Slegest

Interview date

18 Septembre 2013

Interviewer

Azagtoth

I N T E R V I E W

Interview Ese


Hello and thank you for giving us some time for this interview.

Hello! My pleasure, and thanks a lot for featuring Slegest.

For those who do not know you, you were in the Norwegian black metal band Vreid. From what I have heard (the EP and your last full length album), there are very few black metal elements left in the music. Could you tell us about this project and its genesis?

We live in a society where it’s perfectly normal to sit with taco sauce in your angle of mouth watching fat people trying to get slim on TV. I’m not putting myself on a high horse or anything, I just watch it from the sideline laughing so hard it hurts my butt cheeks. I want to fill my life with other things though and music being a big part of that, so Slegest was born out of the sheer will to make music really. I wanted to make songs rooted in early heavy rock like for example Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and blend it with harsh vocals. I started to work on what would become Slegest in 2010 and released an EP on my own label Systrond Recordings last year. I got good feedback on it and I felt I was on to something. With the urge to make an album I took with me the 70's vibe from the EP and started to write new material that became the album "Løyndom".

What are your influences? I would say bands like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden rather than Windir and Vreid, am I right?

Yes you are right. When it comes to inspiration for Slegest’s music, it is more rooted in older heavy rock.

It is a solo project which means you supposedly play all the instruments. I knew you could play the guitar and that you had played as a session drummer for a punk band named Båååv. Did you also play the bass? Did you have any session musician for the recording?

I play all the instruments and do the vocals in Slegest, and in my eyes that is the way to do a solo project.

Where and who did you record the album with?

I have a studio at home where I record and mix Slegest. What I don’t have is the possibility to record the drums. I was very pleased with doing the drums in Conclave and Earshot studio in Bergen for the EP, so it was an easy choice going back to do the drums for "Løyndom" there, together with Bjørnar E. Nilsen as engineer. Bjørnar is an engineer that involves in the things he does, and it was good to have some input on both the material and the drumming. This time I also recorded the guitar parts there. The goal was to get a more 70s vibe to the sound for Løyndom, and in my ears this fits Slegest very well.

"Løyndom" is Norwegian for "secret" or "hidden", as written on your homepage. Could you tell us what the lyrics are about?

I chose the title for many reasons really. One of them is on a personal level, where I find the hidden as the most interesting to work with musically. Taking a step into my own løyndom has been a big part of the musical work. Another reason is that in our society it is hard to see through all the meaningless bullshit we are exposed to from every possible angle. What lies beyond, hidden in yourself, in nature, in your surroundings, so much of the true feelings of life is lost in our modern world. When it comes to the lyrics I want them to speak for themselves. I am a person with mood swings and I use that as inspiration for some of them.

You signed a record deal with Dark Essence, a Norwegian label for Norwegian metal bands as it seems, no matter what the genre. How did this happen for you?

Dark Essence is as you say a Norwegian label with mostly Norwegian bands. It was one of the labels I saw as very interesting to co operate with for Slegest, and I also knew they are serious in what they do as I have known some of the guys running it for quite a while. When I had some songs for "Løyndom" ready I shipped them some samples, and they liked it so here we are.

You invited fellow Vreid guitarist Sture for a solo on the album, which means you are still close to your former band. Are you planning on touring with them or even work on an album/split with them?

I am still close to my former band and have some of my best friends in Vreid. When it comes to guest appearances I have had one on each Slegest release. For the EP it was the saxophone solo in “The Nemesis And The Neglect” played by my brother Hövard, and for "Løyndom" I asked Sture to do a solo on “Rooted In Knowledge”. For Slegest there are no plans for touring with Vreid, but I will join in as a guest on the “Sognametal” festival-tour next year. “Sognametal” will mark the 20 year anniversary for Windir and Ulcus, and 10 years of Vreid and I am very much looking forward to guesting in the Vreid-set.

Talking about concerts, are you planning on touring for the next months? When will you come visit us in France?

Yes there are plans for concerts and I have gathered a live line up for Slegest, and we are rehearsing a live set these days. I will handle vocals and rhythm guitar and to complete the line up we have Hövard (Bombeclüchter) on bass, Sør (Båååv) on lead guitar and Fjøsne on drums. Slegest is a new band in every way and it has to be built rock by rock. We would very much like to come to France and play for you guys, so if anyone reading this would like to help out, don’t hesitate to ask your nearest club or metal festival to book Slegest.

What songs will you be playing live? Slegest songs exclusively? Some cover songs? Vreid songs?

It will be only Slegest songs.

One last word for our readers?

Thank you for your time, keep listening to metal!

Thanks a lot and we're looking forward to seeing you on stage!

Thanks, and thank you very much for the interview!


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