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started as a two member project band named ILDSKJAER in 1993. They played a few gigs in Trondheim of Norway, with different session musicians. The band didn`t get a satisfactory line - up until the end of 1996. |
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The band`s main problem
was finding rehearsal places in Trondheim. They lost
their last permanent rehearsal place in spring 1996 and
got back together again 5 - 6 months later to record a
demo before their material was forgotten and buried. The demo was called "Skygger av Sorg" (Shadows of Sorrow), and is the only demo they have made so far. KEEP OF KALESSIN wasn`t satisfied with the demo `cause the band didn`t feel tight after those 6 months without rehearsing. It was therefore never released in a professional presentation (cover etc.) but only sent to labels and a few `zines. The response was suprisingly good and in the year 1997, DEMONION Prod. from Hellas offered them a deal for releasing their demo and promoting it. The demo consists of 3 tracks of fast black metal with a lot of melodic and slow parts and comes with a full - coloured cover and professional packaging. The tracks are "Skygger av Sorg I"," Ruiner av en Krig" and "Skygger av Sorg II". The demo is now available from DEMONION Prod. for only 5$. |
At the present the band got a deal from AVANT GARDE Rec. for the release of a cd. The album is just out and is called "Through Times of War". Here is also a sample of one of their slower tracks, some dark photos and some gig pictures too!
HERE YOU CAN READ A SMALL INTERVIEW I HAVE TAKEN FROM OYVIND (BASS) SO THAT YOU CAN GATHER MORE DETAILS ABOUT KEEP OF KALESSIN. (INTERVIEW TAKEN AT 5 / 7 / 97).
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1) HAIL TO THOU!!! HOW
IS LIFE IN NORWAY LATELY? Quite boring actually... horrible weather and lack of money as usual. 2) WHY DID YOU CHANGE YOUR NAME TO KEEP OF KALESSIN? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? |
First of all we needed an english name because
ILDSKJAER doesn`t make sense to most people, I think. Kalessin is
the name of a great dragon. The third song on the album will
possibly be named "Return of Kalessin". The rest of the
story explains itself in the album.
3) INTRODUCE US KEEP OF KALESSIN. WHAT HAVE YOU RELEASED SO
FAR? WAS THE RESPONSE POSITIVE?
So far we have recorded only a demo which was not ment for sale
but only for sending to labels. It contains three old songs and
it is called "Skygger Av Sorg" (Shadows of Sorrow). At
this moment we are waiting for response from different labels
around the world. Actually I don`t care if the response is good
or bad `cause I`m not very satisfied with this demo. It was
recorded in a cheap studio with very limited time and it was 6
months since our last rehersal. We have had lots of trouble
finding a rehearsal place in Trondheim. Anyway... the demo now is
released in a professional form via DEMONION Prod.
4) WELL, I THINK THAT YOU ARE EXAGGERATING BECAUSE YOUR DEMO
IS REALLY GREAT! SO, WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES CONCERNING YOUR
MUSIC? PERSONALLY I DETECTED SOME DIMMU BORGIR ONES... WHAT`S
YOUR OPINION?
I don`t think that anyone in the band listens much to DIMMU
BORGIR but if you play metal today it is almost impossible to
sound totally different from all the thousands of bands!
Personally I listen much to Vangelis, Beethoven, BATHORY, EMPEROR
and folk music so I guess that these are my major musical
influences. But good black metal songs don`t come - up because of
which bands you listen to. They are a result of sorrow, sadness,
hate and anger.
| 5) WHAT IS THE
BAND UP TO RIGHT NOW? ANOTHER DEMO OR SOMETHING MORE
PROFESSIONAL? WHAT ABOUT GIGS? Actually we were more interested in being a tight and good live band than making records, in the beginning and we played a few gigs in Trondheim. But suddenly we didn`t have a rehearsal place anymore.Therefore, after 6 months, we decided to record the demo I previously mentioned while we still had a chance. In the future we are probably going to do some gigs. Recently we signed to AVANT GARDE Rec. for the release of our debut album at the end of the year... |
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6) YOU SIGNED ON AVANT GARDE REC.? HOW
SO? HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Well, seems that they really liked our stuff and that is good to
hear! The cd should be out by the end of this year.
7) WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ANCIENT HELLENIC CULTURE?
Quite a lot actually. Both hellenic history and mythology are
major subjects in history lessons in the norwegian school and I
find it very interesting. Surely something for hellenic bands to
get inspiration from.
8) YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN!!! WHAT`S YOUR OPINION ABOUT NORSE
MYTHOLOGY AND BLACK METAL? DO THESE TWO THEMES MATCH TOGETHER? DO
YOUR LYRICS DEAL WITH THIS SUBJECT?
I love norse history and mythology... they are great tales from
the past. Personally, I think that bands like ENSLAVED,
EINHERJER, BATHORY etc. have proven that black metal and norse
mythology match good together but many people think that black
metal should be a pure satanic thing. I guess you can find lots
of elements which fit good into the black metal concept in our
ancestors. We don`t base our lyrics on norse mythology. We
respect it but it`s not something we stand for.
9) THEN, WHO WRITES THE LYRICS AND WHAT ARE THEY ABOUT? DO YOU
FOLLOW ANY SORT OF RELIGION / IDEOLOGY? WHAT`S YOUR OPINION ABOUT
RELIGIONS IN GENERAL?
I wish that religion someday will be a history. It is incredible
that people can be so pathetic that they dedicate their lifes to
that shit! Religions should be fascinating tales from the past,
not something to follow in a modern society. KEEP OF KALESSIN`s
lyrics are mostly written by our singer, Gash, who takes a lot of
inspiration from "The Earthsea Quartet", by Ursula Le
Guin. He uses that setting to explain emotions in real life.
10) ARE YOU IN CONTACT WITH ANY HELLENIC BANDS / FANS? WHAT`S
OUR OPINION ABOUT THE HELLENIC SCENE? ANY FAVE BANDS FROM IT?
I`m not in contact (yet) with any hellenic bands / fans exept
you. I like NECROMANTIA and ROTTING CHRIST. Hellenic bands have a
very special sound and you can almost hear without knowing that
they are from Hellas and that makes them special from all the
other bands in other countries.
11) WELL, THANX!!! IT`S THE FIRST TIME I HEAR AN INDIVIDUAL
FROM THE NORTHERN GLOBE PRAISING OUR SCENE!WHAT ELSE DO YOU
LISTEN EXCEPT METAL?
As I said, Vangelis and classical stuff like Mozart, Beethoven,
Grieg etc. I also listen to `80s heavy metal like W. A. S. P,
TWISTER SISTER, T. N. T...
12) WHICH BANDS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FROM NORWAY?
Check - out TROLL`s "Drep de Kristne" cd ("Kill
the Christians") and a new band from Trondheim called
BLOODTHORN who are releasing a cd soon.
13) DO YOU PLAN TO CREATE ANY PROJECT BANDS APART FROM KEEP OF
KALESSIN? WHAT`S YOUR OPINION ABOUT PROJECT BANDS?
In fact, I have a two member project going right now called
BLOODSWORN were I make all the music and some other guy sings and
writes the lyrics. We use midi, guitar and samples which make
things a lot easier since we don`t have to bother about
rehearsing. The demo is almost finished now and it is very
inspired by folk and classical music. KEEP OF KALESSIN also
started as a two member project - band around 1992 - 93 but ended
- up with four members to be able to perform live. I guess most
bands start as project bands nowadays.
14) THAT`S IT... ANYTHING TO ADD FOR THE END?
Well, if somebody is interested in getting hold of the BLOODSWORN
demo they can write to me. "Skygger Av Sorg" is
available from DEMONION Prod. For information, interviews etc.
write to:
CONTACT ADDRESS |
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CONTACT ADDRESS |
