Swedish black/folk metal legends Ereb Altor have released their 9th full-length album called "Vargtimmen" this January via Hammerheart Records (and it got into our January Top 10 - read review here). I asked vocalist / guitarist and bass player Mats if he would like to answer some questions about the new album and the history of the band and he was so kind as to agree. So I had a very nice chat via Skype with him where I could find out some more interesting facts about the band and also Mats himself. Enjoy reading!

Michael

Hi Mats, how are you doing? Hope you did come well through the pandemic?

I'm doing fine! All the restrictions in Sweden were lifted this Wednesday (I did the interview on the 11th of February; M.) and Norway and Denmark as well opened up. So it feels good. Most people are vaccinated up here so I think it will be more or less like some cold of flu with Covid-19 – I hope so. But you never know, it can kick back as well but it's been a strange couple of years not to be able to play any shows, not to go to any shows and just stay home. It has been two boring years.

You have recently released your new album "Vargtimmen". After several listens, I have to say that it is much darker and more depressing than its predecessor "Järtecken". Did the pandemic have a big influence on the writing process or are you just getting more depressed in general?

Haha! It's very hard to say how an album will turn out because I always start with a clean slate and it depends on the mood of course. This album is written mostly pre pandemic. The long waiting times to release vinyls, you have nine months at the factories right now so everything is much later than people will think. I started writing the album in 2019 and 2020 so I don't think it has much to do with the pandemic. Maybe the next album will be darker because of the pandemic (laughs). In the writing procedure I am kind of two years ahead of every album every time. You write it two years before the release since we are spending a lot of time when we have an album coming out with the recording and the pre-productions and all the stuff. We do everything ourselves and it takes a long time. So Vargtimmen is an old album for me.

Having a look at the cover and the title which refers to an old Swedish term for the hour before sunset when most of the people die you can get the impression that this album is mostly about death. Am I right about that?

It deals with a lot of dark subjects and death is one among them. We deal with the black plague for instance and the title track is obviously about death as well. We also have a song about the witch processes back in Sweden 700 years ago. The church here in Sweden had a lot of power and they got kids to point out who is a witch and who isn't. Sometimes they even pointed out their own parents which were burnt at stake or drowned so these were very crazy times. In this particular song it's about a child who points out his mother is sentenced to death by the church and this is a true story. Very dark times!

Is the cover somehow referring to the ferryman and the Styx?

Yes, it is. That's not exactly very Swedish perhaps but in some points you can mention a ferryman in Sweden as well. Also when it comes to the black plague – they thought that it could have traveled across waters with a ferryman. So there are these stories in Sweden as well but not when it comes to the land of the dead. It's a bit borrowed from the Styx.

What is the track "Den Dighra Döden" about? It sounds a little bit like a grave digger…..

That's about the black death. The name of it here in Sweden is "digerdöden". "Dighra Döden" is some kind of older spelling and expression. I've read a very old book where they explained the Black Death and the people in Sweden back then thought it was born in a huge storm and spread by the wind. When I wrote that song I tried to somehow make the song sound like a nasty black wind or something. The notes are not going exactly; they are some kind of swaying, trying to get the lyrics and the music fit together. And they're very dark of course.

I got the limited edition of the album which includes a CD of the last years EP "Eldens Boning" which was only released on vinyl and as a digital version. Why did you decide to release it as a CD, too?

It was an idea that Hammerheart Records came up with. We had no intention of releasing this on CD, we thought it was more like a collector thing for vinyl collectors but they thought it could be a very good idea to make a 2-CD-box. They usually sell pretty well and we said that we could try and there have been a lot of fans asking about it to get it on CD.

Your name is originally based on a fantasy role playing game called "Drakar Och Demoner". This is not the most ehm… serious origin for a metal bands name some true black metal guys might say. Did you ever think about changing the name?

