TWINMUSIX INTERVIEW WIT ERLEND FROM HJELVIK
Twinmusix interview wit Erlend from HJELVIK.
TM - Hi, This is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix, thank you for having this interview with us today we appreciate it.
HK - Yeh, Thank You.
TM -Your new album was released on the 20th of November, how have fans responded?
HK - Great, I have been getting great feedback from old and new fans on my work, so that's cool. Most of them are saying the album is killer and they are happy to have me back, so I can't ask for more.
TM - What was your writing and recording process for your new album Welcome to Hel?
HK - I started writing it in January 2019 and I spent about 6 months writing the music and the lyrics. I write the music on my own. I write the demos using keyboard and guitars. I write guitar lines and bass lines. I use the computer for the drums. I send it to my guitarist who sends it back with his playing on it, same with the drummer and the bass player. Then we have the whole album demoed before meeting up in the studio and we have two days of practice together just to set the tempo of the songs and stuff like that. We started recording which we did for three or four weeks so that was the process. I think it worked well to do it this way and that's going to be the way going forward.
TM - You did a song with Matt Pike, how was it working with him?
HK - It was awesome, Matt is a great guy and he was kind enough to drop by the studio in Brooklyn. It was fun to watch him work, he just improvised the guitar solo on the spot. He did 15 different takes all of the sounds but they all sounded cool. It was a little had to choose the best solo afterwards. His vocals sound great on the song to and I think justice performers to the next level and I'm really happy with that on it.
TM - You have members from Abbath and Skelator, how did this influence your sound?
HK - They have their style of playing and Rob Steinway is an amazing guitar player. Kevin Foley is an amazing drummer so I write the music and they have their interpretation of playing it. They took my ideas and made them super awesome and I'm super happy about the work they did on the album.
TM - In welcome to Hel, you have your lyrics in English, previously you had them in Norwegian, what inspired this?
HK - It just felt like a good opportunity for me to try something new like you said, I've been might writing lyrics in Norwegian for 12 years. It was a good opportunity to try something new science we are a new band. For me, it was my chance to start writing in English and for me, it feels like I have a new set of colouring pencils. Some of the themes I write about are very Norwegian, mythology and history and it still feels Norwegian. Writing about it in English gives me an interesting perspective and gives me new ideas. Doing That has been a nice change, I still have a few songs on the album in Norwegian. There are 2 and a half songs in Norwegian and 7 and a half in English, so that's like the old Norwegian black metal bands recipe you put out albums. With 8 English songs and 2 Norwegian songs, that is a good way to do it and what I'll keep doing on albums. It was nice to start writing in English and for people to understand the lyrics because we had to deal with people not knowing what we were singing about expect for Norwegian people. Non-Norwegian people were dealing with Google translating the lyrics. I am happy for people to understand what I'm yelling about on stage now.
TM - You also went to a festival a few weeks ago how was that with Covid on?
HK - It is near where I live. It was cool for me and it was a luxury festival. There were 200 people in the audience and everyone was separated by tables. You had to sit down for the whole show and order beer to your table using an app. There was lots of amp feedback around. The event was safe but from an audience perspective, it was nice to sit there and watch all the bands play. It was like a luxury festival but I think it is strange for the bands. To see people sitting down like that when they are playing. It was just nice to go to a show after being so long science being able to go to a concert. I'm really happy they were able to pull it off.
TM - What's your favourite festival you have played at live can you tell us a story?
HK - I think Soundwave was one of the best Festivals I have ever been to, that was a luxury festival. Speaking of luxury, we got to stay in really nice hotels in Australia and the whole set up was nice with my old band. We were travelling with the band Mastodon, that's the guys we were grouped up with. We were playing sideshows with them that was a whole lot of fun that week or two weeks worth of touring and there were lots of days off where you could hang out in the pool in the hotel. That was a blast to get to do that.
TM - you've also toured with bands such as Metallica Slayer and Anthrax so how was that?
HK - It was great, Metallica is awesome guys and took care of us took us. They took us out to dinners and parties and that's awesome of them to do. We got to go to the World wired tour with them and did four parts of touring. It was over 7 months or something like that, so it was awesome to see them play every night. I don't know how many shows so that was cool. It was the same with Slayer and Anthrax, we toured with them with my old band Kvelertak. They were nice to us to and it was a lot of fun. It was really fun to do Jager shots with Kerry King backstage after the show, he is super friendly and great guys it was a lot of fun.
TM - I know you have toured with a lot of big bands but who is your dream band to tour with that you haven't toured with yet?
HK - Either Danzig, Mercyful Fate or King Diamond so one of those.
TM - What's your favourite European festival?
HK - Hellfest, it's insane how many bands play there, it's overwhelming. You are at the festival and there are 3 bands that you want to see at the same time. It's almost so good it is frustrating in a way.
TM - We can relate, we have been there for the last three years.
HK - Yeh, that one even though there are lots of European festivals.
TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs what band would it be, what song would it be and would it be in your style or their style?
HK - It would be cool for Iron Maiden to play "Nekrokosmos" because I wonder what it would sound like. It's already heavily influenced by them.
TM - What's your favourite memory of watching someone else perform live can you tell us a story?
HK - I was watching Faith No More when they reunited a couple of years ago. They played on the main stage and the Drummer and guitarist started arguments in the middle of the show. Throwing drumsticks at each other, it was a real argument. It was really funny to watch. I have no idea what it was about but they were yelling at each other. It was one thing I remember it was crazy to watch. It was a really good show it wasn't intense or anything it was cool.
TM - At least you won't forget it.
HK - Yeh it was pretty unusual, I haven't seen people argue like that on stage before.
TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?
HK - If anyone has liked anything I have done before, I would appreciate it if you check out my new band HJELVIK and find stuff to love. If you like the album please buy it or buy a t-shirt or come to a show. Thank You and I can't wait to go back on the road again.