You released the EP
Mesmerized some time ago. This six-songs CD contains songs previously unreleased and
remixes of three songs from the Burial album. From whom came this idea? From the band or
from the label?
Actually it was Samuel at Endtime who
came up with the idea. Since Samuel is one of the members of the industrial gurus Mental
Destruction, he has a lot of contacts in the industrial scene so there probably wouldn't
have been any remixes on Mesmerized hadn't it been for Samuel . The whole band liked the
idea of course. We wanted to do something new, to make an out of the ordinary release, and
I think we succeeded
I kinda expected this answer as I know
Samuel's background. So, I wonder, what did you think of those three remixes the first
time you heard them? Especially the Raison D'être remix is quite a leap from the
original. So, what came up in your mind the first time hearing them?
I remember listening to them the first
time, and I thought they were cool. I liked the Burial remix the best, and that is still
my favorite. The second remix (Renhetens Elv) isn't that good I think. It's too
monotonous, but as I understood it, that's the way it's supposed to be in orthodox
industry.... That way The Raison D'être remix is extreme. If you didn't know it you
couldn't tell it's an Extol song. I feel that's a song you kind of have to be in the right
mood to listen to. And you have to play it really loud. That way you'll focus on the few
details on top of all the noise, like the "medieval lure" (Ole's voice). I know
Samuel says this is an industrial masterpiece, so we just have to believe him : -)
What I really like about Mesmerized
is that you put on old song on it: Storms Of Disillusions. This song has an equal share
for Ole Børud in the singing. I think that brings in good variety.
On Burial he appeared only now and then as singer. You have just finished recording the
new album. What will be his role on Undeceived, the new one?
On Undeceived we have three songs that
Ole sings on. It's the same kind of songs as Storms... with Ole and Peter singing about
half each.
Mesmerized features also a new song
-recorded in 1999- too. Personally I think this song is closer to black metal -especially
vocally- than ever though it still has the Extol characteristics. Is that new song
on Mesmerized giving us an idea of Undeceived?
That 's kind of weird, cause we feel that
Enthralled (that's the song you're thinking about right?) is closer to Death metal.
Undeceived is definitely more Death metal than Burial. A lot of the riffing is groovier,
and the sound is waaaay heavier. We tuned down to B on this album compared to D on Burial.
So in my opinion, since Enthralled is closer to death metal, it does kind of give you an
idea on what the new album is like.
Uh, I never considered Extol as being a
black metal band. I listened to the song again and musically you're right. It's very
deathy. What I try to say is that vocally Peter sounds quite hoarse, almost like hissing
like people do in black metal. The last verse of the song is black metal incorporated in
the track, I think. Let me ask it differently, Extol is not a very pure death metal band
as you mess up -on purpose- with other styles. How is that on the new album?
I agree, we are not pure death metal, and
that's the point. We feel that playing straight death metal would make it hard to make a
full album with interesting songs. We're still messing it up as you put it, incorporating
other styles as black and thrash and so on. Peters vocals will always vary in style from
deep growls to the typical black metal, and he also uses his voice in different ways on
the new album
Now something about the title Undeceived.
I talked over the phone with your brother Peter about a year ago and he was talking about
the recording of an album entitled 2000. Of course that's a boring title so you changed it
to Undeceived. For what reason did you choose that title?
That must have been a joke : -) I can't
imagine him being serious about something so unoriginal. The reason we chose Undeceived as
the album title is obviously because we think it's a good title. The song Undeceived is
also the first song on the European and Japanese releases, and track # 2 on the Solid
State version. It's not like it's some kind of lyrical concept or anything, it's just a
good title
The album-title Burial was depicted in a
way on the cover of that album. This cover was made by Kristian Wåhlin. How is the cover
of the new one gonna be?
The artwork on Undeceived is made by
Samuel Durling himself. It's a lot harder than the Burial and Mesmerized covers. It
doesn't have much colors...basically it's just dark and hard. You'll see : -)
What do you think will the fans
absolutely love about the new record?
I think they'll love everything : -)
hahaha. I don't know. Everybody have their taste you know, so it's impossible to
say. Some like Ole's vocals, some don't, some are into black, some are into death....But I
do think that in general people will like this album because it has a really heavy sound.
It's just really phat, yet at the same time hard, but not like black metal "extremely
thin and treble-based" hard. Also like I mentioned earlier it's groovier than Burial,
so I think it's a little easier to get into.
And what will be the most surprising
thing for the fans to hear?
