In the Norwegian black metal scene, there are many paths which the bands are willing to take and go further down the road with their own responsibility, and such decisions are mostly based on their creative visions and the primary ideas that fuel their music. Not long ago, I reviewed the upcoming Trelldom album "…By the Shadows…", which many have noticed by now as a new musical direction which they are taking on, marking a new beginning for the band as it sheds its skin from its previous black metal roots to something more avant-garde and experimental. Despite what people may think of it at the moment, I still believe that it will eventually spark an interest among newcomers from different musical backgrounds, who are yet to discover the vast world of Trelldom, which keeps on expanding album after album. Sometime after, I had the pleasure of chatting with the one and only Gaahl, where we discussed about the new Trelldom album and their stylistic change, but we also talked about other things along the way, like how he approaches the music, as well as performing on the Beyond the Gates Festival this year, which was done in honour of Quorthon from Bathory who had passed away 20 years ago. I hope you will enjoy this conversation, because it was truly an honour to talk about these interesting subjects with someone such as Gaahl, especially because his reputation as a musician still holds up fairly strong after all these years.

Vladimir

Greetings Gaahl, how's it going?

Hi, I am doing good.

We've come here to talk about the new Trelldom album "...By The Shadows...", which marks a new beginning for the band, where you switched from traditional Norwegian black metal to this avant-garde/experimental music with psychedelic and post-punk elements, and the final output feels like an entirely different musical entity than what people got used to. What can you tell me about the decision of changing the style of music?

Well, for me it's a logical transition, the way me and Stian have been working together throughout all the years. But also, the extra hands we brought in, new members, so it's kind of the fusion of the energies of the different members basically.

This work is very distanced from your last album from 2007, and this stylistic departure from Trelldom's established foundation was quite unexpected and I guess the fans of your previous works might need some time to get used to the new direction. Do you think that this is a great opportunity for the band to get new fans who are more diverse in terms of their taste in music?

Well, I am not thinking too much about how it's seen. I'd like the music to be the ruler of what it becomes. Of course, so how people see it it's not that important for me. We're already in the process of entering the studio with the follow-up album. It's probably a development people didn't expect, but then again, we constantly change. The old albums are there to listen to if people are missing them, they're not gone. I think we need to always evolve and turn into something different, because that's what we are, we are not what we were 30 years ago.

Whatever may be the outcome of the new album, I am actually very curious to see where this will go in the future and how further it can be expanded, especially because I admire the fact that the entirety of Trelldom is not afraid to experiment and take their work to a whole new dimension. Has the rest of the band expressed interest to continue with this direction after the album is released?

Oh yeah, we have all the music ready for the next album. At the moment, Kenneth is doing small preparation demos, so he's entering the studio fairly soon, so we start the recording basically these days, so we'll also bring along Kjetil Møster on the follow-up as well, so I consider him a part of the band. We do have a new member that I hope will participate on the recording, Stian did the bass on this album, but we have brought with us the bass player that we use live, I want to include him on the recording as well. We are now a complete band again.

The new album features a guest appearance of the acclaimed jazz musician Kjetil Møster, containing his experimental performances with the use of clarinets and saxophones that blend in with your newly crafted sound. What was the band's experience while working with Kjetil?

I consider him a member of the band by today, and also when we finished the album, but when we signed the contract with Prophecy Productions, he had not been included. We sent him a few tracks because we wanted to include him, and then when he returned, we gave him complete freedom, and what he returned on those tracks, we were kind of like "Okay, he'll have to be on every track", hahah. Iver and I were both pleasantly surprised with the energy he brought into it, so I could change my focus towards the music and kind of redirect in a way. So, it was kind of a collaboration we did with him, but I do consider him as a member on this album.

This year you also had the great opportunity of performing with Trelldom on the Beyond the Gates Festival in Grieghallen, where you were also a part of the Bathory tribute act while performing "A Fine Day to Die" in honor of Quorthon. How do you look back on the entire event? What's the impression that you have right now after some time has passed?

The Bathory tribute, we did this with some of the same participants like 20 years ago when Quorthon died, and it was meant to be just a one-off event back then, but this is kind of the 20th anniversary, and I thought I'll join. Sadly, Nocturno Culto did not participate this time, he did an excellent job the first time, and of course Abbath couldn't join, because he was on tour. When I chose "A Fine Day to Die" back in the day, I thought it was the correct song for the occasion, so I haven't rehearsed on it since I performed back then 20 years ago, so I basically went onstage and tried to remember the lyrics and how it was. It's a good track, but for me I kind of just entered the stage and then walked off again, I just try to be in the moment.

I really have to congratulate all of you guys on the great job you did.

Thank you.

You have gained a lot of momentum thanks to your works in other bands such as Gorgoroth, Gaahls Wyrd and God Seed, and alongside various musicians you managed to achieve a lot throughout all these years. Speaking both from a perspective of a musician and an artist, have your past experiences in any way helped you get more involved and focused in terms of artistic freedom and creative vision in music?

Yeah, probably, we are affected by everything around us. I thought the way I approach different bands and how I work with different projects is so that I don't have the same routine, like when I enter a studio and create the songs. I try to change my whole angle on how I process the work, just to know how to separate them, because we always bring ourselves with it, but of course I find a way to distract myself, so I try to become like the songs, and the songs would be ruling me, rather than me ruling the songs.

Out of curiosity, from the standpoint of someone highly involved in Gaahls Wyrd and Trelldom, both of whom are musically distinct bands, how do you separate the two? What are in your opinion some significant differences between being a front figure and lyricist in Gaahls Wyrd and also in Trelldom?

They do have different topics, so I make sure that I don't connect them too much, because I select the topic that I focus on and make sure that they are not intervening too much with each other. Of course, some of them do, like I've just finished the mix and master of the upcoming Gaahls Wyrd album, so I finished that three weeks ago, and I also had worked on Whispering Void, my band with the ex-guitarist in Trelldom, but it's absolutely nothing to do with metal, but we also brought Iver Sandøy on drums and Lindy-Fay Hella on co-vocals. I kind of approach things with different topics, and also try to approach the microphone in a different way, or just the chance of recording, so that I don't mix up the work process.

Something that I believe separates you from other notable Norwegian metal vocalists is that you are very expressive in what you do, because you give such a dimension to the music by presenting a very strong psychological aspect that a listener can truly feel. Do you as an artistic figure believe that contemporary metal vocalists and lyricists should form a closer connection with the listeners by being more expressive and more engaging in that sense?

I hope that artists and musicians deliver themselves in what they express, and if you are kind of true to your own energy, it's easier for the listener to associate, because we have a lot of same feelings and same personalities, as long as you deliver on your feelings, then I think it's easier for the audience to connect with it. But I don't have any opinion about what others should and shouldn't do.

You mentioned that a new Trelldom album is in the works and you also finished work for the new Gaahls Wyrd album?

Yeah, the Gaahls Wyrd album is finished, it's mixed and it's mastered. I am just working on the cover art at the moment. As soon as that's done, then I think that the label will put out the release date, I hope it will be out in January or February, but at the moment I am trying to decide how to visually do the cover art.

Thank you so much for the interview, Gaahl. Best of luck to you and the rest of Trelldom with the release of the new album "...By the Shadows...". Are there any final words?

No, I just hope you enjoy the path that we'll present in the future as well.