Thundra
Thundra has given birth
to a superb epic black metal release that will leave breathless the fans
of the genre. "Worshipped By Chaos" is an album that no extreme metaller
should miss and Thundra is a band with potential to lead the way! Here's
what Stein told us about the band's history and their future plans.
1. CONGRATULATIONS ON “WORSHIPPED BY CHAOS”!
ARE YOU CONTENT WITH THE FINAL RESULT?
Hello, it`s been great. A lot of good feedback
and reviews for Worshipped By Chaos. We couldn`t be more happy with
the album.
2. FIRST OF ALL, GIVE US A SHORT BAND BIO AND
INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE READERS… WHICH ARE YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS
A SA BAND?
THUNDRA started as a project band between
me (Stein Sund), when I played in Einherjer, and Harald M. Revheim when
he played drums for Enslaved in 1998. We joined forces with Rune Fredriksen
(Guitar), Steven Grindhaug (Growl/clean voc), Nils Johansen (Synth) and
Thor Erik Helgesen (Guitar/Scream voc). We released our debut album, “Blood
Of Your Soul” on Spinefarm in late 2000. When we parted from our former
bands (Einherjer and Enslaved) and Spinefarm, we wanted to fully concentrate
on Thundra, and we released a well-reviewed demo in late 2003. In 2004
we decided to begin recording “Worshipped By Chaos” in our own studio.
We signed up with Karmageddon Media, and the album should have been out
early 2005. But they could not follow up the contract, so we parted ways.
And then we got signed by Black Lotus, to release “Worshipped By Chaos”.
3. YOU COME FROM 2 GREAT BANDS AND I’M TALKING
ABOUT ENSLAVED AND EINHERJER. SO WHICH WERE THE REASONS THAT MADE YOU LEAVE
THOSE BANDS? HAVE YOU EVER FELT REGRET FOR LEAVING THEM?
Yeah, they are great bands and we are friends
still. I can only talk for myself, but the reason I left Einherjer was
that I didn`t agree on the record agreement we got from Century Media.
The rest of Einherjer wanted to sign this deal, so I left the band, no
hard feelings though. About Harald and Enslaved, that is his business.
It was sad to leave Einherjer, but I have never regretted the decision.
4. LET’S SUPPOSE THAT YOU WERE ASKED TO REVIEW
“WORSHIPPED BY CHAOS”. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TRYING TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS
POSSIBLE?
Hmmm… hard question. I would definitely say
that it is different and that it stands out from other releases. And I
think “Worshipped By Chaos” will appeal to a wide audience, from classic
heavy metal to black metal. 10 out of 10 points…..hehehehe
5. WHICH ARE THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN “WORSHIPPED BY CHAOS” AND YOUR DEBUT ALBUM “BLOOD OF YOUR SOUL”?
The main difference must be that “Worshipped…”
is a harder, more complex and well done album. The similarities must be
the melodies and the clean vocals. But again, the albums are VERY different.
6. BY THE WAY WHY DID IT TAKE YOU 5 YEARS TO RELEASE
YOUR SOPHOMORE ALBUM? WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLES DID YOU FACE?
Hehe…yeah, it`s been a long time since the
debut album. There were some factors that played a huge role in that delay.
Our drummer went working in Poland a long time, and we decided to work
a lot with how we wanted Thundra to sound. We were not completely happy
with “Blood…”, it was done in a hurry. And we did not collaborate together
that good at that time. We were a fairly new band, and was not sure where
we stood. Another thing was that, we lost our rehearsal place, and had
to find a new place to practise. If that was not enough, I decided to build
a studio facility in our new rehearsal place. And after some practice recordings,
we decided to record “Worshipped By Chaos” ourselves. And like I said before,
we signed with Karmageddon Media, who screwed us. So we had to find a new
label. So you see, this took some time. But I can assure you that it won’t
take so long time before we record a new album.
7. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC TO SOMEONE
THAT HASN’T LISTENED TO YOU YET? GIVE REASONS WHY THE METALLERS SHOULD
CHECK YOU OUT?