I don't think there are any surprises at
all. Those who liked Burial will like this, and those who think Burial was too black metal
will probably find it easier to get into Undeceived.
I'd like to discuss something else now.
Last year longtime bass-player Eystein Holm left the band and he's replaced by
Tor Magne. Eystein wasn't even part of the US Tour. What is the reason for his departure?
Eystein left the band because he didn't
have the same vision as the rest of Extol. Also there were significant musical
differences. We've settled the whole thing, and there's nothing bad or unsaid between us.
He actually lives in the same house as David and Peter.
What do you mean with musical
differences? And what is he doing in music now?
He wasn't part of the band musically (the
last few years) because he never made any music, and he disagreed with some of the music
we made, but still wanted to be in the band. The main reason that he left though was
because he didn't share the same vision as the rest of us. Eystein plays in a not too
serious cover-band, and they just recorded an album actually. It's not metal
though....some kind of rock I think.
This might be a strange question but when
I look at the pictures on Mesmerized, it strikes me that Eystein is depicted a bit at a
distance. After the release of that EP he left the band officially. Is that a coincidence?
Yes, that was a coincidence. But I can
understand why you ask. I thought of it the same way when I first saw the pictures, but
the thing is, that was the best picture of Eystein from the Mesmerized photo session, so
we used it
With Extol you did some touring in the US
in 1998 and 1999, and you had other opportunities like playing a show in Oslo with Old
Man's Child in September. The band's often named as "The Mighty Extol". It's
obvious that you have been successful. How do you feel about that and what do you see as
most important both musically as personally?
We obviously feel good about being
successful. And we thank God for it, cause we know that we would not have been where we
are today without God. Musically we think originality and quality is important. We're not
done with a song until we are 100% satisfied with it. We don't rush in to studio just to
get an album out, and if we took all the riffs that have been thrown away during
songwriting and put them together, we could have made at least another full length, but it
would have been a class b-product.
Personally, there is only one thing;
focusing on God. The fact that we are Christians and want to honor God in everything we do
is what makes the foundation of what Extol is; us being ourselves, doing what we like,
playing the music we like and honoring God with it. A lot of Christians think they have to
be called into a specific ministry. Some people are called like that, but if we're not,
there's no point in being lazy self-centered, lukewarm Christians. Being a Christian means
being it 24/7!!! Your first call from God is to spend time with him. That's what he
originally created us for, and he loves spending time with us. So what I'm trying to say
here is that we don't look at Extol as a separate ministry. My life is my ministry, when
I'm in school, at work, on the bus, in church, touring USA with Extol, everywhere I go.
With all the success it seems there's
hardly more to achieve. What, to your opinion, would be the best thing for Extol yet to
happen?
We really want to have a greater movement
of the Holy Ghost at our shows. We want to be used by God like no other Christian metal
band have been used before. We just want to be a blessing to people, and to help people
who are in need. By the way, we know that at least 10 people received Jesus as a result of
last years US tour. That's great, all glory and praise to God!!!
I have only a Holland-related question
left. You were supposed to play in Holland at the Treasures Of Legends Festival in 1997 as
well as an other metalfestival in November last year. Both Festivals were cancelled. A lot
of people feel kinda bad about this. How do you feel about this?
We feel bad about it too.....starting to
wonder if there are any serious Christians wanting to put on metal shows in Holland. We'd
love to play there, but we need to know that the people we work with are serious and can
keep their promises.
I spoke with one of the guys who was
behind that metalfest in November just a few hours after he announced that this festival
was cancelled and he felt really bad about it too. He was working on it seriously and put
his own money in it as he believed it to be according to God's will to reach out just like
you're doing in a band. He did it as a concert-promotor, very seriously. But due to
financial hardships he had to cancel the festival. You say you wonder if there are any
serious Christians who want to put on metal shows. I know it's extremely difficult to put
up metal shows successfully. What makes you feel to say so?
I know that it is hard to put on a metal
show, and therefore a promotor has to be very realistic on which bands, how many bands,
how much can they afford to loose and so on. There's always a risk because it's a very
narrow scene. I'm sure there are serious Christians putting up metal shows in Holland, and
I'm sure the guy you talked with was serious.
What then would you like to say to all
Extol fans in Holland and the fans in other places in the world where the band never
played so far?
Focus on God. It's all about him. It's
not about music, money, career or anything, life's all about serving God. Thanks for all
the support we get. We'd love to come and play in Holland or any other country that we
haven't been to. God Bless!! |
