If it comes to brutal sounds, Poland must have a deal with the horned one for never-ending stream of satanic semen, cause not only they come in great numbers but also in a very potent quality. Northern Plague is a very young bastard child that is making noise in their country already, and with great potential shown on new album they are aiming for global domination. After listening to their debut "Manifesto" which is a solid piece of savage and barbaric violence, I had to ask few questions about the new 'Plague' that invaded 'Northern' Europe. Drummer Damyen was kind enough to answer all my questions.

Chris

So tell me: how do you start a band in a small city in northern Poland? Was it hard to find people that shared the same enthusiasm?

Well... It really depends. I think it's a matter of luck, sometimes you just have friends that share the same passion, same ideas as you, sometimes it's harder to find people that you can cooperate with. The formula stands as with many bands, have some friends to jam around with, then it gets more serious, some people stay, some don't and you find people more serious to replace them. I'm one of those who came latter to Northern Plague.

It took you over 3 years since "Blizzard Of The North" to release debut album, why? What took so long?

We had quite a lot of playing and promoting done for Blizzard of the North. It did quite well, got us some international attention within zines, sites. We wanted to squeeze as much experience as we could from that first release cycle, before going out with our first LongPlay offering. Also we wrote the material in between tours and shows, so we didn't feel anything was rushed. I think it was a good decision.

What inspires you to write music for the horned one?

The question is do we really write music for the horned one... I guess not. It's not the topic of our lyrics, and we never claimed to play music for any other reason other than the fact that we just love what we do. Music is our passion and we have the ambition to make it a way of life. That's what we chose to do and we're tearing down walls to make it happen, often going against the grain. It's sort of rebellious in the sense that we don't want to be people going to work from Monday to Friday and live the simple, boring life that millions do. We want to challenge ourselves to become something we want, and not something that we had to accept our life has become.

I'm not equipped with an album booklet so can you share lyrical concept behind "Manifesto"? It's a manifest of what?

In many ways it's a manifest of where we are as a band, and where we stand as human. Where live in times of conflicts, in times of instability, and when you trace back to the roots of our civilization it's always been that way. Civilizations have risen and fallen. Maybe we're on the edge of our own doom. 

From a musical side you already sound very tight and precise, how often do you practice and how much time you actually spend playing compared to drinking?

Compared to drinking - quite a lot. That's because we don't drink that much. At the moment we have our little break because it was a long ride to work on "Manifesto", record it, play some tours, do as much as we could before the release, promoting it and stuff... now we have our time to recharge and soon we will strike again with some shows in Europe.

I can hear influences of bands like Hate, Vader, Behemoth, Trauma and so on in your music... Which one is your favorite? What's your vision of how you see Northern Plague sounding in the future? Ever changing, looking for new solutions or more or less you want to stay within boundaries of death metal?

You can expect the band to continue evolving. We already know that for the next album we will try to go in a different direction than we did with "Manifesto" but it's too early to play with predictions. 

Why did you choose 'Malta' to record "Manifesto"? Hertz wasn't good enough anymore...

Of course HERTZ was good enough, they are the best, and that's why we wanted them to do the mastering process. When it comes to the decision why Malta was recording with us this time and not Wieslawski Bros is because we wanted to try someone else. Every producer has a different way of doing things in the studio, and we wanted to try working with Malta because of the work he's done in the past. That was a great decision, we really enjoyed working with him and we're proud of the album that resulted. I would be very happy if we'd work together again next time.

Being from small city where everyone knows everyone - how are you guys perceived? Local music stars or the ‘plague’ playing satanic music?

I would say that neither. Sure there are those who recognize us, but I'd say mostly people from other bands and people who have seen us perform. 

Did local preacher try to bless your house and exorcise your demons?

Nope. Still didn't catch us [laugh]

How many times did you guys have problems with law? Any arrests under influence of local moonshine?

Not once. We try to stay out of trouble.

I see that Folter Records started setting you up with European shows already? Are you satisfied with that relationship so far and are you ready to spend your life on the road? 

Sure, we can't wait! If you want to play in a band... being on the road is what you want. We're really excited for the next months because plans are big. Keep your eyes opened.

If you could pick a perfect tour lineup who would you like to see on that bill with Northern Plague?

Gojira, Behemoth

Did you already start thinking about new record, write new material or we’ll again have to wait 3-4 years for new album?

I'd say 1,5-2 years. We got a lot of playing to do before we can start thinking about the next album. For now we concentrate on "Manifesto".

Anything you’d like to add, get out of your system?

Thanks for a fun interview and best regards to everyone supporting MetalBite.

Perhaps unheard of outside some of the more cluttered European scenes, Heimdall are making some waves with their strong power/heavy metal tracks. "The Almighty" is album number three from these 6 Italian stalwarts. I, myself am not a big power fan, but I really have to give these guys credit for coming out with such a credible and infectious record. Band founder and guitarist Fabio Callurio was good enough to have a glance at my questions and jot down a few answers.