Well, we actually thought about to change it in the beginning but you can't change a band's name. There weren't that many black metal influences from the beginning and we had an intention of writing fantasy lyrics from the start but that actually never happened because we started to deal with historic events and northern mythology instead. But the name remained. It's a game that we played as kids so it has something to do with our childhood and it is something that connects us - me and Daniel. The band name remains and still not many know about that role playing game. Ereb Altor could be kind of a black metal name anyway (laughs). But it's a fantasy role playing game with dice and all that stuff, it's kind of a Swedish version of Dungeons and Dragons.

Do you still have time to play this game? I mean, getting older usually means that we don't have too much time for such things maybe…

I don't play this game anymore and I haven't done it in the last 30 years or so. But I do play games still and I don't have any video games. I collect board games actually. I play strategic board games once or twice the week with a couple of friends of mine. It's good for your brain. I have about 150 board games and some of them are very advanced.

One hobby you have is to make your own red wine. I was pretty surprised to read that you can even produce wine that far north.

Haha!! You should not be able to do that but my grapes are in a perfect spot with a lot of sun. It actually works and we have a lot of bees because my neighbor has three beehives and so I get a lot of grapes.

That sounds cool. My grapes aren't that tasty, they somehow taste quite artificial. Is it a sweet or dry red wine?

It's dry red wine. I experiment with it every year so it's different each year. Perhaps I will find the perfect recipe – the first time I made my wine, it wasn't that very good (laughs). You learn a lot during the process what to do and not.

Are there any other surprises one should know about the band members?

Haha, I don't wanna speak for the others. I like to be outdoors very much. I have a dog and walk with him every day and I travel up north to the mountains here in Sweden. I will enter the highest mountain in Sweden this summer for the first time. I will be hiking in the mountains for about a week to reach the top of Kebnekaise. It's not very high, about 2000 meters (2117 m, M.) and you can't drive to it but you have to walk for six days to get there. It's very beautiful up there and I wish I could live up there but there aren't many people living there because there are no roads, nothing. You have to live in a tent.

In the past you were often called a Bathory follow-up. How much influence does this band still have on you?

Not that much anymore. Bathory is still one of my favorite bands and in the beginning we were trying to pay tribute to them on our first two albums. They are heavily inspired by Bathory. Since a couple of albums we found our own path and I write music in a very different way than he did. I admire his way of doing music because he's doing it so simple yet so effectively. I don't know how to do that because he got the atmosphere with very simple methods. I make everything complicated instead (laughs).

What other bands do have an influence on you? Maybe also for your other band, Isole.

Isole is inspiring Ereb Altor and vice versa of course. I listen a lot to old folk music and I think you can hear that in both bands because there are some Scandinavian melodies inspired by the old folk music from here. Band-wise it's hard to say. Everything you listen to you get influenced by. I listen a lot to Iron Maiden for instance and maybe you can hear it somehow. Primordial is one of my favorite bands as well and it's more similar to Ereb Altor than Iron Maiden perhaps. But I don't know if I get more influenced by Primordial or Iron Maiden, it's very hard to say.

BTW, it is pretty hard to get the older Isole albums as physical editions. Are there some re-releases planned?

We're hoping to do re-releases of all the albums. We're actually working on it and it's the same with Ereb Altor as well. All the older albums you have to buy second hand. It's a pity because I get mails all the time and people are asking where to get a copy of a certain album. As I said, we're working on it because there is a demand for it and it should be doable. I hope we will have every album out again maybe this year. And we still have one album with Isole that doesn't exist on vinyl yet. It's "Bliss Of Solitude" that never was available on vinyl and that's bothering me a little bit. On my wall I have all the vinyls and one is missing – that's disturbing.

What about a new Isole album?

Actually it's written and almost recorded but in August last year there were floods here where we live. The facility where we have our studio was destroyed and they will tear it down. So we don't have a studio at the moment and we're in a waiting line for a new place they're building right now. I hope we can move in in March or something and then we will continue with the album. There are mostly just vocals left to do on it and it should be recorded this year but you have nine months waiting for the vinyl so it will be released early 2023 I hope (laughs).

Alright, we're almost through. I will just show you some album covers and you tell me your thoughts about that, if you'd like...

