The mystique surrounding Paganism in Scandinavia is an ages-olde fascination for many historians and artists the world over. Such a deep history with so much that has yet to be discovered. I do not speak of the commercialization of Viking culture, via film, major streaming series, and foolish musical adaptations, but the history and the culture as a whole. Just like how black metal revolves around so much more than Satanism, Scandinavian history revolves around so much more than Barbarism. Sweden's SEID are one of many Scandinavian black metal collectives who use BM as a means to pay homage to the Olde Gods and to explore the spiritual world of Paganism, but SEID are a unique entity whose recording practices ode the ancients through an unabashed raw approach - the true black metal way. They explore Paganism with passion and unparalleled knowledge. This translates masterfully into the music. During my latest interview, Seiðr of SEID discusses their latest LP, "Hymns to the North", his personal views on Christianity and gives us a peek into the realm of Asatro.

Jeger

Hails Seiðr and welcome to Metal Bite! Let's begin with a little background. How was SEID conceived?

Thank you! The idea (Viking romanticism/Asatro mixed with black metal) and a few songs were created in 1992 under the name Neocrome. Then some turns in life got me into other music, like crust punk. I was in a band called Abuse between 1994-2004, that was mostly active during the 90s.

The band was formed in 2009, but you didn't release your first LP until 2016. Why the long wait?

Yeah, in 2009 I recorded two songs with a drummer in Gothenburg, and it was basically the first time since the early 90s I wrote some Black Metal again. The two songs were "Blood Storm" and "Red Eyes Black Skull," and one of them made it onto SEID's album "The Woods" in 2016. I moved to Stockholm in 2010, and it took me some time to get a studio and bandmates in order to continue SEID. Also, three different drummers were involved in making "The Woods".

SEID is a pagan black metal band, solely inspired by Norse mythology. There are some folks who identify themselves as Odinists who choose to live in conjunction with pre-Christian Scandinavian traditions and spiritual principles also known as Asatro. Do you subscribe at all to this particular spiritual path?

I do it in my own way, yes. I think ancient wisdom is buried in many religions but under metaphors. In my view, I look at the cosmos and understand it better when I connect it to Asatro. I also believe in time traveling, at least as an observer. And of course, even looking at the sun we travel back in time by 8 minutes. I explore this perhaps as a scientifically unorthodox approach in many lyrics.

I also carry a grudge against the christening of Sweden, which was a nasty business. I am also angry about how the Viking age came to be a thing, and how it reduces Scandinavian history to a short period. I know for a fact we had ships that looked like Viking ships back in the Bronze Age. There is a huge untold story to be told here.

Christendom appalls much of Scandinavia, as those who set in motion the christening of this region were responsible for ghastly acts of murder and attempted reformation. Christianity is hypocrisy…

How do you feel about Christianity in Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia? Many Norwegians, for example, are notoriously appalled by it, even to the point of torching and vandalizing places of worship.

I have too much respect for architecture and monuments to even think of destroying any historic buildings, etc. I am appalled by all Abrahamic religions and how they are a constant source of war and hate while pretending to be so good. This double-faced shit is not my thing.

I've always been envious of European countries and their ancient histories: so much to explore and so much that has yet to be uncovered. Our history in The States is defined by the greed of rich white men, racism and the raping of tribal lands…

When did you first take an interest in Norse mythology and what about it fascinates you most?

Well, growing up in rural Uppsala among runestones, ravens, and the huge grave mounds in Gamla Uppsala, it has been with me since as long as I can remember. For me, the stories about Tor, Oden, and Loke were as alive as watching the news back then. What fascinates me the most is that you are never fully learned and that it is a never-ending source of inspiration.

Nothing captures the essence of true black metal like low-fi recording and few do it better than SEID. I refer to this as the ancient way and the idea behind it is to repel those with mainstream taste and to appeal to real black metal people - a way of keeping off the gates. It suits SEID beautifully…

You've chosen the lo-fi way of engineering your albums. I most definitely appreciate this tradition, but some might argue that albums as epic as "Hymns to the Norse" are deserving of more clarity. Why have you chosen to record in lo-fi?

Well, I try my best, but that is how far I reach, haha. For me, clarity/perfection is something ugly and dead, while a really nasty, eerie, gnarly bass tone is something beautiful and animated.

I run my own studio and have done mixing and mastering for bands like Mara, Olde Throne, Old Leshy, Sadistik Forest, Hooded Menace, Thousand Year War, and many more, and trust me when they approach me, they are not looking for clarity either. (www.darkprod.com)

The new album, "Hymns to the Norse", has been described as more of a concept album when compared to your previous "Svartr Sól" LP. How would you describe the album's theme and what else did you do differently in comparison to the preceding record?

It is very different and has already been misunderstood multiple times. It craves your full attention and listening from start to finish to make sense, I would say. It is, in that way, a traditional album and not a collection of hits. But I guess the attention span has been shortened for a long while now, looking at the younger generation's patterns or algorithms. It is a theme of hymns to the old gods and the old ways. Like a fluid or a stream running forever, not to be looked upon as a cup of still water. "Svartr Sól" is more like that, like a statement or a stone. It is easier for many to grasp when the songs are more "catchy," even if we are talking about black metal, which is what the genre has become. The modern bands sound less and less evil or inspired, and the songs are more and more produced and written like pop songs with some distortion and screaming.

How would you describe the songwriting/recording process for the new material?

It was a huge dive into myself, and I almost had a vision. I just had to do it this way. For example, "Hymn to Ivar," the intro, I didn't write it, I just hit record and sang the first melody that popped up in my head and held the rhythm with the sejd drum. Very intuitive, and so it continued with the rest of the songs too. The hard part was making it sound like it did in my head, and we also had a change of drummer late in the process. (Pär, also in Craft)

Are there any live rituals scheduled in support of "Hymns to the Norse," or is SEID a studio-only venture?

No we are a live band too, we did a few shows during the years. We have two planned now; this Saturday (26/10) we have a release party in a brewery here in Stockholm. Also, Hladomrak will play. In January, we will share the stage with Månegarm and Thyrfing.

Black metal is so much more than a genre of music. For many, it's a life code and a mindset. How has black metal shaped the way you view the world?

To be honest, I think the elitism could be fruitful, but I hate the self-pity in the genre and all that emo crap. Black Metal hasn't shaped it much, but Asatro has. But mostly shaping my mindset has been my father's work as an ex-soldier back in the day.

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Support the bands you like, buy their t-shirts and physical albums. Buy downloads at Bandcamp. Engage with them on social media. Listening on Spotify (only) doesn't give the bands anything.