Jack 'Odel'


First off, thanks for answering these questions for myself and the power metal fans around the world. Congratulations on "The Almighty," it is one of the most satisfying power albums of last year. You guys ought to be proud.

Thank you very much. I'm very, very happy that you like our last album. "The Almighty" is very important for us because it represents our return after three years of absence from our previous CD "The Temple of Theil" because of some problems such as the change of the vocalist and the change of the label. It's like a new start and we are happy about how the songs have come out.

Heimdall started in 1994 with you and your brother who wanted to make a heavy metal band. Did you guys have power metal in mind from the very start, or did you want to be a death metal band or what?

Heimdall started as a heavy metal band from the beginning, we just wanted to play the music that we love. However my brother and I had already experience in an 'epic-black' metal band with whom we recorded a CD.

One thing that struck me first about Heimdall and "The Almighty" is that you seem to be striving to be making a name for yourselves based on your unique attributes, instead of being another Rhapsody clone for example. I think it is all too easy to become another 'nameless band' in the power metal scene.

Many people have told me that Heimdall have their own personality and I'm happy that you think that, too. For us it's a great compliment and with our music we don't want to be similar to this or that band, but just to express our way to play music. When I compose a track, I try to follow only my ideas and my feelings and not to copy the other bands. Of course we like many bands that obviously influences our way to write music.

Do you truly feel that "The Almighty" is your strongest album? I haven't listened to your other two records; could you tell me how "The Almighty" differs from those?

"The Almighty" is our third album after "Lord of the Sky" and "The Temple of Theil." I think that they are different to each other because each of them catches the sensations and the emotions of the time when it was composed and recorded. "Lord of the Sky" can be considered as the result of our first 4 years of life... in this album you can hear the best things that we composed from the birth of the band. Some of its tracks were written between 1994 and 1995. The CD is a storm of metal; rich of emotions, anger, power... that album has all the spontaneity that has always characterised our sound. It's a true storm of energy! In "The Temple of Theil" you can hear more attention towards the arrangements in comparison to our first album and a more symphonic aspect due to a major presence of orchestral parts. In spite of this, it preserves energy and spontaneity. "The Almighty" is more direct than "The Temple of Theil," and the guitar sound is more present. Someone told me that it can be considered a natural continuation of the previous albums, someone else said that it's something a bit different... however the people that have listened to the new album have defined it as a personal and involving piece of work. For me "The Almighty" is a fist in your face, a mix of energy, melody and anger pervaded by a sense of melancholy, probably due to the particular and difficult period – characterised by many changes - both for the band and for me when it was composed! This album is also rich of force, pride and braveness... it's Heavy Metal!

Does the Italian music scene provide a good fan base? There seem to be quite a number of metal bands coming out from Italy.

In Italy metal is followed by a solid number of people, but our scene cannot be compared with the German or Scandinavian ones where there is more attention and more possibilities for the heavy metal bands. In Italy these last years the scene has increased and many new bands, new labels, many web sites have started. I think that the situation will be better in the next years, even if there are still many things to do if we want reach the levels of the German metal scene, I'm not speaking about the passion of the metal fans but above all of the organizations that are around the metal bands.

Anything particular you wanted to achieve lyrically with "The Almighty?" Is there a theme to what you write, something that binds each song from "The Almighty" together in such a way that you can tell a song from your new album from one of your previous albums?

Regarding the lyrics, like "Lord of the Sky" and "The Temple of Theil;" "The Almighty" is a concept but it's very different from them. While "Lord of the Sky" was a concept about the Nordic myth and the god Heimdall, from his birth to the twilight of the gods and his death, and "The Temple of Theil" was a mythological and fantastic story – created by us - based on the deeds of two warriors, Sidgar and Iselin, in the new album each song has an own story even if the lyrics are linked by some common subjects. They are all about the search, the journey, often towards something difficult or impossible to reach and seen through different experiences such as dream, death, art, love, war, glory and/or immortality. The protagonists of the lyrics roam in search of something - often unexplainable or unreachable. It could be a divinity, the wish for being immortal, a woman, the absolute knowledge, the eternal glory, the mystery that lies beyond our existence... with the word "The Almighty" I summarize these elements that they miss and that they manage to reach often with all their strengths. In the opener 'The Calling,' the epic melodies follow a lyric that talks about the journey towards the glory and freedom in battle. It is inspired by those men who, during the history, have been able to lead their armies to fight in the name of what they believe in, even in the darkest times. In 'Wanderer' the protagonist finds himself to roam in a dark and unknown world where words have lost their meaning and where the gods also have died in search of something or someone that appears always distant. In 'Return to the Fatherland' a warrior goes back to his land after many journeys and many battles, but he discovers that it has been destroyed... in spite of this, he can still feel the power and the ancient grandeur of these places that will never die. In the lyrics for 'Eternal Race' the human existence is compared to a frenetic and melancholic race towards someone or something probably unreachable, a race where we often feel alone. What we do, what we create arises from a lack and from the wish to fill this gap. Art can be the only way to feel nearer in what we search for. The main character of 'Symit' creates to live again a very single and deep moment, even if he realizes that the words cannot give back what he previously lived. Sometimes the impossibility to reach what we want transforms this frenetic race in immobility or wait for something. In 'Godhall,' an old pilgrim remembers his life; spent travelling and roaming in search of a noble and magic land. But only now that his power is fading away and his dreams and his hopes left him, he feels this land nearer... In 'Beyond,' the main character is a semi-god. He has the power to make his creations live but, at the same time, he is a man and so destined to die. He would like to reach the world of the gods but he cannot so he feels immobile, imprisoned in this condition of suspension, condemned to roam in the "land of no one." This time also there are some links with legends or mythologies. 'Last Journey' is inspired by the story of the god Baldr, one of the most tragic figures of the Nordic Myth, who sees in his dreams his sad destiny of death. 'The Search' is inspired by the myth of the Grail. It talks about a knight who is destined to search for it. His life has only one aim: find the holy object and find his mystery. When he discovers it, he dies.