Bathory – "Bathory''. It's the wrong color! (laughs) No, I don't have the yellow goat either. A friend of mine has two vinyls with the yellow goat and one is mint which is worth pretty much today. It's not Bathory's best album but it still is a legendary album just where Swedish black metal started.
Bathory – "Twilight Of The Gods". This is the best album in the world if you ask my brain. If you ask my heart I would say something different. The album before "Twilight Of The Gods", "Hammerheart" is better by heart but this is better by brain.
Bathory – "Requiem" / "Octagon" – Well, I am a record collector and I bought both of these albums but actually I sold them. I don't think they're too good. Awful albums! I can't really hear Bathory in them, they're just strange.
Venom – "Black Metal" – Yeah! It's a great album and I saw them on 70000 tons of metal before the pandemic. It was one of the best shows on it with Cronos. It's still going strong.
Falkenbach – "Asa" – Falkenbach! I don't know that album actually. I've heard some people play it to me but I don't own any of their albums by them. I know some people sometimes compare Ereb Altor with Falkenbach so maybe I should give them a listen. Is it good?

Yes, it's really great epic stuff! I always listen to it while I'm reading fantasy literature like LOTR. Unfortunately they haven't released an album for 10 or 15 years.

Iron Maiden – "Senjutsu" – I would say it's the best album for quite some time for me. Perhaps it's a little bit too slow but it's still better than "Book Of Souls" and "The Final Frontier". Maybe even the best since "Dance Of Death" I think. It's always a disappointment with Maiden, it's mixed feelings. I know it could have been better but it could have been much worse as well (laughs). Some of the songs are good and some aren't but it's probably better than I expected. But it's not "Seventh Son…" (laughs). You can't compare it to the classic 80s album because they will never sound like that anymore and he cannot sing like that anymore either. You have to take it for what it is. They're getting old but it's still a nice album – I enjoy it.

Thank you very much for the interview!

Well, I really hope that we will be able to see everyone and meet in real life somewhere. We are coming to Germany in September for some shows and will do our first headlining European tour ever. It's a booking agency from Germany who is scheduling it so there are a lot of German gigs. I really long to be out on the road again and meet new and old friends!

"Not all those who wander are lost" - JRR Tolkien

In this desolate everyday life, we often seek solitude in our own world where we find shelter and serenity to nourish us. Some of us human beings have become like lone wolves wandering our path in search for a better tomorrow, to find those that will follow and never stray off. Such are the stories that are told by a handful of people within the black metal community that managed to both find and express themselves in this state of loneliness. One of these interesting individuals that I met a few years back is a man by the name of Volkh, who is in charge of his one-man black metal band Strahor from Serbia. I remember back in 2019 when his debut full-length album "Koledo" was still fresh in the Serbian black metal scene, and now fast forward 4 years later, Strahor released its third album "Gde Vukovi Zavijaju". I always found Strahor to be an interesting band because it always resonated a certain kind of Slavic pagan magic in their music with a lot of heart put into it. Volkh also has his dungeon synth project Aen Seidhe and he also participated in other projects such as Monah, Soul Butcher and Enchanted Sword, all of which have a different story to tell. Although I have exchanged so much with Volkh ever since we started chatting a few years ago, I realized that I never quite managed to meet his artistic side that is still responsible for making and releasing new music. So for today's interview, I present to you the man himself, Volkh of the band Strahor.

Vladimir

Greetings Volkh! First of all, I'd like to wish you a warm welcome on behalf of the MetalBite crew.

Thank you all for showing your interest and support! It means a lot!

Strahor's third album "Gde Vukovi Zavijaju" has been released recently and from what I've seen in the comments, the album has managed to receive a positive word of mouth from fans. Some fans, including me, claim that this might be your best work yet. Although your album managed to meet or possibly exceed expectations from listeners that have been following Strahor, has the overall response from followers managed to satisfy your general expectations?

As much as I hate to say this, but yes, I agree it is the best Strahor material so far, considering the amount of energy and time that was put into making this record. The response is great, I am always happy to hear the criticism from the people on the scene that I respect and from all the new people that hear the material. I don't have any expectation when I release something purely because in the first place, I'm making this for my own soul, as this is the kind of music that is very much individualistic. But of course, anyone who understands this music as I do is welcome on board, we are all one big wolfpack!

