Interview with Thomas Øvstedal, the frontman of the Norwegian Black metal band, Cor Scorpii.
Greetings Thomas, how things are going?
Things are going well. Been extremely busy the last few years with studies, work and family. Keeping myself busy these days as well, but it looks like things are easing up a bit compared to the last two years.
When was Cor Scorpii founded?
Cor Scorpii was founded in 2004. We were a bunch of friends and acquaintances that happened to find common ground and a shared artistic outlet, following the death of Valfar and the disbanding of Windir.
In 2008 you have released the full-lenght entitled ”Monument”. Tell me about it.
The story behind “Monument” is a long one, but I’ll try to keep it brief. The plans for an album was formed pretty soon after the demo “Attergangar” came out in 2005. The songwriting took some time and we were a bit unsure of how we were going to go about releasing it. We got a record deal and entered Toproom Studios to record the album. Immediately after the release, the record company fell apart and we were left high and dry with a brand new album that had no distribution. Only a few hundred albums made its way around the world. “Luckily” the age of downloading and torrent-sites were upon us and the album seemed to be downloaded in the tens of thousands., despite the lack of promotion and distribution. After some time we got signed by Dark Essence, a small but devoted Norwegian label. The home of awesome bands like Taake and Helheim. They rereleased “Monument” in 2009. And this allowed us to promote it a bit more with a few live shows. A bit sad that the album did not get the exposure that we had hoped for, but the rerelease saved the day. We are extremely proud of the album and it still sounds absolutely great, much thanks to the efforts of Børge from Toproom and Peter from Tailor Maid.
What are the lyrical themes?
It probably sounds very cliché, but the lyrical themes are about death. But some songs are also addressing the battle against the yoke of religion. Both in the past and present.
Are you going to release new materials soon?
Yes, hopefully. We have no release date as if yet, but we are well into the recording of a new album. The working title is “Ruin”. We have eight epic compositions that we hope will please our fans whom have been nothing but supportive and shown an abundance of patience through the last 8 years.
What are the band’s influences?
This is an impossible question to answer. We have three main composers in the band and their influences are as varied as they can possibly be. But the melodic black metal bands of the nineties are of course important. And there is no secret that we all love classical music, both the old stuff as well as more contemporary stuff. Grieg, Satie, Saint-Saëns and Rachmaninov, just to mention a few.
Any shows confirmed for this year?
We have no more shows confirmed for 2015, but recently announced a show for 2016 at Blastfest in Bergen. The lineup at this festival is crazy. 2016 is the year for a very exclusive Norwegian edition and we look forward sharing the stage with some of our favourite artists.
Do you have a message for the Cor Scorpii fans?
I believe I speak for the entire band when I extend our most heartfelt thanks for the ever continuing support. The patience you have shown and the encouragement you have given us have been instrumental in getting us to the point we are now. Hopefully you will enjoy the new songs as much as we do.
Thank you for the answers Thomas, all the best!
Thank you for taking an interest! We will be back in 2016!
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