Interview 1349

Interview with Archaon from the Norwegian Black Metal band, 1349.

 
Greetings Archaon, how things are going?
Fine thank you. At the moment it’s mildly sunny in Oslo and it’s getting cold here.

First, tell me a little history when was 1349 founded.
This history is well known by now, I suppose, but…Basically, it goes like this: In 1997, Ravn and Tjalve exited their former band and moved on to form 1349. Seidemann moved to Oslo &  joined and a couple of years
later, I joined (1999). A year after- in 2000, Frost joined, and we set out to fulfill our mission: Create sonic-speed  warped hysteria and perform everywhere that we could.

Last year you have released the sixth full-lenght under the name of ”Massive Cauldron Of Chaos”. Tell me about it.
It’s (from a subjective point of view) the most professional work we’ve carried out to this day. The material is fierce as it should, the production better than ever before, but still uncompromising-very much keeping the 1349 vein intact.

Have you received good reviews about the album so far?
Pretty much everywhere, that has been the case, yes. The listeners seem to enjoy the maturity process that clearly has taken place in our music, both as far as I know from individuals’ feedback, as well as when performing the new songs live. Some of them are real neckbreakers live.

Can you tell me a few words about the other band’s releases?
Liberation(2003), our debut is as harsh as it gets BM, and was recorded february 2001. However, things take some time and the album saw the light of day in 2003, followed by a darker, more sinister work called Beyond the
Apocalypse the following year (2004). Moving on from there, we released our epitome according to some, titeled Hellfire in 2005. The touring schedule was escalation throughout  all these albums as a natural consequence, and with Revelations of the Black Flame (2009), we kind of closed a circle as such. A year later, (2010) we released Demonoir, which is arguably the most technically demanding work of ours and a statement as well as a blast from the future. All in which paved way for our latest album, Massive Cauldron of Chaos (2014).

What are the main lyrical themes and who usually writes the music for 1349?
The lyrics usually deals with reflections best described as dark poetry. I write the majority of our music, but every now & then the others are chipping in too.

There exist any influences?
Of course, we’re highly inspired- not just by musical works of others, but by interaction with surroundings… By existence itself. As far as musical influences goes, there’s a lot of different music, spanning from old hard rock (Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, BÖC, Rainbow etc.) to more obscure forms of contemporary music-and of course especially the classic bands of BM.

Are you going to tour this year or next year?
We’ve toured quite a bit in support of our most recent album MCoC, with two times US, including a string of Canadian shows- as well as an European tour last November. Additionally, we’ve played several festivals, and we’re already confirmed for a few next year. 2016 also sees 1349 visiting what has been foreign ground until now: Australia and New Zealand. Most probably also another run in the US.

And the last questions, do you have a message for the 1349 fans?
Hope to see as many of you as possible for the upcoming shows! Thanks for your support!

Thank you for your answers Archaon, hails and all the best!
Thanks for the interview!
https://www.facebook.com/1349official