Things
are looking good for ZYKLON. Almost three years
after World Ov Worms the Norwegians around Samoth
(ex-Emperor) are back with their new striking album Aeon to blow
our heads off with another extreme metal assault. Although the
new longplayer is furious as hell once again, it also features
some calm passages this time. Reason enough to talk with the bandleader
himself…
Clemens:
How are things going? Since World ov Worms almost 3 years
have passed, quite a long time for a band. What was the reason
for it?
Samoth: Things are going great, thanks! Yeah, it’s
been over two years since we released the debut album. Damn, time
goes fast! In the first year after the release of World
Ov Worms we did a lot of touring and never really
started to work on new material until the beginning of 2002, but
during that year the Myrkskog boys were also busy with recording
their new album and touring, so things took a little bit longer
than we had hoped for.
Clemens:
Why did you decide to start ZYKLON years ago? Have you already
achieved what you wanted to?
Samoth: Basically, Trym and I saw that Emperor were coming
to a end, so we wanted to get a new band going, just as Ihsahn
did with Peccatum. I think there are still a lot more to achieve,
but I’m satisfied with what we’ve achieved with the
band so far. The debut album did pretty well and we did quite
a bit of touring, both in Europe and overseas. Things are now
looking really promising for the new album.
Clemens:
With Secthdamon you’re a having a new member in the band.
Are you satisfied with his work? I especially like this “growl-singing”
as on Psyklon Aeon...
Samoth: Yeah, he did a great job on the album. He’s
a strong vocalist and an excellent axeman. Secthdamon also contributed
with some material on the album. I’m very pleased with the
current line-up. It’s been a good working unit both in the
studio and in a live connection.
Clemens:
Compared to World Ov Worms you have reduced speed and
included some Morbid Angel-like “crawlers” on Aeon.
What was the aim? Diversity? Heaviness? In my opinion they are
the weakest songs on the album...
Samoth: Yes, we wanted to take things down in tempo a
little bit and focus more on heaviness. There is also a lot more
depth and heaviness in the production. World Ov Worms
sounded more “static”, while Aeon
is floating much better and has a more “organic” feel
to it I think.
Clemens:
The Emperor chapter is closed. Is there any other projects running
at the moment besides ZYKLON and Myrkskog?
Samoth: No, at the moment the focus is on ZYKLON,
and the twins are still working with Myrkskog of course. Trym
is also active in a band called Paganize, which is more traditional
heavy metal based.
Clemens:
Is there a concept behind lyrics and title of the album? What
does Aeon stand for?
Samoth: The title Aeon has
sort of a dark and mysterious feel to it. It’s a very “open”
title, which is pretty much open for interpretation. For me it’s
also a personal title in many ways, because a lot of things and
changes have happened in my life in the last years. And it perfectly
fits the movie poster concept of the front cover as well. As for
the lyrics, In general, the concept is still pretty much the same
I would say. Lots of apocalyptic madness!
Clemens:
Do you think ZYKLON has the potential of becoming one of the “big-players”
in extreme metal some day?
Samoth: Time will tell I guess, but I definitely think,
if we do things right, that ZYKLON has good potential.
Clemens:
An Eclectic Manner is, compared to the rest of the material,
quite melodic and atmospheric. Was there a different approach
when writing this song? Were the mentioned guest musicians part
of the songwriting for this song?
Samoth: I was a bit unsure about this track and whether
or not it would actually fit the album. But I decided to use it
in the end and I think it turned out great. It works almost like
an outro track from the album. Ofu Khan from Red Harvest does
the lead vocals on this track, but Secthdamon and myself did the
music.
Clemens:
What do you think about the latest success of “metal”
bands like Within Temptation or Evanescence? Could you imagine
performing music of that kind or is it just “heavy”
pop-music?
Samoth: I’m sick to my stomach of hearing that
Evanescence song everywhere. It doesn’t do much for me and
that’s not really the type of music I’d be interesting
in playing. I’d like to cash in their royality check though,
but that’s another issue haha.
Clemens:
Any upcoming touring-activities? Perhaps with Morbid Angel once
again? ;)
Samoth: We are hoping to confirm a European tour soon.
We’re also doing a mini tour in Norway this fall and we’re
looking into going over to the states in the beginning of next
year. Sure, we’d love to go out with Morbid Angel again.
They are a good band to tour with.
Clemens:
Last Words...
Samoth: Thanks for the interview! Aeon
is available to rock your house on the 8th of September. Run and
buy it! And catch us live this autumn. Cheers! |