The album cover for "The Almighty" is pretty wicked. That dude with the chunky sword and almost cybernetic eye looks like he means business. What is the relationship of the cover with the lyrics and/or music of Heimdall?

The cover was realised by an artist from Milan. We gave him the title of the album and the lyrics and he made it! I think that it's the perfect way to express the concept behind the lyrics. I don't know what the artist wanted to express though it but one of my personal interpretation is this: the warrior that presents both past – the sword - and future - the cybernetic eye - elements can be seen as the symbol of man of all eras, also of those that will come. The divine image that you can see behind can be seen as a metaphor of the things we lack, the things that give life to our search. The places as the paths – often dark and solitary – that we have to cross in our life to reach what we need.

The production is fantastic for this record; a big part of the overall feel of "The Almighty" must be attributed to the production. You guys must be rapt with how it turned out.

Thank you! I agree with you that the production of "The Almighty" is very good. The recording sessions lasted about 40 days between January and March. As regards the choice of the studio, while the first two records were recorded in Rome for "The Almighty," we decided to work near the place where we live, in the Zappingsound Studio in Salerno. This allowed us to work in a calm state of mind and so the atmosphere during the recording sessions were more relaxing than before and I think that you can hear this in the new songs.

Speaking of production, it always amazes me that most power metal bands; whether they are big acts or small acts seem to have above average production for their records. In comparison to the average black metal band, power metal albums are usually miles ahead in production values. Why do you think this is?

I think that in black metal there is the will from many bands to remain in an underground situation or to have a very essential, direct and 'rude' sound to create a violent and silk atmosphere similar to the first albums of bands like Venom, Bathory or Mayhem. In heavy and power metal the situation is different. The arrangements are often complex; it's very important that everything sounds in an even way to appreciate all the passages and all the atmosphere of a band. So the production is very important for the bands here.

Quite some time has passed since the initial release date of "The Almighty" (September 9) and we are now in April. What has Heimdall been up to as a band since then?

In this period we have supported our new album doing many interviews both with magazines and radios. In August 2002 – before the publication of the album - we started our live activity taking part to some festivals with bands like Destruction and Vicious Rumors and after the publication of the CD in autumn we were on an Italian tour. We played some gigs as headliner and others with important bands like Shaman. Perhaps European tour will be a possibility but nothing completely sure... we'll see. However in these last two months we are concentrating on the composition of the new songs; we would like to publish the new record for the beginning of the new year.

With that being said and the 7 months that have elapsed since the record came out, has there been much work on a new forthcoming album for Heimdall? Heimdall album #4; will it be a great departure from "The Almighty?"

We are writing the songs for the fourth album. It will be published at the beginning of the next year with Scarlet Records. So far we have five tracks and I have to say that they are real killer! They are more heavy and aggressive, but at the same time very epic! We are very satisfied about these and I'm sure that our next album will be the best in our discography. You'll see!

Scarlet Records is well known as a label that produces some high quality power metal acts. Is it awkward being on a label where you have so much musical competition? Do the other bands provide you guys with support? Do you have much contact with them? Live gigs, touring etc, etc...

Yes, Scarlet is a very good label full of good bands. We are in good relations with many bands of the label and we don't feel in competition with them. We are following a way of our own without thinking about the other bands, we want only try to improve writing our music to be always better.

Thanks for answering these questions for me and the Metalbite readers! The floor is yours if you wanna say anything...

First of all thank you for the interview! Of course I would like to thank all the Metalbite readers that have always supported our music... (go on doing it) and listened to "The Almighty," an album which we believe in because it has 9 very good, powerful and involving metal songs.
Follow us also through our web-site: www.heimdall.it. Glory and Honor to you ALL!