. We did this interview in Spanish, so have that in mind.

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Inquisition started in South America, how did that influence the band?

I was really young when I moved to Colombia. I was 11 years old at that time. I think the social environment had an impact on me. I was there in the 80’s when the drug-related violence was at its worst. That kind of violence is what Black and Thrash reflect.

There were some metal bands from that time that had an impact on me. Colombian bands like Parabellum, Reencarnacion, inspired me a lot. I took those influences and combined them with classics like Venom and Bathory. But more than anything it was the discipline. It is hard to believe, but Colombian musicians are very disciplined. Colombian culture is pretty strict, at school and everywhere, so it shaped my character. I also took Classic guitar lessons for 8 years with Ciceron Marmolejo, he is pretty renowned there. Through him I learned that there is a spiritual side when it comes to playing. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SPENCER PREWETT (ARCHSPIRE)

Interviews 1 Response »

Oct 032014

(In this post we welcome metal interviewer Karina Noctum to NCS, and happily present her discussion with Spencer Prewett, the phenomenal drummer of a Vancouver band we’ve been following since early days — Archspire.)

Hello everyone! My name is Karina Cifuentes. I was born in Colombia, but I live in Norway and I’m here because of Black Metal basically. I had to live the BM dream with forests, darkness, and so on. I have been interviewing my favorite bands since 2008 and I do this because it really makes me do more research than I would otherwise and I get lots of knowledge that way. I’m also working with a Black Metal documentary called Blackhearts (https://www.facebook.com/blackheartsfilm) So here’s my first contribution, an interview with Spencer Prewett from my fav tech-death band Archspire.

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When did you start playing drums and what appeals to you the most about drumming?

The first time I started playing was when I was a kid. I was 8 years old when I first got my drum kit, but I didn’t actually start practicing drums until I got into metal and that was when I was 17. Now I’m 32, so I’ve been playing for quite a while. I find extreme drumming really appealing. I respect rock and blues drumming, but it doesn’t excite me the same way as Cryptopsy or Nile did.

Which drummer has inspired you the most and why?

Flo from Cryptopsy when I was younger, because when I was 17 I had a fake I.D. and I could go to my first Cryptopsy show. My first real metal show ever, and I didn’t know much about Cryptopsy. I was so blown away how fast the band and the drumming were, and that was probably what really affected me. So Flo was my biggest influence originally, but every year that goes by I discover a new band or I discover a new drummer or a new style. Continue reading »

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