It is very hard to describe our music. All
of the six members listen to very different music styles, so we try to
incorporate all styles into our music. Classic heavy metal, thrash, power,
black metal and more. And we also use 3 different vocal types, clean, growls
and black metal scream. So if someone is looking for all those elements
and diversity in music, they should definitely check out “Worshipped By
Chaos”.
8. HOW EASY IS IT FOR YOU TO ACHIEVE THIS BALANCE
AND NATURAL RESULT BETWEEN THE EXTREME AND MELODIC PARTS? ON THE SAME GROUND,
WHAT DO THE EXTREME VOCALS STAND FOR AND WHAT THE CLEAN ONES?
I think it is very easy. We have a “slogan”
when we write music: Always think contrast and diversity. So we always
come up with a perfect balance between both the music and vocals.
We don`t have a generality for what the extreme and clean vocals stand
for. It just has to fit the music.
9. WHAT DO YOU FEEL OR THINK WHEN YOU COMPOSE
AND PERFORM YOUR MUSIC? FOR EXAMPLE I HAD THE IMAGE OF BARREN LANDS FILLED
WITH WARRIORS FIGHTING THEIR ENEMIES AND WAITING FOR THEIR TURN TO GO TO
VALHALLA AND SIT BESIDES ODIN. THIS IS WHAT I WROTE IN MY REVIEW. SO, WHAT
WOULD YOU SAY?
When we compose and perform, I personally
don`t get images, but I get a mixed feeling of coldness, fierceness and
darkness. And that definitely influences our live performances also. Aggression
and energy!
10. WHAT’S ACCORDING TO YOU THE BEST AND WHAT’S
THE WORST PART OF YOUR MUSIC? ARE THERE ANY ELEMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO ADD
OR EXPERIMENT WITH IN YOUR MUSIC?
The best part must be the diversity and melodies,
and the worst part…hmmm….maybe the length of our songs. I am willing to
experiment with a lot of things, as long as it is metal. But I hope we
can add more extremity. Right now we are actually in the process of writing
new material, we have 4 songs finished, and I can promise a more extreme
THUNDRA in the future.
11. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE LYRICS. WHICH
ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION AND WHICH ARE THE TOPICS YOU MAINLY DEAL
WITH?
It`s Harald who writes most of the lyrics,
so I have really no clue if he has some deeper meanings around the lyrics.
That is his thing.
12. PLEASE DESCRIBE THE COVER ARTWORK TO THOSE
THAT HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET AND TELL US THE CONNECTION BETWEEN IT AND THE
ALBUM TITLE.
It`s a bluish, cold artwork. Chains with meat
hooks, and children praying, carved in stone. It is hard to describe the
connection between the artwork and the title, it is more of a feeling,
but I`ll try to describe it in short. It symbolizes how the world has become.
How we as individuals have become followers.
13. WHAT KIND OF FEEDBACK HAVE YOU RECEIVED SO
FAR FROM THE PRESS AND THE METALLERS? ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE COMMENTS
YOU RECEIVE?
Yeah I`m really happy with the feedback so
far, the response has been great from both metallers and the press. There
are always some negative things, but we don`t care.
14. HAVE YOU GOT ANY PLANS FOR LIVE SHOWS? WHAT
SHOULD THE FANS EXPECT TO SEE FROM YOU?
We are planning some single gigs and festivals,
but nothing is confirmed yet. But we hope that we can do a full European
tour soon. That would have been great. If someone goes to a THUNDRA gig
they can expect a show full of aggression and energy. We give everything
when playing live.
15. IF YOUR MUSIC WERE AN EMOTION, WHAT WOULD
IT BE?
16. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THERE WAS NO MUSIC IN
THE WORLD? HOW AND WHERE WOULD YOU CHANNEL ALL YOUR CREATIVE ENERGY?
REALLY!!! No music? I would have killed my
self. Metal is everything!!!! Don`t even joke about it…hehehehe ;)
17. WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW TO
HAVE? A TITLE THAT WOULD SUM UP THE WHOLE THUNDRA ESSENCE.
I have really no clue….maybe: THUNDRA`s Chaos!
You decide.
18. THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK YOU ANYTHING
YOU’D LIKE TO MENTION?
I think we have summed up the most important
questions about Thundra. And thank you for the interview!
Christine Parastatidou
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