Your style of music has changed and progressed over the years, and this new album contains some folk elements which were wonderfully combined along with your traditional pagan black metal to create this final result. What inspired you this time to take on this specific songwriting approach and express yourself in such a variety of ideas?

Folk elements have always been there and always will be, it's the essential part of the formula for Strahor. When I start to plan the new release, I have no idea what it will sound like. I have no plans, no guidelines. The only thing that is there is the drive, some force pushing me to express certain emotions and atmosphere through music. Combine that with the current things I'm listening to, and you get a new Strahor. This time around when creating Gde Vukovi Zavijaju I listened to a variety of things, from the usual black metal and melodic death to some folk, dungeon synth, gothic metal, hardcore punk etc. I think that is why the album is so dynamic, If I can say so. Songwriting and the creating process always evolves, as it should be, it is a natural way for any art form. That being said, I always try to make new stuff sound different, I hope you will never hear two Strahor albums that sound the same.

I remember your last year was quite a busy one since you released the EP "Zverovanje" on May 2022, you participated as a guest vocalist on Niflungar's single "Centuries Of Terror, War And Hate" and you also worked with Ivan Radnić on your new project Enchanted Sword and even released your debut EP "Chapter 1: Hero Reborn" which is an entirely different beast. Can you please tell us a bit about how you and Ivan came up with the idea of starting Enchanted Sword? Also, have there been any talks of you returning to work with Ivan again on new material for Enchanted Sword now that Strahor's third album has finally been released?

Yes, I have been busy and I must say I am a bit exhausted as a result (laughs)! Zverovanje was released for two sole reasons, one being to fill the time gap between albums, and second one to find a place to release 'A Soul Among the Stars', the song I kept in the vault for quite some time. After that as you said I had an honor to be the guest on Niflungar's single which turned out excellent! As for Enchanted Sword, that is a different story. Ivan and myself have been cooperating for quite some time, and he had come up with the idea to start this. He is the main guy in Enchanted Sword, he composes and records, I write lyrics and sing! I'm very proud of the first EP, although it is not perfect, it holds a special place in my heart. I think Ivan is maybe one of the best songwriters in Serbian metal at the moment, his sense of melody is outstanding!

I've seen on a post recently that Enchanted Sword has recruited Vladimir Nedeljković (Mangled, ex-Light Denied) as the band's drummer. What is the current situation now that he joined the band? Have there been any plans to do some live shows or will Vladimir be solely participating as a studio-only drummer?

There are some plans, yes. Vladimir is a beast! He will contribute greatly to ES, I am sure. We are not going to rush things, but they will happen! The new single is coming out soon, we are just waiting for the final mix. It will be a crushing song!

You also have your dungeon synth project Aen Seidhe which released the single "Шума Стриборова (Forest of Stribor)" in September 2020, but that was the last time we heard anything from the project. Have you perhaps considered going back to work more on Aen Seidhe after spending so much time working on Strahor and Enchanted Sword?

Yes, there are plans of course. The new Aen Seidhe has been in the works for a long time, I am taking things slowly but steady. I don't know when it will happen, but it will. Now I am taking a bit of rest, not working on anything, just regaining my energy. I put everything I had in the new Strahor album, so now I'm just empty!

I am very curious to know as to what is your take on the black metal community if it solely consisted of people like yourself who have their one-man projects/bands? Do you think that there are many great minds that put their hearts in the right place or do you think that there are just way too many lifeless and meaningless projects that overpopulate the scene?

There are always great minds in black metal, you can easily sense nowadays when something is made from the heart, or just made to be made. Black metal is going through some strange evolutions these times. Sometimes I think it's done for good, but sometimes I'm reassured that it's still going strong, mostly in the underground. There is a lot of mediocrity around, no one can deny that, there is some trend these years that all black metal needs to be modern, progressive and I get that, but the hard truth is that 90% of the bands you see on certain channels are just the same. You get some 10 to 20 thousand views, you listen through the album once and that's it, you move on as if nothing has happened. There has to be magic, something that punches you in the soul! The biggest quality I think, can be found in the underground scenes, and that is like going back to old school times! On the other hand, we are already giving birth to the new scene in Serbia, that will make a great impact I am sure. The fires will burn eternally!

Where did your musical journey with bands actually begin? I remember that you played drums in a local punk band Razočarenje, but I never really had the courage to ask you about how you got in the music world to work with bands and other musicians?

Ah yes, my path has been somewhat strange. I started playing drums when I was around 12,13 years old. At that time, I was already into metal, but not that extreme. To keep things simple, after some time I played with some friends, we made some songs, and played couple of gigs. Then I got involved in playing in pubs, bars, a usual Serbian thing that has no other meaning and purpose than to make some little money. On the side I was playing in a punk band also, where I got to be more creative and feel what it is like to make your songs, go to the studio and record, sign a deal with a label etc. Slowly during all of that, black metal somehow ended up showing in my life, and that is where I felt most complete. I started to get drawn into this world more and more until it consumed me. I left all the groups and bands, figured out it was all wasting my time. Then the magic of black metal forced me to start creating. It was all crap first, of course. I made some demos, started communicating with people all around the place. I met some great people that gave me their support even though I was just a kid trying to make music. As far as I'm concerned, it was all leading up to the moment I put out Strahor's first official album, Koledo, and that is where my journey starts.

I was always surprised how Strahor never managed to achieve some better status in the Serbian black metal community in the span of six years of its existence, especially since so many other bands in the scene are talked about and gain a big amount of respect and support. Do you believe that the reason behind this is because many bands are living in the shadows of bigger names in the scene like The Stone or similar?

We can argue what exactly is "better status in the Serbian black metal community". Does the Serbian black metal community even exist? I am not sure. I don't care and I don't give a f**k about any "status" in any scene, I am disgusted by any form of elitism (which is common in Serbian metal, let's be clear). I don't care what my band accomplishes, I make this music to connect with other people who share this passion, to meet new friends, to share experience, and if my music makes at least one person happy and gives them motivation, then I have accomplished all that I wanted. People tend to forget what this music is all about in the first place. About the second part of the question, yes, it's also the fact that many young bands don't gain so much attention because the biggest part of the so called "Serbian metal scene" is focused around the same bands over and over. Does being a big name in Serbia actually means that you are the best? We can argue upon that also. And one more thing, in the past 4,5 years quite a few new black metal names emerged in Serbia, that are actually really great, and I am sure that every one of those names will make a great impact.

Besides your main bands Strahor and Enchanted Sword, you have also participated in two other bands, Soul Butcher and Monah, so you're pretty much all over the place. Are there any artists you're close to but haven't worked with yet, with whom you would also like to collaborate with? If there are, what kind of music would you work on this time?

Sometimes I think it's a problem that I'm all over the place! Soul Butcher and Monah are also the bands I am working on with some friends, and both of them will have some new material, I am sure. I may have another thing coming with some friends, but I'm taking things slow and steady, don't wanna rush anything. All in due time.

Every time I listen to Strahor, I always envision a scenery of a lone wolf wandering inside an unknown world which seems so otherworldly yet so peaceful and warm. How would you describe the world surrounding your project Strahor? Do you feel the same way or is there a certain vision that you create when working on your music?

It is in fact a gateway to another world. Everyone can have a different vision, but the core remains the same. There is a greater philosophy behind any Strahor material. It's a deep connection with the old forces of nature, one that is sung in all of our myths and legends. It evokes the force that lies within us. Black metal is just an instrument used to put you in a very specific state of mind, or trance if you will. Every individual that listens can experience all that in their own unique way, and that is I think, the magic of black metal.

Thank you so much Volkh for taking your time to do this interview! I hope that the future carved by the elder gods on runestones will shine a bright tomorrow for you and for Strahor. Are there any final words you'd like to leave for your dedicated fanbase?

You are most welcome! Be true to yourself, be strong and be kind to each other! Slava!